Unit 3: PoetryUnit 3: Poetry

Structure and FormStructure and Form

Poetry lifts the veil from the hidden beauty of the world, and makes familiar objects be as if they were not familiar.

—Percy Bysshe Shelley

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What is poetry?

• Poetry is a genre, or type of literature, that uses imaginative and musical language to communicate experiences, thoughts, or emotions.

How are poetry and prose similar?

• Both use imagery and figurative language to paint a picture for readers.

• Both use precise language to communicate a tone, viewpoint, or perception of an object or experience.

How are poetry and prose different?

• Poetry reduces meaning into fewer words.• Poetry often uses meter, rhyme, line, and

stanzas.• Poetry allows more freedom in the ordering of

words and the use of punctuation.

Who are your favorite poets?

• Maya Angelou• Carl Sandburg• Langston Hughes• Emily Dickinson• Robert Frost• Walt Whitman• Pat Mora• Naomi Shihab Nye

What are your favorite types of poems?

• Lyric poems• Narrative poems• Limericks• Haiku• Sonnets• Romantic poems• Concrete or shape poems

• Free verse• Epic poems• Odes• Elegies

What are the purposes of poetry?

• To entertain readers• To enlighten readers by sharing the human

experience• To help readers gain insight into themselves

and others• To help readers experience joy, inspiration,

comfort, gratitude, redemption, or strength• To unite readers in a common understanding

The Art of Poetry

• Poetry is one of the world’s oldest art forms.• Poetry has survived the centuries because of

its ability to convey emotions and images.

The Rising Popularity of Poetry

• Poetry – is a powerful and expressive art form that is

popular among young people– can be viewed on social

networking sites, blogs, andother websites

– can be heard in classrooms,transit stations, bookstores, coffeehouses, clubs, films, TVshows, and other public areas

How can the structure and form of a poem provide clues about the author’s purpose in creating it?

Poetry isn’t written from the idea down. It’s written from the phrase, line and stanza up….

—Margaret Atwood

Poetry isn’t written from the idea down. It’s written from the phrase, line and stanza up….

—Margaret Atwood

Structures and Forms of Poetry

• When composing a poem, a poet explores various poetic structures and forms to express his or her ideas.

• Some poets conform to formal conventions of poetry, such as the use of stanzas, meter, and rhyme schemes.

• Others choose to write freely without the constraints of established text structures or line patterns.

Structures and Forms of Poetry

• No matter what format a poet chooses, it is important for readers to recognize the structures and forms of poetry. – This helps them to understand the author’s

intention and appreciate the interplay of words.

Stanzas in Poetry

• The text organization of poetry distinguishes it from prose.

• Stories and essays are divided into paragraphs, but poems are often divided into stanzas, or groups of lines.

• Like a paragraph in prose, each stanza in a poem – may vary in length– typically conveys a unit of thought

Purposes of Stanzas in Poetry

• Stanzas serve many purposes in poetry. For example, stanzas may– provide a framework or structure for a poem– create a visual effect for readers – set the rhythm of a poem by following a certain

organizational pattern– establish a flow or movement through the poem’s

ideas– provide clues as to the author’s purpose

Types of Stanzas

• There are several types of stanzas that a poet can use when creating a poem.

• The type of stanza is determined by the number of lines.

• Common stanza structures are listed in the box.

couplet tercet/triplet quatrain quintet/quintain sestet septet octave

two lines three linesfour linesfive linessix linesseven lineseight lines

Stanza Type: Octave

To fling my arms wideIn the face of the sun,Dance! Whirl! Whirl!Till the quick day is done.Rest at pale evening…A tall, slim tree…Night coming tenderly

Black like me.—from “Dream Variations,”

by Langston Hughes

To fling my arms wideIn the face of the sun,Dance! Whirl! Whirl!Till the quick day is done.Rest at pale evening…A tall, slim tree…Night coming tenderly

Black like me.—from “Dream Variations,”

by Langston Hughes

• This stanza from “Dream Variations” is an example of an octave.

Stanza Breaks

• The blank spaces between stanzas are called stanza breaks.

• Typically, a stanza break is a pause that indicates the completion of the previous thought and the beginning of a new one.

Enjambment

• However, when a poet decides to jump over the stanza break and continue a thought into the next stanza, it is known as enjambment.

• Enjambment can also be used between lines of poetry, when a thought started in one line flows over into the next line.

Tanka

• A tanka is a traditional Japanese poem consisting of five lines.– The first and third lines have five syllables.– The other lines have seven syllables.– Each tanka has a total of thirty-one syllables.

• Tanka use only a few words to express a complex idea.

Tanka

• What complex idea is expressed in this tanka by Okamoto Kanoko?

if I were to standwith roots in the groundlike a flowerwould my life bloom outin the color I was born with?

if I were to standwith roots in the groundlike a flowerwould my life bloom outin the color I was born with?

Ballad

• Like tanka, ballads are written using a specific type of stanza.

• A ballad is a poem that tells a story. • Ballads are written in quatrains or sestets.• Because ballads were originally meant to be

sung, they typically have regular rhythms and rhyme schemes (usually abcb). – They also feature a refrain, or repetition of lines.

Sonnet

• Sonnets are another type of poem that follow a specific stanza pattern.

• A sonnet is a fourteen-line poem written in iambic pentameter. – Iambic pentameter means that the lines are formed

using five iambs. • An iamb is an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed

syllable, such as in the word refrain.

• A sonnet can follow a number of different rhyme schemes.

Types of Sonnets

• There are two main types of sonnets: – the Shakespearean sonnet (also known as the

Elizabethan or English sonnet)

and – the Petrarchan sonnet (also known as the Italian

sonnet).

Shakespearean Sonnet

• The Shakespearean sonnet is divided into four parts: – three quatrains (four-line stanzas)

and – a final couplet (two-line stanza).

• The rhyme scheme of a Shakespearean sonnet is abab cdcd efef gg.

Petrarchan Sonnet

• The Petrarchan sonnet is divided into two parts: – an octave (eight-line stanza)

and – a sestet (six-line stanza).

• The rhyme scheme for a Petrarchan sonnet is abbaabba cdecde (or cdedce or cdcdcd).

Forms of Poetry

• It is important for readers to be familiar with the various forms of poetry.

• Poets choose particular poetic forms to suit their content. Common poetic forms are listed in the box.

narrative poems lyric poems free verse concrete or shape poems odes elegies prose poems

Narrative Poem

• A narrative poem is a poem that tells a story. • “Ex-Basketball Player” narrates the life of

Flick Webb, a talented high school basketball player.

Once Flick played for the high-school team, the Wizards.He was good: in fact, the best. In ’46He bucketed three hundred ninety points,A county record still. The ball loved Flick.I saw him rack up thirty-eight or fortyIn one home game. His hands were like wild birds.

—from “Ex-Basketball Player,” by John Updike

Once Flick played for the high-school team, the Wizards.He was good: in fact, the best. In ’46He bucketed three hundred ninety points,A county record still. The ball loved Flick.I saw him rack up thirty-eight or fortyIn one home game. His hands were like wild birds.

—from “Ex-Basketball Player,” by John Updike

Dramatic Poem

• A special type of narrative poem is the dramatic poem.

• A dramatic poem relies on elements of drama, such as monologue or dialogue, to tell the story.

Lyric Poem

• A lyric poem is a poem that expresses the emotions of a speaker in a musical style.

• A common type of lyricpoetry is free verse—poetry that is free fromregular rhyme, meter, orstanza division.

Lyric Poem• “I am Offering This Poem” is an example of a

free-verse lyric poem.

I am offering this poem to you,Since I have nothing else to give.Keep it like a warm coatWhen winter comes to cover you,Or like a pair of thick socksThe cold cannot bite through,

I love you,

—from “I Am Offering this Poem,” by Jimmy Santiago Baca

I am offering this poem to you,Since I have nothing else to give.Keep it like a warm coatWhen winter comes to cover you,Or like a pair of thick socksThe cold cannot bite through,

I love you,

—from “I Am Offering this Poem,” by Jimmy Santiago Baca

Blank Verse

• Blank verse is unrhymed poetry written in iambic pentameter.

• Shakespeare used blank verse in his plays.• Both sonnets and blank verse are written in

iambic pentameter, but only sonnets follow a set rhyme scheme.

Prose Poem

• Some passages of prose make such extensive use of poetic language that the line between prose and poetry is blurred.

• These passages are called prose poems.• “Holidays” is an example of a prose poem.

I sit on the porch facing the mountains. The porch is airy and spacious. I am the only person sitting on the porch. I look at myself. I can see myself.

—from “Holidays,” by Jamaica Kincaid

I sit on the porch facing the mountains. The porch is airy and spacious. I am the only person sitting on the porch. I look at myself. I can see myself.

—from “Holidays,” by Jamaica Kincaid

Ode and Elegy

• Two other poetic forms are based on the purpose of the poem.

• An ode is a poem to honor or praise someone or something.

• An elegy can usually be recognized by its formal tone that laments the death of someone.

SUMMARY: Structure and Form

• To analyze a poem’s structure and form, ask:– What is the text organization of the poem? – Does the poem use rhyme?

• What is the rhyme scheme?

– What is the content of the poem? • Is the poem telling a story, expressing an emotion, or

presenting an image?

– How would I describe the poem’s style and tone? • Is the poem musical or narrative? • What tone is conveyed through the poet’s diction?