POETRY TOOLBOX – POETIC DEVICES

Mr. Sabolcik

West Forsyth HS

2012

IN THIS PRESENTATION, WE WILL COVER THE FOLLOWING:

Poetic Devices

… Rhyme

… Rhythm

… Refrain

… Imagery

Rhyme

- When similar or identical sounds are repeated at the ends of words

POETIC DEVICE

West is Best!Little Miss Muffet, sat on her tuffet,

I am Sabolcik.He is Sabolcik.

WRITE A WORD THAT RHYMES WITH EACH OF THE FOLLOWING

Goat

Mood

Fool

Plane

Honey

2 Chainz

2 KINDS OF RHYMEINTERNAL

But the raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only,

Nothing further then he uttered - not a feather then he fluttered –Edgar Allan Poe, “The Raven”

EXTERNAL

What this grim, gaunt, and ominous bird of yoreMeant in croaking `Nevermore.‘

Edgar Allan Poe, “The Raven”

Different Rhyme Schemes

pattern of rhyme between lines of a poem or song

For example:

… Roses are Red

… Violets are Blue

… Pencils have lead

… Sabolcik loves all of you.

A

B

A

B

Your Turn!

Choose a song and analyze the rhyme scheme of 6-8 lines.

They must be SCHOOL APPROPRIATE lyrics.

Rhythm

- What words you accent or stress in a line of poetry-The “beat” of the poem-Fast, slow, accelerating, etc.

POETIC DEVICE

The wind in her hair over there The chair that sat with her hair Eyes on eyes Fire and lye in the river sky on I 

THE BEST WAY TO DETERMINE RHYTHM IS TO SPEAK THE POEM.ANY VOLUNTEERS?

Gaily bedight,A gallant knight,In sunshine and in shadow,Had journeyed long,Singing a song,In search of Eldorado.

But he grew old-This knight so bold-And o'er his heart a shadowFell as he foundNo spot of groundThat looked like Eldorado.

-Keep the rhythm!

-Try tapping your toe while you read it out loud!

-Think about what kind of beat or pattern it has!

-Is it long or short? Flowing or choppy?

-Does it sound like anything familiar?

-Are there any patterns or is it random?

REFRAIN Repeated line or group of

words in a poem.

Like a chorus.

Adds importance to the words repeated.

Helps the phrase stick in your mind.

SPOT THE REFRAIN!

“It was not I that ate the pie”

Bobby said that he would give me his right shoeFor a piece of the sweet treatAnd I thought that it would be nice to have another shoeBut no,It was not I that ate that pie

Jimmy caught a sniff while sneaking thorugh our yard He would give me a fistful of mice for just one sliceI told him I needed a left shoe,But no,It was not I that ate that pie

Then Mary walked by my door,I told her she could test the restFor the the smallest peck,But no,It was not I that ate that pie.

Subject

In poetry, the subject is basically what we’re talking about.

It is the idea or thing the poet is concerned with.

Some poems have multiple subjects.

How is this different than theme?

… Subject can be one word. Theme is the moral or lesson.

… The subject is what the moral or lesson is about!

Gaily bedight,

   A gallant knight,

In sunshine and in shadow,   

   Had journeyed long,   

   Singing a song,

In search of Eldorado.

   But he grew old—

   This knight so bold—   

And o’er his heart a shadow—   

 Fell as he found

   No spot of ground

That looked like Eldorado.

Different Types of Poetry

Lyric

Narrative

Epic

Haiku

Sonnet

Lyric Poem

Highly musical verse that expresses the thoughts, observations, and feelings of a single speaker

Lyric Poem Example

Turn back the heart you've turned away

Give back your kissing breath

Leave not my love as you have left

The broken hearts of yesterday

But wait, be still, don't lose this way

Affection now, for what you guess

May be something more, could be less

Accept my love, live for today.

Narrative Poem

A poem that tells a story (a narrative)

Narrative Poem Example

I place my tiny hand in his as we walk to Papa’s Fishing Hole. I hand him a wiggling night crawler fighting for his life. The deadly hook squishes through the worm’s head, and I watch the brown guts ooze out. 

Epic Poem

Long narrative poem about the deeds of gods or heroes.

Haiku

Japanese poem of three-line verse form

5 syllables 7 syllables5 syllables

Haiku Example

An old silent pond...A frog jumps into the

pond,splash! Silence again.

Sonnet14 line lyric poem

written in rhymed iambic pentameter.

Milton’s “On His Blindness”

When I consider how my light is spent (a) Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide, (b) And that one talent which is death to hide, (b) Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent (a)To serve therewith my Maker, and present (a) My true account, lest he returning chide; (b) "Doth God exact day-labor, light denied?" (b) I fondly ask; but Patience to prevent (a)That murmur, soon replies, "God doth not need (c) Either man's work or his own gifts; who best (d) Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state (e)Is Kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed (c) And post o'er land and ocean without rest; (d) They also serve who only stand and wait." (e)