Poetry Forms

Creating a thematic poetry compilation

Poetry Compilation

You will be working on a poetry book for the next week

Your compilation must contain the following: 7 poems of different form A common theme that runs throughout your

entire book A polished, complete, revised final product that

is bound as a book or compilation

Time Management

Your finished compilation is due Tuesday, January 11th.

This means you must begin working, FAST!! Part of your grade will also be your

professional disposition and use of class time—if you mess around and waste time, it will be reflected in your final grade.

I will be available for help, suggestions and revision, but for the most part, our class time will be used as writers workshop time.

Theme

You must select one general THEME that all of your poems will focus on.

This theme (or some part of it) must be included in each poem in your compilation.

Also—as the first page of your book, you must provide an explanation as to why you picked your theme, and what it means to you.

Examples of theme Some sample themes:

Perseverance Loss Joy Sadness Independence Physical Pain Overcoming the Odds Integrity

Basically anything can be a theme, as long as you have something to say about the topic and it is special to you.

Make sure you pick a broad theme, as something too narrow will be difficult to write about.

A quick review…

You will want to consult your figurative language terms, as you will be including these devices in your writing

Also—three terms to become comfortable with… Form: the way in which the lines of a poem are presented

on the page. Line: one unit of stanza in poetry (much like a sentence is

one unit of a paragraph). Stanza: one group of lines within a poem (like a paragraph

is one group of sentences within an essay).

Poetry Forms to Pick from…

Remember, you must include 7 different forms of poetry. Generally speaking, poetry can take 3 forms—from which there are

other sub-categories. These three forms are narrative poetry, lyrical poetry, and dramatic poetry. We will be writing mainly narrative and lyrical poetry.

Today we will cover the following forms and sub-categories of poetry: Lyrical poems Narrative poems Sonnets Ballads Haiku Cinquain Concrete poems Acrostic poems Limericks Ode

Lyrical Poetry and the sonnet

In lyrical poetry, the mood is musical and emotional. The writer of a lyric poem uses words that express his state of mind, his perceptions, or his feelings.

Within the form of lyrical poetry, sonnets are often lyrical.

A lyrical poem can take any form—it can merely be a poem written about emotions that is free verse, or it can take a highly stylized form, like the sonnet.

The Sonnet

Sonnets can take many forms and are VERY complex.

For our purposes, we will define a sonnet as a highly stylized form of poetry, with 14 lines, written in iambic pentameter (10 syllables per line), with an abab cdcd efef gg rhyme scheme (which is an English sonnet form).

FOR EXAMPLE

Sonnet example:Sonnet XVIII (18), William Shakespeare

Addressed to the Young Man Quatrain 1 (four-line stanza)A  Shall I compare thee to a summer's DAY? If I compared you to a summer dayB  Thou art more lovely and more temperATE: I'd have to say you are more beautiful and serene:A   Rough winds do shake the darling buds of MAY, By comparison, summer is rough on budding life,B   And summer's lease hath all too short a DATE: And doesn't last long either: 

Quatrain 2 (four-line stanza)C   Sometime too hot the eye of heaven SHINES, At times the summer sun [heaven's eye] is too

hot,D   And often is his gold complexion DIMM'D; And at other times clouds dim its brilliance;C  And every fair from fair sometime deCLINES, Everything fair in nature becomes less fair from time to

time,

D   By chance or nature's changing course unTRIMM'D; No one can change [trim] nature or chance;

Quatrain 3 (four-line stanza)E    But thy eternal summer shall not FADE However, you yourself will not fadeF    Nor lose possession of that fair thou OWEST; Nor lose ownership of your fairness; E    Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his SHADE, Not even death will claim you,F    When in eternal lines to time thou GROWEST: Because these lines I write will immortalize you: 

Couplet (two rhyming lines)G    So long as men can breathe or eyes can SEE, Your beauty will last as long as men breathe and

see,G    So long lives this and this gives life to THEE. As Long as this sonnet lives and gives you life. 

Narrative Poems

Narrative poems are intended to tell a story. Narrative poetry is poetry that has a plot.

The poems that make up this genre may be short or long, and the story it relates to may be simple or complex.

Narrative poems include epics and ballads.

Narrative poetry example:The Raven by: Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849)

(an excerpt)

 Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore— While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of some one gently rapping—rapping at my chamber door. "'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door— Only this and nothing more."

Ah, distinctly I remember, it was in the bleak December,And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor. Eagerly I wished the morrow;—vainly I had sought to borrow From my books surcease of sorrow—sorrow for the lost Lenore—For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore—Nameless here for evermore.

 And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtainThrilled me—filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before; So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating "'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door—Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door;—This it is and nothing more."

Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,"Sir," said I, "or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,And so faintly you came tapping—tapping at my chamber door,That I scarce was sure I heard you"—here I opened wide the door:—Darkness there and nothing more.  

Narrative poetry and the ballad

A ballad is a form of verse, often narrative and often set to music. It has a recurring stanza or recurrent refrain. often have verses of four lines usually have a rhyming pattern: either  abac   or aabb or  acbc

(usually the easiest to rhyme) repetition often found in ballads entire stanzas can be repeated like a song's chorus lines can be repeated but each time a certain word is changed a question and answer format can be built into a ballad: one

stanza asks a questions and the next stanza answers the question

Action is often described in the first person Two characters in the ballad can speak to each other on

alternating lines

The ballad… an exampleCat's in the Cradle   by Harry Chapin

My child arrived just the other day,He came to the world in the usual way.But there were planes to catch, and bills to pay.He learned to walk while I was away.And he was talking 'fore I knew it, and as he grew,He'd say, "I'm gonna be like you, dad.You know I'm gonna be like you."

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon,Little boy blue and the man in the moon."When you coming home, dad?" "I don't know when,But we'll get together then.You know we'll have a good time then."

My son turned ten just the other day.He said, "Thanks for the ball, dad, come on let's play.Can you teach me to throw?" I said, "Not today,I got a lot to do." He said, "That's ok."And he walked away, but his smile never dimmed,Said, "I'm gonna be like him, yeah.You know I'm gonna be like him."

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon,Little boy blue and the man in the moon."When you coming home, dad?""I don't know when,But we'll get together then.You know we'll have a good time then."

Haiku

Haiku is a poetic form and a type of poetry from the Japanese culture.

Haiku combines form, content, and language in a meaningful, yet compact form.

Haiku poets, write about everyday things. Many themes include nature, feelings, or experiences.

Usually they use simple words and grammar. The most common form for Haiku is three short lines. The first line contains five (5) syllables, the second line seven

(7) syllables, and the third line contains five (5) syllables. Haiku doesn't rhyme. A Haiku must "paint" a mental image in the reader's mind.

This is the challenge of Haiku - to put the poem's meaning and imagery in the reader's mind in ONLY 17 syllables over just three (3) lines of poetry!

Haiku example:

A Rainbow

Donna Brock

Curving up, then down. 

Meeting blue sky and green earth

Melding sun and rain.

Cinquain The cinquain form was inspired by Japanese haiku and tanka poetry

forms. This form is also embraced by young adults and older poets for its

expressive simplicity. The type of cinquain we will be using refers to word count, not

syllables and stresses. The basic rules are:

1. The form is five lines long. 2. The pattern for the lines is one word, two words, three words, four

words and back to one word. 3. The words that can be used are as follows:

-Line one should be a subject or a noun.-Line two should be two adjectives which describe

the subject in line one.-Line three should be -ing words, action words which

are related to the subject in line one.-Line four should be a phrase, complete sentence or

feelings related to line one. -Line five should be a synonym on the subject in line

one or a word that sums it up.

Cinquain example

Sunyellow ball

shining, warming, burning.The giver of life.

Sol.

-Ben Jonson

Concrete Poems

Concrete poetry or shape poetry is poetry in which the typographical arrangement of words is as important in conveying the intended effect as the conventional elements of the poem, such as meaning of words, rhythm, rhyme and so on.

It is sometimes referred to as visual poetry, a term that has evolved to have distinct meaning of its own, but which shares the distinction of being poetry in which the visual elements are as important as the text.

Concrete poem examples

Acrostic poetry

An acrostic is a poem or other form of writing in which the first letter, syllable or word of each line, paragraph or other recurring feature in the text spells out a word or a message. As a form of constrained writing, an acrostic can be used as a mnemonic device to aid memory retrieval.

Example of acrostic poetry

DARLINGby Sondra Crane

Dearer to me than words impart

Always in my thoughts and heart

Right from the very start I knew,

Love would always mean just you.

In every dream I see your face,

No one else can take your place,

Go where I will, you’ll always be,

    The only Valentine for me.

Limericks

A limerick is a five-line poem with a strict rhyme scheme (aabba), which intends to be witty or humorous, and is sometimes obscene with humorous intent.

Limerick example

The limerick packs laughs anatomical

In space that is quite economical,

But the good ones I've seen

So seldom are clean,

And the clean ones so seldom are comical.

-Unknown

Ode

Ode is a type of lyrical verse. It is typically a lyrical verse written in

praise of, or dedicated to someone or something which captures the poet's interest or serves as an inspiration for the ode.

The English ode's most common rhyme scheme is ABABCDECDE.

Ode example:Ode to Aphrodite Sappho (c. 630-570 B.C.)

Deathless Aphrodite, throned in flowers,Daughter of Zeus, O terrible enchantress,

With this sorrow, with this anguish, break my spiritLady, not longer!

Hear anew the voice! O hear and listen!Come, as in that island dawn thou camest,

Billowing in thy yoked car to SapphoForth from thy father's

Golden house in pity! ... I remember:Fleet and fair thy sparrows drew thee, beating

Fast their wings above the dusky harvests,Down the pale heavens,

Lightning anon! And thou, O blest and brightest,Smiling with immortal eyelids, asked me:

"Maiden, what betideth thee? Or whereforeCallest upon me?

"What is here the longing more than other,Here in this mad heart? And who the lovely

One beloved that wouldst lure to loving?Sappho, who wrongs thee?

"See, if now she flies, she soon must follow;Yes, if spurning gifts, she soon must offer;Yes, if loving not, she soon must love thee,

Howso unwilling...

" Come again to me! O now! Release me!End the great pang! And all my heart desireth

Now of fulfillment, fulfill! O Aphrodite,Fight by my shoulder!

Things to remember…

7 forms of poetry One main theme Explanation of theme at beginning of

compilation Must be a POLISHED final product Due January 11th!! START WORKING!