what is poetry? a guide for literature students: how to read and write about poetry a guide for...
TRANSCRIPT
What is poetry?What is poetry?
A guide for Literature
students:how to read and write about
poetry
A guide for Literature
students:how to read and write about
poetry
A poet’s definition A poet’s definition
Remember Langston Hughes said: “What is poetry?
It is the human soul, squeezed like a lemon or lime, drop by drop, into atomic words.”
Remember Langston Hughes said: “What is poetry?
It is the human soul, squeezed like a lemon or lime, drop by drop, into atomic words.”
Definition of poetryDefinition of poetry
Poetry is condensed (shortened, compact) figurative language that says something critical or important
Comes from oral/musical tradition. Meant to be read aloud
Language that feels good to the ear
Poetry is condensed (shortened, compact) figurative language that says something critical or important
Comes from oral/musical tradition. Meant to be read aloud
Language that feels good to the ear
Review: figurative language
Review: figurative language
Language expanded beyond literal meaning; compares unlike things
Examples are metaphor and simile Metaphor = comparison between
unlike things = “my heart was a sinking rock”
Simile = unlike things are compared using like or as - “hair as soft as grass”
Language expanded beyond literal meaning; compares unlike things
Examples are metaphor and simile Metaphor = comparison between
unlike things = “my heart was a sinking rock”
Simile = unlike things are compared using like or as - “hair as soft as grass”
The three Rs of poetryThe three Rs of poetry Rhythm = the arrangement of sounds (stressed/unstressed
syllables) in writing
Rhyme = a word that has the same sound (ending or middle) as another Joy/boy Trot/sod or walk/milk (slant rhyme)
Repetition = a repeated pattern of sounds, words or phrases in a poem -- for emphasis
Rhythm = the arrangement of sounds (stressed/unstressed syllables) in writing
Rhyme = a word that has the same sound (ending or middle) as another Joy/boy Trot/sod or walk/milk (slant rhyme)
Repetition = a repeated pattern of sounds, words or phrases in a poem -- for emphasis
Two kinds of sound repetition
Two kinds of sound repetition
Alliteration = the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words
“I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet.” Robert Frost
Assonance = the repetition of vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds
“Strips of tinfoil winking like people…” Sylvia Plath
Alliteration = the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words
“I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet.” Robert Frost
Assonance = the repetition of vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds
“Strips of tinfoil winking like people…” Sylvia Plath
A few more poetry termsA few more poetry terms
Imagery = words that appeal to the senses (sight, smell, touch, taste, hearing) when describing something
Personification = giving human traits to a non-human subject. The wind sighed through the trees.
Imagery = words that appeal to the senses (sight, smell, touch, taste, hearing) when describing something
Personification = giving human traits to a non-human subject. The wind sighed through the trees.
Types of rhyme in poetryTypes of rhyme in poetry
End rhyme - rhyme that happens at the end of lines of poetry like in couplets
Internal rhyme - when words rhyme inside a line of poetry, not at end.
Slant rhyme = two words share a consonant or vowel sound heart/port/chart = Emily Dickinson
End rhyme - rhyme that happens at the end of lines of poetry like in couplets
Internal rhyme - when words rhyme inside a line of poetry, not at end.
Slant rhyme = two words share a consonant or vowel sound heart/port/chart = Emily Dickinson
Review of Shakespeare’s poetry
Review of Shakespeare’s poetry
Iambic pentameter = 10 syllable/line(5 iambs = stressed/unstressed pairs)
“For saints have hands that pilgrim’s hands do touch.”
Sonnet = poetic form of 14 lines w/every other line end rhyming + couplet at end
Couplet = Two lines of verse, usually in the same meter and joined by rhyme, forming a unit.
Iambic pentameter = 10 syllable/line(5 iambs = stressed/unstressed pairs)
“For saints have hands that pilgrim’s hands do touch.”
Sonnet = poetic form of 14 lines w/every other line end rhyming + couplet at end
Couplet = Two lines of verse, usually in the same meter and joined by rhyme, forming a unit.
Format of poetryFormat of poetry Stanza = Paragraph of poetry or lines that go
together in terms of ideas/content (Italian for “room”)
Line = One line of poetry on page. Rule of thumb = a line is one breath. Also, based on content -- what ideas go together.
**Free verse = a style of poetry that does not adhere to a specific rhythm or rhyme pattern
Stanza = Paragraph of poetry or lines that go together in terms of ideas/content (Italian for “room”)
Line = One line of poetry on page. Rule of thumb = a line is one breath. Also, based on content -- what ideas go together.
**Free verse = a style of poetry that does not adhere to a specific rhythm or rhyme pattern
How to critique or understand poetry: What
is it about?
How to critique or understand poetry: What
is it about? Use clues from poet about what poem is
about. What kinds of words are used, what images, setting, etc?
What does the poem make you think of? Use examples of words, phrases from
poem to say, “I think the poem is about freedom because of the bird flying away in the second stanza/third line.” Provide quote, too.
Use clues from poet about what poem is about. What kinds of words are used, what images, setting, etc?
What does the poem make you think of? Use examples of words, phrases from
poem to say, “I think the poem is about freedom because of the bird flying away in the second stanza/third line.” Provide quote, too.
How does the poet write the poem -- form
How does the poet write the poem -- form
Describe the poem. Are there stanzas, lines of a certain length, and if so, are they the same throughout?
Use the 3 Rs of poetry. Is there a certain rhythm, any rhyme, any repetition? Give examples of these.
Describe the poem. Are there stanzas, lines of a certain length, and if so, are they the same throughout?
Use the 3 Rs of poetry. Is there a certain rhythm, any rhyme, any repetition? Give examples of these.
How does the poet write the poem -- technique
How does the poet write the poem -- technique
How does the poet use figurative language? Can you find metaphors, or similes? Tell what the examples are, and where.
Can you find examples of imagery? Explain other poetic techniques if you
find them such as personification, alliteration, and assonance.
How does the poet use figurative language? Can you find metaphors, or similes? Tell what the examples are, and where.
Can you find examples of imagery? Explain other poetic techniques if you
find them such as personification, alliteration, and assonance.
Why does poet write poem?
Why does poet write poem?
You can also comment on why you think the poet wrote the poem. Why is the topic important? Any clues?
Look for big themes -- growing up, growing old, falling in love, leaving home, war, fear of dying…Where are the clues (words, phrases) to prove?
You can also comment on why you think the poet wrote the poem. Why is the topic important? Any clues?
Look for big themes -- growing up, growing old, falling in love, leaving home, war, fear of dying…Where are the clues (words, phrases) to prove?
Practice critiquing poems!Practice critiquing poems!
Write about how the poet wrote the poem
Then, comment on what the poem might be about
Finally, write about why you think the poet wrote the poem. Use examples!
Write about how the poet wrote the poem
Then, comment on what the poem might be about
Finally, write about why you think the poet wrote the poem. Use examples!
Pick a poem to write aboutPick a poem to write about
Harlem 2 by Langston Hughes
We Real Cool by Gwendolyn Brooks
# 269 (Wild Nights) by Emily Dickinson
Harlem 2 by Langston Hughes
We Real Cool by Gwendolyn Brooks
# 269 (Wild Nights) by Emily Dickinson
Quick facts about Emily Dickinson
Quick facts about Emily Dickinson
Born in Amherst, MA in 1830. Died in 1885 in house she grew up in. Lived w/ sister/brother. Simple/secluded life.
Never published poems in her lifetime Read widely, wrote letters, did not
travel much. Strong religious background.
Only went to one year of college
Born in Amherst, MA in 1830. Died in 1885 in house she grew up in. Lived w/ sister/brother. Simple/secluded life.
Never published poems in her lifetime Read widely, wrote letters, did not
travel much. Strong religious background.
Only went to one year of college
What is Dickinson known for?
What is Dickinson known for?
Innovator, wrote poems with brief phrases questioning life and death
Regarded as one of America’s greatest poets. Wrote over 1800 poems
Known for her use of the dash, and slant rhymes, and numbers for titles of poems.
Innovator, wrote poems with brief phrases questioning life and death
Regarded as one of America’s greatest poets. Wrote over 1800 poems
Known for her use of the dash, and slant rhymes, and numbers for titles of poems.