1. Thanks to: Vondra Savage
Understanding Poetry
Thanks to: Vondra Savage

2. Structure Poetry is written in stanzas (like paragraphs in an essay)
Stanzas are named according to their number of lines
Couplet (2 lines)
Tercet (3 lines)
Quatrain (4 lines)
Cinquain (5 lines)
Sestet (6 lines) 

3. POETRY SOUNDS
Within the structure of the poem, you find sound patterns
Rhyme/ Rhyme Scheme
Rhythm, meter

4. Rhyme
End rhyme occurs when a poem has lines ending with words that sound the same.
Example: I saw a fairy in the wood, He was dressed all in green. He drew his sword while I just stood, And realized I'd been seen.
Rhyme Scheme: ABAB
Internal rhyme occurs in the middle of a line
"Whiles all the night through fog-smoke white"
Slant rhyme, known also as half-rhyme or imperfect rhyme, refers to words that almost rhyme (farm, yard) or appear to the eye to do so (said, paid).

5. Let’s Try What is the rhyme scheme?
My dad gave me a one-dollar bill 'Cause I'm his smartest son, And I swapped it for two shiny quarters 'Cause two is more than one! And then I took the quarters And traded them to Lou For three dimes - I guess he don't know that three is more than two!

6. Rhythm
Rhythm in poetry is determined by the stressed and unstressed lines of poetry that are present in a line.
Here is an example:
/ = a stressed (or strong, or LOUD) syllable
~ = an unstressed (or weak, or quiet) syllable

7. Meter A line of stressed and unstressed syllables
Meters are named according to their pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables and each group or line is called a foot.
Types of Meter:
Iamb (Iambic) - weak syllable followed by strong syllable.
Trochee (Trochaic): strong syllable followed by a weak syllable.
Anapest (Anapestic): two weak syllables followed by a strong syllable.
Dactyl (Dactylic): a strong syllable followed by two weak syllables.
Spondee (Spondaic): two strong syllables (not common as lines, but appears as a foot). A spondee usually appears at the end of a line. 

8. The Number of Feet
The second part of meter is the number of feet contained in a line. one foot=monometer two feet=dimeter three feet=trimeter four feet=tetrameter five feet=pentameter six feet=hexameter (when hexameter is in iambic rhythm, it is called an alexandrine)

9. That time | of year | thou mayst | in me | behold
The previous line is iambic pentameter because it: (1) has five feet [pentameter] (2) each foot has two syllables with the stress on the second syllable [iambic]. ** 80% of poetry is iambic pentameter

10. PRACTICE TIME
If the red slayer think he slays, Or if the slain think he is slain, They know not well the subtle ways I keep, and pass, and turn again. Ralph Waldo Emerson

11. “Nikki-Rosa” by Nikki Giovanni
In your small groups…
Determine the rhyme/rhyme scheme
Determine the rhythm
Write a quick response to the following:
What do you think this poem is mostly about?
What are some poetic elements at work here, and how do they add meaning to the text?
Are there any words, phrases or passages you do not understand?

12. “Nikki-Rosa” by Nikki Giovanni
WHAT IS HOLLYDALE?
Sometimes when you are reading and you don’t understand a section, you hope the next piece will “fill in” the gap, but that does not happen here.
Grab a laptop for your group and perform a Google Search “Giovanni+Hollydale” Write about the results.

13. SPOTTTS ANALYSIS
Name of Poem & Poet S – Subject (1 or 2 words – what is poem about?) P – Paraphrase (Poem in your own words– 1 or 2 sentences) O – Organization (Type, lines/stanzas, rhythm) T – Tone (How the poet feels about subject – 3 words) T – Theme (1 sentence telling what speaker says about subject) T – Title (What is the significance?) S – Speaker (Who is narrating the poem?)

14. Practice - Page 664 Name of Poem & Poet S – Subject P – Paraphrase
O – Organization
T – Tone
T – Theme
T – Title
S – Speaker

15. “Mowing” by R. Frost page 658
Dialect – Distinct language spoken by people in a particular region
Texas = “Y’all”
Read the poem and complete a SPOTTTS analysis as a class.