Introduction to Poetry What is poetry It is

Introduction to Poetry

What is poetry? �It is a form of writing that uses not only words, but ◦ Form ◦ Imagery ◦ Patterns of sound ◦ Figurative language … to share strong feelings or a powerful message/ theme.

Poetic Form �A poem’s form is its shape or what it looks like. �Poems are divided into lines. �Lines are usually grouped into stanzas. �Stanzas function like paragraphs in a story.

Imagery �Poets use words that appeal to the reader’s senses – sight, sound, smell, touch and taste – to paint a picture in the reader’s mind.

Patterns of sound �Alliteration �Rhyme �Rhythm �Repetition

Alliteration �The repetition of beginning consonant sounds of a series of words. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

Lincoln, the Man of the People by Edwin Markham She left the Heaven of Heroes and came down To make a man to meet the mortal need A man to match the mountains and the sea The friendly welcome of the wayside well

Rhyme � The repetition of same or similar sounds, usually in stressed syllables at the end of a line.

The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore— While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. “’Tis some visitor, ” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door— Only this and nothing more. ”

Rhythm �The pattern of stresses or beats in a poem. �Poets use patterns of stressed and unstressed syllables to create a musical rhythm in a poem. �Poets often use rhythm to create a certain mood.

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

Repetition �The repeating of certain sounds or words to create a certain effect. �Poets often repeat words to emphasize their importance.

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

Figurative Language �Similes �Metaphors �Onomatopoeia �Personification

Simile �The comparison of two unlike things using the words like or as.

My Family My mom is like a fire. She's always warm, but sometimes she gets too hot. My brother is like a tornado. He always moves fast and spreads destruction wherever he goes. My sister is like a snowstorm. She's pretty to look at and icy at times, but with a little bit of sunshine, that iciness melts. � Together we are like a partly cloudy day. We have our moments of darkness and gloom, but the sun always peeks through.

Metaphor �The comparison of two unlike items by saying one item is the other.

Peace by Star Fields � � The wind is now a roaring, smashing monster of destruction, raking all man's work from the valleys, from the vales, and sends them spinning, broken flying

Onomatopoeia �A word that resembles the sound it represents. �Crash! �Bang! �Boom! �Thud!

The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes Over the cobbles he clattered and clashed in the dark inn-yard, He tapped with his whip on the shutters, but all was locked and barred; Tlot tlot, tlot! Had they heard it? The horse -hooves, ringing clear; Tlot tlot, in the distance! Were they deaf that they did not hear?

Personification �Gives human characteristics to animals, objects, etc. Winter With his icy fingers he stole my smokey breath, laid a sheet of slippery freezing cold by my feet and then whispered in my ear right to the drum that echoed in my brain with excruciating pain.