1. What Poetry Does
Short stories, essays, plays, poems – all forms of literature – are composed of words.
The words a writer uses tells you a story. They may introduce you to a character or a place. They may persuade or move you to feel an emotion.
In poetry, words can do all of these things. At the same time, the words of a poem do more – they chime and rhyme, ring and sing, making music as well as meaning.

2. From … "I cannot go to school today," Said little Peggy Ann McKay.
"I have the measles and the mumps,
A gash, a rash and purple bumps.
My mouth is wet, my throat is dry,
I'm going blind in my right eye.
My tonsils are as big as rocks,
I've counted sixteen chicken pox
And there's one more-that's 17,
And don't you think my face looks green?
My leg is cut, my eyes are blue,
It might be instamatic flu.
I cough and sneeze and gasp and choke,
I'm sure that my left leg is broke-
My hip hurts when I move my chin,
My belly button's caving in,
My back is wrenched, my ankle's sprained,
My 'pendix pains each time it rains.
My nose is cold, my toes are numb,
I have a sliver in my thumb.
My neck is stiff, my voice is weak,
I hardly whisper when I speak.
My tongue is filling up my mouth,
I think my hair is falling out.
My elbow's bent, my spine ain't straight,
My temperature is one-o-eight.
My brain is shrunk, I cannot hear,
There is a hole inside my ear.
I have a hangnail, and my heart is –
what? What's that? What's that you say?
You say today is...Saturday?
G'bye, I'm going out to play!"
“Sick” by Shel Silverstein

3. … to: How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s sonnet
Peanuts video

4. By listening to the chatter and murmur of words, the way they dance or drag, quarrel or warble with each other, poets uncover special connections and secret beauties in the world.
From “The Princess” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson:
The long light shakes across the lakes,
And the wild cataract leaps in glory.
(cataract = waterfall)

5. Poetry is a story that is so good it doesn’t need complete sentences
Questions on the EOCT may look like this:
Which element of the poem MOST reflects the speaker’s joy?
How does the mood shift from the first stanza to the second stanza?
How would the speaker in Poem 1 most likely answer the question posed in Poem 2?
Please take out this packet.

6. Let’s look at just a few stanzas of poems What do you notice?
“The Rainbow”
A rainbow plays in the water spray It hides in a chandelier. It always seems to find its way Through the glass when light is near
“’Twas the Night before Christmas”
Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there. The children were nestled all snug in their beds, While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads. And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap, Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap. When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter, I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter. Away to the window I flew like a flash, Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
Let’s look at just a few stanzas of poems
What do you notice?
Rhyme scheme
Imagery
Onomatopoeia
Simile
Alliteration

7. Let’s look at “A Martian Sends a Postcard Home,” your ivory-colored handout
You need three colors: pens, highlighters, crayons, whatever!
Follow directions. Read quietly.

8. Tips for Reading Poetry
Read the poem aloud.
Follow punctuation.
Use your imagination and all of your senses.
Identify the speaker. Every poem is “spoken” by a certain voice. Use the clues in the poem to identify the speaker and the situation.
Paraphrase. Put the poet’s sentences (think of it as sentences) into your own words, one sentence at a time. You will understand basic meaning and help identify what is special in the poet’s way of expressing that meaning.
Make connections. Identify and list instances of repeated or contrasting words, images, rhythms or ideas. Then develop an interpretation.

9. To analyze a poem for this class
Use the TPCASTT strategy
To analyze a poem for this class
TERMS
Explanation of the term
Questions to Ask
Title
Look at the title of the poem.
Why is this the title?
If there is no title, why not? What does the lack of the title suggest?
What do you think the poem might be about?
Paraphrase
Rewrite the poem in your own words, explaining what is literally being said. Do this by line or by stanza.
What is literally being said? Even if it doesn’t make sense logically, what is the poet saying?
Connotation
Label positive, negative, and neutral words. Keep in mind this could change throughout the poem; that’s where “Shifts” come into play.
Looking at word choice. Are the words negative, positive, or neutral? How can you tell?
Why are words positive, negative or neutral? This will relate to “Theme” later.
Attitude
This is the speaker’s attitude or feeling toward the subject in the poem.
How does the speaker feel about the subject?
What does the speaker want to occur?
What feelings are expressed in the poem?
Shifts
When connotation changes, or the rhythm of a poem changes (when there is a “shift”), this usually indicates a shift in tone or attitude.
Where do you notice shifts?
What I happening in the poem at these shifts?
What is the attitude shift? (It changes from ____ to ____.)
Look at the title again.
Were you right about what the poem would be about?
Now that you’ve looked at the poem closely, how does the title relate?
Theme
This is the point or overall purpose of the poem.
What is the poem about?
What is the poet trying to express about the subject?
What is the point of the poem?
Move to TPCASTT ppt after this.