Painting with Words

Poetry

Graphic Elements- the structure of the writing (what it looks like on the page)

Innocent

If love were a crime,And you were jailed because you claimed that

you loved me,And evidence was sought of your guilt or

innocence,You’d get away scott free.

Shape Poems incorporate graphic elements through visualization. They take time to create them effectively.

All poems are broken up into lines. The length of each line and where it breaks, or ends, contributes to the poem’s meaning and sounds.

Lunchroom

I was so hungryI could have eaten my algebra book.

I smelled what we were havingbefore I even saw it.

Mystery Meat, green mushy peas,instant potatoes with lumpy gravy,

bread pudding, and milk.It’s a good thing I like milk.

A stanza is a group of lines. Stanzas work together to convey the overall message of the poem.

FogThe fog comes on little cat feet.

It sits lookingover harbor and cityon silent haunchesand then moves on.

Sound Devices

Rhythm is the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in each line.

A regular pattern of rhythm is called meter.

The sun did not shine;It was too wet to play,So we sat in the house

All that cold, cold, wet day.-Dr. Seuss

Rhyme is the repetition of sounds at the ends of words, as in sun and one.

Rhyme scheme is the pattern that the end-rhyming words follow. To identify rhyme scheme, assign a letter to each sound.

‘Twas the night before Christmas, AWhen all through the house BNot a creature was stirring, C

Not even a mouse; B

Repetition is a technique in which a sound, word, phrase, or line is repeated for emphasis or unity. Repetition often helps to reinforce meaning or create an appealing rhythm.

Mi Madre

I say feed me.She serves red prickly pear on a spike cactus.

I say tease me.She sprinkles raindrops in my face on a sunny day.

I say frighten me.She shouts thunder, flashes lightning.

Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words.

“Over a Bunsen burner bubbled a big earthenware dish of stew” -A Wrinkle in Time

The repetition of the “b” sound reproduces the motion of the stew simmering in its pot.

Say to them,Say to the down-keepers.The sun-slappers,The self-spoilers, -Gwendolyn Brooks

Imagery and Figurative Language

Idioms is defined as words that mean something other than the literal meaning.

"You can't cry over spilled milk!"my mother always said.

"Life's not a piece of cake!"she hammered in my head.

"That's the way it goes,that's the way the cookie crumbles."

My mother saved her idiomsfor all my idiotic troubles.

-John Randal

hyperbole is defined as exaggerating to make a point.

Appetiteby an unknown author

In a house the size of a postage stamplived a man as big as a barge.

His mouth could drink the entire riverYou could say it was rather large

For dinner he would eat a trillion beansAnd a silo full of grain,

Washed it down with a tanker of milkAs if he were a drain.

A simile is a comparison of two things using the word like or as.

The sun spun likeA tossed coin.It whirled on the azure blue sky,It clattered into the horizon,It clicked in the slot,And neon-lights poppedAnd blinked “Time expired,”As on a parking meter.

-Oswald Mbuyiseni Mtshali

Metaphors are comparisons of two things that does not use the word like or as.

In the pond in the parkall things are doubled:Long buildings hang andwriggle gentle. Chimneysare bent legs bouncing on clouds below.”

-May Swensen

Personification is a description of an object, animal, or idea as if it has human qualities and emotions.

Directly ahead of her was the circular building, its walls glowing with violet flame, its silvery roof pulsing with a light that seemed to Meg to be insane.”

“The little waves with their soft, white hands.”

Your assignment:1. Write a poem using at least 3 poetic techniques (e.g., rhythm, rhyme,

rhyme scheme, meter, repetition, and alliteration) Your topic for this poem must be music or video games (anything

related to these topics).2. Write a poem using 1 type of figurative language (e.g., personification, idioms, hyperbole, simile, and metaphor) Your topic for this poem must be about someone or something you’ve

met (think outside the box).3. Write a poem using graphic elements (e.g., word position, lines, stanzas, or shapes) Your topic for this poem is a free choice, but shape poems need to be

as excellent as the examples you were shown. Shape poems will most likely require homework.

All poems, except shape poems, must be centered on the paper along with a picture or symbol. Those pictures or symbols need to be colored. We will do small group sharing on Friday, the half day.