The Language of Poetry

1. The Language of Poetry Poetry is “the best words in their best order.” ~Samuel Taylor Coleridge

2. Part 1: Form-refers to a poem’s structure, or the way the words are arranged on page. • All poems are made up of a series of lines. • The length of the lines, where they break, and how they are punctuated all contribute to a poem’s rhythm and meaning. • In many poems, the lines are grouped into stanzas, which function like paragraphs in prose. • Each stanza plays a part in conveying the overall message of a poem.

3. Poems comes in usually two forms Traditional Organic Characteristics 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. Forms Free verse, concrete poetry. • Characteristics • Follows fixed rules, such as a specified number of lines • Has a regular pattern of rhythm and/ or rhyme. • Form • Epic, ode, ballad, sonnet, haiku, limerick

4. Part 2: Poetic Elements using sound devices and language, poets can convey meaning, make music, and tap into the sense.

5. Sound Devices • Like music, language has rhythm. In poetry, the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in each line is what creates the rhythm. • Rhyme also enhances the musical quality of a poem. • It can occur at the ends of lines as end rhyme or within in lines as internal rhyme. • A regular pattern of rhythm is called meter. • A regular pattern of rhyme is called a rhyme scheme. • Rhyme Scheme- is charted by assigning a letter of the alphabet to matching end rhymes.

6. Meter • A regular pattern of rhythm is called a meter. • A regular pattern of rhyme is called a rhyme scheme. • Meter is charted in a process called Scansion, where stressed syllables are marked with a ‘and unstressed syllables with a ˉ. • A rhyme scheme is charted by assigning a letter of the alphabet to matching end rhymes.

7. Meter • To identify a poem’s meter, you have to break each line into smaller units, called feet. • A foot consists if one stressed syllable and one or two unstressed one.

8. Sound Device Techniques • Repetition- • Repetition of consonant sounds within and at the ends of words.

9. Imagery and Figurative Language • Unlike prose, poetry is very concise: a limited number of words must carry a great deal of meaning. • Poets also use sensory details to illustrate and elaborate on their ideas and feelings. • Like imagery, figurative language opens up the mind to more than the literal meanings of the words. • Literal: He was angry • Figurative: He burned with anger

10. Types of Figurative Language • Smile- a comparison between two unlike things, containing the words like, as, or as if. • Metaphor- a comparison between two unlike things without the word like or as. • Personification- a description of an object, an animal, a place, or an idea in human terms. • Hyperbole- an exaggeration for emphasis or humorous effect. • My heart is like a singing bird • Poets make pets of pretty, docile words • It [this poem] has taken in many victims • The hunger of this poem is legendary

11. Notes on Lyrics as Poetry • Lyrics- Songlike Poetry • Rhythm is important to the set up of this poetry • The lyrics are usually set to music Common Song/Lyric Structure Verse/Chorus/Verse/Chorus/Bridge/Chorus

12. Guidelines for Reading Poetry 1) Read the poem several times. This allows you to get a feel for what it is saying, describing, and what sounds it may be emphasizing. 2) Pay attention to the structure of the poem; particularly anything that is repeated. 3) Look for the following: Special language o Simile o Metaphor o Hyperbole o Personification Sounds o Rhyme Scheme Patterns o Alliteration o Assonance Structure o Quatrains; Couplets Other literary terms o Irony; Point of View; Tone 4) Prose Paraphrase: Rewrite each stanza in your own words. Write it so that it is easy to understand. 5) Arrive at the central idea of the poem. What is this poem trying to say? How does the speaker feel about the subject?

13. I sat all morning in the college sick bayCounting bells knelling classes to a close.At two o'clock our neighbours drove me home.In the porch I met my father crying -He had always taken funerals in his stride -And Big Jim Evans saying it was a hard blow.The baby cooed and laughed and rocked the pram When I came in, and I was embarrassed By old men standing up to shake my hand And tell me they were 'sorry for my trouble' Whispers informed strangers that I was the eldest, Away at school, as my mother held my hand In hers and coughed out angry tearless sighs. At ten o'clock the ambulance arrived With the corpse, stanched and bandaged by the nurses. Next morning I went up into the room. SnowdropsAnd candles soothed the bedside I saw him For the first time in six weeks. Paler now, Wearing a poppy bruise on his left temple. He lay in a four foot box, as in his cot. No gaudy scars, the bumper knocked him clear. A four foot box, a foot for every year. Mid-Term BreakBy Seamus Heaney

14. Mid-Term Break Questions • How do you think the boy felt as the men came up to shake his hand? • How does the father normally deal with funerals? • What differences are there in the mother's and the father's reactions? • In what way is the boy's body described in the poem? • Describe the different emotions dealt with in the poem. • How old was Seamus Heaney's brother when he died?