Poetry Anthology Assignment

Below is a list of some different types of poems along with some examples. This list is not exhaustive. There are many different forms of poetry, and these are simply a few. Your job is to read the descriptions of the types of poems and then choose 3 different types and create your own version of each. Your 3 poems must contain in total:

Metaphor Simile Personification Hyperbole Oxymoron Onomatopoeia Another literary device of your choice

This does not mean you need to include all 7 types of figurative language in each poem, it simply means that between all 3 poems, you must provide examples of each type of figurative language at least once. Please specify at the end of each poem which literary device(s) you included and where in your poem. If there is a specific type of poem that I have not included in this list that you would like to write, please let me know.

Please type or write out each poem on its own page. You may format it on the page however you would like (remember, some poets arrange their poems in certain ways to evoke certain emotions or to display certain images). If you would like to include drawings on the page, that is fine, however not mandatory. Remember to title all 3 of your poems.

Narrative PoemsOne of the three main genres of poetry (the other two being lyric and dramatic), a narrative poem is a longer form of poetry that tells an entire story (with a beginning, middle and end) and contains all the elements of a fully developed story. This includes a plot, characters, conflict(s), and a resolution. Usually, these types of poems have one speaker or narrator. This type of poem grew out of oral tradition. Before written language, poets used elements such as repetition and rhyme to allow for poems to be more easily memorized, recited and passed on. Epic poems such as The Odyssey and The Iliad by the ancient Greek poet Homer, were passed down through generations verbally until it was eventually written down. Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales are another great example of narrative poems that were verbally passed around. Modern day narrative poetry is not as common however you might argue that Dr. Seuss uses narrative poetry, rhythm and rhyming in his stories such as The Cat in the Hat.

The difference between a narrative poem and narrative prose (a short story or novel) is that a narrative poem is written in verse and includes poetic devices and characteristics such as meter and rhyme. Most narrative poetry includes a formal rhyme scheme such as ABCB, with the second and fourth lines rhyming.

There are 3 types of narrative poems: 1. Epics: These were composed by ancient Greek poets and are intended to be recited rather than read. They are written in a grandiose style and tell stories of historical events or legends of cultural importance.

2. Ballads: These were poems set to music and intended for dancing. Because of this, they are associated with a specific meter. They are typically written with alternating lines of iambic tetrameter (dah-DUM dah-DUM dah-DUM dah-DUM) and iambic trimester (dah DUM da DUM da DUM) with every second fourth line rhyming. Ballads can be relatively short narrative poems in comparison to say an Epic.

3. Arthurian Romances: These poems derive from twelfth century France. They tell stories of romance and adventure within the Arthurian court (King Arthur). King Arthur and his knights are major figures in English and French folklore.

Below is an excerpt from Edgar Allen Poe’s narrative poem The Raven

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,Over many a quant and curious volume of forgotten lore,While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,As of some on gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.“Tis some visitor,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door-

Only this, and nothing more.”

For a full version of this poem, click here

Lyric PoemsLyric poetry was originally accompanied by music (and are often short). The mood in these types of poems is melodic and powerfully emotional. The themes of Love, hate, fear and death are common in lyric poetry. The writer uses words that express his or her state of mind, perceptions, and feelings, rather than tell a story. These types of poems are often written in first person.

English and Italian sonnets are great examples of lyric poetry. Both have fourteen lines and are written in iambic pentameter (10 syllables per line in a stressed/unstressed pattern).

The English sonnet follows a specific rhyme scheme (ABAB CDCD EFEF GG), with the poet presenting an observation or problem in the first 12 lines and then posing a “solution” in the last rhyming couplet.

Shakespeare’s “Sonnet Number 18” Click here to hear it.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 sometimes declines,By change, or nature’s changing course untrimmed. But thy eternal summer shall not fade,Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st;Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade,When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st: So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

The Italian sonnet has two parts, the octave and the sestet. In the octave (first eight lines), the poet poses the problem, then offers a solution in the sestet (last six lines). The rhyme scheme is ABBAABBA CDECDE

Sonnet 19: When I consider how my light is spent by John Milton Click here to hear it.

When I consider how my light is spent, Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide, And that one Talent which is death to hide Lodged with me useless, though my Soul more bent To serve therewith my Maker, and present My true account, lest he returning chide; “Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?” I fondly ask. But patience, to prevent That murmur, soon replies, “God doth not need Either man’s work or his own gifts; who best Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state Is Kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed And post o’er Land and Ocean without rest: They also serve who only stand and wait.”

Dramatic PoemsDramatic poetry usually involves a highly emotional story that is written in verse and meant to be recited. So, what is the difference between narrative and dramatic poetry? Well, for starters, narrative poetry usually has a narrator or single person who is describing the events in the story. This is not necessarily the case with dramatic poetry; it does not have a narrator. Characters simply state or perform their actions without another party (narrator) telling the reader what is happening. Another difference lies in the beginnings of both narrative and dramatic poetry. In the beginning of a narrative poem, the scene is usually set and describes what is happening. In dramatic poetry, it tends to begin with a main character entering the scene and speaking. One common form of dramatic poem is called the dramatic monologue which features a speaker making a speech to a silent outsider, like the reader, and at some critical point, reveals something about himself or someone else.

An excerpt from “The Dream Called Life” by Pedro Calderon de la Barca

DREAM it was in which I found myself.

And you that hail me now, then hailed me king,

In a brave palace that was all my own,

Within, and all without it, mine; until,

Drunk with excess of majesty and pride,

Methought I towered so big and swelled so wide

That of myself I burst the glittering bubble

Which my ambition had about me blown

And all again was darkness. Such a dream

As this, in which I may be walking now,

Dispensing solemn justice to you shadows,

Who make believe to listen; but anon

Kings, princes, captains, warriors, plume and steel,

Ay, even with all your airy theater,

May flit into the air you seem to rend

For other examples of dramatic monologues, check out these links.

"Ferris Bueller's Day Off" opening monologue

"The Shawshank Redemption" rehabilitated prisoner

Concrete PoemsConcrete poets are objects composed of words, letters, colors, and typefaces, in which graphic space plays a central role in both design and meaning. While the words, writing style, and literary devices all impact the meaning of the poem, the physical shape the poem takes is also of significance. Concrete poets experimented boldly with language, incorporating visual, verbal, kinetic and sonic elements. Concrete poets are masters of subtlety and reduced language, creating poems from very few words (or sometimes, a single word), which they then manipulate, permutate and transform. Sometimes, sound can be incorporated into a concrete poem. The role of sound in concrete poetry can be best appreciated by pairing visual poems with audio recordings by native speakers of the language in which a poem was written (for example).

Concrete poetry dates back as far as Chaucer and William Blake. Blake coupled his poetry with beautiful engraved images on the pages (see below).

This untitled poem by Eugen Gomringer plays with the use of blank space on the page

Lewis Carroll also played with concrete poetry in his tale Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The poem on the next page is titled “The Mouse’s Tale”

Free Verse PoemsFree verse poems are poems that have no regular pattern of rhythm, rhyme or line length. Free verse poems experiment with words to create images for the reader. This type of poem can be liberating as the poet has the freedom to whimsically change his or her mind. Some poets however will find this unrestricting type of poem too unstructured. Walt Whitman, an American poet in the 1800s, wrote a lot of free verse poems, most notably, his collection of poems titled Leaves of Grass. Below are some examples of various free verse poems

An excerpt from “Song of Myself” by Walt WhitmanI celebrate myself, and sing myself,And what I assume you shall assume,For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.

I loaf and invite my soul,I lean and loaf at my ease observing a spear of summer grass.

My tongue, every atom of my blood, form’d from this soil, this air,Born here of parents born here from parents the same, and their parents the same.I, now thirty-seven years old in perfect health begin, Hoping to seize not till death.

An excerpt from “Howl” by Allen GinsbergI saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked,dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking for an angry fix, angelheaded hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly connection to the starry dynamo in the machinery of nightwho poverty and tatters and hollow-eyed and high sat up smoking in the supernatural darkness of cold-water flats floating across the tops oc cities contemplating jazz,who bared their brains to Heaven under the EI and saw Mohammedan angels staggering on tenement roofs illuminated,

Blank Verse PoemsSimilar to free verse, blank verse is un-rhyming however it is often written in iambic pentameter. This type of poetry has a consistent meter with 10 syllables in each line (pentameter) with an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one. Blank verse has no fixed number of lines, is often used in descriptive and reflective poems and dramatic monologues (the poems in which a single character delivers his thoughts in the form of a speech). A lot of the dialogue in Shakespeare’s plays is written in blank verse.

An excerpt from Shakespeare’s play Hamlet Click here for audioTo be or not to be – that is the question:Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to sufferThe slings and arrows of outrageous fortuneOr to take arms against a sea of troubles,And by opposing end them. To die – to sleep – No more; and by a sleep to say we endThe heartache, and the thousand natural shocksThat flesh is heir to. ‘Tis a consummationDevoutly to be wish’d. To die – to sleep.To sleep – perchance to dream: ay, there’s the rub!

**Note, not all lines in this monologue have 10 syllables – some have 11.

An excerpt from John Milton’s Paradise LostOf Man’s First Disobedience, and the FruitOf that Forbidden Tree, whose mortal tasteBrought Death into the World, and all our woe,With loss of Eden, till one greater ManRestore us, and regain the blissful Seat,Sing Heav’nly Muse, that on the secret topOf Oreb, or of Sinai, didst inspireThat Shepherd, who first taught the chosen Seed,In the Beginning how the Heav’ns and EarthRose out of Chaos…

**Note how Milton shortened some words to ensure the line fit within 10 syllables (heav’ns becomes one syllable instead of 2 for heavens)

Haiku PoemsA haiku is traditionally a Japanese poem that consists of three short lines that do not rhyme. This genre of poetry is extremely old and can be traced back as far as the 9th century. Haikus are considered to be more than simply a type of poem; they are a way of looking at the physical world and seeing something deeper. These poems should leave the reader with a strong feeling or impression. Haikus do follow a pattern, 5-7-5 The first line should consist of 5 “moras” (much like a syllable, however not identical), the second of 7 and the last of 5. Below are some examples of Haikus.

The following are Haikus by Matsuo BashoAn old silent pond…A frog jumps into the pond,splash! Silence again.

Autumn moonlight – a worm digs silentlyinto the chestnut.

In the twilight rainthese brilliant-hued hibiscus – A lovely unset

More modern Haiku poets don’t necessarily subscribe to the 5-7-5 pattern of traditional Haiku poetry. However, these poets do still maintain that a haiku should focus on one brief moment in time, should employ provocative, colorful imagery and provide a sudden moment of illumination.

From across the lake, Lily:Past the black winter trees, out of the waterFaint sounds of a flute. out of itself - Richard Wright - Nick Virgilio

ground squirrel Nightfall,balancing its tomato Too dark to read the pageon the garden fence Too cold.- Don Eulert - Jack Kerouac

Found PoemsFound poems are a very neat type of poetry. A found poem takes an existing text and refashions it, reorders it and presents it as a poem. You can think of a found poem as a sort of collage. It is often made from newspaper articles, street signs, graffiti, speeches, letters or even other poems. A “pure” found poem consists exclusively of outside texts: the words of the poem remain as they were found, with few additions or omissions. Decisions of form, such as where to break a line, are left to the poet. To make a found poem, start by selecting a piece or pieces of texts to work with. Read through these texts and pick out important or interesting words or phrases. Come up with a common theme or message based on the words/phrases you selected from the texts. Then, arrange the words and phrases you chose into a poem to reflect the theme/message you are trying to convey. You may need to go back to the texts to find joiner words or words to help connect your chosen words/phrases smoothly. Your goal is to try and avoid adding your own words. Another neat way of creating a found poem is to find an old novel. Using a marker, black out all the words on the page aside from the words that you want to use to create your poem. See examples below.

In this poem by Jennifer Betts, an eraser was used to make the other words fade away

This is an example of a blackout found poem by Austin Kleon

Another example of a found poem:

Prose Selections from Chang-rae Lee’s “Coming Home, Again”

From that day, my mother prepared a certain meal to welcome me home. It was always the same. Even as I rode the school’s shuttle bus from Exeter to Logan airport, I could already see the exact arrangement of my mother’s table.

I knew that we would eat in the kitchen, the table brimming with plates. There was the kalbi, of course, broiled or grilled depending on the season. Leaf lettuce, to wrap the meat with. Bowls of garlicky clam broth with miso and tofu and fresh spinach. Shavings of cod dusted in flour and then dipped in egg wash and fried. Glass noodles with onions and shiitake. Scallion-and-hot-pepper pancakes. Chilled steamed shrimp. Seasoned salads of bean sprouts, spinach, and white radish. Crispy squares of seaweed. Steamed rice with barley and red beans. Homemade kimchi. It was all there—the old flavors I knew, the beautiful salt, the sweet, the excellent taste. (p. 5)

....................................................................................................................

I wish I had paid more attention. After her death, when my father and I were the only ones left in the house, drifting through the rooms like ghosts, I sometimes tried to make that meal for him. Though it was too much for two, I made each dish anyway, taking as much care as I could. But nothing turned out quite right—not the color, not the smell. At the table, neither of us said much of anything. And we had to eat the food for days. (p. 6)

Found Poem Based on the Prose Selection My mother preparedA certain mealTo welcome me home.We would eat in the kitchen Table brimming

Kalbi, leaf lettuce to wrap the meatGarlicky clam broth with miso and tofu and fresh spinach Shavings of codScallion and pepper pancakesChilled steamed shrimpSteamed rice.The old flavors I knewBeautiful, salt, sweet, excellent.I wish I had paid more attention.

Pastoral PoetryPastoral poetry is known for exploring the relationship between humans and nature, and for romanticizing the ideals of a simple country life. These types of poems explore the fantasy of withdrawing from modern life to live in an idyllic rural setting. This type of poetry emanated from the Greek poetry Theocritus who would write romanticized poems of shepherds living rich and fulfilled lives. Pastoral poems can take on many forms or structures, but always focusses on the idyllic country life. Other common themes and motifs that characterize the pastoral mode include - a beautiful natural setting- the return to an idealized Golden Age, when humans lived in complete harmony with nature- focus on imagined life in the country, rather than reality- the working belief that country life is superior to urban life.

“The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” by Christopher MarloweCome live with me and be my love,And we will all the pleasures proveThat valleys, groves, hills, and fields, Woods, or steepy mountain yields.

And we will sit upon the rocks,Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks,By shallow rivers to those fallsMelodious birds sing madrigals.

And I will make thee beds of rosesAnd a thousand fragrant posies,A cap of flowers, and a kirtleEmbroidered all with leaves of myrtle;

A gown made of the finest woolWhich from our pretty lambs we pull;Fair lined slippers for the cold,With buckles of the purest gold;

A belt of straw and ivy buds,With coral clasps and amber studs:And if these pleasures may thee move,Come live with me, and be my love.

The shepherds’ swains shall dance and singFor thy delight each May morning:If these delights thy mind may move,Then live with me and be my love.

Click here for a "non-traditional" reading of this poem.Apologies

Limerick PoemsA limerick is a five-line poem that consists of a single stanza, an AABBA rhyme scheme (where the first 2 lines rhyme with the last, and the 3rd and 4th lines rhyme with each other), and whose subject is a short, pithy tale or description. Most limericks are comedic, some are downright crude, and nearly all are trivial in nature. Traditional limericks follow a very strict composition and structure. They have:- a single stanza- exactly five lines- follow AABBA rhyme scheme

Below are some examples of various limericks:

There was an Old Man with a beard,Who said, “It is just as I feared!Two Owls and a Hen,Four Larks and a Wren,Have all built their nests in my beard!”- Edward Lear

Hickory, dickory, dock.The mouse ran up the clock. The clock struck one,The mouse ran down,Hickory, dickory, dock.

*** Notice that the 3rd and 4th lines are usually shorter than the others.

“There Was a Small Boy of Quebec” by Rudyard KiplingThere was a small boy of QuebecWho was buried in snow to his neckWhen they said, “are you frizz?”He replied, “Yes, I is – But we don’t call this cold in Quebec”

Imagist PoetryImagist poetry involves using words sparingly to create metaphorical images. There is no prescribed format for this style of poetry, but generally they are free verse poems, emphasizing rhythm rather than rhyme. Poets use common language (nothing fancy) and write about everyday life and objects.

“The Toaster” by William Jay Smith

A silver-scaled dragon with jaws flaming redSits at my elbow and toasts my bread.I hand him fat slices, and then, one by one,He hands them back when he sees they are done.

“In a Station of the Metro” by Ezra Pound

The apparition of these faces in the crowd;Petals on a wet, black bough.

“Fog” by Carl Sandburg

The fog comesOn little cat feet.It sits lookingOver harbour and cityOn silent haunchesThen moves on.