An Introduction to Poetry

English 11

Ms. Verge

Sarah Kay’s- Point B

Read over Sarah Kay’s poem individually and complete the following: Underline any words that create vivid imagery Circle any lines or words that you find

POWERFUL Write a 2-3 sentence summary at the bottom

of the page what you think this poem is about.

Watch Sarah’s TED Talk

Record three things that you found interesting or learned from her talk.

Sarah’s TED Talk What 3 things does Sarah “Know to be True”

keep a list!

What are 10 things YOU know to be true?

Write a list of “10 Things YOU Know To Be True”1. These are the most exciting times in which we could ever hope

to be alive which have already occurred.2. Too often, we allow inertia to control our actions.3. Everyone should travel.4. 'Because that's the way things are' is not a valid reason.5. Whenever you say 'I had no choice', you're lying.6. It is possible to have an honest and even pleasant relationship

with someone you do not like.7. Loving someone or something heart and soul does not

necessarily make it good for you, or them, or it.8. There are ideas and inventions yet to come which will make into

reality what we consider to be fantasy today.9. Everyone has at least one story worth hearing.10. My truth is not final.

Compare With Neighbour

Share your lists with classmates and find 4 things from other students’ lists that fall under the following categories:

1. 1 thing that is exactly the same

2. 1 thing that is completely opposite

3. 1 thing you’ve never heard of before

4. 1 thing you know well, but that is looked at in a new way

Poetry Writing

Choose one of the items from your narrowed list of 4 to write about…

Poetry / Figurative Language

DEFINITION: Poetry is simply a shared experience between the poet and the reader. It is a communication to make the reader more aware of something the poet considers to be important or unusual.

TYPES

There are three general types by which to sort poetry. These are not hardened categories as they sometimes overlap.

narrative poetry: tells a story (ballads) lyric: emphasizes the personal thoughts and feelings of

the poet (songs, sonnets, odes, elegies) dramatic: the poet adopts the persona (“mask”) of

another person, the focus being on the character of that speaker (dramatic monologues, soliloquies)

Narrative Poem Example

Edgar Allan Poe- The Raven

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,

Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,

While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,

As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.''

Tis some visitor,' I muttered, `tapping at my chamber door

Only this, and nothing more.'

Lyric Poem Example

Sonnet Number 18, by William Shakespeare

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

Thou art more lovely and more temperate.

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,

And summer's lease hath all too short a date. Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,

And often is his gold complexion dimmed,

And every fair from fair sometime declines,

By chance, or nature's changing course untrimmed.

Dramatic Poem Examples

'Out-Out', by Robert Frost

Doing a man's work, though a child at heart

He saw all spoiled. "Don't let him cut my hand off

The doctor, when he comes. Don't let him, sister!"

So. But the hand was gone already.

A Dream, by William Blake

Pitying, I dropped a tear:

But I saw a glow-worm near,

Who replied, "What wailing wight

Calls the watchman of the night?

DENOTATION VS. CONNOTATION again…

Denotation is merely the dictionary meaning of a word while connotation is what the word suggests. For example, “childish” and “childlike” by definition both mean, “having the qualities of a child” while the first suggests the negative connotation and the second, the positive connotation.

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGEFigures of speech are used to take the reader beyond the LITERALlevel of meaning. For example, if we say to a friend, “go, girl,” we do not intend for her togo away but are showing support or admiration for her.

simile: a comparison between essentially unlike things, using “like” or “as”.

metaphor: a comparison between essentially unlike things NOT using “like” or “as”.

symbol: something that stands for something other than what it already is.

personification: giving human characteristics to non-human forms.

hyperbole: overstatement to emphasize a point. understatement , saying less than one means. paradox: an apparent contradiction that is nevertheless true. oxymoron: a compressed paradox.

What is Irony again?... irony: a discrepancy between literal meaning and

what is said, expected, or seen.

1. verbal irony: saying the opposite of what is meant. Eg. A student scores 100% on a math quiz and the teacher jokes that he is the “worst “ in the class.

2. situational irony: when things are the opposite or inappropriate to what is expected. Eg. The worst speller in one’s English class is the teacher!

3. dramatic irony: when the reader or audience knows something one or more characters do not. Eg. We know that Juliet only appears to be dead (after taking the potion), but Romeo does not.

What is Allusion?

allusion: a specific reference to something else, usually mythological, eg. He is as strong as Atlas (holding up the

world) biblical, eg. He is as patient as Job (never complaining

when God constantly tests his faith) historical, eg. He is like Hitler in the classroom (dictatorial,

threatening) literary, eg. Their love was like Romeo and Juliet’s

(passionate, rash, deadly) contemporary, eg. She’s as honest as Alanis Morisette

(brutally direct)

IMAGERY:

Imagery is the representation of sense experience; images may appeal to one or a combination of our five senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, or touch. Images often make the writing more memorable for the reader. Eg., “...a mile of sea-scented beach” appeals to our sense of smell; “...waves crashing on the rocks,” to hearing; or “...white caps foaming over the waves,” to sight.

SOUND DEVICES: Word patterns create tone and rhythm. refrain: repetition of lines or verses rhyme: repetition of sounds, often at the end of lines meter: rhythm of lines made by accented and unaccented

syllables of words alliteration: repetition of first consonants (“sleeping silently”) assonance: repetition of vowel sounds (“free and easy”) onomatopoeia: words that suggest their meanings (“splat,”

“buzz,” “hum,” “greasy”) stanza or verse: structural division, any separation to divide the

poem

QUESTIONS TO ASKWhen discussing any poem include: What is the LITERAL meaning, what is the poem basically about? What is the significance of the title? Who is the speaker? What is his tone? What is his purpose? To whom

and of what does he speak? Does the poet use a specific type (narrative, lyric, dramatic) or form of

poetry (see sub-categories)? Does the poem have VERISIMILITUDE, is it “true to life”? Is it

memorable? Is the imagery effective? What figures of speech emphasize the poet’s meaning? sound devices? Is the setting or time of the poem important? Does your interpretation of the poem and its theme fit the facts or “jump

to conclusions”?

The Rose That Grew From Concrete

Did you hear about the rose that grewfrom a crack in the concrete?

Proving nature's law is wrong itlearned to walk with out having feet.

Funny it seems, but by keeping its dreams,it learned to breathe fresh air.

Long live the rose that grew from concretewhen no one else ever cared.

"Love is a temporary madness,it erupts like an earthquake and then subsides.

And when it subsides, you have to make a decision.You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined

togetherthat it is inconceivable that you should ever part.

Because this is what love is.Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement,

it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion,That is just being "in love" which any of us can conceive ourselves we

are.Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away,

and this is both an art and a fortunate accident.Your mother and I had it,

we had roots that grew towards each other underground,and when all the pretty blossom had fallen from our branches

We found that we are one tree and not two."

Saint Augustine of Hippo was an early Christian theologian whose writings were very influential in the development of Western Christianity and Western philosophy.

Tupac Amaru Shakur also known by his stage names 2Pac and briefly as Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor.Shakur has sold over 75 million albums worldwide as of 2010, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world.