having fun with poetry

EXPLORING DIFFERENT TYPES OF POETRY, THEIR STRUCTURE AND THE RULES THEY FOLLOW.

Having Fun with Poetry

We’re going to be looking at:

LimerickHaikuAcrosticDiamanteCinquain

KenningsFree VerseSonnetConcrete

Limerick

•Five Lines•One couplet •One triplet•a a b b a rhyme pattern•Funny – contains a punch line

A flea and a fly in a flue aWere caught, so what could they do? a

Said the fly, “Let us flee.” b“Let us fly,” said the flea. b

So they flew through a flaw in the flue. a

- Anonymous

Notice the rhyme pattern -

Notice the distinctive beat pattern? It is just as important as the rhyme. Try completing this limerick -

There once was a pauper named MegWho accidently broke her _____.

She slipped on the ______.Not once, but thrice

Take no pity on her, I _____.

•FROM JAPANESE CULTURE•MEANINGFUL YET COMPACT•EVERYDAY THINGS•NATURE, FEELINGS, EXPERIENCES•THREE LINES•5 SYLLABLES, 7 SYLLABLES, 5 SYLLABLES.•NO RHYME

Haiku

Examples

A Haiku must paint a mental image. The challenge is to put the poem’s meaning and imagery in the reader’s mind in only 17 syllables and 3 lines.

The RoseBy Donna Brock

The red blossom bendsAnd drips its dew to the ground.Like a tear it falls

A RainbowBy Donna Brock

Curving up, then down,Meeting blue sky and green earthMelding sun and rain.

FROM THE GREEK WORDS ACROS (OUTERMOST) AND STICHOS (LINE OF POETRY) .

Acrostic

1. WRITE THE FIRST NAME OF SOMEONE YOU ADMIRE.2. THINK AB OUT HOW TO DESCRIBE THAT PERSON

AND WHAT THEY MEAN TO YOU.3. ONE SCRATCH PAPER, WRITE OUT YOUR IDEAS.

PROOFREAD. REVISE.4. USING WORD PROCESSING PROGRAM, TYPE THE

LET TER THAT WILL FORM YOUR ACROSTIC (THE PERSON’S NAME) . WE WILL CHANGE THE COLOR OF THE FONT TO MAKE YOUR FIRST LETTERS A DIFFERENT COLOR THAN THE REST OF YOUR POEM. CAPITALIZE THEM AND MAKE THEM B OLD.

5. ALIGN THE POEM.6. FIND OR DRAW A PICTURE OF THE PERSON YOU

DESCRIBED TO ILLUSTRATE YOU ACROSTIC.

How to create your own Acrostic -

Examples -

Tumbling through the airReady to becomeAir born at anyMoment, feeling the springsPush you upOver and around again and againLight as a featherInstantly rebounding,Naturally full ofEnergy- - - - - Laura F.

Creating your own - Try out this activity to create your own Acrostic

A POEM THAT REQUIRES SPECIFIC TYPES OF WORDS THAT STRUCTURE THE POEM TO

CREATE A DIAMOND SHAPE.

Diamante

YOU NEED –

A SUBJECT

TW O ADJECTI VES DESCRI BI NG THE SUB JECT

THREE W ORD S ENDI NG I N “ ING” TELLING AB OUT THE SUBJECT

FOUR WORDS (THE F IRST TW O DESCRI BE THE SUB JECT THE LAST TW O DESCRI BE IT OPPOSITE)

THREE W ORD S ENDI NG I N “ ING” TELLING AB OUT THE OPPOSI TE

TWO AD JEC TIVES DESCRI BI NG THE OPPOSI TE

AN OPPOSITE

How to create a Diamante poem-

Example -

Winter Rainy, cold

Skiing, skating, sledding Mountains, wind, breeze, ocean Swimming, surfing, scuba diving

Sunny, hot Summer

Try out this activity to create your own

CINQUAINS ARE MADE UP OF FIVE LINES

LINE ONE - 2 SYLLABLESLINE TWO - 4 SYLLABLES

LINE THREE - 6 SYLLABLESLINE FOUR - 8 SYLLABLESLINE FIVE - 2 SYLLABLES

Cinquain

BaseballBat cracks against

The pitch, sending it outOver the back fence, I did it!

Homerun

(by Cindy Barden)

Example -

Kennings

A kenning is a very compressed form of metaphor originally used in Anglo-Saxon and Norse poetry. In a kenning an object is described in a two word phrase, such as cat-chaser for a dog.

In a Kennings poems you describe something without saying what it is by using a series of these two word phrases. Choose a subject and decide on two good words to describe it. Create a series of lines like this. Kennings poems often take the form of a riddle.

Example -

Kenning riddle (by Mike Garry)

Quiet prowlerNight howler Free mealer Chicken stealer Rusty splasher Hunter dasher

What am I?

A Fox

Now try creating your own –

Think of an object or animal you could describe and use the kenning form to create a riddle about it. See if your fellow classmates can guess what it is.

Free Verse

Free verse poems do not contain a structured set of rules. They are meant to flow easily, but still have a fluid rhythmic sound. Free verse can rhyme, but if a rhyme pattern is created, it is no longer free verse.

Example - Messy Room by Shel Silverstein Whosever room this is should be ashamed!His underwear is hanging on the lamp.His raincoat is there in the overstuffed chair,And the chair is becoming quite mucky and damp.His workbook is wedged in the window,His sweater's been thrown on the floor.His scarf and one ski are beneath the TV,And his pants have been carelessly hung on the door.His books are all jammed in the closet,His vest has been left in the hall.A lizard named Ed is asleep in his bed,And his smelly old sock has been stuck to the wall.Whosever room this is should be ashamed!Donald or Robert or Willie or--Huh? You say it's mine? Oh, dear,I knew it looked familiar!

Sonnet

A lyrical poetic form from Europe. Most famously used by Shakespeare. A Shakespearean, or English, employs Iambic Pentameter.

14 lines10 syllables in each lineIambic pentameterUnemphasized followed by emphasized –

repeated five timesRhyme scheme - ababcdcdefef ggLast two lines are rhyming couplet

A Shakespearean sonnet includes -

William Shakespeare - Sonnet #18

Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate:Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And Summer's lease hath all too short a date: Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And oft' is his gold complexion dimm'd; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance or nature's changing course

untrimm'd: But thy eternal Summer shall not fade Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest; Nor shall Death brag thou wanderest in his

shade, When in eternal lines to time thou growest: So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Concrete

Also known as pattern or shape poetry. In concrete poetry the shape of the poem is just as important as the words within. A concrete poem uses words to create a visual shape, giving meaning to the poem.

Examples -

Now you try -

Think of something you would like to write about.

Visualize it in your mind.Draw an outline of what it looks like. Now format your words to fill this outline.

How would you write to fill the shape of a house? Or a star? Get creative!