Title: Basics of Poetry
1Basicsof Poetry
- Introduction to Poetry, Literary Terms, How to
Read a Poem, and Helpful Websites
2Introduction to Poetry by Billy Collins
I ask them to take a poem and hold it up to the
light like a color slide or press an ear
against its hive. I say drop a mouse into a
poem and watch him probe his way out, or walk
inside the poem's room and feel the walls for a
light switch. I want them to water ski across
the surface of a poem waving at the author's
name on the shore. But all they want to do is
tie the poem to a chair with rope and torture a
confession out of it. They begin beating it
with a hose to find out what it really means.
3Literary Terms
- Allegory - sometimes called an extended metaphor,
is the representation of abstract ideas by
characters or events in narrative, dramatic, or
pictorial form. - Alliteration - Alliteration is the succession of
similar consonant sounds. They are not recognized
by spelling, but rather by sounds. - Allusion - Referencing a person place or thing,
usually indirectly, that is believed to be known
by the reader. Sometimes these references are
footnoted or glossed. - Analogy - The use of words of phrases that share
meaning but are dissimilar. - Anaphora - A word or expression used repeatedly
at the beginning of successive phrases. This is
usually used for poetic or rhetorical effect. - Antithesis - Placing a pair of words, phrases,
clauses, or sentences side by side in contrast
and opposition. - Apostrophe - the addressing of an absent or
imaginary person - Assonance - The succession of similar vowel
sounds that are not recognized by spelling,
rather by sound. Do not confuse this with
alliteration which is the repetition of
consonants.
4Literary Terms
- Ballad - A form of verse to be sung or recited
and characterized by its presentation of a
dramatic or exciting EPISODE in simple narrative
form. - Blank Verse - Simply defined as unrhymed verse or
unrhymed iambic pentameter. - Close Rhyme - A rhyme of two close words.
- Conceit - An ingenious, logically complicated
image, or an elaborate metaphor. - Consonance - The close repetition of the same end
consonants of stressed syllables with differing
vowel sounds. - Couplet - Two lines of VERSE with similar
END-RHYMES. Formally, the couplet is a two-line
STANZA with both grammatical structure and idea
complete within itself. - Diction - choice of words esp. with regard to
correctness, clearness, or effectiveness - Dirge - A poem of grave meditation, or lament.
The dirge is a song of lamentation that is apt to
be less meditative than the elegy. - Dramatic Poem - A composition of verse that
portrays the story of life or character,
involving conflict and emotions.
5Literary Terms
- End Rhyme A rhyme occurring in the terminating
word or syllable of one line of poetry with that
of another line, as opposed to internal rhyme. - Epic - An Epic is a long narrative poem
celebrating the adventures and achievements of a
hero...epics deal with the traditions, mythical
or historical, of a nation. - Epigram - Epigrams are short satirical poems
ending with either a humorous retort or a
stinging punch-line. - Extended Metaphor - A metaphor which is drawn-out
beyond the usual word or phrase to extend
throughout a stanza or an entire poem, usually by
using multiple comparisons between the unlike
objects or ideas. - Foot A rhythmic or metrical unit the division
in verse of a group of syllables, one of which is
long or accented. - Free Verse - Poetry that is based on the
irregular rhythmic CADENCE or the recurrence,
with variations, of phrases, images, and
syntactical patterns rather than the conventional
use of METER. RHYME may or may not be present in
free verse, but when it is, it is used with great
freedom.
6Literary Terms
- Haiku - A form of Japanese poetry which states in
three lines of five, seven, and five syllables a
clear picture designed to arouse a distinct
emotion and suggest a specific spiritual insight. - Homonym - One of two or more words that have the
same sound and often the same spelling but differ
in meaning. - Hyperbole - A figure of speech in which
exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect - Iambic - A metrical foot consisting of an
unaccented syllable (noted by "x") and an
accented or stressed one. - Imagery Elements in literature used to evoke
mental images of the visual sense, and sometimes
of sensation and emotion as well. - Internal Rhyme a rhyme occurring in mid-line
- Line - A formal structural division of a poem,
consisting of one or more feet arranged as a
separate rhythmical entity. - Meter A measure of rhythmic quantity organized
into groups of syllables at regular intervals in
a line of poetry - Metaphor - Used to suggest a relationship between
an object or idea
7Literary Terms
- Ode - An elaborately composed verse that is
enthusiastic in tone. It often has varying iambic
line lengths with no fixed system of rhyme
schemes. It often addresses a praised person or
object. - Onomatopoeia - Words used in place of where a
reader should hear sounds. - Oxymoron - The joining of two words that seem to
be contradictory (opposites), but offer a unique
effect. - Pattern Poetry Poetry written with words,
letters, and lines to produce a visual image to
help convey the idea or topic of the poem - Personification - A form of metaphor where an
inanimate object, animal, or idea is given
human-like characteristics - Pun - A play on words that sound similar for a
humorous effect. - Repetition - Repetition of a sound, syllable,
word, phrase, line, stanza, or metrical pattern
is a basic unifying device in all poetry. It may
reinforce, supplement, or even substitute for
meter, the other chief controlling factor in the
arrangement of words into poetry.
8Literary Terms
- Rhetorical Question A question asked for
effect, but not demanding an answer - Rhyme - A recurrence of similar ending sounds at
the ends of a poetic line/verse - Rhythm - The rise and fall of stress (stressed
and unstressed syllables) a metrical pattern or
flow of sound in verse - Sonnet - A lyric poem of fourteen lines,
following one or another of several set
rhyme-schemes. - Sight Rhyme - A rhyme consisting of words with
similar spellings but different sounds. Also
called eye rhyme. - Simile - A comparison between two unlike things
using like or as, etc. - Stanza - One of the divisions of a poem, composed
of two or more lines of verse usually
characterized by a common pattern of meter,
rhyme, or number of lines. - Style - The poet's individual creative process,
through figurative language, sounds, and rhythmic
patterns - Symbol - An image or icon that represents
something else by association. - Theme The central idea, topic, or subject of
artistic representation. - Tone - the pitch of a word often used to express
differences of meaning a particular pitch or
change of pitch constituting an element in the
intonation of a phrase or sentence high low
mid low-rising) falling , style or
manner of expression in speaking or writing
9How to Read a Poem
- Read on until theres a punctuation mark.
- A poems line breaks indicate thought groupings,
but dont brake at the end of each line. - If youre baffled, find the subject and verb.
- Sometimes, when passages are difficult to
understand, you can clarify the meaning by
finding the subject, verb, and complement of each
sentence. Try to paraphrase. - Look for figures of speechand think about them.
- Figurative langue is part of what makes poetry,
poetry.
10Still Reading that Poem
- Listen to the sounds.
- Always read a poem aloud to yourself. Poets
choose evocative words for their sound as well as
their meaning. - One reading isnt enough.
- Respond to a poem on first meeting it, and then
talk about the poem with other readers before you
read it carefully again. On your second reading,
youll notice new details and develop new
insights and when you read it for the third
time, the poem will feel comfortably yours. - Perform the poem.
- When you give a poem a dramatic reading for an
audience, you can emphasize the mood and feelings
the words and images evoke. Then the poem really
comes alive.
11Helpful Websites
- http//www.writing.upenn.edu/afilreis/88/poetic-t
erms.html - Click on these terms for an excellent definition
of these poetic terms, some from the Oxford
English Dictionary. Includes types of poetry as
well as terms. - http//www.shadowpoetry.com/resources/handbook/a.h
tml - This A-Z "poetry handbook" is really an
extensive, online glossary of the terminology
used to describe and discuss the structure and
content of poetry. - http//faculty.goucher.edu/eng211/a_glossary_of_te
rms.htm - An exhaustive list of literary terms and
techniques with explanations that often include
examples. The terms are presented in the order in
which the author's students would be exposed to
them in a semester of English literature, so you
would need to scroll or do a "Find" for a
specific term. - http//rpo.library.utoronto.ca/display_rpo/poetter
m.cfm - The terms and definitions might seem different,
as this is a British site, but they are all
easily understood, and it's a fairly extensive
list. Scroll down to view the long list of terms
to choose from.
12More Helpful Websites
- http//www.newi.ac.uk/englishresources/workunits/k
s4/poetry/buzzwords.html - Discover the definitions for the buzz words in
poetry through this site. - http//www.poeticbyway.com/glossary.html
- Calling itself "unique," Bob's is easy to use,
with cross-links throughout, phonetic
pronunciation guides when necessary, and many
examples and quotations. Click on the letter and
scroll for the word. - http//www.english.emory.edu/classes/Handbook/Hand
book.html - This site, designed to help students who are
writing about poetry, defines many significant
terms related to poetry, including figurative
language, poetic genres, and the mechanics of
rhythm and meter. Examples are also provided in
addition to the definitions. - http//andromeda.rutgers.edu/jlynch/Terms/
- This glossary defines many common literary terms.
- http//www.gale.com/free_resources/glossary/index.
htm - An extensive glossary of literary terms provided
in alphabetical format with hyperlink cross
references from a major library publisher.