Introduction to

Poetry
Essential Question:

What is Poetry?

Why do poets write poetry?

Here are some reasons:
To tell a story in their own words and in their own
way
To express personal thoughts and emotions in a
creative way
To release stress and make sense of the world
To experiment with ideas and thoughts
To create emotional response from the readers
Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it
takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility.
-William Wordsworth

Types of Poems
Haiku - a simple poem typically about nature or scenery; has
three lines and 17 syllables and does not rhyme
Lyric Poem -a short poem in which a single speaker
expresses personal thoughts and feelings
Ballad - a songlike poem that tells a story, often a sad story
of betrayal, death, or loss
Epic Poem - a long narrative poem about the many deeds of
a great hero.
Sonnet - a fourteen-line poem, expresses feelings, has a
particular end rhyme pattern (ABABCDCD) and usually
ends in a rhymed couplet (two lines with end rhyme).

Form
Free Verse

Fixed Form

Poetry that follows fixed

rules, such as a
specified number of
lines
Has a regular pattern of
rhythm and/or rhyme

Does not follow established rules

for form
Does not have a regular pattern of
rhythm and may not rhyme at all
May use unconventional spelling,
punctuation, and grammar

Example:
Example:
Surgeons must be very careful
When they use the knife!
Underneath their fine incisions
Stirs the culprit Life!
-Emily Dickinson

were everyanything more than believe

(with a spin
leap
alive were alive)
were wonderful one times one
-E.E. Cummings

Stanzas
Group of lines in a poem, also known as verses.

The Poet vs. The Speaker

The poet is the writer of the poem
The speaker is the person whose point of view
the poem is written in. In other words, the
speaker is the person telling the poem; the
voice of the poem.
The poet and the speaker are not always the
same. That is, the poet is not always the one
telling the poem.
For example: The poet can be an older woman
and the speaker can be a young boy.

Tone
The attitude of a writer toward a subject or an
audience.
Tone is generally conveyed through the choice of
words or the viewpoint of a writer on a particular
subject.
Some examples of tone:
-affectionate
-angry
-childish
-stern
-nostalgic
-pitiful
-proud
-playful
-melancholic

The tone of a poem is

roughly equivalent to the
mood it creates in the
reader. Think of an actor
reading a line such as "I
could kill you." He can read
it in a few different ways: If
he thinks the proper tone is
murderous anger, he might
scream the line

Sound Devices
Sound devices are resources used by poets to
convey and reinforce the meaning or experience
of poetry through the skillful use of sound.
The poet is trying to get
the reader to sense a
particular thing, and the
use of sound devices
are some of the poets
tools.

Types of Sound Devices:

-Rhyme
-Rhythm
-Alliteration
-Onomatopoeia
-Repetition
-Refrain

Rhyme
The repetition of sounds
Example: hat, cat, brat, fat, mat, sat

Rhythm
The beat of a poem!
When reading a poem out loud, you may notice
a sort of sing-song quality to it, just like in
nursery rhymes. This is accomplished by the
use of rhythm.
Example:
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the King's horses, And all the King's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again!

Alliteration
The repetition of the initial letter or sound in two
or more words in a line.
To the lay-person, these are called tonguetwisters.
Example: How much dew would a dewdrop
drop if a dewdrop did drop dew?

In the
poem:

Onomatopoeia
Words that spell out
sounds
Words that sound
like what they
mean.

Examples: growl,
hiss, pop, boom,
crack

Repetition
Using the same key word or phrase throughout
a poem.
Valued Treasure
by Chris R. Carey
Time to spend;
time to mend.
Time to hate;
time to wait.
Time is the essence;
time is the key.

Refrain
The repetition of one or more phrases or lines at
the end of a stanza.

It can also be an entire stanza that is

repeated periodically throughout a
poem, kind of like a chorus of a

song.

Imagery
Using words to create a picture in the
readers mind.
Example:
Upon this cold and mossy rock
I watch, I listen and I wait
I may not bide, I must not balk my heart
must leap, towards its fate
In a poem, you can often see
the images the author writes
about
The spring flowers,
vibrant, electrified with
the newness of spring

Figurative Language
When the poet writes something, but does not
really mean it literally.
Types of Figurative Language
Simile
Hurry!
Metaphor
Time is
about to
Personification
run out!
Hyperbole
Symbolism
Allusion
Irony

Personification
When human like qualities are given to an
animal or object.

Example:
The sun stretched its
lazy fingers over the
valley.
The wind screamed
on that dark, chilly
night

Symbolism
A word or image that signifies something
other than what is literally represented.

Example:
Dark or black images in
poems are often used to
symbolize death.
Light or white images are
often used to symbolize life

Allusion
A reference to another piece of literature
or to history

Example:
She hath Dians wit (from Romeo and Juliet).
This is an allusion to Roman mythology and the goddess
Diana.
The three most common types of allusion refer to
mythology, the Bible, and Shakespeares writings.

Theme
The statement the poem/poet makes about its
subject; theme is the poem's essence.
Locating and identifying theme is crucial to
understanding dominant ideas
Example:
Is the subject youth, loss, renewal,
patriotism, nature, love? Are there several
themes? How do these themes relate to each
other?
Does the poet emphasize the theme by means
of onomatopoeia, personification, or
controlling images?

While the poet seems to be

writing about something
concrete, s/he may also be
dealing with some deeper
theme: love, death, truth,
beauty, justice etc.