piecing together the poetry puzzle

PIECING TOGETHER THE POETRY PUZZLEImportant Poetry Terms

So……..You Think Poetry is Hard?

Try Calculus

Prefer the Poetry? Poetry can be less puzzling if:

You understand the terminology You have a reliable approach for analysis You read more of it

Form Line

A single line of text in a poem Not necessarily a sentence Sometimes one sentence can span across several lines

Stanza Series of lines grouped together Couplet (2 lines) Tercet (3 lines) Quatrain (4 lines) Quintet (5 lines) Sestet (6 lines) Octave (8 lines)

Example Stanza =one sentence and five lines

I shall be telling this with a sighSomewhere ages and ages hence:Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by,And that has made all the difference.

Lyric Poem Very popular with Romantic Writers 1st person account Thoughts and feelings Usually describes specific moment

Sonnet Specific lyric poem Consists of 14 lines

Petrarchan Octave and Sestet Abba abba, cdecde or cdcdcd

Shakespearean Three quatrains and a couplet Iambic Pentameter Abab, cdcd, efef, gg

Excerpt from a Sonnet Two households, both alike in dignity,

In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.From forth the fatal loins of these two foesA pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;Whose misadventured piteous overthrowsDo with their death bury their parents' strife.

Rhyme Repetition of similar sounds Most common is end rhyme

Occurs at the end of two of more lines Rhyme scheme is noted with lower case

letters New letter=new sound

What is the rhyme scheme?Now, the Star-Belly Sneetches had bellies with stars. The Plain-Belly Sneetches had none upon thars. Those stars weren’t so big. They were really so small. You might think such a thing wouldn’t matter at all. 

“Beware the Jabberwock, my son!The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!

Beware the Jubjub bird, and shunThe frumious Bandersnatch!”

Rhythm Sound pattern in poetic language Two parts

Type of foot Number of feet

Foot= rhythmical unit Usually 2 or 3 syllables Stressed = strong or loud syllable Unstressed= weak or quiet syllable

Types of Feet Iambic

Unstressed, Stressed Trochaic

Stressed, Unstressed Anapestic

Unstressed, Unstressed, Stressed Dactylic

Stressed, Unstressed, Unstressed

Number of Feet Two feet = dimeter Three feet= trimeter Four feet= tetrameter Five feet= pentameter Six feet= hexameter

Identify the RhythmBecause I could not stop for Death –He kindly stopped for me –The Carriage held but just Ourselves –And Immortality.

Identify the Rhythm He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

Identify the Rhythm Double, double toil and trouble;     Fire burn, and cauldron bubble. 

Special Terms Blank Verse

Iambic Pentameter No Rhyme Shakespeare’s favorite

Free Verse No rhythm No rhyme

Figurative Language Simile

Comparison using like or as Metaphor

Comparison of two things not using like or as

Usually more direct comparison Calling the object something else

Personification Giving humanlike qualities to an inanimate

object

So how do I approach a poem? Read the poem once for understanding

Focus on the words Read the poem again

This time look at the structure as well Mark up the poem, if possible

If not, take notes separately

Approach Continued Meaning

Underline important words or phrases Write questions near unfamiliar words or

phrases Answer Who, What, When, Where, Why

Who is the speaker? What is the speaker talking about?

Look for figurative language

Approach Continued Form

Examine stanza and line length Identify rhythm and rhyme What does the poem look like? Any interesting punctuation usage?

Let’s Practice The only way to get “good” at

understanding poetry is to read poetry