American Masters EMILY DICKINSON AND WALT WHITMAN POETRY

Three Categories of Poetry: Narrative Poetry: tells us a story and has many of

Elements of Poetry (some review some new) Of the categories mentioned, the poetry of

Sound Devices These elements help enhance theme and can add musical quality to the

Emily Dickinson Webquest assignment later in the week where you will learn her background

Walt Whitman Was greatly admired by Emerson and Thoreau and was remarked as sounding

Homework Assignment Think of the two questions asked in this presentation and write your

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American Masters EMILY DICKINSON AND WALT WHITMAN POETRY SELECTIONS

Three Categories of Poetry: Narrative Poetry: tells us a story and has many of the same elements that a fiction novel has (characters, plot, setting. . etc) There are three specific types of narratives: Ballads, Epic (The Odyssey, The Illiad), Verse romances Dramatic Poetry: uses dramatic techniques to present the speech of one or more characters in verse form; think Hamlet’s monologue in the play this is dramatic poetry at its best Lyric Poetry: expresses thoughts and feelings of a single speaker Sonnets, odes, elegies, haiku are types of lyrical poems

Elements of Poetry (some review some new) Of the categories mentioned, the poetry of Dickinson and Whitman are lyrical in nature…What does this mean to us? Lyrical poetry is going to involve emotions (pathos…) and feelings from the narrator as a lyrical poem is normally read in 1 st person. Lyrical poetry, like any literary work, involves a theme (meaning) which is done through a number of devices such as visual arrangement of the poems stanzas (poetic lines) Couplet (2 lines) quatrains (4 lines) Tercet (3 lines) sestets (6 lines)

Sound Devices These elements help enhance theme and can add musical quality to the poem: Rhyme – top and drop they sound the same at the end of the word Alliteration – weak and weary have the same initial consonant sounds Consonance – pull and fall have the same final consonant sounds Assonance – low and tow repetition of similar vowel sounds Onomatopeia – fizz or hiss; the word sounds like what it means

Emily Dickinson Webquest assignment later in the week where you will learn her background along with three of her poems Important to know that E. D’s poetry often uses a technique known as slant rhyme; this is where words don’t rhyme exactly rather they rhyme approximately. This helps to make her poetry seem more exciting to the readers Example: one/stone and is/paradise Also E. D used oxymoron/paradox in her poetry; these are statements that seem contradictory but actually present a truth E. D was more comfortable writing in solitude…do you think solitude is a negative or positive trait to have?

Walt Whitman Was greatly admired by Emerson and Thoreau and was remarked as sounding “very brave and American”; his poems reflect boldness, adventurous spirit, and optimism…could this be seen as something very “American”? Whitman wrote Epic poetry, yet not in quite the manner of say Homer’s idea of epics. Leaves of Grass today is seen as an American epic that expresses national ideals; it’s theme (view of the human condition) is that all people of all times are connected by their shared experiences of life. Whitman used Free verse which has irregular everything and sounds closest to natural speech; anaphora – repetition of phrases and sentences with similar structures and meanings

Homework Assignment Think of the two questions asked in this presentation and write your answer to them. The questions were: Do you think solitude is a negative or positive trait to have? Does writing in an “adventurous and bold” manner as Whitman does make the writing more American? Handout: Due Thursday at start of class!