poetry exploring the genre. poetry: exploring the genre whether telling a story, capturing a single...
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POETRY
Exploring the Genre
Poetry: Exploring the Genre
Whether telling a story, capturing a single
moment, or describing nature in a whole new
way, poetry is the most musical of all literary
forms.
Poetry: Exploring the GenreDefinition:
Main Entry: po·et·ry Pronunciation: \ˈpō-ə-trē, -i-trē also ˈpȯ(-)i-trē\ Function: noun Date: 14th century
– 1 a : metrical writing : verse b : the productions of a poet : poems
– 2 : writing that formulates a concentrated imaginative awareness of experience in language chosen and arranged to create a specific emotional response through meaning, sound, and rhythm
– 3 a : something likened to poetry especially in beauty of expression b : poetic quality or aspect <the poetry of dance
Source: Merriam-Webster
VIEW BRAIN POP ON POETRY
Poetry: Strategies for Reading
Reading poetry is like solving a mystery. The poet provides you with clues in the form of words and phrases. Studying the clues carefully helps you put pieces together to form a complete picture. Use these strategies to help you in your poetic detective work (Prentice Hall 705).
Poetry: Strategies for Reading
1. Interpret Figurative Language– Figurative language is language not meant to
be taken literally. – Helps to create vivid, clear mental pictures.– Think: What is the writer trying to SHOW you…
2.Read lines according to punctuation– Keep reading when a line has no punctuation
at the end.– Pause at commas, dashes, and semicolons.– Stop at end marks, like periods, question
marks, or exclamation points.
Poetry: Strategies for Reading
3. Paraphrase– Look up any words that you do not know and
replace them with familiar synonyms.– Use the language you use in everyday
speech in place of formal language.– REREAD the passage to see if your new
interpretation makes sense when read with surrounding text.
4. Use your senses– Poets LOVE to use sensory details!!
Poetry: Narrative and Lyric
“The Cremation of Sam McGee”
“Washed in Silver”
“Winter”
Poetry: Narrative and Lyric
• Narrative Poetry:• Poetry that tells a story. Like a story, narrative
poetry has a plot, characters, and a setting. • Unlike a story, a narrative poem makes use of
sound devices, such as rhythm and repetition.
• Lyric Poetry:• Verse that expresses a poet’s thoughts and feelings
about a single image or idea. • Lyric poetry is written in vivid, musical language.
Poetry: Common Figures of Speech
SIMILE• A comparison between two
unlike things using like or as• Example: The old man
walked as slowly as a turtle creeping uphill.
• Example: “She sang like an angel.”
METAPHOR• A comparison between two
unlike things without using like or as
• Example: The horse’s coat was a sheet of velvet.
• Example: “Life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.”
HYPERBOLE• Exaggeration meant to
produce a particular effect.• Example: I tried a thousand
times.• Example: “The guard was
twelve feet tall with muscles of steel.”
PERSONIFICATION• Giving human characteristics
to a nonhuman subject• Example: The tree waved
happily at us as we walked along the road.
• Example: “The washing machine danced across the floor.”
“The Cremation of Sam McGee”
“The only society I like is that which is rough and tough—and the tougher the better.
That’s where you get down to bedrock and meet human people.”
Robert Service (1874-1958)
“The Cremation of Sam McGee” Robert Service was born in
England and raised in Scotland. He was sent to the Yukon
Territory by the bank he worked for.
There, he came face to face with the rough world of fur trappers and gold prospectors.
Soon, he began to write poems about these lively rough and tumble characters.
Eventually, Service left the bank for a full time life of writing. He traveled to the Yukon and other Artic areas for eight years recording his adventures.
“The Cremation of Sam McGee”
Historical BackgroundIn 1896, George Carmack, Tagish
Charlie, and Skookum Jim discovered gold on the Bonanza Creek.
This discovery marked to beginning of the
Klondike Gold Rush.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFflJCrZtGE
“The Cremation of Sam McGee”
This is a narrative poem. Like a narrative written in prose, “The
Cremation of Sam McGee” will follow the events of the plot diagram.
This poem will use exaggeration, humor, and fantasy to tell the tale of two gold prospectors and the promises made, promises kept.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cmmuQ8wYV0
Comparing Literary Works “The Cremation of Sam McGee” “Washed in Silver” “Winter” Simile
Explanation
Metaphor
Explanation
Hyperbole
Explanation
Personification
Explanation
Comparing Literary Works“The Cremation of Sam McGee”
Simile “cold like a driven nail”
Explanation The cold feels like a stab
Metaphor “a promise made is a debt unpaid”
Explanation Comparing a promise made to another to paying off money owed
Hyperbole “chilled clean through to the bone”
Explanation It is extremely cold
Personification
“the heavens scowled”“the stars came out and they danced about”
Explanation Scowling is a human attributeDancing is a human attribute.
Literary AnalysisPlot Characters Setting
Sam and Cap are looking for gold. Cap promises to cremate Sam if he dies. Sam dies and Cap cremates him. Cap then finds Sam alive and warm in the fire though he is really dead.
Sam McGee and Cap
The Yukon
Literary Analysis Questions
2. The central conflict is Cap’s promise to cremate Sam even when he is tired from carrying the body and doesn’t have any fuel to start a fire with.
3. The poem is different from a story in that it is structured like a poem and it rhymes.
“Washed in Silver” James Stephens grew
up in a poor neighborhood in Dublin, Ireland.
He was a veracious reader and read everything he got his hands on.
His writing and poetry often includes his love of Ireland’s powerful legends and fairy tales.
“Washed in Silver” captures the magical quality of Irish legends.
“Winter” Nikki Giovanni (b. 1943) is a
world-renowned poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator.
Over the past thirty years, her outspokenness, in her writing and in lectures, has brought the eyes of the world upon her.
One of the most widely-read American poets, she prides herself on being "a Black American, a daughter, a mother, a professor of English."
Giovanni remains as determined and committed as ever to the fight for civil rights and equality.
The author of some 30 books for both adults and children, Nikki Giovanni is a University Distinguished Professor at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.
“Washed in Silver”
Simile X
Explanation X
Metaphor “washed in silver”
Explanation Comparing moonlight to silver
Hyperbole “blazing in silver”
Explanation The sea is reflecting the moon
Personification “the moon drives royally”
Explanation Driving is a human skill
Literary Analysis: “Washed in Silver”
Literary Analysis: Questions
4. “Winter and “Washed in Silver” both focus on nature. The feelings that are expressed in each poem are also similar in that they both communicate a feeling of awe about their surroundings.
5. Answers will vary--be sure you provide an explanation
Literary Analysis: Form in Poetry
Form refers to the physical structure of the poem. It also refers to the rules the poet follows to achieve a particular structure. – There are many different
forms of poetry including stanza, concrete poem, and haiku.
Stanza:– A group of lines that
might be thought of as corresponding to a paragraph in prose. Most traditional English poems are divided into stanzas.
Concrete Poem:– A poem in which the
shape of the words suggests its subject. The poet arranges the letters and lines to create a visual image.
Haiku:– A traditional form of
Japanese poetry. A haiku always has three lines and seventeen syllables. There are 5 syllables in the first and third lines and 7 syllables in the second.
Poetry: Concrete and Haiku
“Seal”
“The Pasture”
“Three Haiku”
“Seal”
Born in Louisiana, William Jay Smith (b. 1918) has had a very busy life--teaching college students, writing poetry and essays, translating Russian and French, and even serving in the Vermont State Legislature.
Many of Smith’s poems are made for young people and can be described as being pure, simple, and fun.
Concrete Poetry
A poem in which the shape of the words suggests its subject.
The poet arranges the letters and lines to create a visual image.
In “Seal”, the poet uses a seal’s shape to describe the animal as he dives and swims through water.
“The Pasture”
Born in 1874, Frost spent most of his life in New England.
At different times in his life, he worked as a framer and as a part time teacher.
Frost had a long and distinguished career as a poet, winning the Pulitzer Prize four time--more than any other poet.
In “The Pasture”, the speaker describes spring cleaning on a farm. Instead of avoiding his duties, the speaker looks forward to the signs of the new season.
“Three Haiku” Matsuo Basho is known as the
first great poet in the history of haiku.
Basho's haikus are dramatic, and they exaggerate humor or depression, ecstasy or confusion. These dramatic expressions have a paradoxical nature. The humor and the despair which he expressed are not implements to believe in the possibility of the human being and to glorify it.
If anything, the literature of Basho has a character that the more he described men's deeds, the more human existence's smallness stood out in relief, and it makes us conscious of the greatness of nature's power.
Haikus A traditional form of
Japanese poetry. A haiku always has three lines and seventeen syllables. There are 5 syllables in the first and third lines and 7 syllables in the second.
The three haiku by Matsuo Basho express different images and feelings: a view of a mountain path, mist on a mountain, the smell of flower blossoms. In addition to describing these images, the haiku evoke surprise and wonder.
Comparing Literary Works:‘Seal”, “The Pasture”, “Three Haiku”
Attitude Words from the Poem that Convey the Attitude
“Seal”
playful toward nature “dill pickle”
“The Pasture”
excitement toward the things he will experience in nature
“I’ll only stop to rake the leaves away”
“Three Haiku”
deep respect toward nature “”A perfect evening
Comparing Literary Works:‘Seal”, “The Pasture”, “Three Haiku”
1. Who do you think is being addressed as “you” in “Seal” and “The Pasture”? Name at least two details from each poem to support your answer. “Seal”-the reader=“you”
”you” and “your” in lines 18 and 27 could be addressed to anyone
“The Pasture”-someone the speaker lives with = “you” “going out” and “shan’t be gone long”
2. What do you think Basho’s favorite season was? Support your answer.– Spring because he talks about flowers
and asks if spring has come
Poetry: Rhythm and Rhyme
“Annabel Lee”
“Martin Luther King”
Rhythm in Poetry
Rhythm is a poem’s pattern of stressed (`) and unstressed (u) syllables.
It is the accents of the syllables in the words falling at regular intervals like the beat of music.
u ` u ` u `
– He came/upon/an age– “de dumm de dumm de dumm”
Meter in Poetry
The meter of a poem is its rhythmical pattern. The BEAT of poetry FEET is called its meter.
– Feet in poetry is single units of stressed (`) and unstressed (u) syllables
A poem’s meter is made up of what kind of feet are used and how many feet are in each line.
u ` u ` u `
– Beset/ by grief,/ by rage– This line of poetry has three feet. – Each foot has two syllables: an unstressed
followed by a stressed
Rhyme in Poetry
Rhyme is the repetition of a sound at the ends of nearby words– Example: age/rage; dame/same
Types of rhyme:– SINGLE RHYME- love/dove– DOUBLE RHYME- napping/tapping– TRIPLE RHYME- mournfully/scornfully
“Annabel Lee” “Martin Luther King”
Both of these poems have a regular rhythm, but the number of feet in the lines creates a different effect in each poem.
Both poems also use pairs of rhyming words at the ends of lines but the arrangement is different.
Questions to Consider How do the rhythm
and rhyme schemes differ?
How do the rhythm and rhyme give both poems a musical quality?
Which poem’s sound is more appealing to you?
“Annabel Lee”
In “Annabel Lee”, Poe explores the unknown realm of death. The narrator mourns his lost love, Annabel Lee, who was taken from him at a young age, but whom he will never forget.
“Martin Luther King”
Raymond Richard Patterson’s (1929-2001) poety shows his passion for sharing his knowledge of African American history.
In just ten lines, “Martin Luther King” captures the essence of King’s life and his contribution to America.
The Civil Rights Movement The Civil Rights
Movement sought to abolish the barriers caused by racism in America. The movement lasted from 1945 through the late 1960s. At that time, African-Americans were denied many rights and were segregated in public places including schools, restaurants, and public facilities. This movement focused on making change through nonviolent protests including marches and sit ins.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxEkj40bRII
“Comparing Literary Works” and “Literary Analysis” Questions
1. Both poems have a rhyming pattern that is repeated throughout the poem.
2. Every other line rhymes in “Annabel Lee.” In “Martin Luther King,” each stanza consists of two lines that rhyme. “Martin Luther King” has the same pattern of stress in each line; “Annabel Lee” does not.
3. In “Annabel Lee,” the narrator mourns his lost love, who was taken from him at a young age, but whom he will never forget. “Martin Luther King” captures the essence of King’s life and his contribution to America.
“Comparing Literary Works” and “Literary Analysis” Questions
1. The speaker and Annabel Lee were soul mates. They shared a love so strong that it seemed to last beyond this world. The speaker says that nothing can separate him from her.
2. The poet uses the present tense rather than the past. Also, he describes his grief as a feeling that goes on with no remedy in sight.
3. He brought love and passion.4. King’s personal qualities resulted in people
finding their worth and their freedom.
Poetry: Sound Devices
“Full Fathom Five”
“Onomatopoeia”
“Maestro”
Sound Devices: Onomatopoeia
Onomatopoeia– The use of words
whose sounds suggest their meaning
– Example: sputter, drip, whisper, hiss, hoot, meow, murmur
Crack an EggCrack an egg.Stir the butter.Break the yolk.Make it flutter.Stoke the heat.Hear it sizzle.Shake the salt,just a drizzle.Flip it over,just like that.Press it down.Squeeze it flat.Pop the toast.Spread jam thin.Say the word.Breakfast's in .
Sound Devices: Alliteration
Alliteration– Repeated
consonant sounds at the beginning of words
– Example: “Full fathom five
they father lies” “In a summer
season, where soft was sun”
Often the sounds and meanings of the words combine to create a mood. – Here, repetition of b and
t stresses a feeling of urgency.
Hear the loud alarum bells-- Brazen bells!
What a tale of terror, now, their turbulency tells!
-Edgar Allen Poe, "The Bells"
Sound Devices: Assonance
Assonance– The repetition of
the same vowel sound in different words
– Example: “would blend again and again”
– “O harp and alter, of the fury fused”
This selection uses the repetition of the o sound and then the a sound.
Slow things are beautiful:The closing of the day,The pause of the waveThat curves downward to spray.
--Elizabeth Coatsworth, "Swift Things are
Beautiful”
Sound Devices: Assonance
Consonance– The repetition
of similar final consonant sounds at the ends of words or accented syllables.
Examples: – splatters,
scatters, spurts
– lady lounges lazily
– dark deep dread crept in
“Full Fathom Five” Many people consider
William Shakespeare to be the greatest writer in the English language. He wrote 37 plays many of which are still being performed today.
In this excerpt, a song from the play The Tempest, we learn that the young prince’s father has drowned and has undergone a change on the sea floor. He has become part of the coral life there.
“Onomatopoeia”
Eve Merriman’s facination with words began at an early age.
This poem describes the sounds and look of water flowing from a rusty faucet.
“Maestro”
Pat Mora grew up in El Paso, Texas on the border between the USA and Mexico. Many of her writings speak of her experiences as a Mexican-American.
She has won many awards for her stories and poetry.
In “Maestro” when a musician bows to the audience after a performance, he hears not the clapping but only his mother’s singing. He recalls the rich musical experiences of his childhood.
Comparing Literary Works” Questions
“Full Fathom
Five”
“Onomatopoeia” “Maestro”
Onomatopoeia Ding dong Spurts, sputters, splatters, plash
clap
Alliteration Full fathom five thy father lies
Spigot, sputtersSplatters, scatters
He hears her
Assonance Five, lies (“I” sound)
Slash, splatters, scatters (“a” sound)
Would blend again and again (“en” sound”
Consonance Ding, dong (“d” sound)
Splatters, scatters, spurts (“s” sound)
Rows of hands (“s” sound)
“Literary Analysis” Questions
1. “Full Fathom Five” involves water drowning a man. “Onomatopoeia” involves water coming out of a rusty spigot.
2. A man drowns and turns into part of the sea in “Full Fathom Five.” In “Onomatopoeia,” water comes out of a rusty spigot.
3. Lunas, amor, voz, guiterra, and violin. Are the Spanish words used in the poem. The words give the reader a sense of the Mexican songs and cultural background that influenced the performer’s feelings toward music.