Finding out what we really know about and think of poetry.

RelevanceInfluence on musicRhymingHard to understandPoets you knowWhat you like about poetryWhat you dislike about poetry Defining poetry

Poetry Anticipation Guide

Poetry UnitA poem begins with a lump in the throat.  ~Robert Frost

To have great poets there must be great audiences, too.  ~Walt Whitman

Poetry is the rhythmical creation of beauty in words.  ~Edgar Allan Poe

Famous Poets

Robert

Frost

Maya

Angelou

William

Shakespear

e

Other Famous “Poets”…

Bob Dylan

Bruce

Springsteen

Tupac Shakur

Neil Diamond

Paul Simon

Your are responsible for researching two (2) poets (no songwriters/lyricists). Choose one each from two (2) of the following time frames:

1 from the time period prior to 15001 from the time period from 1501-17001 from the time period from 1700-17991 from the time period from 1800-18991 from the time period from 1900-todayTOTAL of 90 points (45 pts each)

Student Activity

For each poet you must Give the name of the poet (5 pts)Have a birth date and date of death (if applicable) (5

pts)A complete poem written by the poet (15 pts)Your interpretation of the meaning of the poem – no less

than (three) 3 complete sentences (15 pts)Type a poem the poet has written that is no less than 8

lines long. For example – sonnet, lyric, free verse, etc… (5 pts)

Must be typed in Times New Roman, size 12Due date is two (2) days after being assignedBe sure to have your name, date, and teacher’s name on top left

Student Activity (continued)

Who has the ability to write a poem? Don’t think you have what it takes to be a poet? Well, the fact is it isn’t as difficult as you may think.List on paper no fewer than 5 reasons why you think you

can’t be a poet or reasons why you wouldn’t be successful at writing a poem. Think about some of the qualities you believe a great poet must have to be successful – qualities you don’t believe you possess at this time.

“I can’t write a poem!”

Line 1 – Forget it…Line 2 – You must be kidding!Line 3 – Excuse #1Line 4 – Excuse #2Line 5 – Excuse #3Line 6 – Excuse #4Line 7 – Excuse #5Line 8 – And those are my reasons… and

wouldn’t you know it…Line 9 – It seems that I have become a poet.

Be a poet…

Poetry is different than other forms of writingPoetry looks different – it’s easy to recognize

poems. Poems are written in lines and stanzas (groups of lines). Some poems are short enough to fit on the inside of greeting cards, and some poems go on for many pages.

What is Poetry?

Definition of PoetryPoetry is a piece of literature written by a poet in meter or verse expressing various emotions which are expressed by the use of variety of techniques including metaphors, similes and onomatopoeia. The emphasis on the aesthetics of language and the use of techniques such as repetition, meter and rhyme are what are commonly used to distinguish poetry from prose. Poems often make heavy use of imagery and word association to quickly convey emotions.

Advanced Definition of Poetry

The Poet – the author of the poem

The Speaker – the narrator of (or within) the poem

The Difference Between “The Poet” and “The Speaker”

Poets say a lot in a few words by using “word pictures”. Sight, Sound, Smell, Taste, Feel – our senses.

The more a poet (or any writer) incorporates “word pictures”, the more “alive” the poem becomes.

IT IS ALIVE!!

What makes poetry unique?

RHYTHM IN POETRYKeepin’ the beat…The beat created by the sounds of the words

in a poem.

Rhythm can be created by meter, rhyme, alliteration, and refrain.

There are seven (7) devices that a poet uses to make the language of his poems figurative. That way the reader’s senses are heightened and he will hopefully see things the way the poet sees them. KNOW THESE

DEVICES!

Simile Metaphor Alliteration Personification Onomatopoeia Hyperbole Imagery

Figurative Language

Definition – when you make a thing, idea, or an animal do something only humans can do.

Example:

The angry wind screamed throughout our frightening walk through the dark, unforgiving woods.

Personification

Metaphors - A figure of speech in which a word or

phrase that ordinarily designates one thing is used to designate another, thus making an implicit comparison Unlike simile, you don't use "like" or "as" in the comparison.

Example: He is a mountain of a man!Example: That Olympic sprinter is a

gazelle!

Metaphors

Whether or not we're fans, we speak the language of baseball just about every day, and all year ‘round.

Fill in each blank on the following slide with a common word or phrase that has its origins in baseball. Don't worry. I won't throw you any curveballs. In fact, right off the bat, I'll offer you an example…

Baseball Idioms

"I know you won't quit. You'll always be IN THERE PITCHING." 1. We're not making a bit of progress with this project. We can't even get to _____. 2. You are so out of it. You're way out there in _____. 3. Some people are born with a silver spoon in their mouth, while others are born with _____ against them. 4. Everybody's so enthusiastic about your proposal. You just hit a _____. 5. I know you can't give me an exact price, but can you give me a _____ figure? 6. These people are really serious. They play _____. 7. On Broadway, the new musical "The Producers" has been a _____. 8. I promise I'll consult you before I make any decisions. I'll be sure to _____ with you. 9. I can't meet you today, but I'd like to in the near future. Would you mind if I took a _____? 10. Let's act quickly. Let's do it right _____.

How many did you get?Answers

1. first base

2. left field

3. two strikes

4. home run

5. ballpark

6. hardball

7. smash hit

8. touch base

9. rain check

10. off the bat

SimileSimile – a simile is a figure of speech that

compares two things and uses the word like or as.

Example: A cold lemonade is as refreshing as a dip in a pool.

Metaphor/Simile Review20 points

Take a piece of blank white paper and fold it into fourths. In the top left block, write a simile and illustrate it. In the block immediately to the right, write the same sentence as a metaphor. Do the same for the other two blocks.

Q: What is the repetition of consonant sounds? (drops, drip/ wash, with, waves/purple, poems)

A: Alliteration Q: What is the repetition of vowel

sounds? (lightning, strikes) A: Assonance

What Do You Hear?

Helplessly Hoping Helplessly hoping her harlequin hovers nearby

Awaiting a wordGasping at glimpses of gentle true spirithe runs wishing he could flyonly to trip at the sound of good-bye

Wordlessly watching he waits by the window and wondersat the empty place inside

Heartlessly helping himself to her bad dreams he worriesdid he hear a good-bye or even

Hello

They are 1 personThey are too aloneThey are 3 together

More Alliteration

Stand by the stairway you’ll see something certain to tell you confusion has its cost

Love isn’t lying its loose in a lady who lingerssaying she is lost

And choking on hello

They are 1 personThey are too aloneThey are 3 together

They are for each other

By Crosby Stills & Nash

Helplessly Hoping (continued)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLw1GaV1z2Y

CSN – Helplessly Hoping

AlliterationOnomatopoeiaPersonificationRepetitionRhymeRhyme SchemeRhythmSimileStanzaSymbolTone and Voice

Exaggeration/Hyperbole

Figurative LanguageFree VerseIdiomImagesLyric PoemMetaphor MoodNarrative Poem

Elements of Poetry

AllusionAllusion – a reference to something with

which the reader is likely to be familiar with, such as a person, place, or an event from history or literature.

Example: Alice by Shel SilversteinShe drank from a bottle called DRINK MEAnd up she grew so tall,She ate from a plate called TASTE MEAnd down she shrank so small.And so she changed, while other folksNever tried nothing’ at all.

Do you recognize the person the poet is

describing?The poet refers to Alice, the little girl in Alice’s

Adventures in Wonderland. You probably wouldn’t know that unless you had read the book or seen a movie about her.

Poets often refer to other things outside of their poems. As a reader, you will appreciate poetry more if you look for allusions to other words as you read.

Exaggeration/Hyperbole

Exaggeration/Hyperbole – is the obvious stretching of the truth to get your point across or just to make people laugh.

The word derives from the Latin “hyperbole”, which means “excess”. It is a type of figurative language that depends on intentional overstatement.

Ex: It took forever to finish my homework. I nearly died laughing. I tried a thousand times.

Here once the embattled farmers stood,And fired the shot heard round the world. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, (The Concord Hymn)

If thou dost slander her and torture me, Never pray more; abandon all remorse; On horror’s head accumulate; Do deeds to make heaven weep, all earth amazed; For nothing canst thou to damnation add Greater than that. ~ Shakespeare (Othello)

"I have seen this river so wide it had only one bank." - Mark Twain

My eyes widened at the sight of the mile-high ice cream cones we were having for dessert.

Hyperbole Examples

Ladies and gentlemen, I've been to Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and I can say without hyperbole that this is a million times worse than all of them put together. ~ Kent Brockman (The Simpsons)

These books in your bag weigh a ton. I'm so hungry, I could eat a horse right now. He is older than the hills.I will die if she asks me to dance.She is as big as an elephant!I'm really busy, I am doing like ten million things

at the same time.

More Hyperbole Examples

ImageryImagery - Imagery involves one or more of your

five senses (hearing, taste, touch, smell, sight). A poet uses a word or phrase to stimulate your memory of those senses. These memories can be positive or negative which will help contribute to the mood of the poem

The winter evening settles downWith smell of steaks in passageways.Six o'clock.The burnt-out ends of smoky days.And now a gusty shower wrapsThe grimy scrapsOf withered leaves about your feetAnd newspapers from vacant lots;The showers beatOn broken blinds and chimney-pots,And at the corner of the streetA lonely cab-horse steams and stamps.And then the lighting of the lamps.

Preludes by T.S. Eliot

Definition - The formation or use of words such as buzz or murmur that imitate the sounds associated with the objects or actions they refer to.

clunkcracklecrunchcuckoodingdripeekfizzflickflutter

Onomatopoeia

List as many onomatopoeia words that you can.

Onomatopoeia – Your Turn

Different types of poetry

Lyric PoemA short poemUsually written in first person point of viewExpresses an emotion or an idea or

describes a sceneDoes not tell a story and is often musicalUsually use personal pronouns I, me, my, we,

our, or us.

Example of Lyric poemFrom “A Red, Red Rose” by Robert Burns

O my luve is like a red, red rose, That’s newly sprung in June.O, my luve is like the melodie, That’s sweetly play’d in tune.

As fair art thou, my bonnie lass, So deep in luve am I, And I will luve thee still, my dear, Till a’ the seas gang dry.

Explanation You get the idea…Burns is expressing his love. He

addresses the “bonnie lass” whom he loves and describes to her how strong his feelings are. The emotion is very clear, even though it is written in a Scottish dialect.

CinquainA five line poem containing 22 syllables

Two syllablesFour SyllablesSix Syllables

Eight SyllablesTwo Syllables

How frailAbove the bulk

Of crashing water hangsAutumnal, evanescent,

wanThe moon.

-Adelaide Crapsey

CONCRETE POEMS

In concrete poems, the words are arranged to create a picture that relates to the content of the poem.

What does this poem look like? Answer: a flame

Poetry

Is like

Flames,

Which are

Swift and elusive

Dodging realization

Sparks, like words on the

Paper, leap and dance in the

Flickering firelight. The fiery

Tongues, formless and shifting

Shapes, tease the imagination.

Yet for those who see,

Through their mind’s Eye, they burn

Up the page.

An anthology is collection of literary works. A “Poetry Anthology” is therefore a collection of Poetry.

Your responsibility for this project is really quite simple, and hopefully will be quite rewarding and fun for you, as well.

Project – Poetry Anthology

Poetry Anthology Directions: 1. Find a specific topic (or subject)

that you are interested in. For example: baseball, WWII, love, patriotism, Civil War, sailing, the sea, etc…

2. Locate 9 poems that pertain directly to your topic.

3. Write three poems of no less than 3 stanzas of 4 lines in each stanza that pertains DIRECTLY to your topic.

4. Give your anthology a title. Use a title page for title, name, date, and an appropriate picture that represents your topic.

You are

responsible for

having an

anthology of no

less than 10

poems that

pertain directly

to your topic.

Nine poems will

be from

published poets,

while at least

one will be your

very own poem.

POETRYANTHOLOGY

1. Choose a topic 2. Locate nine (9) poems 3. Paste the poems into a Word document 4. Give interpretation of each poem (15 points each – 135

total) 5. Write your very own poems that pertain to your topic (80

total points) 6. Give explanation of your poem showing which poetic

devices you incorporated into your poem (30 total points) 7. Have a title page which includes: your name, date, Mr.

Saunders’s name, the topic (be sure this stands out), and clip art that pertains directly to your topic (20 points total)

8. All late papers will lose 15 points/day

Poetry Anthology Rubric

Poetry Anthology After each of the

poems you find, write a brief interpretation of what you believe the poem is about. Each of your interpretations will be worth 15 points and must be a minimum of three sentences in length.

In your interpretations you MUST INCLUDE the following:Poetic devices used Your belief of what

the poet is trying to convey to the reader

Why you enjoyed this poem

Your Poems Your poems must relate to

the topic you chose. You have a choice to write

either three (3) poems that are 2 stanzas with 4 lines in each stanza OR two (2) poems with one poem having 2 stanzas of 4 lines and one poem being a minimum of 12 lines and one stanza. Your poems are worth 80 points total.

Your poems must include: OBVIOUS signs of a

minimum of THREE poetic devices.

You must explain in detail following your poem exactly which poetic devices you have incorporated into your poem. This explanation is worth 15 points total.