Introduction to Poetry

Poetry is the most misunderstood form of writing Poetry is the most misunderstood form of writing. It is also arguably the purest form of writing. Poetry is a sense of the beautiful; characterized by a love of beauty and expressing this through words. It is art. Like art it is very difficult to define because it is an expression of what the poet thinks and feels and may take any form the poet chooses for this expression.

Poetry is not easily defined Poetry is not easily defined. Often it takes the form of verse, but not all poetry has this structure. 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 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.

The stanza in poetry is equivalent or equal to the paragraph in prose 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

Meter is the measured arrangement of words in poetry, the rhythmic pattern of a stanza, determined by the kind and number of lines. Meter is an organized way to arrange stressed/accented syllables and unstressed/unaccented syllables. Whose woods / these are / I think /I know

Rhyme is when the endings of the words sound the same 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 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.

Rhyme 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. Poems of more than one stanza often repeat the same rhyme scheme in each stanza. A B C D

Repetition is the repeating of a sound, word, or phrase for emphasis. Inside Inside the house (I get ready) Inside the car (I go to school) Inside the school (I wait for the bell to ring) ☺

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 Alliteration Figurative language is used in poetry to compare two things that are usually not thought of as being alike.  

The clouds looked like cotton candy. 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.

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. Grandpa was a mule. Tom is a rock. They are fluffy. He is stubborn. He is strong.

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 usually the first consonant. To find an alliteration, you must look for 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.

Imagery is an appeal to the senses 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. SMELL TOUCH TASTE SEE HEAR

Fog The fog comes on little cat feet. It sits looking over harbor and city on silent haunches and then moves on.   Carl Sandburg

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

An exaggerated statement used to heighten effect is a hyperbole An exaggerated statement used to heighten effect is a hyperbole. It is not used to mislead the reader, but to emphasize a point. I’ve told you a million times not to leave the dirty glass on the table. The exaggeration is in the number of times.

An idiom is a phrase where the words together have a meaning that is different from the dictionary definitions of the individual words. This can make idioms hard for students to understand. A day late and a dollar short. This idiom means: It is too little, too late.

The formation or use of words such as buzz or murmur that imitate the sounds associated with the objects or actions they refer to is called an onomatopoeia. It is a word or a grouping of words that imitates the sound it is describing, such as animal noises like "oink" or "meow", or suggesting its source object (these are the more important ones), such as "boom", "click", "bunk", "clang", "buzz", or "bang".

Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia SOUND OF NATURE by Marie Josephine Smith Ticking, tocking. Head is rocking. Tippy toeing. Quietly. Snap, crack. Crushing branch. Helter, skelter. Run for shelter. Pitter, patter. Rain starts to fall. Gathering momentum. Becomes a roar. Thunder booms.

A figure of speech, which gives the qualities of a person to an animal, an object, or an idea is called personification. It is a comparison, which the author uses to show something in an entirely new light, to communicate a certain feeling or attitude towards it and to control the way a reader perceives it. A brave handsome tree fell with a creaking rending cry. The author is giving a tree the human quality of bravery and the ability to cry.

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 how the poem should look, feel, and sound.

Free Verse Winter Poem By Nikki Giovanni once a snowflake fell on my brow and i loved it so much and i kissed it and it was happy and called its cousins and brothers and a web of snow engulfed me then i reached to love them all and i squeezed them and they became a spring rain and i stood perfectly still and was a flower Free Verse

Haiku is one of the most important forms of traditional Japanese poetry. Haiku is, today, a 17-syllable verse form consisting of three metered lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables. Each Haiku must contain a kigo, a season word, which indicate in which season the Haiku is set. For example, cherry blossoms indicate spring, snow indicate winter, and mosquitoes indicate summer, but the season word isn't always that obvious. In the next three haikus, try to guess the theme.

In the next three haikus, try to guess the theme. Fog On the mountain top The fog fell down thick and fast It was like pea soup. Rain Tip-tap goes the rain. As it hits the window pane I can hear the rain. Hail They fell in showers. Like diamonds upon the ground Big hailstones were found. Haikus By Paul McCann 

in late autumn or early winter. The theme of these three poems is weather in late autumn or early winter. . Fog On the mountain top The fog fell down thick and fast It was like pea soup. Rain Tip-tap goes the rain. As it hits the window pane I can hear the rain. Hail They fell in showers. Like diamonds upon the ground Big hailstones were found. Haikus By Paul McCann 

The simplicity of the limerick quite possibly accounts for its extreme longevity. It consists of five lines with the rhyme scheme a a b b a. The first, second, and fifth lines are trimeter, a verse with three measures, while the third and fourth lines are dimeter, a verse with two measures. Often the third and fourth lines are printed as a single line with internal rhyme.

Old Man with a Beard Edward Lear There was an Old Man with a beard, Who said, 'It is just as I feared! Two Owls and a Hen, Four Larks and a Wren, Have all built their nests in my beard!' A A B B A

A narrative poem, or ballad is often of folk origin and is intended to be sung. It consists of simple stanzas and usually has a repeated refrain. One Tin Soldier(The Legend of Billy Jack) Listen, children, to a story That was written long ago, 'Bout a kingdom on a mountain And the valley-folk below. On the mountain was a treasure Buried deep beneath the stone, And the valley-people swore They'd have it for their very own.

Go ahead and hate your neighbor, Go ahead and cheat a friend Go ahead and hate your neighbor, Go ahead and cheat a friend. Do it in the name of Heaven, You can justify it in the end. There won't be any trumpets blowing Come the judgment day, On the bloody morning after.... One tin soldier rides away.

So the people of the valley Sent a message up the hill, Asking for the buried treasure, Tons of gold for which they'd kill. Came an answer from the kingdom, "With our brothers we will share All the secrets of our mountain, All the riches buried there."

Go ahead and hate your neighbor, Go ahead and cheat a friend Go ahead and hate your neighbor, Go ahead and cheat a friend. Do it in the name of Heaven, You can justify it in the end. There won't be any trumpets blowing Come the judgment day, On the bloody morning after.... One tin soldier rides away.

Now the valley cried with anger, "Mount your horses. Draw your sword Now the valley cried with anger, "Mount your horses! Draw your sword!" And they killed the mountain-people, So they won their just reward.

Now they stood beside the treasure, On the mountain, dark and red Now they stood beside the treasure, On the mountain, dark and red. Turned the stone and looked beneath it... "Peace on Earth" was all it said.

Go ahead and hate your neighbor, Go ahead and cheat a friend Go ahead and hate your neighbor, Go ahead and cheat a friend. Do it in the name of Heaven, You can justify it in the end. There won't be any trumpets blowing Come the judgment day, On the bloody morning after.... One tin soldier rides away.

Some might consider the study of poetry old fashioned, yet even in our hurried lives we are surrounded by it: children's rhymes, verses from songs, trite commercial jingles, well written texts, not to mention RAP! Any time we recognize words as interesting for sound, meaning or construct, we note poetry!