Intro to Poetry

Vocabulary Line: a single line of words in a poem Stanza: a group of lines in a poem; may also be called a “verse” Rhyme: correspondence of sound between words or the endings of words Couplet: Two successive lines that end with the same rhyme

Example – Dr. Seuss The Cat in the hat Then our mother came in And she said to us two, “Did you have any fun? Tell me. What did you do?” And Sally and I did not know what to say. Should we tell her The things that went on there that day? Well... what would YOU do If your mother asked you? Line Stanza 1 Rhyme Stanza 2 Couplet Stanza 3

How to label rhyme When writing the rhyme scheme of a poem, the rhyme at the end of each line is represented by lowercase letters Beginning at the start of the alphabet, each letter represents a rhyming sound As new sounds appear, each new sound is represented by a different letter, continuing down the alphabet Words that have the same rhyming sound are represented by the same letter

Example Rhyme Scheme a b c d e f g Then our mother came in And she said to us two, “Did you have any fun? Tell me. What did you do?” And Sally and I did not know what to say. Should we tell her The things that went on there that day? Well... what would YOU do If your mother asked you? a b c d e f g The first line is always represented by “a” because it is the first sound in the poem. The next line will be compared to it. “Two” does not rhyme with “in,” so it has to be represented by the next letter in the alphabet. These lines end with the same sound, so they are represented by the same letter.

Now You try What is the rhyme scheme of this poem? Dr. Seuss – Oh, the Places You’ll Go! You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself Any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And  you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go. a b c d e f

Reading texts Read this passage: Why does Mickey Mouse have four fingers? Conversations with many cartoonists, animators, and Disney employees confirm that Mickey Mouse has four fingers because it is convenient for the artists and animators who have drawn him. In the early cartoons, each frame was hand-drawn by an animator. No part of the human body is harder to draw than a hand, and it is difficult to draw distinct fingers without making the whole hand look too large. Does this passage make sense? Can you easily explain it?

Reading poetry Reading poetry can be more difficult than reading other types of texts, because they are not always straightforward or we don’t understand the way they were written. There tends to be a lot of implied or hidden meanings in poems, and sometimes they can use difficult language. You may need to read a poem multiple times to really understand it. Sometimes reading it aloud can help. After you understand the meaning of the poem, you can begin to break it down and take a deeper look at the words and techniques being used. As you read, you may want to ask yourself questions, such as: Who is the speaker of the poem? Who is the audience? What is the tone of the poem? Is sound an important element in the poem?

Reading Poetry One type of poetry that you all should be familiar with is music. Song lyrics use poetic structures and techniques in order to be effective. Because of the language and your familiarity with them, song lyrics tend to be easier to read than other types of poetry.

Ed Sheeran – take it back