Poetry

Poetry

World Literature

Before we start, let's review!

Multiple Choice

Does poetry have to rhyme?

• Yes!

• No!

Multiple Choice

What does "In Medias Res" mean?

• In the middle of things

• After it, therefore because of it

• On the side

• I could totally eat some Chipotle!

Multiple Choice

An epic poem is...

• a prose about a legendary man who does anything he wants to do!

• a story about how everyone is special and totally the same without special qualities.

• a long narrative verse about a national or legendary hero.

Multiple Choice

How were epic poems often shared?

• Sketched on papyrus

• Written down on tablets

• Etched in the stars

• Spoken out loud to the people

Poetic devices

• Poems are not unique in WHAT they're about; they're unique in HOW they're crafted.

• Instead of sentences and paragraphs, we have lines and stanzas.

• Some structures are shorter than others. For instance, a haiku is only three lines, and a sonnet is only 14 lines.

• Epic poems are HUGE and can be as long as any short story or novel that you've ever read!

• So what makes a poem a poem?

Meter, Rhythm, and Structure

• Since poems DO NOT need to rhyme, we must figure out what they typically have in common.

• Poetry should have a clear rhythm to it. You should be able to count the syllables in each of the lines to see if there's consistency.

• Poets use rhythms to create a "feel" or a mood for the poem, but sometimes they'll throw in something that feels out of place. Frequently, this is done to get you to pay closer attention.

Let's look at a poem!

• How many syllables in each line?

• Does it rhyme?

• Theme/Message?

Multiple Choice

Which of these has the number of syllables in the correct order?

• 3, 5, 5

• 7, 3, 5

• 5, 7, 5

• 7, 7, 7

Multiple Choice

Does it rhyme?

• Yes

• No

Open Ended

What is the message/theme of the poem?

Sound Devices

• Sometimes you need to read poems out loud to catch literary devices that the poet wants you to discover.

• Alliteration - repetition of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words. - Sweet, silly songs

• Assonance - repetition of vowel sounds in words that are adjacent or closely connected - Lou drew blue hues all over!

• Onomatopoeia - using a word that resembles the sound it describes: "roar" "boom" "shush" "cackle" "whine" "bang"

• Repetition - words or phrases repeated to create an effect. Lyrics use repetition constantly as hooks to draw your attention.

Multiple Choice

Steven stopped studying and stood up.

• Assonance

• Alliteration

• Repetition

• Onomatopoeia

Multiple Choice

The crack of the whip shot a chill down my spine.

• Assonance

• Alliteration

• Repetition

• Onomatopoeia

Multiple Choice

She called and called and called me until I picked up the phone.

• Assonance

• Alliteration

• Repetition

• Onomatopoeia

Multiple Select

Anna asked absolutely asinine questions, but Ben bent over backwards to answer, to explain, and to teach her.

• Alliteration

• Assonance

• Repetition

• Onomatopoeia

Poetry tips

• Read poetry twice - once to yourself and once out loud. This helps you to determine the meaning and then to look for specific devices.

• When you read a poem, you don't have to read it line by line. Frequently, poets write lines that flow onto the next line. Those are called Enjambed Lines, and you can read them like sentences.

• Sometimes poets put an end-stop punctuation (. ! ?) in the middle of a line. This is called a Caesura, and you should pause and ask why they did that. You might run into something important!