Poetry
{
overview
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Poetry is “literature that evokes a concentrated
imaginative awareness of experience or a
specific emotional response through language
chosen and arranged for its meaning, sound,
and rhythm.” (Encyclopedia Brittanica)
Key words: emotion, language, meaning,
sound, and rhythm.
What is poetry?
{
Myth
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Poetry should
rhyme
Myth vs. Fact
{
Fact
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A poet may choose a
rhyme scheme, a
few rhymes, or no
rhyme at all
{
Bad Morning
(Langston Hughes)
Here I sit
With my shoes mis-mated
Lawdy-Mercy!
I’s frustrated
{
Fog
(Carl Sandburg)
The fog comes
on little cat feet.
It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.
{
Myth

Poetry is weepy and
emotional
Myth vs. Fact
{
Fact

Poetry can express
the full range of
emotions, from
sadness or grief to
love to anger to
delight to humor
{
Pancake?
{
Shel Silverstein
Who wants a pancake,
Sweet and piping hot?
Good little Grace looks up and says,
“I’ll take the one on top.”
Who else wants a pancake,
Fresh off the griddle?
Terrible Theresa smiles and says,
“I’ll take the one in the middle.”
{
Myth

Poetry is easy to
write because there
are no rules
Myth vs. Fact
{
Fact
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While it is true that
poetry is the most
free-form of literature,
it is up to the poet to
decide the rules for his
or her own
composition. You will
rarely read poetry by
an accomplished
writer that truly
follows NO rules.
{
[i carry your heart with
me(i carry it in]
{
e.e. cummings
i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you
here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which
grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart
i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)
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A poem’s rhyme scheme is determined by
lettering the end of the first line A
If the next line rhymes with the first, it’s also A.
If not, B.
Continue with this pattern. Any words at the
end of a line that rhyme should have the same
letter (even if they are in different stanzas)
A few key ideas…
Well, I have lost you; and I lost you fairly;
In my own way, and with my full consent.
Say what you will, kings in a tumbrel rarely
Went to their deaths more proud than this one went.
Some nights of apprehension and hot weeping
I will confess; but that’s permitted me;
Day dried my eyes; I was not one for keeping
Rubbed in a cage a wing that would be free.
If I had loved you less or played you slyly
I might have held you for a summer more,
But at the cost of words I value highly,
And no such summer as the one before.
Should I outlive this anguish—and men do—
I shall have only good to say of you.
Try it!
(“Well, I have lost you” by Edna St. Vincent Millay)
Well, I have lost you; and I lost you fairly; A
In my own way, and with my full consent. B
Say what you will, kings in a tumbrel rarely A
Went to their deaths more proud than this one went. B
Some nights of apprehension and hot weeping C
I will confess; but that’s permitted me; D
Day dried my eyes; I was not one for keeping C
Rubbed in a cage a wing that would be free. D
If I had loved you less or played you slyly E
I might have held you for a summer more, F
But at the cost of words I value highly, E
And no such summer as the one before. F
Should I outlive this anguish—and men do— G
I shall have only good to say of you. G
Did you get it?
Note: Fairly, me, slyly
almost rhyme. That’s called
slant rhyme.
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The breaks between chunks in poems denote
where the stanzas begin and end. Stanzas in
poems are sort of like paragraphs in writing;
they will usually have their own focus/idea that
contributes to the poem’s meaning overall
A few key ideas…
Well, I have lost you; and I lost you fairly;
Ok, this relationship is
In my own way, and with my full consent.
over, which I accept
Say what you will, kings in a tumbrel rarely
Went to their deaths more proud than this one went.
Some nights of apprehension and hot weeping
I will confess; but that’s permitted me;
Day dried my eyes; I was not one for keeping
Rubbed in a cage a wing that would be free.
I mean, yeah, I have been
sad about it, but I didn’t
want to try to force you to
stay
If I had loved you less or played you slyly
I might have held you for a summer more,
But at the cost of words I value highly,
And no such summer as the one before.
I could have made this
last a little lover, but it
wouldn’t be worth it
Should I outlive this anguish—and men do—
I shall have only good to say of you.
I will probably get over it,
and don’t worry, I won’t
say anything bad about
you
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Since poets are usually going for a single,
strong idea, they use figurative language,
sensory details, and sound devices to make an
impact with their readers
Different poems use different devices for
different reasons. However, you will always
want to figure out WHY the device is used.
A few key ideas…
Well, I have lost you; and I lost you fairly; Repetition emphasizes that the speaker knows
In my own way, and with my full consent. the subject is lost and “owns” the truth
Compares death of relationship to
Say what you will, kings in a tumbrel rarely
death of king– relationship was
Went to their deaths more proud than this one important!
went.
Sensory detail emphasizes powerful emotion
Some nights of apprehension and hot weeping
Personification emphasizes that speaker is
I will confess; but that’s permitted me;
going through the motions– she didn’t
Day dried my eyes; I was not one for keeping overcome her own feelings
Metaphor compares lost love/relationship to a
Rubbed in a cage a wing that would be free. bird in a cage that wants to be free. Makes the
speaker sound noble for letting relationship go.
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Some of the most popular poems throughout
American history have actually been songs. As
we move through this unit, you will see both
poems and song lyrics presented as poems.
As far back as Homer (The Odyssey), poems
have been set to music to aid memory. In
America, singing in groups has been and is still
a way to show unity (Alma Mater!)
A few key ideas…