Poetry Terms

Mrs. Godios

Get your pen/pencil out!!

Poetry Form • FORM - the

appearance of the words on the page/ the layout

• LINE - a group of words together on one line of the poem

Last Night I Dreamed of Chickens by Jack Prelutsky

Last night I dreamed of chickens,there were chickens everywhere,they were standing on my stomach,they were nesting in my hair,they were pecking at my pillow,they were hopping on my head,they were ruffling up their feathersas they raced about my bed.

•STANZA - a group of lines arranged together/a paragraph in a poem

They were on the chairs and tables,they were on the chandeliers,they were roosting in the corners,they were clucking in my ears,there were chickens, chickens, chickensfor as far as I could see...when I woke today, I noticedthere were eggs on top of me.

Types of PoemsSome types of poems we will be

studying:Concrete Poem, Haiku , Narrative

PoemCinquain Limerick

Free verse

Concrete Poem

In concrete poems, the words are arranged to create a picture that relates to the content of the poem.

HaikuA Japanese poem composed of three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables. Haiku often reflect on some aspect of nature.

An old silent pond . . .A frog jumps into the

pond.Splash! Silence again.

Narrative Poem• A poem that tells a story.• Generally longer than the other

styles of poetry because the poet needs to establish characters and a plot.

Examples of Narrative Poems“The Raven”

“The Highwayman”“The Walrus and the Carpenter”

“Out, Out”

“Out, Out”- By Robert FrostThe buzz-saw snarled and rattled in the yardAnd made dust and dropped stove-length sticks of wood,Sweet-scented stuff when the breeze drew across it.And from there those that lifted eyes could countFive mountain ranges one behind the otherUnder the sunset far into Vermont.And the saw snarled and rattled, snarled and rattled,As it ran light, or had to bear a load.And nothing happened: day was all but done.Call it a day, I wish they might have saidTo please the boy by giving him the half hourThat a boy counts so much when saved from work.His sister stood beside them in her apronTo tell them "Supper." At the word, the saw,As if to prove saws knew what supper meant,Leaped out at the boy's hand, or seemed to leap--He must have given the hand. However it was,Neither refused the meeting. But the hand!

The boy's first outcry was a rueful laugh,As he swung toward them holding up the handHalf in appeal, but half as if to keepThe life from spilling. Then the boy saw all--Since he was old enough to know, big boyDoing a man's work, though a child at heart--He saw all spoiled. "Don't let him cut my hand off--The doctor, when he comes. Don't let him, sister!"So. But the hand was gone already.The doctor put him in the dark of ether.He lay and puffed his lips out with his breath.And then--the watcher at his pulse took fright.No one believed. They listened at his heart.Little--less--nothing!--and that ended it.No more to build on there. And they, since theyWere not the one dead, turned to their affairs.

Free Verse Poetry • Free verse poetry does NOT have any

repeating patterns of stressed and unstressed syllables.

• Most of the time it does NOT have rhyme.

• Free verse poetry is very conversational - sounds like someone talking with you.

• A more modern type of poetry.

Sound“ The sound of a poem reinforces its

meaning.” The following are some techniques that a

poets use: Rhyme- the repetition of soundsInternal rhyme- is the use of rhyming words within a line. End rhyme- is the use of rhyming words at the ends of lines.

Internal RhymeA word inside a line rhymes with

another word on the same line. Once upon a midnight dreary, while

I pondered weak and weary. From “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe

Examples of Internal Rhyme

• Bright night, a full moon above.• “bright” and “night” • We will stay today and then we must go.• “stay” and “today”

End Rhyme • A word at the end of one line rhymes with a word at the end

of another line. Let’s dance in style, Let’s dance for a while, Heaven can wait we’re only watching the skies Hoping for the best but expecting the worst, Are you gonna drop the bomb or not? Let us die young or let us live forever, We don’t have the power but we never say never, Sitting in a sandpit, Life is a short trip, The music’s for the sad man,

-Jay- Z “Young Forever”

Examples of End Rhyme

• The deepest night burning bright.• “night” and “bright” • A time to feel, and a time to heal.• “feel” and “heal”

Refrain- a sound word or phrase repeated regularly in a poem (song).

"Fifteen“- Taylor Swift

You take a deep breath and you walk through the doorsIt's the morning of your very first dayYou say "Hi" to your friends you ain't seen in a whileTry and stay out of everybody's wayIt's your freshman year and you're gonna be hereFor the next four years in this townHoping one of those senior boys will wink at you and say"You know I haven't seen you around, before"

'cause when you're fifteen and somebody tells you they love youYou're gonna believe themAnd when you're fifteenFeeling like there nothing to figure outWell count to ten, take it inThis is life before who you're gonna beFifteen

You sit in class next to a redhead named AbigailAnd soon enough you're best friendsLaughing at the other girls who think they're so coolWell be out of here as soon as we canAnd then you're on your very first date and he’s got a carAnd you're feeling like flyingAnd you're mommas waiting up and you think he’s the oneAnd you're dancing round your room when the night endWhen the night ends'cause when you're fifteen and somebody tell you they love youYou're gonna believe themWhen you're fifteen and your first kissMakes your head spin round butIn your life you'll do things greater than dating the boy of the football teamBut I didn't know it at fifteen

Repetition • When a word or phrase is used more than

once for emphasis. Louder Than A Clap of Thunder

Jack Prelustsky

Louder than a clap of thunder,

louder than an eagle screams

louder than a dragon blunders,

or a dozen football teams,

louder than a four-alarmer,

or a rushing waterfall…

Rhyme SchemeA rhyme scheme is the established pattern of rhyme in a poem. Ex: a,a,b,b,aUse the letters of the alphabet to represent sounds to be able to visually “see” the pattern. (See next slide for an example.)

There once was a big brown cat a That liked to eat a lot of mice. b He got all round and fat a Because they tasted so nice. b

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening BY ROBERT FROST

Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village though; He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen lake The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if there is some mistake.

The only other sound’s the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.

Alliteration is the repetition of the same sounds or of the same kinds of sounds at the beginning of words.

Example: • The dark dance of death whisked her

away.• Repetition of the “d” sound in “dark dance

of death”

Examples: A worm wends its winding and

unaware way.

So listen at length to the laughter.

Burt burps longer, Burt burps louder

Onomatopoeia- words that say the same way they sound.

Ex: crash, bang, whoosh, buzz

Examples: •The eagle whizzed past the buzzing bees.•“whizzed” and “buzzing”

•Rip-roar fire, the gun stutters on.•“Rip-roar” and “stutters

The Rusty Spigot by Eve Merriam

The rusty spigotsputters,

uttersa splutter,

spatters a smattering of drops,gashes wider;

slash,splatters,scatters,spurts,

finally stops sputteringand plash!

gushes rushes splashesclear water dashes

Imagery Imagery- “refers to the words and phrases

that appeal to the five senses.” Purpose is to create an IMAGE

in the reader’s mind.

Most images are visual, but they can also appeal to the senses of sound, touch, taste, or smell.

*Poets use imagery to create a picture in the reader’s mind or to remind the reader of a familiar sensation.

Figurative Language “Figurative language conveys a

meaning beyond the literal meaning.”

Types of figurative language: Personification- when a poet describes an

animal or object as if it were human or had human qualities.

Example:• The wind whispered her name.• Wind is being personified: “wind whispered”,

because “wind” can’t actually “whisper.”

A Thunderstorm By Emily Dickinson

The wind begun to rock the grassWith threatening tunes and low, - He flung a menace at the earth,A menace at the sky.

The leaves unhooked themselves from treesAnd started all abroad;The dust did scoop itself like handsAnd throw away the road.

Look for examples of personification.

The wagons quickened on the streets,The thunder hurried slow;The lightning showed a yellow beak,And then a livid claw.

The birds put up the bars to nests,The cattle fled to barns;There came one drop of giant rain,And then, as if the hands

That held the dams had parted hold,The waters wrecked the sky,But overlooked my father's house,Just quartering a tree.

Simile- a comparison of two things using the words like or

as. • Bob is hungry as a wolf.• Bob and wolf are the two things

being compared, using “as”• Sue smells like a rose.• Sue & rose are the two things

being compared, using “like”

•Bob is a hungry wolf.•Bob is compared to a wolf.•Sue is a rose, filling the room with her sweet scent.•Sue (or Sue’s scent) and rose are being compared.

Metaphor- A comparison of two unlike things without using like or as.

Miscellaneous Devices

1. Hyperbole2. Irony

Hyperbole- an obvious and deliberate exaggeration

Examples:• I love you more than life itself.• Love is exaggerated.• He could eat a horse.• His appetite is exaggerated.

Irony•Saying the opposite of what you actually mean.

Examples of Irony

• Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink.• Surrounded by water in the ocean,

but none of it is drinkable.• The directions were as clear as

mud.• Obviously, they weren’t very clear

directions (this is also a simile!).

Symbolism-object, animal, or person representing something other than itself.

Let’s Review

Examples of Simile

•“The River” by Garth Brooks•You know a dream is like a river / Ever changing as it flows

• Which two things are being compared?

• Dream and river using the word “like”

Examples of Personification• “She” by Green

Day• Waiting for a

sign / To smash the silence with the brick of self-control

• What “thing” is given human-like qualities?

• Sign• The “sign to smash

the silence” because a “sign” cannot physically “smash” anything.

Practice: Group workWhich group can find the most examples of poetic

devices and termsin the following songs?

• “Stairway to Heaven” by Led Zeppelin• “Stay Together for the Kids” by Blink-182• “Just Like Heaven” by The Cure• “Buffalo Soldier” by Bob Marley & the

Wailers

“Stay Together for the Kids”by Blink-182Copyright 2002

“Stairway to Heaven”by Led ZeppelinCopyright 1971

“Just Like Heaven”by The CureCopyright 1987

“Buffalo Soldier”by Bob Marley & the Wailers

Copyright 1977