Poetry &

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Poetry Poetic Devices
Honors English 10 Mrs. Schepis
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A Poem
A poem is a portrait sketched in words. It is a
synonym for the soul, a sermon From the stars.
It is a song of mockingbirds Who mimic men the
fragrance of a forgotten Rose. It is the grammar
of the soul And the language of the heart. It is
a dream That comes to those who are awake a
stroll Upon the boulevard of time a scheme To
conquer death. It is the romance of France In a
triolet or it is the power of Rome In a sonnet.
It is a waltz for words, a dance Of the pen to
the time of a mental metronome. A poem is a
mental prayer and a breath From the soul which
says that life is more than death. - Roger
Bates Kronmann
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How to (carefully!) Read a Poem

• How do you define poetry?
• Almost impossible to do.
• As you grow older and are able to understand more
  words, poems take on entirely new dimensions.

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How to (carefully!) Read a Poem

• What kind of language is used in poetry?
• A poet seeks the most meaningful words
• Poets use sounds deliberately to enhance the
  message of the poem
• A poet uses words that are the most suggestive,
  expressive, and precise for the poets purpose

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How to (carefully!) Read a Poem

• And what IS the poets purpose?
• This is a hard question to answer.
• Poetry communicates feelings and experiences
  rather than objective facts.
• Poetry says more and talks less than other
  forms of expression.
• It does this by using a number of language
  resources POETIC DEVICES

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How to (carefully!) Read a Poem

• How then, do you respond to a poem?
• You need to understand and react to its special
  language and structure.
• It is a good idea to read a poem several times
  and aloud at least once.
• It is often helpful to write a prose paraphrase
  of a poem to help you clarify and simplify the
  authors ideas and language.

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Guidelines for Close Reading of Poetry

• Read the poem aloud at least once, following the
  punctuation for phrasing.
• Commas, semicolons, periods, and other marks of
  punctuation tell you where to pause!
• Poets do not expect the reader to pause at the
  end of each line!

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Guidelines for Close Reading of Poetry

• Respond thoughtfully to key words and references.
• Many words have both denotative and connotative
  meanings.
• Denotative meaning is the dictionary definition
• Connotative meaning carries emotional
  associations.

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Guidelines for Close Reading of Poetry

• Write a paraphrase of any lines that need
  clarification or simplification.
• A paraphrase helps a reader respond more fully to
  the poem and to understand imagery and figurative
  language.
• It also puts inverted word order into normal word
  order.

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Guidelines for Close Reading of Poetry

• Using your own response to the poem, write a
  statement clarifying its central idea or meaning.
• Try to state this idea in one or two sentences.
• In this way you can use your own reactions as a
  means of exploring the poets message.

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Guidelines for Close Reading of Poetry

• Read the poem Autumn Chant by Edna
  St. Vincent Millay on page 363 several times to
  yourself.
• The notes alongside the poem represent one
  readers responses.
• Compare these responses with your own.

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Poetic Devices
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1 - 5 IMAGERY

• Words or phrases used to put the senses to work
  in an effort to create pictures (or images) in
  the readers mind. Imagery is chiefly visual,
  but images also help one hear something, smell
  something, taste something, or touch something.
• The purpose of imagery is to help one re-create
  in the mind the situation the writer imagines,
  so that we can react as we would to the thing or
  experience itself.
• Writers use imagery as a tool to achieve
  intensity in their work.

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1 IMAGERY OF SIGHT

• With words, the writer creates visual images
  that make the reader see what is being
  described with the minds eye.
• Not just a moonbutThe soft yellow glow of the
  moon peeked out behind the blanket of dark
  clouds.

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2 IMAGERY OF SOUND
With words, the writer creates a clear and
definite sound that the reader can relate to and
hear with his or her imagination. Not just a
crickets soundbutThe sharp, melodious trill
of the chirping cricket on a hot summers
night.
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3 IMAGERY OF SMELL
With words, the writer describes a clear smell
that the reader can relate and respond to with
his or her imagination. (This is one of the
strongest senses yet, it is rarely used in
writing). Not just piebutOpening Grandmas
kitchen door, I was warmly greeted by the
cinnamon sweet aroma of her just baked apple
pie.
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4 IMAGERY OF TASTE
With words, the writer creates a taste so clear
and defined that the reader can actually taste
what is being described by using ones
imagination. Not just lemonadebutThe
unexpected tart of the freshly squeezed lemonade
caused my lips to pucker as I drank it all
down.
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5 IMAGERY OF TOUCH
With words, the writer describes a touch so
clear that the reader can actually feel what is
being described by using ones imagination.
(Touch can be both texture and temperature). Not
just sandbutThe wet gritty sand squished
between my toes as I walked along the beach.
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Imagery Practice
(work on creative imagery one-liners for the
following)
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• Homework IMAGERY STUDY
• Read The Lake Isle of Innisfree on page 377
• Read Reapers on page 378

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Imagery Discussion
(discuss the use of imagery in the following
lines of poetry) 1 BySamuel Hazo I threw
and threw until my shirtback clung adhesively
and cold against my spine. It was no more a case
of having fun. I swore I would keep throwing
till I won. 2 ByThomas J. Lyon Little lady
of wrinkled potato skin Clutching a five and
dime shopping bag I try to stop to take your
hand To tell you you are there.
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3 ByWilliam Wordsworth A violet by a mossy
stone Half hidden from the eye! - Fair as a
star when only one Is shining in the sky.
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4 ByLouis Simpson (full poem) The time is
after dinner. Cigarettes Glow on the
lawn Glasses begin to tinkle TV sets Have
been turned on. The moon is brimming like a
glass of beer Above the town. And love keeps
her appointments Harrys here! Ill be
right down. But the pale stranger in the
furnished room Lies on his back Looking at
paper roses, how they bloom. And ceilings crack.
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PREREADING Take a moment to write about a
favorite place. Focus on the sights and sounds
found there. As you read the following
poems, pay careful attention to the sight and
sound imagery. After completing the reading, we
will share your findings and discuss your
reactions to the speakers fantasy.
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6 SIMILE

• A simile is a type of figurative language
  (language that shows one way of saying
  something while meaning something else. To
  understand it, we cannot take it literally we
  must interpret it.)
• A simile is a direct comparison made between two
  unlike things, using a word of comparison such
  as like, as, than, such as, or resembles.
  Similes are one of the most frequently used
  figures of speech. Ex My Luves like a red,
  red, rose.
• Similes are similar to metaphors in their
  comparison of two essentially unlike things.
  The main difference lies in their degree of
  directness. Similes use specific comparative
  words to denote the comparison. While similes
  are sometimes rather direct, they can also be
  quite subtle.

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Simile Practice

• Discuss the effectiveness of the similes in the
  poems to follow.
• ByAmy Lowell
• When I go away from you
• The world beats dead
• Like a slackened drum.

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• BySamuel Hazo
• My Sealed Aquarium
• Seatbelted for the worst,
• I slither into traffic like a trout.
• Downstream, down
• sluicing ramps, down
• capillary boulevards, down
• freeways, Mississippis,
• I ogle from my sealed
• aquarium and swim with schools
• in the current
• Fish-eyed
• in glass, I minnow sideways
• to the blink of go and stop.
• I race the passing gills.
• I trail the leadering fish.

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7 METAPHOR

• A metaphor is another type of figurative
  language (see simile).
• A comparison made between two things which are
  basically dissimilar, with the intent of giving
  added meaning to one of them. Metaphor is one
  of the most common forms of figurative language.
  A metaphor eliminates the specific word of
  comparison that the simile uses and directly
  identifies the comparison. Ex All the world
  is a stage.
• Many metaphors are not directly stated rather,
  some are subtly implied or suggested (see direct
  and indirect below)
• Direct Metaphor The fog comes / on little cat
  feet.
• Indirect Metaphor I stood on the rim / Of a
  wound just healing.

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• An (A) IMPLIED METAPHOR does not directly tell
  us that one thing is another different thing but
  simply implies a comparison.
• An (B) EXTENDED METAPHOR is a metaphor that is
  extended throughout a majority of the poem or
  throughout the entire poem.
• Metaphors are effective because they often help
  to put a specific picture/image in our minds.
  They often arouse strong emotional feelings,
  for the reader can then relate to the
  authors/speakers words.

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Metaphor Practice
Exercise A Shakespeare once wrote All
the worlds a stage And all the men and women
merely players. Expand this metaphor by
continuing these lines and composing some of your
own comparisons of elements of acting to aspects
of our lives.
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Exercise B Write a paragraph/poem (at least 6
lines) expanding a metaphor (as you did for the
previous exercise). Try to make as many logical
and creative relationships as possible. Begin
with at least two of the following metaphors,
and then create two of your own. 1) Life is
a football game. 2) My little brother is a
grasshopper. 3) School is a carnival. 4) Get
ting into college is a marathon. 5) Shopping
for new clothes is a battle. ---------------------
--------------------------------------------------
-------------
If time allows, discuss the (type of) metaphor on
the following slide.
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A Noiseless Patient Spider A noiseless patient
spider, I marked where on a little promontory it
stood isolated, Marked how to explore the vacant
vast surrounding, It launched forth filament,
filament, filament, out of itself, Ever unreeling
them, ever tirelessly speeding them. And you O
my soul where you stand, Surrounded, detached, in
measureless oceans of space, Ceaselessly musing,
venturing, throwing, seeking spheres to connect
them, Till the bridge you will need be formed,
till the ductile anchor hold, Till the gossamer
thread you fling catch somewhere, O my
soul. - byWalt Whitman

• Describe the scene depicted through the images in
  the first stanza.
• How does the second stanza differ from the first
  in subject matter?
• What relationship do you see between the two
  stanzas?
• Who is the speaker? What is the poems purpose?
• What are the poems multiple meanings? What is
  the underlying metaphor?

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• Simile/Metaphor Study
• The Base Stealer (page 388)
• Dreams (page 388)
• The Lake (page 390)
• She Sweeps with Many-Colored Brooms (page 392)

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8 ALLITERATION

• The repetition of consonant sounds in a group of
  words close together. Most often, alliteration
  comes at the beginning of words, although it can
  appear in the middle and at the end of words as
  well.
  Ex a dime a dozen,
  bigger and better, and jump for
  joy.
• One important function of alliteration is to
  give special emphasis to the words alliterated.
  Our ear hears them as having special value.
  This is why, although alliteration is most often
  used in poetry, it is also used in advertising
  and political speeches.

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• Alliteration is often used to reinforce meaning
  or to create mood.
• The most powerful alliterations are those with
  three or more words alliterated.
• Ex Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled
  peppers.

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9 ASSONANCE

• This is very similar to alliteration with one
  difference assonance is the repetition of
  vowel sounds in a group of words close together.
  Assonance differs from full rhyme in that in
  assonance only the vowel sounds repeat in full
  rhyme, the vowels and consonants repeat. Exs.
  Find and mind are an example of full rhymes, but
  find and hive, because of only the repeated i
  sound, are an example of assonance.
• Ex Poes The Bells From the molten golden
  notes...

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• Alliteration/Assonance Practice
• The Splendor Falls (page 416)
• Summer Remembered (page 420)

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Alliteration Assonance Practice

• Read the following portions of poems. Locate
  examples of alliteration and assonance (such
  poems often use rhyming as well) and then discuss
  the effect that these devices have on those
  lines of poetry.
• ByEdgar Allan Poe
• For the moon never beams, without bringing me
  dreams
• Of the beautiful Annabel Lee
• And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright
  eyes
• Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.

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• Langston Hughes
• Golden girl
• in a golden gown
• in a melody night
• in Harlem town.
• Walter de la Mare
• Couched in his kennel, like a log,
• With paws of silver sleeps the dog
• From their shadowy cote the white breasts peep
• Of doves in a silver-feathered sleep.

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10 PERSONIFICATION

• A figure of speech in which something nonhuman
  (a creature, idea, or object) is given human
  characteristics or feelings.
  Ex The moon smiled at me.
• When discussing poetry and identifying
  personification, try to identify WHAT is being
  personified, as well as HOW the poem personifies
  it. Ex The moon smiled at me.

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Personification Practice
Discuss the personification in the following
poems and discuss the effect it creates.
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1) ByWalter de la Mare Silver Slowly,
silently, now the moon Walks the night in her
silver shoon This way, and that, she peers, and
sees Silver fruit upon silver trees One by one
the casements catch Her beams beneath the silvery
thatch Couched in his kennel, like a log, With
paws of silver sleeps the dog From their shadowy
cote the white breasts peep Of doves in a
silver-feathered sleep A harvest mouse goes
scampering by, With silver claws and a silver
eye And moveless fish in the water gleam, By
silver reeds in a silver stream.
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• ByKathleen Spivack
• March 1st
• Coming out of the house on a fresh March morning,
• I saw February still meandering around
• like laundry caught in a Bendix. Stray shreds
• of cloud, like pillow slips, were rent from
• her large endlessness. Outdated,
• her decrepit body garlanded itself dis-
• gracefully with powder. She luxuriated in old
  age.
• Even her graying sheets were still there,
• tattered, heaped carelessly on the street,
• bearing the indentation of someones huge body
• and furred with a fine fringe of soot.
• She had been plump, she had been heavy, sitting
• on top of us since January. Winter, you
• old clothes hamper, what mildew
• still molders inside you before March

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11 ONOMATOPOEIA

• The use of a word whose sound imitates or
  reinforces its meaning. In everyday speech,
  words such as whoosh, tick- tock, zoom, purr,
  popcorn, and buzz are onomatopoetic.

Onomatopoeia Practice
Discuss the effect created by the examples of
onomatopoeia given above.
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12 HYPERBOLE

• A figure of speech that uses exaggeration or
  overstatement for effect. Ex I could beat
  you with one arm tied behind my back. Or,
  Robert Burns poem, A Red, Red Rose. As fair
  art thou, my bonnie lass, / So deep in luve am I
  /And I will luve thee still, my dear, / Till a
  the seas gang dry.

Hyperbole Practice
Create 4 sentences 2 sentences containing
non-original hyperboles and 2 sentences
containing original hyperboles.
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Now its time for
Poem Pathway
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SYNECDOCHE

• A figure of speech in which a part of something
  is used to refer to or imply a whole. For
  example, we use the term all hands on deck to
  refer to all men/sailors on decknot really all
  hands.

Synecdoche Practice
Attempt to come up with 3 examples of synecdoche.
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13 SPEAKER

• The speaker of the poem is the voice in the
  poem. The voice in a poem can possibly be that
  of the poet, but more likely it is the voice of
  an invented character (person, animal, or thing)
  created by the poet. Some poems even have
  multiple speakers.
• One of the first things to do when you read a
  poem is to look for clues that identify its
  speaker. Even when the poet begins the poem
  with I, we cannot assume and should not assume
  the speaker is the poet. It is always best to
  assume the speaker is invented like any other
  literary character.

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Speaker Practice
(Read the following short poem and decipher the
speaker).
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Patience I try to have patience but its too
much to expect from me. I want my needs met
now I need to restto napto plan. The window
is the place where all my needs are met. Sun
beams help me thinkhelp me sleep. Who is at my
window? Little wrennot so wise. Licking my
lips, I creep closer, a full belly helps me
think as well. Look at you fluttering your
wings you tempt you delight. I slowly gaze at
the clock dinner is not until ten, but a
not-so-wise winged wren will do fine until
then.
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14 REFRAIN

• A common form of repetition in which one or more
  words, phrases, or lines that are repeated
  regularly in a poem, usually at the end of each
  stanza. Refrains are especially common in
  ballads, which are story poems that are meant to
  be sung.
• Refrains are used to aid memory and emphasize an
  idea.

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Refrain Practice
Think of your favorite songs refrains. Now
focus on one song that has a particularly
effective and memorable refrain. What is the
refrain? What is it about that particular
refrain that makes it effective and memorable?
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15 TONE

• The attitude a writer takes toward the subject
  or the reader of a work of literature. Two
  writers can write on the same subject and convey
  a completely different tone.
• An adjective is usually used to describe the tone
  of a work of literature straightforward,
  serious, humorous, angry, lighthearted, cynical,
  affectionate, bitter, scornful, compassionate,
  detached, etc.

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• It is important to think about the tone of a
  piece of writing, for if you misinterpret tone,
  you can misread the entire story or poem.
• To interpret tone, you should look at how the
  writer describes the characters, what point of
  view he has chosen, and what he tells about the
  characters feelings for each other.
• You should also look at the writers description
  of setting and the mood or atmosphere the words
  evoke.
• Tone can also be conveyed by the arrangement of
  words, by rhythm, sound (volume, inflection, and
  pitch), images, and figures of speech.

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Tone Practice
Describe the tone in the following popular sonnet
(Sonnet 130) Tone _______________
My mistress eyes are nothing like the sun, Coral
is far more red than her lips red. If snow be
white, why then her breasts are dun, If hairs be
wires, black wires grow on her head. I have seen
roses damaskd, red and white, But no such roses
see I in her cheeks. And in some perfumes is
there more delight Than in the breath that from
my mistress reeks. I love to hear her speak, yet
well I know That music hath a far more pleasing
sound. I grant I never saw a goddess go, My
mistress, when she walks, treads on the
ground. And yet, by heaven, I think my love as
rare As any she belied with false compare.
-byWilliam Shakespeare
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Tone Practice
Miss Rosie by Lucille Clifton (page 403) A
Blessing by James Wright (page
404) Ex-Basketball Player by John Updike (page
410)
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16 POETIC INVERSION

• The reversal of the usual order of words in a
  sentence. Sometimes poetic inversion is used to
  stress a particular word, for emphasis, and
  other times it is used to create rhythm or for
  technical reasons such as to create an end
  rhyme. Ex. From heaven sent was he.
• Anything written using the device of poetic
  inversion should be able to be written in
  normal speech. All words in the inverted
  sentence should be used in the normal sentence.
  (From heaven sent was he to He was sent from
  heaven)

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Poetic Inversion Practice
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17 END RHYME

• In poetry, a rhyme that occurs in the last
  syllables of verses
• One of the chief functions of rhyme is to insure
  the unity of the poem. The repetition of
  rhyming sounds emphasizes the relationship of
  certain lines. Another function of rhyme is to
  build our anticipation, which can either be
  satisfied or frustrated. Rhyme is often used
  also to produce humor.
• End rhyme is the most common form of rhyme. This
  places the rhyme sound at the end of a line of
  verse. The effect is one of closure, rest, and
  a sense of completion and fulfillment of
  expectation.

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from Robert Frost's Stopping by Woods on a
Snowy Evening

• 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.
• End rhyme is the most common type of rhyme in
  English poetry.

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18 INTERNAL RHYME

• Rhyme between a word within a line and another
  word either at the end of the same line or within
  another line
• One of the chief functions of rhyme is to insure
  the unity of the poem. The repetition of
  rhyming sounds emphasizes the relationship of
  certain lines. Another function of rhyme is to
  build our anticipation, which can either be
  satisfied or frustrated. Rhyme is often used
  also to produce humor.
• Internal rhyme repeats sound within a single line
  of the verse. Ex Nibbling like a mouse,
  someones nibbling at my house.

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from Percy Bysshe Shelleys The Cloud

• I am the daughter of Earth and Water,
• And the nursling of the Sky
• I pass through the pores of the ocean and shores
• I change, but I cannot die.

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• RHYME SCHEME The pattern of rhymes in a stanza
  or poem. A rhyme scheme is usually indicated by
  using small letters to stand for each rhyme,
  starting with a for the first rhyme sound, b for
  the second rhyme sound, and so on. When
  analyzing a poem, be sure to give the same rhyme
  sound the same letter, even if it appears in a
  different position in subsequent stanzas. Rhyme
  scheme is based on end end rhyme (this is also
  part of scansion - see example on next
  slide).
• It is important to note that spelling has
  nothing to do with rhyme rather, it is the
  sound that counts.

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Rhyme Scheme Practice
The Purple Cow Reflections on a Mythic
Beast, Whos Quite Remarkable, at Least. I
never saw a Purple Cow I never Hope to See
One But I can Tell you, Anyhow, Id rather See
than Be One. - byGelett
Burgess
a a
b c b c
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19 TYPE POEM/FORMULA POEM

• Formula poems are poems that follow a dictated
  arrangement.

Formula Practice
Attempt to write three short poems using three
different formula options from the list given
above (use handout as guide).
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20 RHYTHM THE SONNET

• RHYTHM Is the natural rise and fall of
  language - the alternation and arrangement of
  stressed (/) and unstressed (x)
  syllables. The rhythm in poetry, as in music,
  can be fast, slow, soothing, disturbing, and so
  on. When rhythm follows a generally regular
  pattern, we say it has meter. Poetry in meter
  is poetry in which we can detect a more or less
  regular beat. Rhythm is used to lend
  musicality to a poem and to support the meaning
  of its lines. We often recognize rhythm as the
  regular beat of a song.
• Through a method called scansion, you will learn
  to determine the rhythm (the pattern of stressed
  and unstressed syllables) within one line of
  poetry.

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Rhythm Hints

• Words that are usually unstressed (marked by x)
• Prepositions -Forms of to be
• Conjunctions -Prefixes
• Article adjectives (a, an, the) -Suffixes
• Pronouns
• Words that are usually stressed (marked by an
  /)
• -Nouns
• -(Roots of) Adjectives
• -(Roots of) Adverbs
• -Verbs

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Rhythm Identifying Stressed and Unstressed
Syllables

• To begin the process of scansion, divide each of
  the following words and phrases into syllables
  (by dashes), and mark each syllable as either
  stressed (/) or unstressed (x).
• Word List
• single 6) poem
• radio 7) on the table
• rehearse 8) safely
• celebrate 9) bacon
• remember 10) playing the piano
• Example single sing - le

/ x
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• Word List
• single sing - le
• radio ra - di - o
• rehearse re - hearse
• celebrate cel - e - brate
• remember re - mem - ber
• poem po - em
• on the table on the ta - ble
• safely safe - ly

/ x / / x x
/ / x x x /
x / x x x /
x / x
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• 9) bacon ba - con
• playing the piano play - ing the pi - a
  - no
• Now try doing the same thing with this short
  poem
• Roses are red Ro ses are red
• Violets are blue Vi (o)lets are blue
• Sugar is sweet Su gar is sweet
• And so are you And so are you

/ x / x x x /
x
/ x x / / x x
/ / x x / x /
x /
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• FOOT A foot of poetry is the basic, recognized
  pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables
  within one single line of poetry.
• For this year, you will be introduced to basic
  patterns (which you will not study in detail
  until Junior year).
• 1) iamb X / (iambic)
• 2) trochee / X (trochaic)
• 3) anapest X X / (anapestic)
• 4) dactyl / X X (dactylic)
• 5) spondee / /
• After you recognize the basic pattern within one
  line of poetry, you then need to see how many
  times that pattern is repeated within that one
  line of poetry (which is known as meter).

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• METER Meter is a created system that poets use
  to categorize the predominant rhythms of
  poetry. Meter is the number of feet within a
  line of poetry (in other words, how many times
  you see a repeated pattern foot within that
  single line of poetry).
• 1) monometer one foot
• 2) dimeter two feet
• 3) trimeter three feet
• 4) tetrameter four feet
• 5) pentameter five feet
• 6) hexameter six feet
• 7) heptameter seven feet
• 8) octameter eight feet
• 9) nonometer nine feet
• Scansion Example (stressed words in all caps)
• Was THIS / the FACE / that LAUNCHED / a THOU- /
  sand SHIPS

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Scansion

• You will cover scansion in detail Junior year,
  but for now, you
• should at least be familiar with the process. To
  scan a poem
• Divide the lines into syllables with dashes or
  slashes
• Go through and mark each syllable as stressed (/)
  or unstressed (x) using your recognition of the
  natural stresses and unstresses of words as well
  as your rhythm hints. (Remember Try not to
  force syllables. You are looking for the
  dominant pattern, but there are always
  exceptionsbe patient!)
• Start looking at the left of the line to look and
  see if a rhythmic pattern is forming (there are
  exceptions)mark/divide those repeated patterns
  with straight slashes.
• Name the foot used in the line (the recognized
  pattern)
• Count the number of feet in the line, then name
  the meter
• (rememberthe foot always precedes the meter
  when you name the patternsuch as iambic
  pentameter)

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Lets attempt to scan these lines by Siegfried
Sassoon (following your scansion rules). And
when the war is done and youth stone dead, Id
toddle safely home and die in bed.
Rhyme x / x /
x / x / x
/ Scheme x / x /
x / x / x /
And when the war is done and youth stone
dead, a Id todd-le safe-ly home and die
in -- bed. a

• Look for the repeated pattern and mark it with a
  straight slash.
• What is the pattern (foot)?
• How many times is that pattern repeated in a
  single line (meter)?

So you have a poem that is written isiambic
pentameter
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Lets attempt to scan these lines by William
Wordsworth (following your scansion
rules). She dwelt among the untrodden
ways Besides the springs of Dove, A Maid whom
there were none to praise And very few to love.
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x / x / (x) x
/ x / Rhyme Scheme
x / x / x
/ x / x /
x / x / x
/ x / x /
She dwelt a-mong the un-trodd-en
ways a Be-sides the springs of
Dove, b A Maid whom there were none to
praise a And ver-y few to love. b

• Look for the repeated pattern and mark it with a
  straight slash.
• What is the pattern (foot)?
• How many times is that pattern repeated in a
  single line (meter)?

So you have a poem that is written isiambic
tetrameter/trimeter
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• The Sonnet
• A sonnet is a lyric poem having fourteen rhymed
  lines, usually written in iambic pentameter
  (that is, fourteen lines, with each line
  containing ten syllables with every second
  syllable accented). Both forms take on a single
  topic and develop it completely.
• There are two traditional rhyme schemes of a
  sonnet, which are the Petrarchan (or Italian)
  and the Shakespearean (or English).
• The Petrarchan sonnet has an eight-line
  beginning called the octave, and a six-line
  conclusion called the sestet. The feelings
  expressed in the octave often contrast with
  those expressed in the sestet.

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• The Shakespearean sonnet often develops aspects
  of its topic in each of three quatrains (groups
  of four lines each), and uses the final
  couplet as a conclusion. Ex Shakespeares
  Shall I Compare Thee to a Summers Day?
• The sonnet form originated in Italy and was most
  popular for love poems, although it could be
  used for any subject, and was used for many
  topics, particularly topics like love, death,
  and religion.

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Sonnet Scansion Practice

• Using your scansion handout, read the following
  sonnet, and then scan it as you have learned
  (there are some exceptions in sonnets).
• Figure out the rhyme scheme and write it down
  the far right side of the poem.
• Figure out whether you are dealing with a
  Petrarchan or a Shakespearian sonnet and write
  your answer at the bottom of the poem (be
  prepared to explain why).
• Mark each syllables rhythm (the foot) by going
  line-by-line marking each syllable as either
  stressed (/) or unstressed (x) using your rhythm
  hints.
• Look for how many times a repeated rhythmic
  pattern occurs and mark it off with straight
  slash marks (the repeated pattern is your
  meter). So what is your poem written in (feet
  meter)? Also put this answer at the bottom of
  the poem (and be prepared to explain your
  response).

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Sonnet
x / x / x /
x / x / x / x
/ x / x / x /
x / x / x /
x / x / x / x
/ x / x / x
/
No long-er mourn for me when I am
dead Than you shall hear the sur-ly
sull-en bell Give warn-ing to the world
that I am fled From this vile world with
vil-est worms to dwell
a b a b
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x / x / x / x
/ x / x / x
/ x / x / x / x
/ x / x /
x / x / x / x /
x / x / x
/
c d c d
Nay, if you read this line, re-mem-ber
not The hand that writ it, for I love
you so That I in your sweet thoughts
would be for-got If think-ing on me then
should make you woe.
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x / x / x / x /
x / x / x / x
/ x / x / x /
x / x / x /
x / x / x / x
/ x / x /
x / x / x
/ x / x / x
/ x / x / x /
x /
e f e f g g
Of if, I say, you look up-on this
verse When I per-haps com-pound-ed am with
clay Do not so much as my poor name
re-hearse But let your love even with my
life de-cay Lest the wise world should
look in-to your groan, And mock you
with me af-ter I am gone.
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Rhyme Scheme a b a b c d c d e f e f
g g Meter iambic Feet penta So the poem
is written iniambic pentameter
The poem is a Shakespearian Sonnet because it
contains 14 lines divided into 3 quatrains and 1
couplet. It develops its topic in the first
three quatrains and then concludes with its
overall point in the rhyming couplet.
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THE END!
Now start writing poetry!
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More Poetry Information To Know
Before you ask YES its on the test!
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STANZA

• A group of related lines that forms a division
  of a poem or song. Stanzas are usually used
  to mark divisions of thought in a poem, and so
  they function somewhat as paragraphs do. In
  some poems, each stanza has the same pattern in
  others, each stanza is different.
• Some of the best known of the regular stanza
  patterns are the couplet (2 lines/stanza), the
  quatrain (4 lines/stanza), the sestet (6
  lines/stanza), and the octave (8 lines/stanza).

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4 ByLouis Simpson (full poem) The time is
after dinner. Cigarettes Glow on the
lawn Glasses begin to tinkle TV sets Have
been turned on. The moon is brimming like a
glass of beer Above the town. And love keeps
her appointments Harrys here! Ill be
right down. But the pale stranger in the
furnished room Lies on his back Looking at
paper roses, how they bloom. And ceilings
crack.
How many stanzas? How many lines per stanza,
which ? So you have
There are 3 stanzas 4 lines ( quatrain)

3 stanzas (3 quatrains)
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FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

• Language that is used to describe one thing in
  terms of something else language that is not
  intended to be taken literally. Figures of
  speech are not literally true, but they can help
  one to see the similarities between things that
  seem to be completely different therefore,
  figurative language depends upon a comparison
  that is made between two or more things that are
  basically unlike.
• Figurative language is very common in everyday
  conversation as well as in the written word. It
  contains such forms as simile, metaphor,
  personification, and symbol.

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PARAPHRASE

• Paraphrasing is one way to make sure that you
  understand a difficult poem. Paraphrasing means
  to restate the words that you have heard or read
  in your own words (you explain what is happening
  in the poem in your own words).

90
SYMBOLISM

• Something, such as an object, person, situation,
  or action, in a literary work which maintains
  its own meaning while at the same time standing
  for something broader than itself. When a
  symbol is used in writing, its double nature
  can make it very complex and sometimes difficult
  to recognize.
• There are many symbols that are used over and
  over again. the rose love
• seasons human seasons of birth
• (such as youth, maturity, and old
  age)
• spring rebirth
• dove peace
• flag patriotism

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• Writers usually let us know through some
  context when they wish us to interpret something
  as a symbol. Once a symbol is recognized, its
  further meanings seem to radiate outward in our
  imagination.
• Symbolism is an extraordinarily rich fictional
  device. It also places a large responsibility
  on the reader.

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ALLUSION

• A reference to a work of literature or to a
  well-known historical event, person, or place.
  The purpose of an allusion is to recognize and
  respond to something after the allusion gives us
  a fuller understanding of one thing by helping
  us to see it in comparison with something else
  we may know better.
• An allusion can call to the readers mind a
  whole series of associations and feelings.
• Frequently, allusions are made to the Bible,
  Shakespeare, and historical events.
• Ex. Oh, I see you have Hitler for English.
• I have a date with Aphrodite
  tonight!

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IRONY

• A contrast or discrepancy between what is stated
  and what is really meant (reality and
  appearance), or between what is expected to
  happen and what actually does happen. There are
  three kinds of irony
• (1) verbal irony
• (2) dramatic irony
• (3) irony of situation
• Verbal Irony In which a writer or speaker says
  one thing and means something entirely
  different. (Ex. With a record of 0 16, the
  coach tells another coach, We are having a
  great season!)

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• Dramatic Irony In which a reader or an
  audience perceives something that a character in
  the story or play does not know. The character
  is completely unaware of something that the
  reader is aware of. (Ex As an audience, we all
  know that Romeo should not kill himself because
  Juliet is only sleeping.)
• Irony of Situation In which the writer shows a
  discrepancy between expected result of some
  action or situation and its actual result.
  (Ex The Gift of the Magi. This story was
  ironic because the characters actions bring
  about results that are the opposite of what they
  expected.)
• Irony itself is a very important element in
  fiction because it drives home the truth that
  human life is unpredictable. In fiction, just
  as in life, our words and our actions do not
  always have the meanings or results we expect
  them to have.

95
FREE VERSE

• Poetry that does not have a fixed line length,
  stanza form, rhyme scheme, or meter. Although
  it does not use fixed rhymes or fixed rhythms,
  free verse may make use of rhyme and rhythm, as
  well as other poetic techniques such as
  alliteration, figurative language, and
  onomatopoeia. Free verse often relies on the
  natural pauses of conversational speech for
  correct interpretation.
• Walt Whitman was the first American poet to
  break free from iambic pentameter and use free
  verse. When he did this, he declared a second
  American independence from England.

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NARRATIVE POETRY

• Narrative poetry is poetry that tells a story.
  A narrative poem can be as long as an
• EPIC a long poem celebrating the deeds of a
  societys hero, that is, several thousand
  lines
• or it can be as short as a
  popular
• BALLAD a short poem meant to be sung that
  depends on regular verse patterns and strong
  rhymes for its effect. It is important to note
  that ballads frequently use dialogue to heighten
  effect and they give out information little by
  little to build suspense.

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DRAMATIC POETRY

• Poetry in which one or more characters speak
  usually to each other, but sometimes to
  themselves or directly to the reader. A
  dramatic poem has many of the characteristics of
  a play a definite setting, a dramatic
  situation, emotional conflict, vigorous speech,
  and natural language rhythms.
• Dramatic poetry allows the writer to reveal
  character directly through dialogue, just as a
  playwright does. One example of dramatic poetry
  would be the
• DRAMATIC MONOLOGUE, where only one speaker, in a
  moment of great personal crisis, reveals his or
  her deepest thoughts and feelings.

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LYRIC POETRY

• Verse, usually brief, which focuses on the
  emotions or thoughts of the speaker.
• Poets use this form when the principal aim is
  not to tell a story, but to express their
  personal thoughts or emotions about the serenity
  of an autumn day, for example, or perhaps the
  remorse that follows the death of a loved one.
  Lyric poetry can express any emotion from joy to
  anguish.
• Fact The word lyric is derived from the
  ancient Greek word Lyrikos, a short poem that
  was sung with the accompaniment of a lyre, a
  stringed instrument.

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THEME

• The main/controlling idea expressed in a
  literary work the central insight that the work
  gives us about human life. If the work is
  relatively brief, such as a short story or lyric
  poem, it will probably have only one theme. If
  it is a longer work, such as a novel, play, or
  epic poem, it will probably have several themes,
  which may work together.
• Remember Theme is different from plot and from
  subject.
• While a writer may state the theme directly,
  more often theme is only suggested and requires
  analysis and thought to be brought out. The
  theme of a work sometimes is a statement about
  life, but it often simply is the raising of an
  important question for which the writer gives no
  ready answers.

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• Theme does not by any means have to be a moral
  or lesson, giving a prescription for behavior
  rather, theme is an exploration of important
  ideas about human life. Theme is often compared
  to a piece of colored thread being woven into a
  tapestry it appears, disappears, reappears,
  perhaps in a different guise, until the final
  pattern emerges at the end of the work.
• There is no single right way to state the
  theme of a story or poem although some themes
  are certainly more logical and stronger than
  others. Mainly, one should be sure that
  his/her statement of theme truly expresses the
  storys underlying idea and that one can defend
  his/her stance.
• It is also important to note that a statement of
  theme is not necessarily very exciting. A
  statement of theme merely sums up to the
  conscious mind what the story makes one deeply
  feel.

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THE END!
Now start writing poetry!