Poetry Notes

Poetry is:

lWritten in lines in stanzas
lCondensed language
lHas figurative and literal meanings
Able to manipulate grammar/convention rules
May rhyme, have rhythm or musical qualities
llCan be fiction or nonfiction
Artsy
Prose is:
Written in sentences and paragraphs
More pragmatic or straightforward
Written in Standard American English 
Fiction or nonfiction

Poetry notes

3 Types of Poetry

lNarrative- Long poem that tells a story, like the Odyssey

lLyric- Typically short poem that expresses strong emotion

lDramatic- Written from another perspective or has more than one speaker

l      Narrative- involving events, characters, and what the characters say and do. Long and tell a story

l       EPIC- A long narrative poem about the actions of a hero in formal language.

l      A poem/song about a historical or legendary person, or a normal person who is made to sound extraordinary.

l      Written in at least four-line stanzas (quatrain) with a rhyme scheme and informal language- often has repetition

l      Common themes- love & courage

l      Ballad A poem/song about a historical or legendary person, or a normal person who is made to sound extraordinary.

l      Written in at least four-line stanzas (quatrain) with a rhyme scheme and informal language- often has repetition

l      Common themes- love & courage

l      Dramatic poetry Like a drama/play

l      The writer pretends as the speaker to be someone/something else OR

l      The poem has more than one speaker

l      Lyric: Most common form of poetry

l      Typically short and express emotion or describe something

l      Includes sonnets, haikus, concrete poems, limericks

l      Fixed Form- Must follow traditional guidelines for structure, meter, rhyme, etc. . . like a haiku, sonnet, or limerick

l      Free verse- Follows no set rules, but still uses poetic devices

l      Blank verse-  Has meter, but no rhyme

l      These can be narrative, dramatic, or lyric

l      Alliteration- Repeating the first letter of a word in several words in a line

Big brown bear buys bananas

l      Onomatopoeia- When the sound of a word echoes the sound it represents. Splash, knock, roar are examples.

l      Figurative language- Language that is not meant to be taken literally or “for real.” Often creates vivid imagery by making comparisons.

l      Literal language- Language that means exactly what it says.

l      Idioms- a common expression whose meaning cannot be determined literally; requires cultural knowledge

He kicked the bucket. It’s a dog eat dog world.

l      Simile- Comparing two unlike things using the words “like” or “as”

 

l      Metaphor- Comparing two unlike things not using “like” or “as”

l      Personification- Giving human qualities to something that is not human

 

l      Hyperbole- Extreme exaggeration

l      Symbolism: An object that has its own meaning but also stands for something else

l      Imagery: How a writer uses words or phrases to appeal to the five senses

l      Tone: The poet’s attitude toward his/her subject

l      Mood: The atmosphere/feeling the poet creates in his/her poem

l      Repetition- repeat a word or short phrase

l      Parallelism- use of similar grammatical structure in lines of verses

l      Alliteration- Repeat the first letter of several words in a line

1. End rhymes-

Rhymes at the ends of lines

2. Internal rhymes- rhymes in the middles of lines

3. Approximate/near/slant rhymes- share similar sounds, but do not perfectly rhyme sleep/speak

l      Sonnets are 14 line lyric poems, typically about love or nature with fixed rhyme schemes

l      Two main types- Petrarchan (or Italian) or Shakespearean (or English) Francesco Petrarch 1304-1374

l      Poems dedicated to Laura

l      Consists of an octave + sestet

l      End rhyme scheme of:

l      abbaabba

l       cdecde

l      Williams Shakespeare, 1564-1615

l      Wrote 154 Sonnets

l      Iambic pentameter

l      Consists of three quatrains and a couplet

l      End rhyme scheme

l      abab

l      cdcd

l      efef

l      gg

l      Williams Shakespeare, 1564-1615

l      Wrote 154 Sonnets

l      Iambic pentameter

l      Consists of three quatrains and a couplet

l      End rhyme scheme

l      abab

l      cdcd

l      efef

l      gg

l      concrete poetry Lyric poetry with roots during Medieval times

l      Written in the shape of its subject or suggests the topic

l      Does not have to rhyme or have rhythm, but must have structure and imagery

l