Introduction to PoetryIntroduction to Poetry

Class meet poetry, poetry meet class

W.B.Yeats, PoliticsHOW can I, that girl standing there,My attention fixOn Roman or on RussianOr on Spanish politics?Yet here's a travelled man that knowsWhat he talks about,And there's a politicianThat has read and thought,And maybe what they say is trueOf war and war's alarms,But O that I were young againAnd held her in my arms!

What is poetry?What is poetry?• Princeton defines it as: literature in metrical

form • May be written independently, as discrete

poems, or may occur in conjunction with other arts, as in poetic drama, hymns or lyrics.

• This means poetry can be rap and music!

Important VocabularyImportant Vocabulary• Stanza- a fixed number of lines of verse

forming a unit of a poem– See examples for couplet, tercet, and quatrain

Important VocabularyImportant Vocabulary• Couplet- A two-line stanza– Ex. “This were to be new made when thou art old,

And see thy blood warm when thou feel'st it cold.”- Shakespeare

– Ex. 2 “I'm sure I've tasted this before, before, beforeI'm sure I've tasted this before”- Underoath

Important VocabularyImportant Vocabulary• Tercet- A three-line stanza– Ex.

“The winged seeds, where they lie cold and low,Each like a corpse within its grave, untilThine azure sister of the Spring shall blow” - Shelly

– 2nd Ex “We are at war with the universe, the sky is fallingAnd the only thing that can save us nowIs sensitivity and compassion”- Lil Wayne (feat. Robin Thicke)

Important Vocabulary cont.Important Vocabulary cont.

• Quatrain- A four-line stanza– Ex.

“Tyger! Tyger! burning brightIn the forests of the night,What immortal hand or eyeCould frame thy fearful symmetry?” – Blake

– Ex.2“'Cause dear, four years hurts less than five(And it’s never a good time)I am sorry for all my crimesAnd the wandering gaze of my unfaithful eyes”- Senses Fail

Important Vocabulary cont.Important Vocabulary cont.

• Syllable- a single vocal impulse– Ex. Cat (one syllable)– Ex. 2 Supercalifragilistic (eight syllables)

Important Vocabulary cont.Important Vocabulary cont.

• Rhyme- A poem or verse having a regular correspondence of sounds– Ex. “And maybe what they say is true

Of war and war's alarms,But O that I were young againAnd held her in my arms!”- W.B. Yeats

– Ex. 2 “As I leave, believe I'm stompinbut when I come back, boy, I'm comin straight outta Compton.” – N.W.A.

Your Turn!Your Turn!• Work with the people at your table to create

an example of a …– Quatrain (one rhyming, one not rhyming)– Tercet (one rhyming, one not rhyming)– Couplet (one rhyming, one not rhyming)

• You have 7 minutes!

Rhyme SchemesRhyme Schemes• AA– “I’m a nobody. Who are you?

Are you a nobody, too?” –Emily Dickinson

• AABB– “as I was walking up the stairs

I met a man who wasn’t thereHe wasn’t there again todayI wish I wish he’d go away”- Anonymous

Rhyme SchemesRhyme Schemes• ABA– “I am green today

I chirp like a cricketSing and sway,”- Kelli Mckay

• ABAB– “My lipgloss is poppin’

My lipgloss is coolAll the boys be jockin’They chase me after school,” – Lil Mama

Your turn!Your turn!• With the people at your table, create an

example of AA, AABB, ABA, and ABAB rhyme• You will have 9 minutes