an introduction to poetry - hrsbstaff home pagehrsbstaff.ednet.ns.ca/smileymi/michael's pdf...

35
“A poem…begins as a lump in the throat, a sense of wrong, a home sickness, a love sickness….It is a reaching – out toward expression; an effort to find fulfillment. A complete poem is one where an emotion has found its thought and thought has found the words.” Robert Frost An Introduction to Poetry

Upload: lyliem

Post on 12-Apr-2018

217 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

“A poem…begins as a lump in the throat,

a sense of wrong, a home sickness, a love

sickness….It is a reaching – out toward

expression; an effort to find fulfillment.

A complete poem is one where an emotion

has found its thought and thought has found

the words.”

Robert Frost

An Introduction to Poetry

• If you asked six people what a poem is,

you’d get six different answers. Poetry is

as varied as people’s reactions to it, but

all poetry has this much in common: it is

arranged in relatively short line length,

and it says a lot in a few words.

• Poetry has been around almost longer

than any other form of writing.

• Poetry is one of the oldest art forms in

the world. It seems that as soon as

people learned to communicate verbally,

they wanted to recite or write poems.

•The words that come to form poems convey our strongest emotions and our most significant experiences. Poetry is not only a powerful reflection of the

world around us, but it is both immediate and real.

•You’re probably aware that you listen to poetry every day

in the form of song lyrics. Not all lyrics have poetic

qualities, but many do. The ones that are most like

poetry are probably the ones easiest to memorize.

• Poems reflect vivid images of who we are as individuals and of our surroundings. While the images may be crystal clear, their true or real significance is often just suggested.

• It is the reader’s responsibility to reflect upon one’s own experiences and live to better understand what the poet is trying to create.

• With each interpretation shared, comes further understanding. As Larry Liffiton and John McAllister have

pointed out: “…a poem is itself an experience. It

must be entered into, lived, and made our

own.”

•Poetry is a communication

to make the reader

more aware of

something or someone

the poet assumes to be

of importance or

possesses unusual

features or

characteristics.

• A poem must be read several times to fully appreciate the experience the poet’s words have to offer. It can never hurt to read a poem out

loud, to hear each word, sound and moment come alive off the page.

Liffiton and McAllister write:

There is no formula to understanding poetry. You must simply get involved with it. Talk about poetry. Try writing some poetry. Above all else, find some

poems you really like and live with them for a while, for poetry requires its own reflection.Give the poems time to speak

to your experience. Listen to the way they speak and discover what they say

about being a live in this world.

• The memory of certain poems has sustained

people during difficult times. Prisoners of war,

when released, said they kept their sanity by

spending whole days recalling poems they had

learned years before. Thus, poetry is perhaps

more powerful because it is often more personal

than other forms of literature.

• Poetry has a place in our daily society.

Ultimately, poetry communicates what the

heart wants to say, what the society needs to

hear. Perhaps this is why the Nobel Prize for

Literature is often given to poets in countries

where the heart has been silenced.

• People are often afraid of

poetry, finding its language or

symbols difficult to

understand.

• Poetry can work its magic by

helping you hear not only

your own heart, but also the

world itself and the many

songs it sings.

• Simply put, poetry is a shared

experience between the poet

and the reader.

Figurative

Language

• One of the great strengths of poetry is

that it helps readers see things in a new

way.

• Figurative language is one such literary

device that aids a writer in the delivery

of his or her poem.

• Figurative language suggests more than

it states. Figurative comparisons show

relationships between things that are

unlike in nature.

• Comparing a book to a child or

an author to a parent is an

example of figurative language,

or the use of language that goes

beyond the words’ literal

meanings.

• Poets use figurative language to

give freshness and strength to

the images they present. The

devices for achieving figurative

language are called figures of

speech. The most common ones

are simile, metaphor,

hyperbole, and personification.

• A simile is a comparison of two

things using like or as. Similes

create word pictures or images.

• Examples: Her lovely hair cascaded down like a flowing

waterfall.

"My love's LIKE a red, red rose."

"He was AS cold AS ice."

"The water is like the sun."

• "The water is like the sun" is an example of simile

because water and the sun have little in common, and

yet they're being compared to one another. The "is" is

also part of what makes this stanza an example of simile.

Here is another example, comparing falling rain to the rising of the sun.

"The rain falls like the sun,

rising upon the mountains.”

SENSES

Sadness is as happy as laughter. You might cry because it hurts.

You might laugh because it hurts. But I know one thing,

laughter is laughter and sadness is sadness.

They can show the same things like

hurting and gladness.

Piano

Playing the piano is like

A bird soaring in the

Sky.

When you play the keys it is like

Flying your fingers across the

Piano.

The notes are like

Clouds drifting through the sky.

By Autumn

Hockey

Hockey is like reading You get into it and then you never

want to stop You feel like you're in a different world.

Hockey is like school You have to do your work and

you have to practice or you will get an "F" Hockey is like math

You get stronger and before you know it You're getting an

"A" Your scoring goals

Now that's Hockey!

• The term “metaphor” is an implied comparison. A metaphor is a comparison between two unlike things. It does not use the word like or as.

• Metaphors can be an effective way to create vivid impressions because it requires readers to participate in making the comparison by mentally associating one image with another.

Examples:

The sea is a wilderness of waves, a desert of water. Your insincere apology just added fuel to the fire.

After the argument, Dave was smoldering for days. No man is an island.

The pen is mightier than the sword. The teacher descended upon the exams, sank his talons into their pages, ripped the answers to shreds, and then,

perching in his chair, began to digest.

Metaphor by Eva Merriam

Morning is

a new sheet of paper

for you to write on

Whatever you want to say,

all day,

until night

folds it up

and files it away

The bright words and the dark words

are gone

until dawn

and a new day

to write on

• Hyperbole, or exaggeration, is the obvious stretching of the truth to emphasize strong feeling or create a humorous effect.

• Often we stretch the truth in our everyday speech to make a point or to inject a little humour. When you say you’re starving just before lunchtime, you don’t really mean it. You might be hungry, but “starving” is an exaggeration.

An Example: This rug is so beautiful that it will make you

believe in magic carpets again.

Here's another example: "I had so much homework, I needed a pickup truck to carry all my books home!" Hyperbole is supposed to evoke a ridiculous picture in your mind, ... and in the process, make the point effectively. (You must have had a lot of homework!)

•“They've already nailed the coffin shut".

Michelle S., from Woodbridge, Virginia, USA

•“She remembers the tragedy when the

dinosaurs died!" Alex

•“We looked up the word 'ancient', and there

was full definition with her name and a big

picture of her smiling..." Mallory, from Dexter,

Missouri

•“She knows how to speak cave-man language!"

Meg, Shepaug Valley School, Roxbury USA

My teacher is so old…

• "My history teacher's so old, he lived through everything we've learned about ancient Greece" Ryan, CFS,

Willingboro, USA

• "I think of you a million times a day" Vern Sal, the Philippines

• "Saskatchewan is so flat, you can see your dog run away for 4 days!" Jenna, from Olympic Heights School, Calgary

• "It was so cold, even the polar bears were wearing jackets." Elizabeth, from Covington, USA

• "Our library is so old, its book pages are numbered with roman numerals ... written by the Romans!" Bobby W.

• "That boy's eyes are so big, they look like they're going to jump out and grab you! Ashley Clarke

• "My best friend is so forgetful, I sometimes have to remind her what her name is!" Katie Holmes

More examples of hyperbole

• Personification is a figure of speech in which poets give an animal, object, or idea human qualities, such as the ability to love, sing, cry, feel, talk, and make decisions.

• In personification, the non-human is identified with the human or given human characteristics.

Examples:

The river dozed in the afternoon sun.

The New Zealand dollar

had a quiet month.

Life dealt him a

heavy blow.

More examples of personification

• 1. The wind sang her mournful song through the falling leaves.

• 2. The microwave timer told me it was time to turn my TV dinner.

• 3. The video camera observed the whole scene.

• 4. The strawberries seemed to sing, "Eat me first!"

• 5. The rain kissed my cheeks as it fell.

• 6. The daffodils nodded their yellow heads at the walkers.

• 7. The water beckoned invitingly to the hot swimmers.

• 8. The snow whispered as it fell to the ground during the early morning hours.

• 9. The china danced on the shelves during the earthquake.

• 10. The car engine coughed and sputtered when it started during the blizzard.

Symbolism

• A symbol is something that represents something else, either by association or by resemblance. It can be a material object or a written sign used to represent something invisible.

• Language itself is a system of spoken or written symbols by which we communicate. Every word is a symbol; the five letters that form the word 'chair' represent a sound as well as a physical object.

• In writing, symbolism is the use of a word, a phrase, or a description, which represents a deeper meaning than the words themselves. This kind of extension of meaning can transform the written word into a very powerful instrument.

• In literature, symbolism is used to provide meaning to the writing beyond what is actually being described. The plot and action that take place in a story can be thought of as one level, while the symbolism of certain things in the writing act on another level to enhance the story.

• Symbolism can take place by having the theme of a story represented on a physical level. A simple example might be the occurrence of a storm at a critical point, when there is conflict or high emotions. Similarly a transition from day to night, or spring to winter, could symbolize a move from goodness to evil, or hope to despair. A river in a scene could represent the flow of life, from birth to death. Flowers can symbolize youth or beauty.

• Not everything in a story is necessarily symbolic. A garden landscape is just a garden ... until it is contrasted with a bustling city, at which point the garden could symbolize tranquility, peace, or escape.

• As English poetry has developed over hundreds of years, certain

symbolic meanings have attached themselves to such things as

colors, places, times, and animals.

• A list of these common symbols and their meanings follows.

• Your own knowledge, associations, and experience are what will

lead you to a deep and personal connection to any poem.

• Sleep is often related to death. Dreams are linked to the future or fate.

• Seasons often represent ages: spring--youth, summer--prime of life, autumn--middle age, winter--old age or death.

• Colors are often linked to emotions: red--anger, blue--happiness, green--jealousy. They are also used to represent states of being: black--death or evil, white--purity or innocence, green--growth.

• Forests are often places of testing or challenge.

• Light--as the sun, the moon, stars, candles--often symbolizes good, hope, freedom.

• Darkness is associated with evil, magic or the unknown.

Symbolism

Imagery

• Most figures of speech cast up a picture in your mind. These pictures created or suggested by the poet are called 'images'. To participate fully in the world of poem, we must understand how the poet uses image to convey more than what is actually said or literally meant.

• We speak of the pictures evoked in a poem as 'imagery'. Imagery refers to the "pictures" which we perceive with our mind's eyes, ears, nose, tongue, skin, and through which we experience the "duplicate world" created by poetic language.

• Imagery evokes the meaning and truth of human experiences

• Although most of the image-making words in any

language appeal to sight (visual images), there

are also images of touch, sound, taste, and smell.

There's a TV ad

which says, "Image

is nothing. Thirst is

everything." Poetry

is completely

opposite: image is

everything.

-- Vince Gotera

A poet is using words more consciously than

any other kind of writer. Aiming to stir readers'

imaginations, poets exploit the power of words

to evoke thoughts, feelings, reflections in ways

that are sometimes very direct, sometimes very

indirect. A poet always picks and chooses words

that are just right. Most finished poems are very

deliberate products, not something casually

tossed off half drunk at 3a.m., but something

lovingly studied and toiled over.

A Stanza

• STANZA: A group of lines which are set off and

form a division in a poem and are sometimes

linked with other stanzas by rhyme.