LESSON: Poetry 101 (5 minutes)
Poetry is on the state exam
Usually there are two or three questions
What do students know about poetry?
Simone: I know that poetry rhymes.
Stephanie: It doesn’t always have to rhyme, just sometimes.
Pamela: Sometimes poetry has similes and metaphors.
Raymond: There’s some haikus and couplets.
Egypt: Poetry can be about anything that you want it to be about.
Kiarra: Poems can be in stanzas.
Osiris: Some poems have free verse.
Curtis: Poetry can be singing or rapping.
Someone who shouted out: The blues!
Shaun: There are many different kinds.
Toluwani: There are different types of poetry, and some poetries don’t have to rhyme and they’re called free verse.
Awa: Some poetry has repetition.
Julian: Some poems don’t have a meaning.
Bertram: Some have metaphors and similies.
Nathaniel: They’re not too long and not too short.
Fahtima: Some poems have rules of how many lines and words you can write.
Nicholas: Some poems are about love.
Brandon: Some poems have onomatopoeia.
For the state exam, you need to know:
I. Rhyme Scheme
What is rhyme?
Rhyme is a sound that is repeated in a poem. It can be at the beginning, middle or end of a word. It most often comes at the end of a line but it can also come at any point in the line. The pattern of the rhyme is called rhyme scheme.
I went on a trip to Peru (A)
For some reason I packed some glue. (A)
I opened the case (B)
You should’ve saw my face (B)
The glue was stuck to my shoe. (A)
We could say that this poem has an AABBA rhyme scheme.
II. Personfication
It’s when you give an object or animal a person’s feelings.
The coat is crying.
The rock is mad.
The rock is talking.
The bookbag is scratching.
The cupcakes danced.
The book punched the pages.
Me, the dog and the tree met up and had a conversation.
The clouds cried.
The wind howled in the middle of the night.
III. Simile: a comparison using like or as:
The sky is as blue as the ocean.
The dog was stinky like a pile of garbage.
The road was curvy like a snake.
The basketball was as round as the moon.
Uncle Mike looks like a bike.
The turtle is like an underwater person.
The cake is pink like my dress.
My cat acts as if she was a dog.
IV. Metaphor: a figurative comparison not using like or as.
At the basketball game, the fan was a bullhorn.
The stapler bites into the white flesh with a malevolent look on its face.
On the football field, Refrigerator Perry was a steamroller.
The wave is a blue monster.
The sky is blue and it reminds me of a tear.
She was fatter than two oceans put together.
Poetry notes — 11/17/08
Hit by a car
It was the first day of spring
And I wanted ice cream.
I could hear the song
So I got on my bike
And followed the music.
I went down One-Thirty-Fourth
Then up Seventh Avenue.
I saw him ahead
Mr. Softee, driving slow
I put my head low
And pedaled harder.
I could taste that Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtle
Melting in my mouth.
But I should have paid
Better attention
To the greens and reds
Above my head.
The last thing I remember
Before waking up in the hospital
Is the smiling ice cream cone
On the back of that truck
And his tinkling song.
If you want ice cream
Always wear your helmet.
Places to find poems and information about poets
Shel Silverstein
Shakespeare's sonnets
Tupac
If you find more good links, email them to me or post them on your own blog!
April Rain Song
by Langston Hughes
I found this poem here.
| Let the rain kiss you Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops Let the rain sing you a lullaby The rain makes still pools on the sidewalk The rain makes running pools in the gutter The rain plays a little sleep song on our roof at night And I love the rain. |
Hughes personifies the rain in this poem. Words like "sing" and "plays" and "kiss" are give the rain human-like attributes.
The poem has alliteration (the repetition of a consonant at the beginning of lines.) The poem also has repetition of words in lines one to three and lines four to six. I think Hughes does this to make the poem sound more like a song.
The poem is written in free verse. It does not have a fixed meter or a fixed rhyme scheme.
One thing I like about this poem is that it makes me think of a song. Hughes also talks about the rain playing music, and the repetition of the words and the length of the poem make me think of the refrain from a song. It also makes me smile when Hughes talks about loving the rain, because I also love to listen to the rain.
When you are writing your own analyses, make sure you consult the rubric. Did you:
__ define any vocabulary words in the poem?
__ explain any figurative language in the poem?
__ explain the poem's form, meter, verse structure and rhyme scheme?
__ say something you like or don't like about the poem?
__ check your spelling and grammar?
Rhyming dictionary
Are you writing a poem but can't find the right word? Try the rhyming dictionary.
Poetry project rubric
Project is due on June 8.
You will write 7 poems (70 points)
10 points: 1 sonnet
5 points: a limerick
5 points: 1 rubaiyat
5 points: 1 haiku
10 points: 1 ode
5 points: 1 poem in free verse
5 points: 1 acrostic
5 points: 1 poem in blank verse
20 points: 2 poems in any of the styles from this list
You will write analyses of three poems you choose. (30 points)
5 points: explain any vocabulary words in the poem
10 points: explains any figurative language in the poem
5 points: explains the poem's form, meter, verse structure and rhyme scheme
5 points: say something you like or don't like about the poem
5 points: spelling and grammar
For each poem you write or write about, you should make a new post. You can see some examples here.
Example analysis
Example poem