What is poetry?

1. What is poetry?

2. Poetry is… • One of the three major types of literature (the others being prose and drama) • “Literature that makes use of highly concise, musical, and emotionally charged language.” • May “make use of imagery, figurative language, and special devices of sound such as rhyme.” • Often divided up into lines and stanzas with regular rhythms or meters. From Prentice Hall Literature: Timeless Voices, Timeless Themes

3. But really, what is poetry? Poetry is a picture, painted with words. The poet is an artist and language is his color palette. At first glance, the picture may appear to be random brushstrokes, but when the eye looks more deeply, it sees the whole picture as it was meant to be seen.

4. Poetry Vocabulary List 1 • Beguiling- tricking; charming • Desolate-deserted; abandoned • Languid- drooping; weak • Bafflement- puzzlement; bewilderment • Chortled- made a jolly, chuckling sound • Diverged- branched out in different directions

5. List One Continued 7. Pallid- pale • Depravity- crookedness; corruption • Respite- rest; relief • Quaint- strange; unusual (in an old-fashioned way)

6. ‘Twas brillig and the slithy toves did gyre and gimble in the wabe; All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe. “Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that bite, the claws that catch! Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun The frumious Bandersnatch!” He took his vorpal sword in hand: Long time the manxome foe he sought— So rested he by the Tumtum tree, And stood awhile in thought. And as in uffish thought he stood, The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame, Came whiffling through the tulgey wood, And burbled as it came! One, two! One, two! And through and through The vorpal blade went snicker- snack! He left it dead, and with its head He went galumphing back. “And has thou slain the Jabberwock? Come to my arms, my beamish boy! O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!” He chortled in his joy. ‘Twas brillig and the slithy toves did gyre and gimble in the wabe; All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe. “Jabberwocky” by Lewis Carroll Page 352 of your textbook

7. Literary Term Interlude • What is a stanza? (Hint: Refer to handout) • How many stanzas make up “Jabberwocky”?

8. Discussion Questions • Can you tell what the general idea of the poem is? • What clues do you get from the poem as to the meaning? • Even though many of these words are not familiar to you, why can you still get a general idea? Hint: Think structure.

9. This poem uses portmanteau words. A portmanteau word is an invented word; some are formed by blending two words into one. What two words form chortled? “O frabjous day!” What two words might be blended to form the word “frabjous”? Important Fact:

10. You can determine parts of speech for many of these portmanteau words by looking at their function and position in the sentence. ‘Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe; Parts of speech: Slithy: Toves: Gyre: Gimble: Wabe: Grammar Mini-Lesson

11. Grammar Continued ‘Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe; Parts of speech: Slithy: Adjective (modifies toves) Toves: Noun (probably an animal) Gyre: Verb (action done by the toves) Gimble: Verb (action done by the toves) Wabe: Noun (probably a place)

12. FUN ACTIVITY • Get together in a group of three or four • Choose one person to write. • Wherever the poet uses a portmanteau word, replace it with a word that you know. • Try to make the poem make sense. • Pick a person to read your new version out loud.

13. Now that you know a bit more… • Did everyone have similar “translation” versions? • Whose version did you like the best? • Which parts of the poem are serious? • Funny?

14. Lyric Sonnet Ode Narrative Ballad Epic Haiku Limerick Elegy (see handout) Epigram (see handout) Some types of poetry

15. What is a narrative poem? • A narrative poem is a poem that tells a story, such as Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwocky”

16. Ballads A ballad is a poem that tells a story similar to a folk tale or legend. Ballads often have repeated refrains Epics An epic is a long, serious poem that tells the story of a heroic figure. A famous example of an epic poem is Homer’s Odyssey. Stay tuned for more on work. Two Types of Narrative Poetry

17. Narrative Poem: “The Raven” • Poet: Edgar Allan Poe • Narrative poetry tells a story. • Line by line, summarize the story told in “The Raven.” Page 832

18. What is the narrator doing at the beginning of the story? What does he hear? What is the time of year? Why is the narrator sorrowful? Who is Lenore? How does the narrator feel in stanza 3? What does he tell himself in order to calm down? What does he do in stanza 4? Stanzas 1-4

19. What word does the narrator hear upon opening the door? What does he tell himself that he is hearing? What does he see when he flings the shutter open? What literary device is used in line 41? What words does Poe use to create a suspenseful mood in stanza 8? What word does the raven continue to repeat? Stanzas 5-10

20. How does the speaker rationalize the raven’s behavior? In lines 79-84, what does the speaker determine is the raven’s purpose? What sudden change occurs in Line 85? What question is the speaker asking the bird? What is the raven’s answer to this question? What does the speaker want the raven to do in next to last stanza? How does the raven respond? How does the poem end? Stanzas 11-18

21. Symbolism • Write at least two paragraphs about what the raven might symbolize and why Poe chose the raven instead of another bird. Be sure to give details that support your answer.

22. Journal Topic Write about a time when you have been truly scared. How did it make you feel? Were you alone or with someone else? What were the circumstances? Be as detailed as possible.

23. A lyric poem is highly emotional in nature. It expresses the thoughts and feelings of the poet Lyric poetry has a musical feel to it and may resemble a song Examples from your book: “The Eagle,” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson (page 796) What is a lyric poem?

24. Two Types of Lyric Poetry Ode-Serious and thoughtful with a precise, formal structure. Sonnet- 14 lines long, divided into two groups; English and Italian. (see handout for terms) • English- also called Shakespearean, composed of three quatrains and a final couplet • Italian- also called Petrarchan, divided into two quatrains and a six-line sestet.

25. Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that, the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference “The Road Not Taken,” Robert Frost

26. Questions to Ponder • This poem is symbolic of a larger topic than simply walking down the road? What is that larger topic? • What is the author’s tone? • Remember…tone is the author’s attitude toward his subject • What has made all the difference? • What is the rhyme scheme?

27. Assignment • Choose a song that you like and either copy it down by hand or print out the lyrics Make sure your poem adheres to the following guidelines: • No obscenities or obscene references (songs with obscene references will result in a failing grade for this assignment) • You should be able to find at least one example of figurative language such as metaphor, simile, symbolism, or imagery. • Write 1 paragraph that details the meaning of the song and 1 that addresses the literary devices used. (Bonus points for extra literary devices)

28. “Elephant Love Medley” from Moulin Rouge Personification Metaphor Example:

29. Haiku • A haiku is a Japanese poem composed of three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables. • Haiku often focus on nature. • See page 844 of your textbook for examples

30. A limerick is a light, humorous poem of five lines with a rhyme scheme of aabba. Limericks usually have a specific rhythmic pattern There once was a lady from Niger Who smiled as she rode on a tiger They returned from the ride With the lady inside And the smile on the face of the tiger Limericks

31. Other Examples of Limericks It’s a classical poetry form In which rhythm and rhyme must conform but it gets no respect which you’d clearly expect Unless it decides to reform.

32. Your Turn Write your own Limerick

33. More Poetry

34. “Dream Deferred” (pg 798) “Dreams” (pg 799) “Summer” (pg 815) “I Wandered Lonely As a Cloud” Simile, imagery Metaphor Onomatopoeia Personification Literary Devices

35. Poetry Project Choose one poem that we have covered, or another in the book, and make a collage that embodies the topics and themes of the poem. Use a piece of posterboard and cover it with pictures either from magazines or other sources. Leave no white space.