Poetry

Question of the day #1

What is poetry?

Poetry:

the art of rhythmical composition, written or

spoken, for exciting pleasure by beautiful,

imaginative, or elevated thoughts.

I want to write I want to write the songs of my people.I want to hear them singing melodies in the dark.I want to catch the last floating strains from their sob-torn throats. I want to frame their dreams into words; their souls into notes.I want to catch their sunshine laughter in a bowl;

fling dark hands to a darker sky and fill them full of stars then crush and mix such lights till they become a mirrored pool of brilliance in the dawn.

Is this poetry? Why? Why not?

Here, have a dollar,in fact no brother-man here, have two Two dollars means a snack for me, but it means a big deal to you Be strong, serve God only, know that if you do, beautiful heaven awaits That's the poem I wrote for the first timeI saw a man with no clothes, no money, no plate Mr. Wendal, that's his name, no one ever knew his name cause he's a no-one Never thought twice about spending on a ol' bum,until I had the chance to really get to know oneNow that I know him, to give him money isn't charityHe gives me some knowledge,I buy him some shoes And to think blacks spend all that money on big colleges, still most of y'all come out confused

Is this poetry? Why? Why not?

Discuss with a partner

Why do people write poetry? Question of the day #2

Why do people enjoy poetry?

Question of the day #3

Five purposes of Poetry

• For entertainment

• To express a feeling or emotion

• To make a political statement

• To honor a person

• To describe something or some event

What is the purpose?

Your Turn

With a partner, think of three to four songs that would go with each purpose of poetry.

To express a feeling or emotion

• What are some emotions?

• Are these the same or different that character traits?

What emotion comes to mind?

What smells, tastes, feelings, sounds?

Fear

Fear is red.

It smells like fire.

It tastes like rotten tomatoes.

It sounds like car horns.

It feels like needles.

It looks like Freddy Krueger.

Fear is falling into a bottomless hole.

Pick an emotion

(Emotion) is (color).

It smells like _________.

It tastes like _________.

It sounds like ________.

It looks like _________.

It feels like __________.

(Emotion) is like (descriptive phrase).

Find a picture

Stack of magazines

Rip it our CAREFULLY.

Choose an emotion to go with the picture.

Write an emotion poem.

“Voice” of the speaker

Definition: the tone, attitude, emotion, or even the entire personality of the speaker.

Answer the following questions:

1. What do you see?2. Who are you?3. Where do you come from?4. What obstacles have you overcome in life?5. What do you feel strongly about?

What’s going on??

How do students your age express themselves and political views?

Get with a partner and list specific examples:

clothes

music

graffiti

Harlem Renaissance 1920 - 1930

• Renaissance (noun) – rebirth or new beginning

• Harlem – neighborhood in New York City

• A literary explosion that brought a new cultural identity for African Americans.

What was going on in Harlem at that time?

Many Blacks left the South for bigger cities with more jobs.Discrimination was still present.Good time for Blacks, but still oppressed by racism.

All of these things and more were expressed through the voice of the poetry and literature in the Harlem Renaissance.

Harlem Renaissance 1920 - 1930

• Love is pink.• It smells like roses.• It tastes like kisses.• It looks like him.• It sounds like phone calls.• It feels like hugs.• Love is cuddling closely all night.

• Love is black.• It smells like dirt.• It tastes like vomit.• It looks like death.• It sounds like screaming.• It feels like cold wind.• Love is getting into a car crash.

What is the voice of this speaker?

What is the voice of this speaker?

What makes a writer's voice forceful, distinctive, and

memorable?

THIS WILL BE ON YOUR TEST!!!

Discuss voice in two poems from the Harlem Renaissance

“Mother to Son” and “Juke Box Love”

Answer the following questions:

1. What does the speaker see?2. Who is the speaker?3. From where does the speaker come?4. What obstacles has the speaker overcome in life?5. What does the speaker feel strongly about?

What makes a writer's voice forceful, distinctive, and

memorable?

Figurative LanguageSimile – describing two things using “like” or “as”

His feet are as big as boats.His feet are as big as boats.

His feet are big like boats.His feet are big like boats.

from “Willow and Ginkgo”

The willow is like an etching,

Fine-lined against the sky.

The ginkgo is like a crude sketch,

Hardly worthy to be signed.

Delicate and thin.

The ginkgo’s tune is like a chorus

With everyone joining in.

Figurative LanguageMetaphor – describing two things without using “like” or “as”

His feet are big boats.His feet are big boats.

Make a choice – Simile or metaphor

• The baby was like an octopus, grabbing at all the cans in the grocery store.

• The teacher said, “This class is like a three-ring circus.”

• The Cyclopes’ steps were thunder as he entered the cave.

What does each metaphor or simile mean?

Figurative LanguageAlliteration – immediate repeating of the first consonant sound.

Peter Piper picked a peck Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.of pickled peppers.

Repetition – repeating of a word or phrase.

I love you.I love you.Yes, I do.Yes, I do.I love you.I love you.

“Dangerously in Love”“Beef”

Circle similes

Square metaphors

P next to personifications

R next to repetitions

* Next to alliterations

Think of an example of each device of figurative language for….

Get your magazine picture from the last class

Create one of each for your picture…

Metaphor

Simile

Personification

Alliteration

Don’t forget the “voice” of the speaker

Definition: the tone, attitude, emotion, or even the entire personality of the speaker.

“Harlem” worksheetHow many times does the word “like” appear?

What kind of comparison does this word (like) make you look for?

What does the “it” in the poem refer to? In other words, what is being compared to a “raisin in the sun”

For each comparison, what kind of images are brought to mind, or what kinds of reactions do you have to the comparison? Is it a positive association? Negative? Why do you feel this way? Why do you think the Hughes chose to make these comparisons? (*voice)

At the end of the poem, what explodes?

What kind of comparison is this?

Rewrite this poem in your own words WITHOUT the use of metaphor or simile.

http://filebox.vt.edu/c/cchelira/Word%20Documents/Poetrystations.doc

Figurative LanguageOnomatopoeia – words that imitate their sound.

Figurative LanguageImagery – the use of vivid description to involving your five senses in a poem

• (Emotion) is (color).

• It smells like _________.

• It tastes like _________.

• It sounds like ________.

• It looks like _________.

• It feels like __________.

• (Emotion) is like (descriptive phrase).

My father lies black and hushed

Beneath white hospital sheets

He collapsed at work

His iron left him

Slow and quiet he sank

Meeting the wet concrete floor on his way

The wheels were still turning – they couldn’t stop

Red and yellow lights flashing

Gloved hands twisting knobs – they couldn’t stop

And as they carried him out

The whirring and buzzing and humming machines

Applauded him

Lapping up his dripping iron

They couldn’t stop

Hot fudge on Breyer’s vanilla –

A bomb pop in August,

Ice, cold water.

Georgia O’Keefe –

Picasso and Matisse,

Romare Bearden.

Luther Vandross –

Andrea Bocelli and Bach,’

Old school ’70s.

Mama’s macaroni and cheese –

Chocolate chip cookies baking,

Lavender roses.

Silk pajamas on satin sheets –

A warm autumn breeze,

Feathers.

Delight

Your turn

• Write a poem describing something with all five senses.

RhymeWords that end in the same sound.

Couplet – a pair of rhyming lines

Triplet – a set of three rhyming lines

If turkeys gobbleIf turkeys gobble

Do Pilgrims squabble?Do Pilgrims squabble?

When I wakeWhen I wake

A shower I takeA shower I take

No more my bones acheNo more my bones ache

Once upon a time I caught a little rhyme

I set it on the floor but it ran right out the door

I chased it on my bicycle but it melted to an icicle

I scooped it up in my hat but it turned into a cat

I caught it by the tail but it stretched into a whale

I followed it in a boat but it changed into a goat

When I fed it tin and paper it became a tall skyscraper

Then it grew into a kite and flew far out of sight...

Catch a Little Rhyme by Eve Merriam

RhymeQuatrain – a set of four lines

a a

a b

b a

b b

Tyger, tyger burning bright aaIn the forests of the night. aaWhat immortal hand or eye bbCould frame thy fearful symmetry? bb

Out of the night that covers me, aablack as the Pit from pole to pole, bbI thank whatever gods may be aafor my unconquerable soul. bb

Quiz today!!!

1. What are the five purposes of poetry?

2. What is it called when you use the five senses in a poem?

3. What is “voice?”

4. Define alliteration, metaphor, simile, and personification.

5. What is the difference between the two types of quatrains?

How does poetry reveal us to ourselves?

Explain and answer this question.

Poetry workshop

Write 6 poemsOne of the poems must use at least 2 metaphors

One of the poems must use at least 2 similes

One of the poems must use personification and repetition

One of the poems must use alliteration and onomatopoeia

One of the poems must be a couplet

One must be a triplet

One must be a quatrain

Self-portrait poetry

What makes you happy?

What makes you sad?

What makes you angry?

How does love feel to your heart?

Write a poem using any and all literary devices and rhyme schemes for each question.

What can we use?

Five senses (imagery)VoiceMetaphorSimilePersonificationAlliterationRepetitionPunHyperboleOnomatopoeia