1. Poetry

2. What is a poem?
“A verbal composition designed to convey experiences, ideas, or emotions in a vivid and imaginative way, characterized by the use of language chosen for its sound and suggestive power and by the use of literary techniques such as meter, metaphor, and rhyme.”
“A composition in verse rather than in prose.”
“A literary composition written with an intensity or beauty of language more characteristic of poetry than of prose.”
“A creation, object, or experience having beauty suggestive of poetry.”

3. What is a poem?
At the heart of every poem is an idea and emotional response to that idea.

4. “Lose Yourself” by Eminem
His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy There's vomit on his sweater already, mom's spaghetti He's nervous, but on the surface he looks calm and ready To drop bombs, but he keeps on forgettin’ What he wrote down, the whole crowd goes so loud He opens his mouth, but the words won't come out He's choking’, how, everybody's jokin’ now The clock's run out, time's up over, blouww! Snap back to reality, Oh there goes gravity Oh, there goes Rabbit, he choked He's so mad, but he won't give up that easy?
No, he won't have it, he knows his whole back city's ropes It don't matter, he's dope He knows that, but he's broke He's so stacked that he knows When he goes back to his mobile home, that's when it's Back to the lab again yo, This whole rhapsody He better go capture this moment and hope it don't pass him
Click the picture of Eminem for the clean version of his song.
What feelings, thoughts or experiences is the poet expressing?

5. Poet’s Tools
A poet chooses to reveal the idea and emotional response using the tools available to him/her as a writer.
A writer chooses the tools that best work, in the same way a chef uses flour, eggs, and milk to make a cake.
The more skilled the chef, the more enjoyable the cake will be. In the same way, the skill of the poet using the tools at his/her disposal will produce a more interesting and captivating poem.

6. Poet’s Tools A poet’s tools are: Word Choice Imagery Sound Devices
Formal Devices (Structure and Rhythm)

7. 1. Word Choice Diction is the word choice the poet makes.
Finding the exact word that is the most effective is part of a painstaking and timely process.
Finding the exact word to use to be the most effective is part of a pain-staking and timely process.

8. When discussing word choice, we must differentiate between the denotation of a word and the connotation of that word.

9. Denotation is the objective dictionary meaning of a word.
Example: “vomit”
The dictionary definition - “to eject the contents of the stomach through the mouth.”
This is the word’s denotation.

10. Connotation is the subjective, emotional meaning of a word.
Example: “vomit”
Vomit’s connotation would be a negative one.
“She vomited words of love into his ear”.
The meaning is substantially different than if the poet used verbs like “cooed”, “whispered” or “breathed.”

11. Word choice is entirely dependent on the intention of the writer and what he/she wants to communicate.

12. Denotation and Connotation
Practice

13. Create your own poem
Before we even begin our poetry study, you are going to write your own poem.
Use the template
Be creative!
I am: But I am not: I like: But I do not like: I am happy when: But I am not happy when: If I could be anything, I would be: But, even though I could be anything, I would not be:

14. 2. Imagery There are three categories of imagery: A. Sensuous Imagery
B. Figurative Imagery
C. Symbolic Imagery

15. Sensuous Imagery: the choice of words used by a poet in which our senses are stimulated in order to bring us more immediately to the scene or emotions being described.

16. With sensuous imagery, the poet wants us to hear, feel, and see the things he/she is experiencing
The poet wants us to experience the poem just as we experience the world around us in every day life…through our senses.

17. There are 6 types of sensuous imagery:
Words that appeal to our sense of…
Visual
Vision
Auditory
Hearing
Tactile
Touch
Gustatory
Taste
Olfactory
Smell
Motor
Motion

18. “The Grossest Poem, Ever” by Matt Forrest Esenwine
The poem you’re about to read Is neither smart nor clever; It is, however, possibly The grossest poem ever. The plot is thin, the story weak, The rhymes are very simple; It hints at things like hairy warts And how to pop a pimple. It deals with snot and mucus, too, And phlegm and giant boogies; It mentions puke and pus and poo And slimy yellow loogies. This poem, I should warn you now, Might make your belly sicken; Especially the part about How toe jam starts to thicken.
It talks about the stuff inside
An ugly, swollen blister
And why you shouldn’t pick your scabs
And throw them at your sister.
It uses words like “stinky pits”
And “vomit,” “barf,” and “spew;”
“Regurgitate” and “smelly belch”
And “hurl,” to name a few.
So there it is – the grossest poem!
Thanks for getting through it;
I only wrote it ‘cause my teacher
Said I shouldn’t do it.

19. Sensuous Imagery
Practice

20. Five Senses Poem
Write your own five senses poem using the template to the right.
Be creative!
Diction is important.
My favourite time of year is: I hear: I see: I smell: I taste: I touch:

21. 2. Imagery There are three categories of imagery: A. Sensuous Imagery
B. Figurative Imagery
C. Symbolic Imagery

22. Figurative Imagery: figures of speech that help us to see things or understand things in a fresh new way.

23. Simile: comparisons using “like” or “as”
Flint
by Christina Rosetti
An emerald is as green as grass, A ruby red as blood; A sapphire shines as blue as heaven; A flint lies in the mud.
A diamond is a brilliant stone, To catch the world's desire; An opal holds a fiery spark; But a flint holds fire.

24. Simile Practice
Write five similes using the outlines below. ____________ is as ____________ as ____________. (topic) (adjective) (noun) ___________ is like a ___________. (topic) (noun)

25. Metaphor: Direct comparison (without using “like” or “as”) “All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances.” -William Shakespeare

26. Stereo Hearts by Gym Class Heroes ft. Adam Levine
If I was just another dusty record on the shelve Would you blow me off and play me like everybody else If I ask you to scratch my back, could you manage that Like it read well, check it Travie, I can handle that Furthermore, I apologize for any skipping tracks Its just the last girl that played me left a couple cracks I used to used to used to used to, now I'm over that Cause holding grudges over love is ancient artifacts If I could only find a note to make you understand I'd sing it softly in your ear and grab you by the hand Just Keep it stuck inside your head, like your favorite tune And know my heart is a stereo that only plays for you My heart's a stereo It beats for you, so listen close Hear my thoughts in every note Make me your radio Turn me up when you feel low This melody was meant for you Just sing along to my stereo
What is the metaphor in this poem?
What are the common attributes of the two things compared?

27. Metaphor Practice
Practice writing metaphors by completing the sentences below without using like or as.
Her eyes are
His hair is
The fire is
The snow is
His teeth are

28. Identifying Similes and Metaphors
Practice

29. 3. Personification: Giving life-like qualities to an inanimate object Ex: “The camera flashed happily”

30. “Because I Could Not Stop For Death” by Emily Dickinson:
He kindly stopped for me –
The Carriage held but just Ourselves –
And Immortality.
We slowly drove – He knew no haste
And I had put away
My labor and my leisure too,
For His Civility –
We passed the School, where Children strove
At Recess – in the Ring –
We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain –
We passed the Setting Sun –
What is personified in this poem? Why do you suppose the poet chose to use personification in this way?

31. “Highway Don’t Care.”

32. Practice using personification by completing the sentences below.
-The shadow
-The car
-The scarf
-The blanket
-The tree

33. 4. Hyperbole: (sounds like) Hyperbole: Gross exaggeration not meant to deceive Example: “I’ve told you a million times not to shoot fireworks in the house!”

34. Tool #3: Sound devices Alliteration Assonance, Consonance
Another set of tools available to the poet are sound devices. These help bring out the musical qualities of lyric poems. The six we will examine are:
Alliteration
Assonance,
Consonance
Cacophony and Euphony
Onomatopoeia
Rhyme and Rhythm

35. A) Alliteration is the repetition of initial consonant or vowel sounds in a line of poetry.
The well-known children’s poem, “Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers” illustrates this well. Let’s look at another example…

36. The peppy puppy the prince presented the princess produced piles of poop in the palace

37. Create alliterative sentences (aka tongue twisters) in groups of two
Create alliterative sentences (aka tongue twisters) in groups of two. Be ready to present to the class! .

38. B. Onomatopoeia is the use of words that imitate the sound they represent.
A partial list of words would include “oink”, “bark”, “ring”, “meow”, “clang”, “bang” and hundreds more. Make a list of at least 10 more.

39. Assonance
the repetition of similar vowel sounds in different words in close proximity.
Examples: The deep green sea. Under the sun.

40. Consonance
the repetition of similar consonant sounds, especially at the ends of words.
Examples: lost / past confess /dismiss middle / muddle

41. Cacophony
harsh, unpleasant sounds that are used in poetry to create some effect.
The use of words with the consonants d, b, k and p, for example, produce harsher sounds than the soft f and v or the liquid l, m and n.
Examples: The canon cracked. Dark broken branches

42. Euphony
soothing, pleasant, harmonious sounds, especially words spoken in combination.
Often uses long vowels, harmonious consonants such as “l, m, n, r”, and soft “f” and “v” sounds that are more melodious.
Examples: Success is counted sweetest. The wind whispered softly.

43. Rhythm and Rhyme
End Rhyme – when the last word of two or more lines in the same stanza rhyme
Rhyme Scheme – the pattern of end rhyme
Internal Rhyme – rhyme occurring within a line of poetry
Loose Rhyme – also known as near rhyme or imperfect rhyme, this term refers to words that almost rhyme.

44. Tool #4: Formal devices
The fourth group of tools the poet uses to create his/her work are formal devices. Let’s focus on two: structure and rhythm.
Formal devices include the structure in a poem, or the different types of styles that a poem can be written in:

45. Five Types of Poetry
1. Lyric Poetry: reveals deep personal feelings of a poet in song-like
form (ex. haiku, odes, sonnets, elegies, hymns, many
popular songs)
2. Narrative Poetry: tells a story (ex. ballad)
3. Dramatic Poetry: presents drama and reveals character, situation,
and conflict; dramatic poetry is intended to be read
aloud and performed (ex. Shakespeare’s plays)
4. Social Commentary: criticizes social habits, customs, attitudes, and
problems in order to promote much needed
changes in the individual or in society (ex. anti-
war/anti-racism songs)
5. Light Verse: designed for entertainment or amusement (ex. limericks,
parodies, satire)

46. Stanzas are the building blocks of poems
Stanzas are the building blocks of poems. It is the name we give the “paragraphs” found in a poem.
We’ll see many examples and uses of stanzas as we read poetry.