1. Poetry Notes 8 th Grade Language Arts 2. Strategies for Reading Poetry: Preview the poem.

Notice the poems form: its shape, its length of lines, and whether or not it has stanzas. 3. 2. Read the poem aloud Pause at the ends of complete thoughts, not necessarily at the ends of lines. Look for end punctuation to help you find the end of a complete thought. As you read, see if there is rhyme; listen for rhythm, as well as overall sound of the words in the poem. 4. 3. Visualize the images. In your minds eye, picture the images and comparisons the poem makes. Do the images remind you of feelings or experiences you have had? 5. 4. Think about the words and phrases. Allow yourself to wonder about any phrases or words that seem to stand out. Think about what that choice of words adds to the poem. 6. 5. Try to figure out the theme. Ask yourself, whats the point of this poem? What message is the poet trying to send or help you create? 7. 6. Let your understanding grow. When you finish reading, you are left with first impressions of the poem. Over time, you will add to your understanding based on the poem, discussions in class, and other poetry you read. 8. 7. Allow yourself to enjoy poetry. You may connect with a particular poem because it expresses feelings that you have felt or shows you the world through different eyes. 9. Invitation If you are a dreamer, come in, If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar, A hop-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer If youre a pretender, come sit by my fire For we have some flax-golden tales to spin Come in! Come in! 10. Elements of Poetry Poetry is the most compact form of literature. A poem packs all kinds of ideas, feelings and sounds into a few carefully chosen words. The look, sound and language of poetry all work together to create a total effect. 11. Form The way a poem looks or is arranged on the page. Poets choose the arrangement of words and lines deliberately The form of a poem can add to its meaning 12. Lines Poetry is written in lines, which may or may not be sentences Can be devised of one word or many words Lines are often formed for their rhythmic flow May contain a common # of syllables as other lines May contain a similar rhyming pattern as other lines 13. Stanzas (A poetry paragraph) Sometimes lines of poetry are separated into groups called stanzas Stanzas are a way of grouping or dividing lines A poem may consist of one or many stanzas 14. * The last line in the stanza rhymes with the last line of all stanzas **Free Verse poems: Do not rhyme and do not follow rules regarding where to divide

stanzas. Vary by combining forms 8 lines Octave Vary by combining forms 7 lines Septet 3 Couplets 2 Tercets Quatrain then Couplet 1 with 6, 2 with 5, & 3 with 4 6 lines Sestet Couplet then tercet Tercet then couplet Quatrain* 5 lines Quintet Lines 2 & 4 rhyme Lines 1, 2 & 4 rhyme Lines 1, 2 & 3 rhyme* 4 lines Quatrain Triplet: All 3 lines rhyme Lines 1 & 2 rhyme* Lines 2 & 3 rhyme Lines 1 & 3 rhyme 3 lines Tercet Both lines rhyme 2 lines Couplet Rhyming Patterns Number of Lines Stanza Type

15. 2 Main Categories of Poetry: Narrative - tells a story, usually longer Lyric - captures a moment, a feeling, or description 16. Types of Poems: Ballad Limerick Free verse Haiku Couplet Cinquain Concrete Acrostic Sonnet Direct Address 17. 1. Ballad (Narrative) Rhyming or song form Short stanzas Tells a heroic or tragic story 18. Epic Poetry (narrative) You many also hear about epic poetry , which is similar to a ballad. Epic poems are long, narrative poems celebrating the adventures and achievements of a hero... epics deal with the traditions, mythical or historical, of a nation. Example: Homers The Iliad. 19. 2. Limerick (Narrative) Light, humorous, nonsensical 5 lines Follows AABBA rhyme scheme: Lines 1, 2, 5 rhyme and lines 3, 4 rhyme Example: A bridge engineer, Mister Crumpett (A) Built a bridge for the good River Bumpett (A) A mistake in the plan (B) Left a gap in the span (B) But he said, Well, theyll have to jump it. (A) 20. 3. Poem of Direct Address (Narrative) Talks directly to another person or thing Good way to say some things youve been keeping to yourself Can express anger, admiration, respect, thanks or bewilderment Example: To a Maggot in an Apple, by Richard Edwards 21. 4. Free Verse (Lyric) Poetry without predictable rhyme, rhythm or length of line or stanza Example: Look out! If you arent careful it will happen like this: Someone will say the word and that word will catapult you down the halls out the doors and into a serious collision with SUMMER! 22. 5. Haiku (Lyric) Form of Japanese poetry Usually about nature Three lines that follow a format: 5 syllables 7 syllables 5 syllables Example: An old silent pond A frog jumps into the pond Splash! Silence again. 23. 6. Cinquain (Lyric) 5 lines Follows several formats Example: Line 1: 2 syllables How frail Line 2: 4 syllables Above the bull Line 3: 6 syllables Of crashing water hangs Line 4: 8 syllables Autumnal, evanescent, wanes Line 5: 2 syllables The moon 24. 7. Acrostic (Narrative or Lyric) Doesnt have to rhyme Uses a few succinct words to tell a story or describe someone First letter of each line spells the title Example: Sister S he I s always S haring T ime with me. E ven though shes R ather weird.

25. 8. Concrete (Lyric) Written in the shape of the subject Example: Triangle I am a very special shape I have three points and three lines straight. Look through my words and you will see, the shape that I am meant to be. I'm just not words caught in a tangle. Look close to see a small triangle. My angles add to one hundred and eighty degrees, you learn this at school with your abc's. Practice your maths and you will see, some other fine examples of me. 26. 9. Couplet (Lyric or Narrative) 2 lines make up one stanza Several of these couplets are written together to make up a poem They vary in structure depending on the type Examples: The opposite of chair Is sitting down with nothing there! What is the opposite of tall? Id say its something small. 27. 10. Sonnet (Narrative or Lyric) There are several types, but the most common follows this format: Contains 14 lines Every line has 10 syllables Made up of three quatrains and one couplet Usually presents a problem, answers the problem and then solves it before the end Expresses the poets feelings 28. Example: Sonnet 116 by Shakespeare Let me not to the marriage of true minds Admit impediments. Love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove: O no! it is an ever-fixed mark That looks on tempests and is never shaken; It is the star to every wandering bark, Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken. Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks Within his bending sickle's compass come: Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, But bears it out even to the edge of doom. If this be error and upon me proved, I never writ, nor no man ever loved. William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616) 29. Elements of Sound Poems are meant to be read aloud. Therefore, poets choose and arrange words to create the sounds they want the listener to hear. There are many techniques that poets can use to achieve different sounds. 30. Rhyme The repetition of accented vowel sounds Has the same end sound as another word Example: Mean and Scream Internal rhyme: rhyming words within a line of poetry. External rhyme: rhyming words at the ends of lines. 31. Repetition To tell or say again. Words, phrases, lines, or stanzas are repeated for an effect. Helps the poet emphasize an idea or create a certain feeling. Example: He whispered to her sweetly, sweetly, sweetly 32. Alliteration The repetition of same or similar consonant sounds in words close together Usually in the beginning of words A tongue twister is an example Examples: S illy s ally s ells s eashells at the s eashore. Fifty years ago, I learned to read at a round table in the center of a large s weet- s melling, s team- s oftened kitchen. -Sounder, William H. Armstrong 33. Assonance The repetition of rhyming vowel sounds inside the lines of a poem. Example: "Twinkling tw i l i ght meets tw i ce at the edge of night"( Long i)

34. Consonance The repetition of consonant sounds either inside the lines of a poem or at the end of a line. Example: "No rm , the wo rm , took the garden by a sto rm this mo rn ." 35. Onomatopoeia A word that mimics or imitates a sound Examples: - Buzz, ping, boom - There was a slosh as the ham was lifted out of the pot, then a plop , just as it was dropped onto the table. Sounder , William H. Armstrong 36. Elements of Imagery Used to help the reader better relate, understand, picture a thought or offer a new perspective. May be used to emphasize a point. 37. Simile Comparison of two unlike things using like, as, than , or resembles Example: She had a voice like an unoiled gate, but somehow not unpleasant. A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine LEngle 38. Metaphor Comparison of two unlike things NOT using words like, as, than or resembles A direct statement May use is Example: Amanda took the torn page from Maniac. To her, it was the broken wing of a bird, a pet out in the rain. Maniac Magee, Jerry Spinelli 39. Personification Giving human characteristics to nonhuman/nonliving things Example: The house quivered with every gust of wind. - There will Come Soft Rains , Ray Bradbury 40. Hyperbole An extreme exaggeration or overstatement used for effect. These are not literally true, but people make them to sound impressive or to emphasize something. Example: "It was so cold, I thought my nose would fall off. 41. Sensory Details Specific descriptive details that appeals to one or more of the senses 42. Imagery (made up of sensory details) The use of sensory details to create a descriptive image in the readers mind Paints a picture with sensory details Example: I remembered the summers with lightening bugs and honeysuckle smells; the cold winters when the field would be brown and would crackle under my feet. - The Cay , Theodore Taylor 43. Theme Literary devices and the elements of poetry help the poet establish the theme. Just as in fiction, the theme of a poem is the authors message about life. 44. Any questions? 45. #4 Poetry 11/17 What are your feelings about poetry? Why do you like/dislike it? What kind of poetry appeals to you most? Why? Do you have a favorite poem/poet? What is your favorite topic to write poetry about? What are your past experiences with poetry?