Introduction to Poetry

Did you know???

The Human Brain is:
• Divided into 2 parts
• Each half has its own function

Left Brain: Right Brain:

Logic Creativity
Reality Emotions
Literal Figurative
 To clarify . . .
When you Your right brain
look at big tells you, “Hey!
puffy That one looks like
clouds . . . a bunny.”
While your left brain tells you . . .
It’s a
cloud,
Stupid!
Poetry is a creative use of words which,
like all art, is intended to stir an emotion
in the audience.

Poetry generally has some structure that

separates it from prose.
The basic unit of poetry is the line. It serves
the same function as the sentence in prose,
although most poetry maintains the use of
grammar within the structure of the poem.
Most poems have a structure in which each
line contains a set amount of syllables; this
is called meter.
Lines are also often grouped into stanzas.
 Types of Poems

• We will be studying Free Verse,

Rhyming, Epic, Narrative and
Lyrical Poems.
The stanza in poetry is equivalent or
equal to the paragraph in prose. Often the
lines in a stanza will have a specific
rhyme scheme. Some of the more
common stanzas are:
Couplet: a two line stanza
Triplet: a three line stanza
Quatrain: a four line stanza
Cinquain: a five line stanza
Example of a Couplet Example of a Triplet

PUMPKINS ON GUARD
Look at all the pumpkin faces WITCH WAY
Lighting up so many places. With warts on her nose
And sharp pointy toes,
On the porch and in the yard, She flies through the night on her broom.
Pumpkin faces standing guard.
With covers pulled tight
Looking friendly, looking mean, In the shadows of night,
With a smile or with a scream. I hide in the dark of my room.
 
Orange faces burning bright
In the cool October night.
Rhyme is when the endings of the words
sound the same. Read the poem with me out
loud.
Dust of Snow
by Robert Frost
The way a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree
Has given my heart
A change of mood
And save some part
Of a day I had rued.
 Rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhyming words at
the end of each line. Not all poetry has a rhyme
scheme. They are not hard to identify, but you
must look carefully at which words rhyme and
which do not.
Dust of Snow
Poems of more by Robert Frost
than one A The way a crow
stanza often B Shook down on me
repeat the A
same rhyme The dust of snow
B From a hemlock tree
scheme in each C
stanza. Has given my heart
D A change of mood
C And save some part
D Of a day I had rued.
Let’s practice rhyme scheme
Determine the rhyme scheme of the following poem:

HALLOWEEN
HALLOWEEN

A gentle breeze rustling the dry cornstalks.

A sound is heard, a goblin walks.
A harvest moon suffers a black cat's cry.
Oh' do the witches fly!
Bonfire catches a pumpkins glean.
Rejoice, it's Halloween!
Free verse is
just what it
says it is -
poetry that is
written
without
proper rules
about form,
rhyme,
rhythm, and
meter. In free
verse the
writer makes
his/her own
rules. The
writer decides
Whenever you describe something by
comparing it with something else, you are using
figurative language.
Figurative language is any language that goes
beyond the literal meaning of words in order to
furnish new effects or fresh insights into an
idea or a subject.
The most common figures of speech are simile,
metaphor, and alliteration.
Figurative language is used in poetry to
compare two things that are usually not
thought of as being alike.
 
• The use of repeating consonant sounds in a line. Modern
alliteration is predominantly consonantal.
• Example:
• Silvery snowflakes fall silently
• Softly sheathing all with moonlight
• Until sunrise slowly shows
• Snow softening swiftly.
Alliteration is the repetition of the same sounds or of the same
kinds of sounds at the beginning of words or in stressed
syllables, as in "on scrolls of silver snowy sentences" (Hart
Crane). Modern alliteration is predominantly consonantal. To
find an alliteration, you must look the repetitions of the same
consonant sound through out a line.

Silvery _
_ snowflakes fall _
silently
_
Softly _
sheathing all with moonlight
Until _
sunrise _
slowly _
shows
_
Snow _
softening _swiftly.
Let’s see what
this looks like
in a poem we She Walks in Beauty
are familiar I.
She walks in beauty, like the night
with. Alliteration Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellowed to that tender light
Which Heaven to gaudy day denies.

Alliteration
Notice, these examples use the beginning
sounds of words only twice in a line, but by
definition, that’s all you need.
compares 2 things using “like” or “as”
creates vivid images

Examples:
Joe is as hungry as a bear.
In the morning, Rae is like an angry lion.

Ask:
1.What two things are being compared?
2.How are they similar?

The runner streaked like a cheetah.

A simile is a figure of speech in which two essentially
unlike things are compared, often in a phrase introduced
by like or as.

The clouds looked like cotton candy.

Grandpa was as stubborn as a mule
Tom's head is as hard as a rock.
 compares 2 things without “like” or “as”
the thing being compared “is” the thing it is being
compared to
gives qualities of one thing to something completely
different
an entire poem can be a metaphor for something
little metaphors can be found throughout a poem
Examples:
Lenny is a snake.
Ginny is a mouse when it comes to
standing up for herself.
Ask:
1.What two things are being compared?
The winter wind is a 2.How are they similar?
wolf howling at the door.
A metaphor is a figure of speech in which an implied
comparison is made between two unlike things that
actually have something important in common.
 
Clouds are cotton
candy. They are fluffy.

Grandpa was a They are stubborn.

mule.
Tom is a rock. They are hard.
 gives human qualities & feelings to inanimate
objects (like animals, ideas, objects)
Example:
I could not find the book; it walked away.
The clock stared at me in the darkness.
From “Mister Sun”
Mister Sun
Wakes up at dawn,
Puts his golden
Slippers on,
The moon smiled down at me.
Climbs the summer
Sky at noon,
Trading places
With the moon.
by J. Patrick Lewis
 An exaggeration for emphasis
Examples:
I may sweat to death.
The blood bank needs a river of blood.
• Onomatopoeia describes a word in which the sound of
the word tells the meaning.  It makes the sound it
represents.
 Words that spell out sounds;
words
o Words that sound like that
whatsound like what
they actually theyfor
stand
mean.
o Creates auditory imagery
oDogs go “ruff,” cats go “purr,” thunder “booms,”
rain “drips,” and clocks go “tick-tock”
More examples: growl, hiss, pop, boom, crack, ptthhhbbb.
Let’s see what this Noise Day
looks like in a by Shel Silverstein
poem we are not Let’s have one day for girls and boyses
so familiar with When you can make the grandest noises.
yet.
Screech, scream, holler, and yell –
Onomatopoeia Buzz a buzzer, clang a bell,
Sneeze – hiccup – whistle – shout,
Laugh until your lungs wear out,
Toot a whistle, kick a can,
Several other words
not highlighted could Bang a spoon against a pan,
also be considered as
onomatopoeia. Can Sing, yodel, bellow, hum,
you find any? Blow a horn, beat a drum,
Rattle a window, slam a door,
Scrape a rake across the floor . . ..
More Sound Devices
Assonance – Consonance –
repetition of repetition of
vowels in words consonants at the
that don’t end end of words
with same Ex. (sharp, trap)
Cacophony – harsh
consonant
mixture of sounds
Ex. (deep, deer)
Ex. (alarm bells, traffic)
 Assonance
• Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds to
create internal rhyming within phrases or
sentences.
• Ex.
• We light fire on the mountain.
• I feel depressed and restless.
• Go and mow the lawn.
• Johnny went here and there and everywhere.
• The engineer held the steering to steer the vehicle.
 Words/descriptions that create pictures/images in
reader’s mind
 appeals to 5 senses: smell, sight, hearing, taste & touch
 details about smells, sounds, colors, taste, textures
create strong (vivid) images
 figures of speech also create vivid images

Example:
The warm, buttery biscuit
Five Senses melted on my tongue.
 Imagery is an appeal to the senses. The poet
describes something to help you to see, hear, touch,
taste, or smell the topic of the poem.

Fog
The fog comes on little cat feet. SEE, HEAR
SEE
It sits looking over harbor and city
HEAR, SEE,
on silent haunches and then moves
on. FEEL

 
oWords, phrases, or
lines
o Creates a pattern
o Increases rhythm
o Strengthens feelings, ideas,
and mood
 Valued Treasue
Time to spend; by Chris R. Carey Time will eventually

time to mend. show us the truth.

Time to hate; Time is a mystery;

time to wait. time is a measure.

Time is the essence; Time for us is

time is the key. valued treasure.

Time will tell us Time to spend;

what we will be. time to mend.

Time is the enemy; Time to cry . . .

time is the proof. Time to die.

So, which is the repeated key word or phrase?
 Valued Treasue
by Chris R. Carey
Time to spend; Time will eventually
time to mend. show us the truth.
Time to hate; Time is a mystery;
time to wait. time is a measure.
Time is the essence; Time for us is
time is the key. valued treasure.
Time will tell us Time to spend;
what we will be. time to mend.
Time is the enemy; Time to cry . . .
time is the proof. Time to die.
 The repetition of one or more phrases
or lines at the end of a stanza.
• entire stanza is repeated
throughout a poem
• like a chorus of a song
 Phenomenal Woman by Maya Angelou
Pretty women wonder where my
secret lies.
I’m not cute or built to suit a
fashion model’s size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I’m telling lies.
I say,
It’s in the reach of my arms,
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally. Remember this
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
I walk into a room Men themselves have wondered
Just as cool as you please, What they see in me.
And to a man, They try so much
The fellows stand or But they can’t touch
Fall down on their knees. My inner mystery.
Then they swarm around me, When I try to show them,
A hive of honey bees. They say they still can’t see.
I say, I say,
It’s the fire in my eyes, It’s in the arch of my back,
And the flash of my teeth, The sun of my smile,
The swing of my waist, ...
And the joy in my feet. The grace of my style.
I’m a woman I’m a woman
Phenomenally. Look familiar? Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman, Phenomenal woman,
That’s me. That’s me. That is refrain.
 refers to another piece of literature, history, famous
person, song, movie, character, etc.
 3 most common types refer to:
mythology, Shakespeare’s writings, the Bible
Example: “She hath Dian’s wit” (from Romeo and Juliet).
This is an allusion to Roman mythology & the goddess Diana.