Poetry

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Poetry-

• Or How to get all lyrical and crap

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What is Poetry?

• Poetry is the most compressed form of
  literature. It usually is much more limited in
  subject and scope than prose.
• Poetry is composed of carefully chosen words
  expressing great depth of meaning.
• Poetry uses specific devices such as
  connotation, sound, and rhythm to express the
  appropriate combination of meaning and emotion.

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Elements of Prose in Poetry

• Point of View speaker - the created narrative
  voice of the poem (i.e. the person the reader is
  supposed to imagine is talking- always assume it
  to be a personna). Also important to consider
  the audience
• The speaker can address another character in the
  poem.
• The speaker can address a character who is not
  present or is dead, which is called apostrophe.
• The speaker can address him or herself.
• The speaker can address you, the reader.
• Character If poem is about someone, or the
  narrative voice is clear, and poem is long
  enough, all elements of characterization apply
  protagonist/ antagonist, flat/ round, static/
  dynamic, etc.
• Plot Poems typically not plot-driven, but can
  be, in which case all conventions apply- plot
  arc, etc.
• Setting Poetry all about setting- perhaps most
  important aspect- time, location, atmosphere,
  etc.- though poetry can concentrate on any one of
  these alone and still be satisfying and complete.

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Subject, Tone, and Theme
I, Too BY LANGSTON HUGHES I, too, sing
America. I am the darker brother. They send me
to eat in the kitchen When company comes, But I
laugh, And eat well, And grow strong.
Tomorrow, Ill be at the table When company
comes. Nobodyll dare Say to me, Eat in the
kitchen, Then. Besides, Theyll see how
beautiful I am And be ashamed I, too, am
America.

• subject - the general or specific topic of the
  poem (what the poem is about).
• tone - the poet's attitude toward the subject of
  the poem (this may be different from the
  speaker's attitude). We can identify the tone of
  the poem by noting the author's use of poetic
  devices.
• theme - The statement the poem/poet makes about
  its subject. 

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Rhythm

• Rhythm is a musical quality produced by the
  repetition of stressed and unstressed syllables.
• occurs in all forms of language, both written and
  spoken, but is particularly important in poetry

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Rhythm
Veni, vidi, vici. I came, I saw, I
conquered. -Julius Caesar

• Made up of feet- or combinations of rhythms
• The iamb, consisting of two syllables, only the
  second accented (as in "good-bye")
• The trochee, two syllables, only the first
  accented (as in "awful")
• The anapest, three syllables, with only the third
  stressed (as in "Halloween")
• The dactyl, one stressed syllable followed by two
  unstressed (as in "wonderful")
• The spondee, two consecutive syllables that are
  both stressed (as in "big deal")
• Meter- In English structured poetry, you are
  allowed so many feet per line
• Thus, the iambic pentameter you are always
  hearing about is poetry of 5 feet per line,
  where iambs predominate (you can cheat a little)

Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak
December And each separate dying ember wrought
its ghost upon the floor.     Eagerly I wished
the morrowvainly I had sought to borrow    
From my books surcease of sorrowsorrow for the
lost Lenore -From the Raven Edgar Alan Poe
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Rhyme
Marching Men BY MARJORIE PICKTHALL a Under the
level winter sky a I saw a thousand Christs go
by. b They sang an idle song and free b As they
went up to calvary. c Careless of eye and
coarse of lip, c They marched in holiest
fellowship. d That heaven might heal the world,
they gave d Their earth-born dreams to deck the
grave. e With souls unpurged and steadfast
breath e They supped the sacrament of death. f
And for each one, far off, apart, f Seven swords
have rent a woman's heart.

• All about tradition- rhyme, along with rhythm,
  was used to make stuff memorable before there
  were printing presses
• But just seems normal now, so we keep doing it.
• Rhyme Schemes
• Generally denoted by letters, with each new rhyme
  getting a new letter.
• Capital letters denote repeating lines (ababC)
• The letters x and y denote unrhymed lines

Winter Dusk BY WALTER DE LA MARE x Dark frost
was in the air without,  a  The dusk was still
with cold and gloom, y When less than even a
shadow came   a And stood within the room. x
But of the three around the fire,   b None
turned a questioning head to look, y Still read
a clear voice, on and on,   b Still stooped they
oer their book.
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Repetition Repetition

• Repetition of meter and rhyme scheme is what
  forms stanzas- the paragraphs of a poem
• Alliteration, or front rhyme- repetition of
  consonant sounds on the beginning of words
• Ex Silly Sally sells seashells by the seashore
• Assonance- repetition of vowel sounds
• Ex Hear the mellow wedding bells. Edgar Allan
  Poe, "The Bells
• Poets often repeat entire lines
• Envelope- repeating first line of stanza in the
  last- ex. AbbccA.
• Refrain- repeating a line as the last line of
  every stanza
• Bringing poem to close by repeating line twice in
  a row
• Ex Robert Frost's "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy
  Evening" And miles to go before I sleep, And
  miles to go before I sleep.

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Figures of Speech

• Metaphor- A figure of speech in which a word or
  phrase literally denoting one object or idea is
  applied to another, thereby suggesting a likeness
  or analogy between them
• The class was as a troupe of monkeys/ squirmy,
  itchy, smelling funky -ATO
• Symbolism- An image transferred by something that
  stands for or represents something else
• Such as a flag symbolizing a country, or autumn
  symbolizing maturity
• Irony- Having a difference between the apparent
  meaning of the words and the implied meaning.

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Imagery
Color BY CHRISTINA ROSSETTI What is pink? a
rose is pink By a fountain's brink. What is
red? a poppy's red In its barley bed. What is
blue? the sky is blue Where the clouds float
thro'. What is white? a swan is white Sailing
in the light. What is yellow? pears are yellow,
Rich and ripe and mellow. What is green? the
grass is green, With small flowers between.
What is violet? clouds are violet In the summer
twilight. What is orange? Why, an orange, Just
an orange!

• Imagery is any literary reference to the five
  senses (sight, touch, smell, hearing, and taste).
  Essentially, imagery is any words that create a
  picture in your head. Such images can be created
  by using figures of speech such as similes,
  metaphors, personification, and assonance.
  Imagery helps the reader picture what is going
  on.

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Sound Effects

• Onomatopoeia- A word or sentence that sounds like
  what it is
• Boom, snake, whisper, croak
• Can also use in sentence form
• "The murmurous haunt of flies on summer eves"
  Keats in Ode to a Nightingale
• Ceasura- A rhythmic break or pause in the flow of
  sound which is commonly introduced in about the
  middle of a line of verse, but may be varied for
  different effects.
• I'm no body! Who are you? (E. Dickenson)
• Cacophony- Discordant sounds in the jarring
  juxtaposition of harsh letters or syllables,
  sometimes inadvertent, but often deliberately
  used in poetry for effect
• The clinching interlocking claws, a living,
  fierce, gyrating wheel,Four beating wings, two
  beaks, a swirling mass tight grappling,In
  tumbling turning clustering loops, straight
  downward falling (Whitman)

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Visual Effects

• Line Breaks- Can manipulate for effect- draw
  attention to particular phrases, etc.
• so much dependsupon
• a red wheelbarrow
• glazed with rainwater
• beside the whitechickens.
• (William Carlos Williams)
• Gimmick Poems- Shape your poem like a state,
  or an orange
• White Space, Font, etc.- Artistically, can
  really distract or add to your poem.