How do poets use rhythm to impact the feeling of their writing?

How do poets use rhythm to impact the feeling of their writing?

In this lesson you will learn how rhythm adds to a poem by tracking

the beat and then matching the rhythm with the feeling.

Let’s Review

SYLLABLES = Building blocks of words

Ice - 1Water - 2

Goodbye - 2Worrying - 3

Let’s Review

Unstressed

StressedSYLLABLES

CHICKen, not chickEN

Let’s Review

Stressed / unstressed pattern

creates RHYTHM in a poem

A Common Mistake

Not reading aloud = not hearing the rhythm

Core LessonCore Lesson

‘

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

By: Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

‘‘‘ ‘ ‘ ‘‘ ‘ ‘‘ ‘ ‘‘ ‘ ‘‘ ‘ ‘ ‘

Core LessonCore LessonHow does the

rhythm sound to our ears? Is it fast or slow? Smooth

or choppy?

Core LessonCore Lesson

How does the rhythm impact the feeling of the poem? Does the rhythm support or

contrast with the meaning so far?

The smooth but measurable rhythm supports the thoughtful mood of the poem. As the speaker is weighing two options, the rhythm matches the speaker’s feeling.

Core LessonCore Lesson

Read the poem aloud, noticing the rhythmic pattern.1

2 How does the poem sound? (fast or slow? smooth or choppy?)

3 Visualize: “Does the rhythm sound like it matches what is happening in the poem?”

In this lesson you have learned how rhythm impacts a poem

by tracking the beat of a poem and then matching the rhythm

with the feeling.

Guided Practice Mark the rhyming pattern in stanza 2 of “The Road Not Taken”.

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

By: Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Guided Practice

Then, determine what the rhythm sounds like and decide whether it supports or contrasts with what’s happening in the stanza.

The rhythm (choose one) supports / contrasts with the mood of the poem because:

Extension Activities

Mark the stressed syllables in the following lines.

I walked through the doorAnd what did I seeBut a cat on the floorStaring at me!

Is there a rhythmic pattern? Explain.

Extension Activities

Write one poem with a strong rhythmic pattern, and then re-write the poem without rhythm, by changing as few words as possible.How does the rhythm affect the poem?

Quick QuizQuick Quiz Mark the rhythm and the stressed syllables in “Cripple” by Carl Sandburg.

Quick QuizQuick Quiz

Then, look at the rhythm of the poem as a whole. How does the rhythm impact the poem’s overall feeling?