1. Writing and analysing poetry
NOW IT’S YOUR TURN!
Writing and analysing poetry

2. Write your own poetry…
In groups you will be asked to short poems. You should choose and write about a certain theme and be prepared to present them to the class.
The types of poems should be:
haiku
limerick
cinquain

3. Definitions
Haiku:
a Japanese verse in three lines. Line one has 5 syllables, line 2 has 7 syllables and line three has 5 syllables. Haiku is a mood poem and it doesn't use any metaphors or similes.
Limerick:
A limerick has five lines. The last words of lines one, two, and five rhyme. The last words of lines three and four rhyme. A limerick has to have a pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables.     U S U U S U U S     U S U U S U U S     U S U U S     U S U U S     U S U U S U U S
Cinquain:
Cinquains have five lines Line 1: Title (noun) - 1 word Line 2: Description - 2 words Line 3: Action - 3 words Line 4: Feeling (phrase) - 4 words Line 5: Title (synonym for the title) - 1 word

4. Examples of each… Haiku:
A sudden downpour. One umbrella between us. Closer than ever.
Limerick:
"There was an old man from Peru Who dreamed he was eating his shoe He awoke in the night With a terrible fright To discover it was totally true."
Cinquain:
Mom Helpful, caring Loves to garden Excitable, likes satisfying people Teacher

5. Interpreting poetry
This is something that you worked on for today’s class. How did it go?
When interpreting poetry, there are no right or wrong answers, but you do have to give evidence to support your ideas.
When trying to understand an author’s intent, we need to take a few things into consideration:
Tone
Language
Imagery
Use of contrast, irony, poetic devices

6. Tone in poetry
The tone of a poem is the attitude you feel in it — the writer's attitude toward the subject or audience. The tone in a poem of praise is approval. In a satire, you feel irony. In an antiwar poem, you may feel protest or moral indignation. Tone can be playful, humorous, regretful, anything — and it can change as the poem goes along.

7. Language & Imagery in poetry
Figurative language, which often plays a crucial role in both condensing language yet expanding meaning. Most generally, figurative language refers to language that is not literal. The phrase “fierce tears” (the personification of tears) is not literal, but it is both precise and suggestive in carrying meaning.

8. Contrast & Irony
Contrast: is a rhetorical device through which writers identify differences between two subjects, places, persons, things or ideas. Simply, it is a type of opposition between two objects highlighted to emphasize their differences.
Irony: The use of irony in literature refers to playing around with words such that the meaning implied by a sentence or word is actually different from the literal meaning. Often irony is used to suggest the stark contrast of the literal meaning being put forth. The deeper, real layer of significance is revealed not by the words themselves but the situation and the context in which they are placed.

9. In Flanders Field
What contrasts are presented in the poem? What effect do they have?
Who is speaking? What challenge to they present?
What is the tone of the poem? How is the tone created?

10. How to write a rotten poem
This is journal #4 – read through the handout and write a rotten poem of your own.