The Road Not Taken - Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
two roads diverged in a wood, and I -I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
What do we Know
About Poetry?
Rain
It's good to lie in bed at night
And hear the sweeping rain
Go patter patter on the roof
And knock against the pane.
It croaks and gurgles down the spout,
And swishes through the leaves,
And makes the curly creeper drip
That twines about the eaves.
All snug and warm in blankets soft
I hear a windy song
Like curlews in the lonely bush
That wail the whole night long.
L.H. Allen
TSUNAMI YOU HIT MY ISLAND HOME
The day was clear
The sun shone bright
Upon my island home
When all at once wailing, echoed from her shores.
And it came whirling, swirling, churning and sweeping
A monstrous twenty-foot wave
With a booming voice and mighty hurt
Destroying everything in its way.
It came so fast in swirling rage
No time to think, to save themselves
The waves so high swept above their heads
And swept back with their lives.
The waves destroyed many homes,
It swept off many lives.
But through this pain and sorrow
Our people began to rise.
From far away people came
To lend a helping hand
Humanity poured through the veins
Of every man and child.
And gave hope in every way.
Oh Tsunami you hit us
Expecting us to fall.
But we will rise stronger,
Much better than before.
Metaphor:
A metaphor is a comparison of 2 nouns
that are unalike in appearance but have
similarities.
Eg: The beach was a monster, huge,
dangerous and roaring in the wind.
Simile:
A simile is a comparison of 2 nouns using
'like' or 'as'.
Eg: The beach was like a monster.
What is....the Sun?
The sun is an orange dinghy
sailing across a calm sea.
It is a gold coin
dropped down a drain in heaven.
It is a yellow beach ball
kicked high into the summer sky.
It is a red thumb-print
on a sheet of pale blue paper.
It is the gold top from a milk bottle
floating on a puddle.
Wes Magee
The Sidewalk Racer
Skimming the asphalt like it is the
sea,
I swerve, I curve, I sway.
I speed with a whirring sound an inch
above the ground.
I am like the sailor and the sail.
I am like the driver and the wheel.
I am the one and only single engine
human auto mobile.
Metaphor
The ocean is a smooth blanket.
The clouds were fairy
floss in the clear sky.
The room was a desert.
Poetry
Simile
The breeze was like a butterfly.
The boy was as quiet as a mouse.
She swept through the
playground like a cyclone.
The tear drops were like
diamonds as they fell from
her cheek.
Personification:
When a non human object is given human qualities.
Eg: 'The leaves danced in the wind.'
Fog
The fog comes
on little cat feet.
It sits looking
over the harbour and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.
Carl Sandburg
The Tree House
It was an oak that defended a flowery bank
And spread its leaf-covered branches wide,
Waiting for a favourable wind
To sail across the river idling by.
Stanley Cook
School
She watches over me
And smiles
She holds me in her warm arms
And teaches me all she knows
She scolds me when I am bad
Alliteration
Alliteration is the repetition of the
same consonant over and over.
Eg: She sells sea shells on the sea
shore.
Assonance
Assonance is the repetition of
vowel sounds.
Eg: The murmuring of
innumerable mermaids
A Rose for Janet
I know
this rose is only
an ink and paper rose
but see how it grows and goes
on growing
beneath your eyes
West Beast East Beast
Upon an island hard to reach
The East Beast sits upon his beach.
Upon the west beach sits the West Beast
Each beach beasts thinks he's the best beast.
Which beast is best?....Well I thought at first.
That the East was best
and the West was worst.
Then I looked again from
the west to the east.
And I liked the beast on
the east beach least.
Animals
The dopey dog drank dark, dirty water,
while the hound from the pound made a barking
sound.
The curious cat caught a caterpillar,
while the mouse in the house hid with her spouse.
The bright blue bower bird blew in the breeze,
while the bunny licked honey from her paws.
Onomatopoeia
A word that sounds exactly like the sound it's describing.
Eg: 'Hoot' went the owl, 'Splat' went the egg.
RUNNING WATER
water plops into a pond
splish-splash the downhill
warbling magpies in the tree
trilling, melodic thrill
whoosh, passing breeze
flags flutter and flap
frog croaks, bird whistles
babbling bubbles from a tap
Onomatopoeia
Animal:
Dropping something:
Eating/Drinking:
Walking:
Treading on something:
Oh Poor Me!
I fell on the ground
Ker-plunk!
And landed in a garbage dump
(Pee-ew!)
So I dusted myself off
Swat! Swat!
With feathers from a bird I caught
Eeek! Eeek!
And continued the journey anew!
Crunch! Crunch!
To tell a story
To describes people, places
and things
Create images
To bring words to life by
writing about our five senses
of sight, smell, touch, taste
and sound
What is the
Purpose of Poetry ?
To recount
information
To entertain
To expresses feelings
Onomatopoeia
Personification
Poetry
Techniques
Simile and
Metaphor
5 senses taste, touch,
sight, sound,
smell
Alliteration and
Assonance
Haiku
Haiku is a form of Japanese poetry
written about nature.
It has three lines. The first and third lines
have five syllables.
The second line has seven syllables.
The River
Rushing, rolling down
The river flows to the sea
Blue skies hang above
Concrete or Shape
Poem
A concrete poem looks like
its subject. It is also called a
shape poem.
Limerick
A limerick is a fun poem that has five lines.
Lines one, two and five have three strong downbeats
and rhyme.
Lines three and four have two strong downbeats and
rhyme.
Anna Maria From France
Anna Maria from France
Hated to sing and dance
But she boogied one day
(What an awful display!)
When a neighbour set fire to her pants
A Riddle Poem
A riddle poem indirectly describes
a person, place, thing or idea. The
reader must try to figure out the
subject of the riddle. A riddle
poem can be any length and
usually has a rhyme scheme of
abcb or aabb.
The beginning of eternity
The end of time and space,
The beginning of every end,
The end of every place.
Poetry Reflection
Select three poems and answer the following
questions about them:
1. What is the title and who is the author?
2. Is the poem a narrative poem, descriptive poem
or a recount poem? Explain why you think this.
3. Why do you think the poet wrote this poem?
4. Who do you think the poem was written for?
5. What do you think the poem is about?
6. What techniques does the poet use to create this
poem? Provide examples of each.