Spoken Word

Spoken Word, Slam Poetry, and Free Verse

Review

• Bio Poem

• Haiku

• Rhyming Poem

• ...what's the point?

Open Ended

What is art? What separates art from something that isn't art? Why is art important? Write your opinion below using complete sentences.

aesthetic:

: of or relating to art or beauty

There are practical as well as aesthetic reasons for planting trees.

the statue's aesthetic [=artistic] beauty

making aesthetic improvements to the building

aesthetic values/ideals

Humans have been creating art for over 50.000 years.

Whether or not something is "art" can be debated.

What is this piece trying to say?

Open Ended

What makes a poem "art"? What makes something a poem? Write your opinion below using complete sentences.

poem:

: a piece of writing that usually has figurative language and that is written in separate lines that often have a repeated rhythm and sometimes rhyme

On the next slide...

watch the video and think about what it means for something to be a poem. Is this a poem? Why?

Open Ended

What do you feel or notice about what you just saw and heard? What qualities of a poem did you observe?

Spoken Word

Spoken word poetry is a performance art that transcends the written form. If you’ve ever watched slam poetry or a dramatic monologue at an open mic night, the intense, emotional delivery may have stayed with you long after it was over. This is the power of spoken word poetry, and it’s meant to be memorable.

Spoken Word

• Spoken word poetry is a word-based performance art where speakers engage in powerful self-expression by sharing their views on particular topics for a live audience, focusing on sound and presentation. Spoken word performances require memorization, performative body language (like gestures and facial expressions), enunciation, and eye contact with viewers.

• Spoken word poetry is a form of poetry that doesn’t have to rhyme, but certain parts can be rhymed to emphasize an image or give it a lyrical quality. Spoken word poems will sometimes contain elements of hip-hop, folk music, or jazz to enhance the rhythmic presentation.

On the next slide...

let's listen for literary elements of spoken word. Rhyme, rhythm, performance, repetition, sensory details, figurative language (metaphor/simile), symbolism, etc.

Repetition

• "Note from _________ to _______..."

• Adds emphasis to the meaning of the poem and helps people remember what it's about

• Repetition of "I know"

Rhythm and rhyme

• "Enough with these selfies/Hashtag don't tell me

• "Chanel, Prada, Dolce & Gabbana..."

• Gives the poem a melodic quality

Performance

• The way words are spoken

• Extra emphasis when they both speak at once

• Movements and pauses for added effect

Find a connection...

between the last two poems and this next one.

Open Ended

What do the three poems you heard today have in common?

Purpose!

Each of the speakers today had a purpose for their poems.

The literary elements they used helped make their poems memorable.

All great speakers, whether poets or orators, use the same things to make their words stand out.

How am I supposed to create a spoken word poem if we're virtual?

We're going to spend this week focusing on a similar type of poetry called "free verse." I want us to try to combine spoken word with free verse poetry for your Poetry Portfolio.

What is free verse?

Free verse poems will have no set meter, which is the rhythm of the words, no rhyme scheme, or any particular structure. Some poets would find this liberating, being able to whimsically change your mind, while others feel like they could not do a good job in that manner. Robert Frost commented that writing free verse was like "playing tennis without a net."

Free verse vs. spoken word

Free verse poems do not follow the rules, and have no rhyme or rhythm; but they are still an artistic expression. They are sometimes thought to be a modern form of poetry; but, the free verse types of poem have been around for hundreds of years.

Following are several examples of free verse poems.

Pay attention to the literary elements that the poets use.

"After the Sea-Ship" by Walt Whitman

After the Sea-Ship-after the whistling winds;

After the white-gray sails, taut to their spars and ropes,

Below, a myriad, myriad waves, hastening, lifting up their necks,

Tending in ceaseless flow toward the track of the ship:

Waves of the ocean, bubbling and gurgling, blithely prying,

Waves, undulating waves-liquid, uneven, emulous waves,

Toward that whirling current, laughing and buoyant, with curves,

Where the great Vessel, sailing and tacking, displaced the surface;

"City of Potholes" by Kelly Roper

Zig-zagging down the road

Trying not to stray over the center line

Or hit a curb

Or break an axle

Or flatten a tire

Or wind up in the next surprise sinkhole.

Driving in Toledo is not a sport

For the timid or the sane or the under-insured.

Open Ended

What literary elements did you see in the last poem?

"Fog" by Carl Sandburg

The fog comes

on little cat feet.

It sits looking

over harbor and city

on silent haunches

and then moves on.