What is it really?

Poetry is…. a type of literature in

which words are chosen and arranged in a

compact, precise way to create specific effects

TYPES of

poetry

#1 - NarrativeTells a story; it has plot and characters

#2 – Free VersePoetry without

regular patterns of rhyme and rhythym

No set rules to follow

“Fog” by Carl Sandburg

The fog comeson little cat feet. 

It sits lookingover harbor and cityon silent haunchesand then moves on.

#3- Limerick…Is a short humorous poem.

… Is composed of 5 lines.

…has aabba rhyme scheme

Limerick Example:There was a young lady from Nigerwho 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!

# 4 - LyricPresents the personal thought and feelings

of a single speaker.

Most poems, other than narratives are lyric poems.

Can be a variety of forms and cover many subjects

#5 - BalladA narrative poem that was

originally meant to be sung or recited.

Form in PoetryForm = the way it is laid out on the page

unusual line breaks (even in the middle of words)

lines arranged to create a visual pattern on the page

…Form Continued…The length of each line helps create

rhythm and meaning.

Lines may be grouped into STANZAS which express a single idea or theme.

Pattern of lines and stanzas often creates pattern of rhyming words.

I wandered lonely as a cloudThat floats on high o'er vales and hills,When all at once I saw a crowd,A host, of golden daffodils;Beside the lake, beneath the trees,Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.Continuous as the stars that shineAnd twinkle on the milky way,They stretched in never-ending lineAlong the margin of a bay:Ten thousand saw I at a glance,Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.The waves beside them danced, but theyOut-did the sparkling leaves in glee;A poet could not be but gay,In such a jocund company!I gazed—and gazed—but little thoughtWhat wealth the show to me had brought:

“Daffodils” by William Wordsworth

For oft, when on my couch I lieIn vacant or in pensive mood,They flash upon that inward eyeWhich is the bliss of solitude;And then my heart with pleasure fills,And dances with the daffodils.

Stanza 1

Stanza 2

MeterA regular pattern of stressed (/)

and unstressed (u) syllables

StyleA writer’s unique way of communicating

ideas

It’s not what a poet says, but how a poet says it.

Communicated through poet’s words, form, and use of punctuation, capitalization, and

spacing

Sound Devices

Are ways of using words for the sound qualities they create.

Help convey meaning and mood in a writers work

#1 = RhymeEnd Rhyme – Rhyming words come

at the end of lines

Internal Rhyme – Rhyme that

occurs within a line of poetry

Is it end or internal rhyme?

Whose woods these are I think I know.His house is in the village though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farmhouse near Between the woods and frozen lake The darkest evening of the year.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.

"Stopping By Woods On a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost

He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if there is some mistake. The only other sound's the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake.

Is it end or internal rhyme?

You're the top! You're the Colosseum, You're the top! You're the Louvre Museum, You're a melody from a symphony by Strauss, You're a Bendel bonnet, a Shakespeare sonnet, You're Mickey Mouse. You're the Nile, You're the Tow'r of Pisa, You're the smile on the Mona Lisa. I'm a worthless check, a total wreck, a flop, But if, Baby, I'm the bottom, You're the top!

“You’re the Top” by Cole Porter

#2 - RhythmPattern of stressed and unstressed

syllables in a line of poetry

Used to bring out musical quality, emphasize ideas, & create moods

#3 - AlliterationRepetition of beginning consonant

sounds in words

#4 - AssonanceRepetition of vowel sounds in the

middle of words

Examples:

“Hear the lark and harken to the barking of the dark fox gone to ground.” - Pink Floyd

“Hear the mellow wedding bells.” - Edgar Allen Poe

#5 - RepetitionRepeating words, sounds, or phrases to help emphasize

meaningFrom “Rime of the Ancient Mariner”

by Samuel ColeridgeAlone, alone, all, all alone,Alone on a wide wide sea!And never a saint took pity onMy soul in agony.

The many men, so beautiful!And they all dead did lie;And a thousand thousand slimy thingsLived on; and so did I.

I looked upon the rotting sea,And drew my eyes away;I looked upon the rotting deck,And there the dead men lay.

#6 - OnomatopoeiaThe use of words that sound like

the noises they describe