Poetry Structure/St. Crispin's Day

Poetry Analysis Structure (S)

• Welcome to our exploration of poetry structure!

• We'll learn how the form of a poem contributes to its meaning

• We'll use the St. Crispin's Day speech from Shakespeare's Henry V as our example

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​Introduction to Poetry Structure

• The organization and arrangement of a poem's elements

• Includes elements like line breaks, stanzas, and rhythm

• Can vary widely between different types of poems

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​What is Poetry Structure?

• Structure is part of SMILE (Structure, Meaning, Imagery, Language, and Effect)

• It helps convey the poem's mood and tone

• Enhances the poem's musicality and rhythm

• Can emphasize certain words or ideas

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​Why is Structure Important??

• Basic building blocks of a poem

• Can create rhythm and pacing

• May emphasize certain words or phrases

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Lines and Line Breaks

Open Ended

Review Walt Whitman's Song of Myself. Whitman bounces from short lines to long lines. What effect does that give the reader?

• Groups of lines forming a unit within a poem

• Can separate ideas or create pauses

• Various types: couplets, tercets, quatrains, etc.

  • Couplet: 2 lines together

  • Tercets: 3 lines together

  • Quatrains: 4 lines together

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Stanzas: Organizing Thoughts

Open Ended

Reviewing Emily Dickinson's Hope is a Thing with Feathers what effect is created by dividing her poem into 3 quatrains?

• The rhythmic structure of a poem

• Often described using feet (iambs, trochees, etc.)

  • Iamb: Unstress/Stress [explode, about]

  • Trochee: Stress/Unstress [tiger, leader]

• Shakespeare often used iambic pentameter

  • Pentameter: 5 feet per line

  • Hexameter: 6 feet per line

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Meter: The Poem's Heartbeat

Open Ended

William Blake wrote "The Tyger" with trochee feet, or stress/unstress meter. What effect does that structure give the reader?

• Patterns of rhymes at the end of lines

• Can create musicality and memorability

• Examples: ABAB, AABB, free verse

  • Free Verse: Poetry that doesn't rhyme or have a regular meter

  • Blank Verse: Poetry with a meter but no rhyme scheme.

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Rhyme Schemes

Multiple Choice

What is the rhyme scheme of the attached section of "One Art" by Elizabeth Bishop?

• ABA ABA

• ABC ABC

• AAA BBB

• ABA BAB

• Specific structures with set rules

• Examples: sonnets, haikus, villanelles

  • Sonnet: 14 lines, iambic pentameter

  • Haikus: 5 - 7- 5 syllable count

  • Villanelles: ABA ABA ABA ABA ABA ABAA

• Each form has its own conventions and effects

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Forms

Open Ended

How can a strict format effect the reader? Think about haikus. What does limited how many sounds a writer can use change the overall mood of a poem?

• Enjambment: continuing a sentence beyond a line break

• End-stopping: completing a thought at the end of a line

• Both create different effects in pacing and emphasis

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Enjambment and End-Stopping

• Repeating words, phrases, or lines for emphasis

• Can create rhythm and reinforce key ideas

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Repetition and Refrains

Open Ended

Dylan Thomas repeated 2 lines throughout his poem: "Do not go gentle into that good night" and "rage, rage against the dying of the light."

What effect does repeating these 2 lines have? What mood does it create in the reader?

• From Shakespeare's play Henry V

• Delivered by King Henry to motivate his troops

• Written in blank verse (unrhymed iambic pentameter)

• Uses long lines to mimic the flow of natural speech

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The St. Crispin's Day Speech: An Overview

• "What's he that wishes so? / My cousin Westmoreland? No, my fair cousin;"

• Note the use of questions and answers

• Lines are split between characters, creating dialogue

• How does this structure engage the audience (both in the play and as readers)?

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Analyzing the Opening Lines

• "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;"

• Repetition of "we" creates a sense of unity

• Short, punchy phrases build rhythm and emphasis

• How does this structure reinforce the speech's message?

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The Power of Pronouns

• "But we in it shall be remembered-- / We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;"

• Enjambment between these lines creates anticipation

• The second line's structure emphasizes the bond between soldiers

• How does the structure enhance the imagery of brotherhood?

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Imagery and Structure

• "And gentlemen in England now a-bed / Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,"

• Contrasts with earlier lines about the present battle

• Creates a future scenario, expanding the speech's scope

• How does this structure create a lasting impact?

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The Closing Lines

• The speech builds in intensity through its structure

• Short, repeated phrases create rhythm and emphasis

• Long lines allow for complex ideas and flowing rhetoric

• How does the structure contribute to the speech's rousing nature?

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Structure and Emotional Impact

• Structure is integral to a poem's overall effect

• It works with other elements (imagery, language) to create meaning

• In the St. Crispin's Day speech, structure enhances the motivational tone

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Bringing It All Together

Your Turn - Analyze a Poem's Structure and Tie it to Meaning