POETRYAn Introduction

Reader

TextMeaning

Writer

Fears about poetry Fear of an “unknown language” Fear of a academic texts for elites Fear of emotions in poetry Fear of free verse poetry: poetry

need not rhyme! Fear of figurative language—but,

guess what? You use it every day!

Schools of Analysis:Ways of reading poetry (or any art) Formal: Use of form and structure, diction,

meter, etc. This type focuses on the “Text” point on the triangle, trying to reduce any variation from the author or reader.

Cultural: This analysis is based on trying to place the poem in a context, either historically or biographically, therefore emphasizing the “Writer.”

Experiential (Reader Response): This type of reading merely appreciates the poem for its sounds, images, and the feelings evoked. Therefore, it relies highly on the “Reader.”

Stanley Fish’s Experiment Stanley Fish, a college professor, conducted

an experiment with his class. He concluded that texts rely entirely on the

reader’s lens of perspective. He suggested that we determine a text’s

meaning in “Interpretive Communities”: i.e., texts will have whatever meaning we

assign them, based on whatever lens we are using while reading. Culture, expectations, and even time of day can affect this lens.

Introduction to PoetryBilly Collins

I ask them to take a poemand hold it up to the light like a color slide

or press an ear against its hive.

I say drop a mouse into a poemand watch him probe his way out,

or walk inside the poem's roomand feel the walls for a light switch.

I want them to waterskiacross the surface of a poemwaving at the author's name on the shore.

But all they want to dois tie the poem to a chair with ropeand torture a confession out of it.

They begin beating it with a hoseto find out what it really means.

Introduction to Poetry What is Billy Collins suggesting

about studying poetry in the classroom?

What downfalls are there to studying poetry in a formal manner?

What benefits are there? How do you think Collins wants

us to experience poetry? Can you do both (study formally

and experience it)?

this is just to say william carlos williams

I have eatenthe plumsthat were inthe icebox

and whichyou were probablysavingfor breakfast

Forgive methey were deliciousso sweetand so cold

What’s in a poem?Was this a poem?What if I told you that it began as a note to his wife left on the refrigerator?

What makes a poem a poem?

Ok, Stanley Fish, What is Poetry?

Uses figurative rather than literal language

Does what it says Creates or recreates an experience

Cannot be summarized without changing the meaning

Some genres of poetry utilize recognizable conventions

Formal Analytical Kinds of Poetry: Lyric Expresses intense personal emotions Usually written in 1st person Has musical qualities

Derived from Greek lyre, a musical instrument used for songs about these subjects

What is your favorite lyric poem (i.e., song)?

Kinds of Poetry: Narrative

Tells a story Epic: a long, narrative poem

Has a conflict that starts and resolves Is not a short story because it doesn’t

develop things like motivation, character

Narrative poems have been mostly replaced by short stories and novels

Some Poetry Genres and Forms

SonnetsHaikusBalladsEpicsFree Verse

Sonnets, Petrarchan/Italian 14 lines Specific rhyme and meter Italian/Petrarchan

Octave: abbaabba Sestet: cdecde or cdcdcd

Unrequited, unrealistic love Petrarchan conceit

Sonnets, English/Shakespearean 14 lines Specific rhyme and meter English/Shakespearean

Three quatrains and couplet: ababcdcdefefgg

Anti-petrarchan sentiments and truer, more lasting love

Epic Poetry Long, narrative poem Examples include The Illiad and The Odyssey Were usually memorized; therefore they are repetitive Develops poetic language and elements Heightened language b/c it’s about heroes and gods Tells a story from start to finish

Has character development, unlike other narrative poems Hero is called on a journey, battles elements, returns a hero

Different than novels because of its often lyrical qualities; however, some novels and movies are considered “epics.”

Beginning of The OdysseyTell me, O Muse, of that ingenious hero who travelled

far and wide after he had sacked the famous town of Troy. Many cities did he visit, and many were the nations with whose manners and customs he was acquainted; moreover he suffered much by sea while trying to save his own life and bring his men safely home; but do what he might he could not save his men, for they perished through their own sheer folly in eating the cattle of the Sun-god Hyperion; so the god prevented them from ever reaching home. Tell me, too, about all these things, oh daughter of Jove, from whatsoever source you may know them.

Ballad Often has a refrain. Usually a pattern of quatrains of alternating lines of

iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter, the trimeter lines rhyming.

occasionally employ incremental repetition The subjects are frequently noble, usually about

love, often tragic. By contrast, the folk ballads tend to be more plain-folksy in scope.

The simple language and the impersonal tone often seem to cover deep feeling and the refrain often adds either a note of solemn ritual or a lyrical contrast to the start tale.  

Tend to be rural, dramatic, heroic, and inclined to the supernatural.

Folk Ballad Usually passed down through generations Tells a story (is a kind of narrative)

Uses very little imagery or character development Usually accompanied by music (a kind of lyric) and a dance

Usually has refrains or repetition Folk ballads come from oral tradition Told from 3rd person Usually tragic or sensational (like supernatural, wars, etc);

sometimes tragi-comic (as in this example) About community life or local characters and events (folklore) Traditional patterns (rhyme and meter)

Get Up and Bar the Door  The wind blew high, the wind blew cold, It blew across the moor, When John Jones said to Jane, his wife, "Get up and bar the door." "Oh, I have worked all day," said she, "I've washed and scrubbed the floor, You lazy man,

get up, I say, Get up and bar the door.” "Oh, I have worked so hard," said he, "I know I can't do more; So come, my own, my

dearest wife, Get up and bar the door.”Then they agreed between the two, A solemn oath they swore, That the one who spoke the very first word Would have to bar the door. The wind blew east, the wind blew west, It blew all over the floor, But neither one would say a word For barrin' of the door. Three robbers came along that way, They came across the moor;

Cont.

They saws Light and walked right in, Right in through the open door. "Oh, is the owner of this house A rich man or a poor?" But neither one would say a word For barrin' of the door. They ate the bread, they drank the ale, Then said, "Come, give us more." But neither one would say word For barrin' of the door. "Let's pull the old man's beard" said one, "Let's beat him till he's sore." But still the old man wouldn't speak For barrin' of the door. "I'll kiss his pretty wife," said one, "Oh, her I could adore." And then the old man shook his fist And gave a mighty roar. "Oh, you'll not kiss my wife," said he, "I'll throw you on the floor. Said she, "Now, John, you've spoken first, So get up and bar the door.”

Dramatic MonologueBy Robert Vaux, eHow Contributor

A piece of poetic verse, spoken by a single character conveys his inner thoughts and emotions. must come from a single character (not the writer

himself) and constitute the entire poem; it must be directed at an existing listener, whether

present or inferred; must reveal some aspect of the character to the

listening audience. often takes on an assertive or argumentative tone develops the character’s perspective/viewpoints

 

Find your own poemshttp://www.poetryfoundation.org