What is poetry?

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What is poetry?
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Poetry is

• One of the three major types of literature (the
  others being prose and drama)
• Literature that makes use of highly concise,
  musical, and emotionally charged language.
• May make use of imagery, figurative language,
  and special devices of sound such as rhyme.
• Often divided up into lines and stanzas with
  regular rhythms or meters.

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But really, what is poetry?

• Poetry is a picture, painted with words. The
  poet is an artist and language is his color
  palette. At first glance, the picture may appear
  to be random brushstrokes, but when the eye looks
  more deeply, it sees the whole picture as it was
  meant to be seen.

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Figures of Speech
Figure of speechword or phrase that makes a
comparison between seemingly unlike things.
He collapsed onto the grass like a half-empty
flour sack. from The Scarlet Ibis by James
Hurst
Youll come across figures of speechor
figurative languagein poetry, in prose, and in
everyday speaking and writing.
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Figures of Speech

• Figures of speech
• are not literally true

• make imaginative connections

• express meaning in fresh and original ways

• often act as a kind of shorthand

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Figures of Speech
Some figures of speech have become part of our
everyday language. We dont even think about the
fact that they arent literally true.
He didnt notice how quickly the time flew
by. My heart leapt at the thought. She must have
gotten tied up in traffic. His room is a pigsty.
End of Section
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Simile
Similecomparison between two unlike things,
using a word such as like, as, than, or resembles.
A lone oak tree stood in the front yard like an
aged but dedicated sentry.
The dew on the leaves glistened as brilliantly as
loose diamonds on silk.
That childs eyes are warmer than the summers
sandy beach.
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Simile
Quick Check
Identify the two similes in this excerpt.
My mother has the prettiest tricks Of words and
words and words.Her talk comes out as smooth and
sleek As breasts of singing birds. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . We had not dreamed
these things were so Of sorrow and of mirth. Her
speech is as a thousand eyes Through which we
see the earth. from Songs for my Mother by
Anna Hempstead Branch
What meaning is expressed by each simile?
End of Section
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Simile
Quick Check
Identify the two similes in this excerpt.
My mother has the prettiest tricks Of words and
words and words.Her talk comes out as smooth and
sleek As breasts of singing birds. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . We had not dreamed
these things were so Of sorrow and of mirth. Her
speech is as a thousand eyes Through which we
see the earth. from Songs for my Mother by
Anna Hempstead Branch
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Simile
Quick Check
What meaning is expressed by each simile?
My mother has the prettiest tricks Of words and
words and words.Her talk comes out as smooth and
sleek As breasts of singing birds. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . We had not dreamed these
things were so Of sorrow and of mirth. Her
speech is as a thousand eyes Through which we
see the earth. from Songs for my Mother by
Anna Hempstead Branch
She has a beautiful, soothing voice.
The mothers words influence the childrens
perceptions of the world.
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Metaphor

• Metaphor
• comparison between two unlike things in which one
  thing becomes the other

• does not use a word such as like or as

The flood waters rose, and the river became a
ravenous monster. Raging on for hours, it
consumed everything in its sight.
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Metaphor
Poets use metaphors to make the reader think
about new ways of seeing things.

• What is the poet trying to say with this metaphor?

My heart it was a floating birdThat through the
world did wander free,But he hath locked it in a
cage,And lost the silver key. from The Prince
by Josephine Dodge Daskam
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Metaphor
A direct metaphor directly compares two things
using a verb such as is.
His ideas were a flock of birds in flight.
An indirect metaphor implies or suggests the
comparison.
His ideas spread their wings and soared freely.
End of Section
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Metaphor
Quick Check
Identify each metaphor as either direct or
indirect.
This computer is a dinosaur.
She stared at me with venomous eyes and hissed
out her reply.
The old motorcycle barked and yipped before it
started up with a howl.
Today my mind is the wind blowing across rolling
hills.
End of Section
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Metaphor
Quick Check
Identify each metaphor as either direct or
indirect.
Direct
This computer is a dinosaur.
Indirect
She stared at me with venomous eyes and hissed
out her reply.
Indirect
The old motorcycle barked and yipped before it
started up with a howl.
Direct
Today my mind is the wind blowing across rolling
hills.
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Personification
Personificationspecial kind of metaphor in which
human qualities are given to something that is
not humanan animal, an object, or an idea.
The sun was shining on the sea, Shining with
all his might He did his very best to make The
billows smooth and bright. from The Walrus and
the Carpenter by Lewis Carroll
End of Section
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Review
Quick Check

• Identify each figure of speech.
• Simile
• Metaphor
• Personification

Spring caresses the earth and sky with her warm,
delicate hands.
Our friendship is as comfortable as a pair of
flannel pajamas.
The old factory had become a heaving, grunting
beast.
End of Section
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Review
Quick Check

• Identify each figure of speech.
• Simile
• Metaphor
• Personification

Spring caresses the earth and sky with her warm,
delicate hands.
Personification
Our friendship is as comfortable as a pair of
flannel pajamas.
Simile
The old factory had become a heaving, grunting
beast.
Metaphor
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Practice
Figures of speech are widely
used. Look through a newspaper or magazine,
including the advertisements, and gather at least
six figures of speech. Look for examples of
similes, metaphors, and personification.
End of Section
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Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll

• Twas brillig and the slithy toves
• did gyre and gimble in the wabe
• All mimsy were the borogoves,
• And the mome raths outgrabe.
• Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
• The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
• Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
• The frumious Bandersnatch!
• He took his vorpal sword in hand
• Long time the manxome foe he sought
• So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
• And stood awhile in thought.
• And as in uffish thought he stood,
• The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
• Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
• And burbled as it came!

• One, two! One, two! And through and through
• The vorpal blade went snicker- snack!
• He left it dead, and with its head
• He went galumphing back.
• And has thou slain the Jabberwock?
• Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
• O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!
• He chortled in his joy.
• Twas brillig and the slithy toves
• did gyre and gimble in the wabe
• All mimsy were the borogoves,
• And the mome raths outgrabe.

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Literary Term Interlude

• What is a stanza? (Hint Refer to handout)
• How many stanzas make up Jabberwocky?

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Discussion Questions

• Can you tell what the general idea of the poem
  is?
• What clues do you get from the poem as to the
  meaning?
• Even though many of these words are not familiar
  to you, why can you still get a general idea?
  Hint Think structure.

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Important Fact

• This poem uses portmanteau words.
• A portmanteau word is an invented word some are
  formed by blending two words into one.
• What two words form chortled?

• O frabjous day!
• What two words might be blended to form the word
  frabjous?

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Grammar Mini-Lesson

• You can determine parts of speech for many of
  these portmanteau words by looking at their
  function and position in the sentence.

• Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
• Did gyre and gimble in the wabe
• Parts of speech
• Slithy
• Toves
• Gyre
• Gimble
• Wabe

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Grammar Continued

• Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
• Did gyre and gimble in the wabe
• Parts of speech
• Slithy Adjective (modifies toves)
• Toves Noun (probably an animal)
• Gyre Verb (action done by the toves)
• Gimble Verb (action done by the toves)
• Wabe Noun (probably a place)

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FUN ACTIVITY

• Get together in a group of three
• Choose one person to highlight, one to write, and
  one to read.
• Highlight the made up words.
• Rewrite the poem on notebook paper using real
  words in place of the portmanteau words.
• Try to make the poem make sense.
• Read your version aloud to the class.

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Now that you know a bit more

• Did everyone have similar translation versions?
• Whose version did you like the best?
• Which parts of the poem are serious?
• Funny?

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Extra Credit Opportunity
Create an alphabetical glossary that defines and
illustrates the use of each invented word in
Jabberwocky. This assignment can be found on
page 355 of your textbook.
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Poetry Vocabulary List 1

1. Beguiling- tricking charming
2. Desolate-deserted abandoned
3. Languid- drooping weak
4. Bafflement- puzzlement bewilderment
5. Chortled- made a jolly, chuckling sound
6. Diverged- branched out in different directions

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List One Continued

• 7. Pallid- pale
• Depravity- crookedness corruption
• Respite- rest relief
• Quaint- strange unusual (in an old-fashioned
  way)

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Some types of poetry

• Lyric
• Sonnet
• Ode
• Narrative
• Ballad
• Epic

• Haiku
• Limerick
• Elegy (see handout)
• Epigram (see handout)

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What is a lyric poem?

• A lyric poem is highly emotional in nature.
• It expresses the thoughts and feelings of the
  poet
• Lyric poetry has a musical feel to it and may
  resemble a song

• Examples from your book
• The Eagle, by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
• (page 796)

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Two Types of Lyric Poetry

• Ode-Serious and thoughtful with a precise, formal
  structure.
• Sonnet- 14 lines long, divided into two groups
  English and Italian. (see handout for terms)
• English- also called Shakespearean, composed of
  three quatrains and a final couplet
• Italian- also called Petrarchan, divided into two
  quatrains and a six-line sestet.

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Rhythm PowerPoint
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The Road Not Taken, Robert Frost

• Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
• And sorry I could not travel both
• And be one traveler, long I stood
• And looked down one as far as I could
• To where it bent in the undergrowth
• Then took the other, as just as fair,
• And having perhaps the better claim,
• Because it was grassy and wanted wear
• Though as for that, the passing there
• Had worn them really about the same,

• And both that morning equally lay
• In leaves no step had trodden black.
• Oh, I kept the first for another day!
• Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
• I doubted if I should ever come back.
• I shall be telling this with a sigh
• Somewhere ages and ages hence
• Two roads diverged in a wood, and I
• I took the one less traveled by,
• And that has made all the difference

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Questions to Ponder

• This poem is symbolic of a larger topic than
  simply walking down the road? What is that larger
  topic?
• What is the authors tone?
• Remembertone is the authors attitude toward his
  subject
• What has made all the difference?
• What is the rhyme scheme?

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Assignment

• Choose a song that you like and either copy it
  down by hand or print out the lyrics Make sure
  your poem adheres to the following guidelines
• No obscenities or obscene references (songs with
  obscene references will result in a failing grade
  for this assignment)
• You should be able to find at least one example
  of figurative language such as metaphor, simile,
  symbolism, or imagery.
• Write 1 paragraph that details the meaning of the
  song and 1 that addresses the literary devices
  used. (Bonus points for extra literary devices)

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Example

• Elephant Love Medley from Moulin Rouge

• Personification
• Metaphor

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What is a narrative poem?

• A narrative poem is a poem that tells a story,
  such as Lewis Carrolls Jabberwocky

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Two Types of Narrative Poetry

• Ballads
• A ballad is a poem that tells a story similar to
  a folk tale or legend. Ballads often have
  repeated refrains

• Epics
• An epic is a long, serious poem that tells the
  story of a heroic figure. A famous example of an
  epic poem is Homers Odyssey. Stay tuned for more
  on work.

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Narrative Poem The Raven

• Poet Edgar Allan Poe
• Narrative poetry tells a story.
• Line by line, summarize the story told in The
  Raven.

Page 832
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Stanzas 1-4

• What is the narrator doing at the beginning of
  the story?
• What does he hear?
• What is the time of year?
• Why is the narrator sorrowful?
• Who is Lenore?

• How does the narrator feel in stanza 3?
• What does he tell himself in order to calm down?
• What does he do in stanza 4?

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Stanzas 5-10

• What word does the narrator hear upon opening the
  door?
• What does he tell himself that he is hearing?
• What does he see when he flings the shutter open?

• What literary device is used in line 41?
• What words does Poe use to create a suspenseful
  mood in stanza 8?
• What word does the raven continue to repeat?

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Stanzas 11-18

• How does the speaker rationalize the ravens
  behavior?
• In lines 79-84, what does the speaker determine
  is the ravens purpose?
• What sudden change occurs in Line 85?
• What question is the speaker asking the bird?

• What is the ravens answer to this question?
• What does the speaker want the raven to do in
  next to last stanza?
• How does the raven respond?
• How does the poem end?

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Symbolism

• Write at least two paragraphs about what the
  raven might symbolize and why Poe chose the raven
  instead of another bird. Be sure to give details
  that support your answer.

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Journal Topic

• Write about a time when you have been truly
  scared. How did it make you feel? Were you alone
  or with someone else? What were the
  circumstances? Be as detailed as possible.

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Haiku

• A haiku is a Japanese poem composed of three
  unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five
  syllables.
• Haiku often focus on nature.
• See page 419 of your textbook for examples

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Limericks

• A limerick is a light, humorous poem of five
  lines with a rhyme scheme of aabba.
• Limericks usually have a specific rhythmic
  pattern

• There once was a lady from Niger
• Who smiled as she rode on a tiger
• They returned from the ride
• With the lady inside
• And the smile on the face of the tiger

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Other Examples of Limericks

• Its a classical poetry form
• In which rhythm and rhyme must conform
• but it gets no respect
• which youd clearly expect
• Unless it decides to reform.

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Your Turn
Write your own Limerick
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More Poetry
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Literary Devices

• Dream Deferred (pg 798)
• Dreams (pg 799)
• Summer (pg 815)
• I Wandered Lonely As a Cloud

• Simile, imagery
• Metaphor
• Onomatopoeia
• Personification