Notes and Practice Activities

Unit 7 Introduction to Unit 7: Poetry

“Poetry is a way of taking life by the throat.”

-Robert Frost

Essential Questions: What is poetry? What makes some poems unforgettable? Why is poetry important? Common Core Standards: RL. 4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone RL.10 Read and comprehend poems. L.5 Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings

Introduction:

The poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge once explained poetry as “the best words in their best order.” Poets burn images into readers’ minds, craft unforgettable rhythms, and experiment with poetic forms. Whether they embrace the traditional rules of poetry, play with them, or break them altogether, poets use the techniques of their craft to inspire readers and communicate ideas. Experience these techniques in action by immersing yourself in the poetry of this unit.

Odds are you can remember snippets of a nursery rhyme, verses from a favorite bedtime story or lines from an old favorite song from your childhood. They linger in your memory because you heard them over and over again. Many people can fondly recall the poetry of their childhood.

Write down the words to one of your favorite poems. You may choose from poems you have heard, read, or memorized. Next, answer the following questions:

 What is the poem about?

 Are there any words that rhyme or repeat?

 Do you picture anything when you read or hear the poem?

 What is your favorite part of the poem?

Discuss your answers with a classmate. What qualities do your favorite poems have in common?

Section 1: Form Form is as important in poetry as sound and language. Form is the poems structure, or the way the words are arranged on the page. All poems are made up with a series of lines. The length of the lines, where they break, and how they are punctuated all contribute to a poem’s rhythm and meaning. In many poems, the lines are grouped into stanzas, which function like paragraphs in prose. Each stanza plays a part in expressing the message of a poem.

Poems come in various forms, but typically they are discussed in terms of two categories – traditional and organic. See the graphic organizer below to understand the differences between these two forms.

Form: Traditional Form: Organic Characteristics: Characteristics:  Follows fixed rules, such as a specified number of lines  Does not follow established rules for form  Has a regular pattern of rhythm and/or rhyme  Does not have a regular pattern of rhythm and may not rhyme at all  May use unconventional spelling, punctuation, and grammar Forms: Forms:  epic, ode, ballad, sonnet, haiku, limerick  free verse, concrete poetry Example: Example: Surgeons must be very careful we’re everyanything more than believe When they take the knife! (with a spin Underneath their fine incisions leap Stirs the Culprit – Life! alive we’re alive) By Emily Dickinson we’re wonderful one times one From “If Everything Happens That Can’t Be Done” by E.E. Cummings

Model #1: Traditional Form

For centuries, poets have crafted sonnets that investigate everything from unrequited love to the mysteries of nature. There are many types of sonnets, but all of them have 14 lines and are written in a strict pattern of rhythm and rhyme. Read this poem, which is Petrarchan sonnet, to determine the characteristics of this particular form.

Read the poem below and perform the close read. You can also listen to the poem @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toHgLiqDibk

Pretty Words Close Read Poem by Elinor Wylie (1885-1929) Poets make pets of pretty, docile words: 1. How many lines make I love smooth words, like gold-enamelled fish up the first stanza? Which circle slowly with a silken swish, How many lines are And tender ones, like downy-feathered birds: in the second Words shy and dappled, deep-eyed deer in herds, Come to my hand, and playful if I wish, stanza? Or purring softly at a silver dish, Blue Persian kittens fed on cream and curds. 2. In the first stanza, I love bright words, words up and singing early; each group of end- Words that are luminous in the dark, and sing; rhyming words is Warm lazy words, white cattle under trees; highlighted in the I love words opalescent, cool, and pearly, same color. Identify Like midsummer moths, and honied words like bees, the end-rhyming Gilded and sticky, with a little sting. words in the second stanza.

3. Compare the ideas expressed in the first stanza with those in the second one.

Model #2: Organic Form

Poems written in free verse, like the one below, do not adhere to a regular pattern of rhythm and rhyme. Read the poem and perform the close read. From Beware: Do Not Read This Poem Close Read Poem by Ishmael Reed 4. Identify three the hunger of this poem is legendary characteristics that it has taken in many victims make this poem back off from this poem unconventional. it has drawn in yr feet back off from this poem it has drawn in yr legs 5. Even though the poet back off from this poem does not use punctuation, this poem has a natural rhythm. Read the poem aloud, using the rhythm you think is appropriate.

Section 2: Poetic Elements

For poets, choosing on a topic and form is only the beginning. They must answer additional questions such as: Will the poem hum along at a steady beat or charge ahead with a bold rhythm? What images or sounds will communicate a mood or convey a distinct tone? Using sound devices and language, poets can communicate meaning, make music, and tap into the senses.

Sound Devices

Much like music, language has rhythm. In poetry, the pattern of s stressed and unstressed syllables in each line is what creates the rhythm. Rhyme also enhances the musical quality of a poem. It can occur at the ends of lines as end rhyme or within lines as internal rhyme.

A regular pattern of rhythm is called meter. A regular pattern or rhyme is a called a rhyme scheme. Meter is charted in a process called scansion, where stressed syllables are makers with a ’ and unstressed syllables with a . A rhyme scheme is charted by assigning a letter of the alphabet to the matching end rhymes notice how the meter and rhyme scheme are marked in these lines in the poem by Christina Rossetti titled “A Birthday.” See lines from the poem below.

Additional Sound Devices Poets Use Poetic Element Chart / Graphic Organizer

Sound Device Example Repetition – a sound, word, phrase, or line that is repeated for back off from this poem it has drawn in yr feet emphasis and unity back off from this poem -from “Beware: Do Not Read This Poem” Alliteration – repetition of a consonant sounds at the beginnings of Which circle slowly with a silken swish -from “Pretty Words” words Assonance – Repetition of vowel sounds in words that don’t end with Words shy and dappled, deep-eyed deer in herds the same consonant -from “Pretty Words” Consonance – Repetition of consonant sounds within and at the ends Whose nest is in a watered shoot -from “A Birthday” of words

Model 1: Meter

To identify a poem’s meter, you have to break each line into smaller units, called feet. A foot consists on one stressed syllable and one or two unstressed ones. Look at the type and the number of feet in each line. The combine the terms listed on the side – for example, trochaic trimester or iambic pentameter – to describe what you find.

Read the poem below and perform the close read.

You can also listen to it @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPDRxSONu7c or watch a student film to with images @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jHj9Pl72_A

Fire and Ice Close Read By Robert Frost S Some say the world will end in fire, 6. What is the metrical pattern of the lines S Some say in ice. that are highlighted? F From what I’ve tasted of desire What is the poem’s I I hold with those who favor fire. 7. rhyme scheme? B But if it had to perish twice, I I think I know enough of hate T To say that for destruction ice I Is also great And would suffice. 

Model 2: Additional Sound Devices

Edgar Allan Poe wrote “The Bells” to experiment with the musical qualities of language. Read this excerpt from the poem aloud to appreciate the full impact and complete the close read.

Audio available @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qd6DoU88TSE

From The Bells Close Read A Poem by Edgar Allan Poe 8. Find four instances Hear the sledges with the bells – of sound devices Silver bells! used in this poem. What a world of merriment their melody foretells! Refer to your notes How they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle, for assistance. In the icy air of night! While the stars that oversprinkle All the heavens seem to twinkle 9. What effects do With a crystalline delight; these sound devices Keeping time, time, time, create? Explain how In a sort of Runic rhyme,… they add to Poe’s description of the bells?

Imagery and Figurative Language

Unlike prose, poetry is very concise and needs to convey a message quickly. A limited amount of words must communicate a great deal of meaning. Therefore, diction, or word choice, is especially important. Poets must choose their words carefully in order to create certain effects. One of the ways poets expand their ability to make meaning and to achieve intended effects is by using imagery and figurative language. As you have already learned, imagery in fiction evokes sensory experiences for readers by appealing to the five senses. Poets also use sensory details to illustrate and elaborate on their ideas and feelings. For instance, look back at “Fire and Ice” on the preceding page. Robert Frost utilizes powerful sensory details –fire and ice- to help the reader picture the end of the world. Not only can probably visualize the world engulfed in flames or numbed by ice, but you can also probably imagine what each type of destruction would feel like. These details are enough to spark images in your mind. Not only can you probably visualize the world engulfed in flames on numbed by ice, but you can also probably imagine what each type of destruction would feel like. These details are enough to spark unsettling images in your mind.

Like imagery, figurative language opens up the mind to more than the literal meaning of words. In this example, notice how the figurative expression not only is more descriptive but also communicates a stronger emotion:

Literal: He was angry.

Figurative: He burned with anger.

Figurative Language Example Simile – A comparison between two unlike things, containing the words My heart is like a bird singing. – from “A Birthday” like, as, or if Metaphor- A comparison between two unlike things without the word Poets make pets of pretty, docile words – from “Pretty Words” like or as Personification – A description of an object, an animal, a place, or an it [this poem] has taken in many victims – from “Beware: Do Not Read this idea in human terms; Giving human characteristics to unhuman things Poem” the hunger of this poem is legendary - from “Beware: Do Not Read this Hyperbole – an exaggeration for emphasis or humorous effect Poem”

Model 3: Imagery and Figurative Language In this poem, the author uses sensory details and figurative language to familiarize you with a vivid character. As you read, pay close attention to the contrasting images of Miss Rosie – what she was and what she has become. Also, notice the poem’s speaker, the voice that describes the character, as well as the speaker’s tone. How does the speaker’s impression of Miss Rosie influence your opinion of her?

You can also listen to it here (start at 1:56) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuUo9Y598Vw

Close Read

10. Find three odd comparisons and identify them as metaphors or similes. What image of Miss Rosie does this figurative language miss rosie communicate? Poem by Lucille Clifton 11. Find the hyperbole when I watch you and explain its effect. wrapped up like garbage sitting, surrounded by the smell of too old potato peels or when I watch you 12. in your old man's shoes Reread the yellow with the little toe cut out highlighted lines. What is the sitting, waiting for your mind speaker’s attitude toward like next week's grocery Miss Rosie? Explain how it I say affects your impression of when I watch you Miss Rose. you wet brown bag of a woman who used to be the best looking gal in Georgia used to be called the Georgia Rose I stand up through your destruction I stand up Section 3: Analyze the Text

At this point you have learned about poetic forms and techniques. Now you are ready to see how everything works together in two noticeably different love poems.

The first poem is a Shakespearean sonnet, which has a very specific rhyme scheme and organization which is different than that of a Petrarchan sonnet (which you will read next). This type of sonnet was introduced in the 16th century by English poets and made popular by Shakespeare, but the form is still popular with poets today. A Shakespearean sonnet consists of three quatrains, or four-line units, and a final couplet, or pair of rhyming lines. Read the sonnet aloud first to comprehend what it is saying. Next, reread the poem to analyze its poetic elements. Answer the close reading questions during your second read.

Close Read

Corundum – an extremely Not In A Silver Casket Cool With Pearls hard mineral, read and blue forms of which are rubies and Poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay sapphires

This poem is written in iambic pentameter. Find and scan two lines that reflect this meter. Then identify two lines that differ from the pattern. What is the effect of the change in pattern? Not in a silver casket cool with pearls Semper Fidelis (Latin) – Or rich with red corundum or with blue, Always Faithful Locked, and the key withheld, as other girls Have given their loves, I give my love to you; Cowslips- plants that have fragrant yellow flowers. Not in a lovers'-knot, not in a ring Worked in such fashion, and the legend plain— How do the images in the first Semper fidelis, where a secret spring 8 lines contrast with those in 9- 12? 8Kennels a drop of mischief for the brain: Love in the open hand, no thing but that, Ungemmed, unhidden, wishing not to hurt, As one should bring you cowslips in a hat Swung from the hand, or apples in her skirt, I bring you, calling out as children do: 14"Look what I have!—And these are all for you."

Next, read the poem below which offers different perspective on love. As you read, pay attention to how sound devices and figurative language help to shape and share a wholehearted and genuine message. Complete the close read. You can also listen to the poem here @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sm7U9BtPXXM&feature=kp

I Am Offering You This Poem Close Read A Poem by Jimmy Santiago Baca

I am offering this poem to you, 13. Is this poem since I have nothing else to give. traditional or organic in form? Keep it like a warm coat Describe how when winter comes to cover you, you can tell. or like a pair of thick socks the cold cannot bite through, 14. Identify four I love you, specific sound devices in the I have nothing else to give you, poem that so it is a pot full of yellow corn provide unity to warm your belly in winter, and rhythm. it is a scarf for your head, to wear over your hair, to tie up around your face, 15. Find the similes and metaphors I love you, in the poem. One simile has Keep it, treasure this as you would been highlighted. if you were lost, needing direction, What qualities of in the wilderness life becomes when mature; the love poem and in the corner of your drawer, do these tucked away like a cabin or hogan comparisons help in dense trees, come knocking, to accentuate? and I will answer, give you directions, and let you warm yourself by this fire, Hogan: a one-room Navajo rest by this fire, and make you feel safe building that is used as a I love you, dwelling or for ceremonial purposes. It’s all I have to give, and all anyone needs to live, 16. Compare what and to go on living inside, these poems say when the world outside about love. Cite no longer cares if you live or die; the similarities remember, and differences.

I love you.