Poetry

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Poetry

• Ms. Duggan
• 7th Grade Reading

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Characteristics of Poetry

• Figurative Language
• Metaphors
• Personification
• Similes
• Symbolism
• Sensory Language

• Sound Devices
• Alliteration
• Repetition
• Onomatopoeia
• Rhyme
• Meter
• Graphical Elements

3
Forms of Poetry

• Ballads
• Concrete
• Limericks
• Rhyming Couplets

• Narrative
• Haiku
• Free Verse
• Lyric

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Narrative Poetry

• Tells a story in verse
• Often have elements similar to those in short
  stories, such as plot and characters

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NarrativeThe Defense of the AlamoJoaquin Miller
(1841-1913)

• Santa Anna came storming, as a storm might come
• There was rumble of cannon there was rattle of
  blade
• There was cavalry, infantry, bugle and drum
• Full seven proud thousand in pomp and parade,
• The chivalry, flower of all Mexico
• And a gaunt two hundred in the Alamo!
•  
• And thirty lay sick, and some were shot through
• For the siege had been bitter, and bloody and
  long.
• "Surrender or die!"--"Men, what will you do?
• And Travis, great Travis, drew sword, quick and
  strong
• Drew a line at his feet ... Will you come? Will
  you go?
• I die with my wounded, in the Alamo."
•  
• Then Bowie gasped, "Guide me over that line!
• Then Crockett, one hand to the stick, one hand to
  his gun,
• Crossed with him then never a word or a sign,
• Till all, sick or well, all, all save but one,
• One man. Then a woman stopped praying and slow

•  Then came Santa Anna a crescent of flame!
• Then the red escalade then the fight hand to
  hand
• Such an unequal fight as never had name
• Since the Persian hordes butchered that doomed
  Spartan band.
• All day--all day and all night, and the morning,
  so slow,
• Through the battle smoke mantling the Alamo.
•  
• Then silence! Such silence! Two thousand lay dead
• In a crescent outside! And within? Not a breath
• Save the gasp of a woman, with gory, gashed head,
• All alone, with her dead there, waiting for
  death
• And she but a nurse. Yet when shall we know
• Another like this of the Alamo?
•  
• Shout "Victory, victory, victory ho!
• I say, 'tis not always with the hosts that win
• I say that the victory, high or low,
• Is given the hero who grapples with sin,
• Or legion or single just asking to know

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Haiku

• Three-line Japanese verse form
• First and third lines each have five syllables
• Second line has seven syllables

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HaikuTarget Coupon Book
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Free Verse

• Defined by its lack of strict structure
• No regular meter, rhyme, fixed line length or
  specific stanza pattern

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Free VerseFogCarl Sandburg

• THE fog comes
• on little cat feet.
• It sits looking
• over harbor and city
• on silent haunches
• and then moves on.

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Lyric

• Expresses the thoughts and feelings of a single
  speaker
• Often highly musical verse

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LyricEmpire State of MindJay-Z

• Yea I'm out that Brooklyn, now I'm down in
  TriBeCaright next to Deniro, but I'll be hood
  foreverI'm the new Sinatra, and... since I made
  it hereI can make it anywhere, yea, they love me
  everywhereI used to cop in Harlem, all of my
  Dominicano'sright there up on Broadway, pull me
  back to that McDonald'sTook it to my stashbox,
  560 State St.catch me in the kitchen like a
  Simmons with them Pastry'sCruisin' down 8th St.,
  off white Lexusdrivin' so slow, but BK is from
  TexasMe, I'm out that Bed-Stuy, home of that boy
  Biggienow I live on Billboard and I brought my
  boys with meSay what's up to Ty-Ty, still
  sippin' mai tai'ssittin' courtside, Knicks
  Nets give me high fiveI be Spike'd out, I could
  trip a refereeTell by my attitude that I'm most
  definitely from....New York, concrete jungle
  where dreams are made ofThere's nothin' you
  can't doNow you're in New YorkThese streets
  will make you feel brand newBig lights will
  inspire youLet's hear it for New York, New
  York,New York

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Ballads

• Songlike poems that tell stories
• Often deal with adventure and romance
• Ballad of Birmingham (bombing of a church in
  Alabama, 1963)

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BalladsBallad of BirminghamDUDLEY RANDALL(On
the bombing of a church in Birmingham, Alabama,
1963)

• She has combed and brushed her night-dark hair,
• And bathed rose petal sweet,
• And drawn white gloves on her small brown hands,
• And white shoes on her feet.
• The mother smiled to know her child
• Was in the sacred place,
• But that smile was the last smile
• To come upon her face.
• For when she heard the explosion,
• Her eyes grew wet and wild.
• She raced through the streets of Birmingham
• Calling for her child.
• She clawed through bits of glass and brick,
• Then lifted out a shoe.
• O, heres the shoe my baby wore,
• But, baby, where are you?

• Mother dear, may I go downtown
• Instead of out to play,
• And march the streets of Birmingham
• In a Freedom March today?
• No, baby, no, you may not go,
• For the dogs are fierce and wild,
• And clubs and hoses, guns and jails
• Arent good for a little child.
• But, mother, I wont be alone.
• Other children will go with me,
• And march the streets of Birmingham
• To make our country free.
• No, baby, no, you may not go,
• For I fear those guns will fire.
• But you may go to church instead
• And sing in the childrens choir.

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Concrete

• Shaped to look like their subjects
• Poet arranges the lines to create a picture on
  the page

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Concrete Poem I Speak Alone by Gordorca
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Limericks

• Humorous, rhyming, five-line poems
• Specific rhythm pattern and rhyme scheme

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LimerickAuthor and Title Unknown

• There once was a man from Peru
• who dreamed he was eating his shoe.
• He woke with a fright
• in the middle of the night
• to find that his dream had come true.

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Rhyming Couplets

• Pairs of rhyming lines
• Usually same meter and length

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Rhyming CoupletTwinkle, twinkle, little
batLewis Carroll

• Twinkle, twinkle, little bat!How I wonder what
  you're at!Up above the world you fly,Like a
  tea-tray in the sky.

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Your turn!

• Take a look at a few poems and answer these
  questions for each one.
• What is the title of the poem?
• What are some of the characteristics of this
  poem?
• What kind of poem is it?
• What are your thoughts about this poem?
• Is this poem difficult to interpret?

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TP-CASTT Analyzing Poetry

• Poems can be very difficult to interpret because
  a lot of what they have to say is not written but
  is implied. A major problem that students have
  with interpreting poetry is that they read the
  poem once, pick out a detail or two and then jump
  to a conclusion, often the wrong conclusion. To
  avoid this pitfall, it is important to gather
  significant data and try out different hypotheses
  before drawing a conclusive interpretation. These
  steps, sort of like the scientific method,
  comprise a safe way to avoid serious
  misinterpretations.

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T Title

• Before you even think about reading the poetry or
  trying to analyze it, speculate on what you think
  the poem might be about based upon the title.
  Often time authors conceal meaning in the title
  and give clues in the title. Jot down what you
  think this poem will be about.

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I saw in Louisiana a Live-Oak Growing.
I think it is about a tree the author saw

• I SAW in Louisiana a live-oak growing,
• All alone stood it, and the moss hung down from
  the          branches
• Without any companion it grew there, uttering
  joyous          leaves of dark green,
• And its look, rude, unbending, lusty, made me
  think          of myself
• But I wonder'd how it could utter joyous leaves,
           standing alone there, without its
  friend, its          lover nearfor I knew I
  could not
• And I broke off a twig with a certain number of
           leaves upon it, and twined around it a
  little          moss,
• And brought it awayand I have placed it in sight
  in          my room
• It is not needed to remind me as of my own dear
           friends,
• (For I believe lately I think of little else than
  of          them)
• Yet it remains to me a curious tokenit makes me
           think of manly love
• For all that, and though the live-oak glistens
  there          in Louisiana, solitary, in a wide
  flat space,
• Uttering joyous leaves all its life, without a
  friend, a          lover, near,
• I know very well I could not.

Tree
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P Paraphrase

• Before you begin thinking about meaning or tying
  to analyze the poem, don't overlook the literal
  meaning of the poem. One of the biggest problems
  that students often make in poetry analysis is
  jumping to conclusions before understanding what
  is taking place in the poem. When you paraphrase
  a poem, write in your own words exactly what
  happens in the poem. Look at the number of
  sentences in the poemyour paraphrase should have
  exactly the same number. This technique is
  especially helpful for poems written in the 17th
  and 19th centuries. Sometimes your teacher may
  allow you to summarize what happens in the poem.
  Make sure that you understand the difference
  between a paraphrase and a summary.

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I saw in Louisiana a Live-Oak Growing.
He saw a tree growing It was by itself, no
moss By itself, with green leaves The tree
reminded him of himself How could the tree be
happy all by itself, he couldnt be happy
alone He broke off a part of the tree and put
some moss on it He took it home Not to remind
him of his friends He thinks of his friends a
lot It reminds him of a love of people The tree
is there alone, beautiful, happy and he knows
that He could not be happy alone

• I SAW in Louisiana a live-oak growing,
• All alone stood it, and the moss hung down from
  the          branches
• Without any companion it grew there, uttering
  joyous          leaves of dark green,
• And its look, rude, unbending, lusty, made me
  think          of myself
• But I wonder'd how it could utter joyous leaves,
           standing alone there, without its
  friend, its          lover nearfor I knew I
  could not
• And I broke off a twig with a certain number of
           leaves upon it, and twined around it a
  little          moss,
• And brought it awayand I have placed it in sight
  in          my room
• It is not needed to remind me as of my own dear
           friends,
• (For I believe lately I think of little else than
  of          them)
• Yet it remains to me a curious tokenit makes me
           think of manly love
• For all that, and though the live-oak glistens
  there          in Louisiana, solitary, in a wide
  flat space,
• Uttering joyous leaves all its life, without a
  friend, a          lover, near,
• I know very well I could not.

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C Connotation

• Although this term usually refers solely to the
  emotional overtones of word choice, for this
  approach the term refers to any and all poetic
  devices, focusing on how such devices contribute
  to the meaning, the effect, or both of a poem.
  You may consider imagery, figures of speech
  (simile, metaphor, personification, symbolism,
  etc), diction, point of view, and sound devices
  (alliteration, onomatopoeia, rhythm, and rhyme).
  It is not necessary that you identify all the
  poetic devices within the poem. The ones you do
  identify should be seen as a way of supporting
  the conclusions you are going to draw about the
  poem.

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I saw in Louisiana a Live-Oak Growing.

• I SAW in Louisiana a live-oak growing,
• All alone stood it, and the moss hung down from
  the          branches
• Without any companion it grew there, uttering
  joyous          leaves of dark green,
• And its look, rude, unbending, lusty, made me
  think          of myself
• But I wonder'd how it could utter joyous leaves,
           standing alone there, without its
  friend, its          lover nearfor I knew I
  could not
• And I broke off a twig with a certain number of
           leaves upon it, and twined around it a
  little          moss,
• And brought it awayand I have placed it in sight
  in          my room
• It is not needed to remind me as of my own dear
           friends,
• (For I believe lately I think of little else than
  of          them)
• Yet it remains to me a curious tokenit makes me
           think of manly love
• For all that, and though the live-oak glistens
  there          in Louisiana, solitary, in a wide
  flat space,
• Uttering joyous leaves all its life, without a
  friend, a          lover, near,
• I know very well I could not.

Personification-The tree has no one to keep him
company, but is still joyous. Repetition-uttering
joyous leaves Diction-alone, without companion,
without friends, solitary
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A Attitude

• Having examined the poem's devices and clues
  closely, you are now ready to explore the
  multiple attitudes that may be present in the
  poem. Examination of diction, images, and details
  suggests the speaker's attitude and contributes
  to understanding. You may refer to the list of
  words on Tone that will help you. Remember that
  usually the tone or attitude cannot be named with
  a single word Think complexity.

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I saw in Louisiana a Live-Oak Growing.
Reverent-treating a subject with honor and
respect Reflective-illustrating innermost
thoughts and emotions

• I SAW in Louisiana a live-oak growing,
• All alone stood it, and the moss hung down from
  the          branches
• Without any companion it grew there, uttering
  joyous          leaves of dark green,
• And its look, rude, unbending, lusty, made me
  think          of myself
• But I wonder'd how it could utter joyous leaves,
           standing alone there, without its
  friend, its          lover nearfor I knew I
  could not
• And I broke off a twig with a certain number of
           leaves upon it, and twined around it a
  little          moss,
• And brought it awayand I have placed it in sight
  in          my room
• It is not needed to remind me as of my own dear
           friends,
• (For I believe lately I think of little else than
  of          them)
• Yet it remains to me a curious tokenit makes me
           think of manly love
• For all that, and though the live-oak glistens
  there          in Louisiana, solitary, in a wide
  flat space,
• Uttering joyous leaves all its life, without a
  friend, a          lover, near,
• I know very well I could not.

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S Shifts

• Rarely does a poem begin and end the poetic
  experience in the same place. As is true of most
  us, the poet's understanding of an experience is
  a gradual realization, and the poem is a
  reflection of that understanding or insight.
  Watch for the following keys to shifts
• key words, (but, yet, however, although)
• punctuation (dashes, periods, colons, ellipsis)
• stanza divisions
• changes in line or stanza length or both
• irony
• changes in sound that may indicate changes in
  meaning
• changes in diction

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I saw in Louisiana a Live-Oak Growing.

• I SAW in Louisiana a live-oak growing,
• All alone stood it, and the moss hung down from
  the          branches
• Without any companion it grew there, uttering
  joyous          leaves of dark green,
• And its look, rude, unbending, lusty, made me
  think          of myself
• But I wonder'd how it could utter joyous leaves,
           standing alone there, without its
  friend, its          lover nearfor I knew I
  could not
• And I broke off a twig with a certain number of
           leaves upon it, and twined around it a
  little          moss,
• And brought it awayand I have placed it in sight
  in          my room
• It is not needed to remind me as of my own dear
           friends,
• (For I believe lately I think of little else than
  of          them)
• Yet it remains to me a curious tokenit makes me
           think of manly love
• For all that, and though the live-oak glistens
  there          in Louisiana, solitary, in a wide
  flat space,
• Uttering joyous leaves all its life, without a
  friend, a          lover, near,
• I know very well I could not.

After admiring the live-oak, Whitman reveals that
he could not be happy without companionship.
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T Title

• Now look at the title again, but this time on an
  interpretive level. What new insight does the
  title provide in understanding the poem?

33
I saw in Louisiana a Live-Oak Growing.
Whitman reflects on the tree he saw growing alone.

• I SAW in Louisiana a live-oak growing,
• All alone stood it, and the moss hung down from
  the          branches
• Without any companion it grew there, uttering
  joyous          leaves of dark green,
• And its look, rude, unbending, lusty, made me
  think          of myself
• But I wonder'd how it could utter joyous leaves,
           standing alone there, without its
  friend, its          lover nearfor I knew I
  could not
• And I broke off a twig with a certain number of
           leaves upon it, and twined around it a
  little          moss,
• And brought it awayand I have placed it in sight
  in          my room
• It is not needed to remind me as of my own dear
           friends,
• (For I believe lately I think of little else than
  of          them)
• Yet it remains to me a curious tokenit makes me
           think of manly love
• For all that, and though the live-oak glistens
  there          in Louisiana, solitary, in a wide
  flat space,
• Uttering joyous leaves all its life, without a
  friend, a          lover, near,
• I know very well I could not.

34
T Theme

• What is the poem saying about the human
  experience, motivation, or condition? What
  subject or subjects does the poem address? What
  do you learn about those subjects? What idea does
  the poet want you take away with you concerning
  these subjects? Remember that the theme of any
  work of literature is stated in a complete
  sentence.

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I saw in Louisiana a Live-Oak Growing.

• I SAW in Louisiana a live-oak growing,
• All alone stood it, and the moss hung down from
  the          branches
• Without any companion it grew there, uttering
  joyous          leaves of dark green,
• And its look, rude, unbending, lusty, made me
  think          of myself
• But I wonder'd how it could utter joyous leaves,
           standing alone there, without its
  friend, its          lover nearfor I knew I
  could not
• And I broke off a twig with a certain number of
           leaves upon it, and twined around it a
  little          moss,
• And brought it awayand I have placed it in sight
  in          my room
• It is not needed to remind me as of my own dear
           friends,
• (For I believe lately I think of little else than
  of          them)
• Yet it remains to me a curious tokenit makes me
           think of manly love
• For all that, and though the live-oak glistens
  there          in Louisiana, solitary, in a wide
  flat space,
• Uttering joyous leaves all its life, without a
  friend, a          lover, near,
• I know very well I could not.

Although humans share some qualities with nature,
we need companionship to truly be happy.