Poetry

Poetry is just the evidence of life. If your life is burning well, poetry is just the ash. ~Leonard Cohen

Types of Poems

Ballad: A poem that uses simple language and a great deal of repetition to tell a sensational story of tragedy or adventure.

Lyric Poem: A poem that expresses a writer’s thoughts and feelings on a given subject.

Narrative Poem: A poem that tells a story or relays a sequence of related events.

Alliteration

Alliteration: The repetition of the same or similar consonant sounds in words that are close together.

It is used to create musical effects, speed or slow the pace of the meter, or cause an image to “stick” in the mind of the reader.

Assonance

repetition of vowel sounds but not consonant sounds Examples: Try to light the fire. He gave a nod to the officer with the pocket.

“The Eagle”

by Alfred Lord Tennyson He clasps the crag with crooked hands; Close to the sun in lonely lands, Ring’d with the azure world, he stands.

The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls; He watches from his mountain walls, And like a thunderbolt he falls.

Alliteration and Consonance

Alliteration: The repetition of the same or similar consonant sounds at the beginning of words That are close together.

Consonance: The repetition of like consonant sounds in the middle and end of words.

Assonance: The repetition of similar vowel sounds.

Alliteration, Consonance, and Assonance are used to create musical effects and to establish Mood and tone.

From “Song of Myself #1” by Walt Whitman “I celebrate myself, and sing myself, And what I assume you shall assume, For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.

I loaf and invite my soul, I l

ea

n and loaf at my ease, observing a spear of summer grass…”

Diction = Word Choice

A poet communicates through the words he uses. He often draws on the

Connotative meaning

of words to reveal his attitude or tone. The

Connotation

of a word is the emotional attachment or association with its meaning. The

Denotative meaning

is the word’s

D

ictionary definition.

Let’s Explore Connotation!

  What is the dictionary or denotative meaning of the word “loser”?

What does the word “loser” imply connotatively?

 What is the dictionary or denotative meaning of the word “gifted.”  What is the connotation of the word?

Hyperbole

A figure of speech which is an exaggeration or overstatement.

Examples: expressions such as "I nearly died laughing," "I was hopping mad," and "I tried a thousand times,” “I'm so hungry I could eat a horse.” Such statements are not literally true, but people make them to sound impressive or to emphasize something, such as a feeling, effort, or reaction.

Imagery

Painting a picture with words, sensory language, and images Example: The bright yellow Flowers swayed in the light afternoon breeze.

Internal Rhyme:

Rhyme that occurs within a line of poetry or within consecutive lines.

“Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary ,… Ah distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December …” “The Raven”

Simile and Metaphor

Simile: Making a comparison between two unlike things using “like,” “as,” or “than.” Metaphor: Making the same comparison without the comparative language.

“Dreams” by Langston Hughes Hold fast to dreams For if dreams die Life is a broken-winged bird That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams For when dreams go Life is a barren field Frozen with snow.

“A Dream Deferred”

by Langston Hughes What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up Like a raisin in the sun?

Or fester like a sore --- And then run?

Does it stink like rotten meat?

Or crust and sugar over -- Like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags Like a heavy load.

Or

does it explode

?

“

Apparently with no Surprise”

Apparently with no surprise To any happy Flower The Frost beheads it at its play – In accidental power – The Blonde Assassin passes on – The Sun proceeds unmoved To measure off another Day For an Approving God.

~ Emily Dickinson

Onomatopoeia

• The use of words whose sound imitates or suggests its meaning like buzz, bang, pow, zoom, clomp, etc.

• This form of imagery appeals to the sense of hearing.

Oxymoron

A figure of speech that combines opposites or expresses a seemingly contradictory idea.

Examples: Parting is such sweet sorrow.

The room held a deafening silence.

Personification

Giving human qualities to animals or nonliving things Example: Time stood still. The car hugged the road.

Rhyme Scheme

Pattern of rhymes in a poem. Rhyme scheme is usually referred to by letters representing the rhyming words, so that one can refer to an abab rhyme scheme. Example: Roses are red, Violets are blue, b Sugar is sweet c a And so are you! b

Symbol

word or object that stands for another word or object Example: The object or word can be seen with the eye or not visible. For example a dove stands for Peace. The dove can be seen and peace cannot.

Poetic Forms

Stanza: unit of a poem often repeated in the same form throughout a poem; a unit of poetic lines ("verse paragraph") Free verse: lines with no prescribed pattern or structure Couplet: a pair of lines, usually rhymed “Heart! We will forget him!” by Emily Dickinson

Heart! We will forget him!

You and I – tonight!

You may forget the warmth he gave – I will forget the light!

When you have done, pray tell me That I may straight begin!

haste! Lest while you’re lagging I remember him!

Who Is the Poet?

Identifying the VOICE, or literary personality, and TONE of the poet is very important in understanding his message.

The TONE is the author’s attitude about the subject and can be determined by the words, phrases, and images he uses. TONE is expressed in emotions, such as angry, joyful, sad, etc. Note: Often a poet’s TONE shifts or changes through the poem

Ink runs from the corners of my mouth There is no happiness like mine.

I have been eating poetry.

~Mark Strand

Tone writer's attitude toward the material and/or readers. Tone may be playful, formal, intimate, angry, serious, ironic, outraged, baffled, tender, serene, depressed, etc.

Poetry:

Poetry is a deal of joy and pain and wonder, with a dash of the dictionary.

~Kahlil Gibran A poem is never finished, only abandoned. ~Paul Valéry To see the Summer Sky Is Poetry, though never in a Book it lie – True Poems flee.

~Emily Dickinson