Poetry 9
This page is under construction.
Study Guide
Study the terms in the study guide. These terms will be useful in assignments, projects and tests.
Each lesson will focus on some literary and/or sound devices. You will be asked to know definitions. You should be able to recognize the literary terms when used in poetry as well. |
|
Analysis and Interpretation
Analysis is the act of examining all of the 'parts' of a poem individually, then discovering how they all fit together to create the meaning of the poem.You will be expected to comment on the literary devices and the effect they have on your understanding of the poem. Often, you will be asked to discuss the impact or the effect that a literary device has, which means you should be able to show that an understanding of a literary device will deepen your understanding of the poem as a whole.
Interpretation is the act of explaining what a poem means, based on all of your observations of literary devices and considering the possible meanings. There are often many possible interpretations - no one interpretation is correct, but some are more easily supported with evidence. You will be expected to explain the meaning of poems throughout this unit. |
|
Writing Poetry
It has been said that poetry is the most accessible art form - all you need is a pen. That being said, writing poetry well is an art that can be refined, tuned, honed, sharpened, etc; A strong writer will be able to consider and control possible interpretations of their work, and will intentionally create effects through the use of literary devices.
|
|
Performance
Words live double lives - their formal lives, lived on the page, permanent and inflexible, and their casual lives, lived in speech patterns and emotional expressions. We write when we want to leave our thoughts and experiences for people in distant times and places; we speak in the immediate moment. This may well be the strongest reason to perform poetry. When we perform, we address our audience with our experience in a direct way, in a shared moment; In other words, we connect with each other.
Spoken, or performance poetry uses Oral Language skills to communicate clearly and effectively. There is an emphasis on the sounds of words, using sound devices, such as puns, alliteration, repetition, etc; to enhance the emotional content of the poem. Effective performers use the volume, tone, and clarity of their voice to emphasize or de-emphasize moments within a poem to create an intentional, emotional effect.
See the videos below for some examples:
Spoken, or performance poetry uses Oral Language skills to communicate clearly and effectively. There is an emphasis on the sounds of words, using sound devices, such as puns, alliteration, repetition, etc; to enhance the emotional content of the poem. Effective performers use the volume, tone, and clarity of their voice to emphasize or de-emphasize moments within a poem to create an intentional, emotional effect.
See the videos below for some examples:
Poems
Poems Package | |
File Size: | 23 kb |
File Type: | docx |
You are reading this too fast.
You are reading this too fast.
Slow down, for this is poetry
and poetry works slowly.
Unless you live with it a while
the spirit will never descend.
It's so easy to quickly cut across the surface
and then claim there was nothing to find.
Touch the poem gently with your eyes
just as you would touch a lover's flesh.
Poetry is an exercise in patience,
you must wait for it to come to you.
The spirit manifests in many guises;
some quiver with beauty,
some vibrate with song.
What is happening?
Slow down, slow down,
take a few deep breaths,
read the poem slowly,
read the lines one at a time,
read the words one by one,
read the spaces between the words,
get sleepy, this is poetry,
relax until your heart
is vulnerable, wide open.
Ken Norris
"The Word Game" by Richard Sommer
by this time i am speaking to the reader
who has found his or her way somehow almost
to the end of this book.
anyone else can read this too,
but i am not really talking with them,
i am talking with people
who got here by a beautiful kind of patience
who got here by beautifully understanding
or who got here by a beautiful kind of anger,
listen, i have a suggestion for a game for you.
write a poem in twenty minutes,
like this one was.
don't leave poetry to the poets,
don't try to write a poem,
write one.
just pick up a pencil & write one.
Paper Matches
My aunts washed dishes while the uncles
squirted each other on the lawn with
garden hoses. Why are we in here,
I said, and they are out there?
That’s the way it is,
said Aunt Hetty, the shriveled-up one.
I have the rages that small animals have,
being small, being animal.
Written on me was a message,
“At Your Service,”
like a book of paper matches.
One by one we were taken out
and struck.
We come bearing supper,
our heads on fire.”
Piggies
Have you seen the little piggies
Crawling in the dirt
And for all the little piggies
Life is getting worse
Always having dirt to play around in.
Have you seen the bigger piggies
In their starched white shirts
You will find the bigger piggies
Stirring up the dirt
Always have clean shirts to play around in.
In their sties with all their backing
They don't care what goes on around
In their eyes there's something lacking
What they need's a damn good whacking.
Everywhere there's lots of piggies
Living piggy lives
You can see them out for dinner
With their piggy wives
Clutching forks and knives to eat their bacon.
- George Harrison
You are reading this too fast.
Slow down, for this is poetry
and poetry works slowly.
Unless you live with it a while
the spirit will never descend.
It's so easy to quickly cut across the surface
and then claim there was nothing to find.
Touch the poem gently with your eyes
just as you would touch a lover's flesh.
Poetry is an exercise in patience,
you must wait for it to come to you.
The spirit manifests in many guises;
some quiver with beauty,
some vibrate with song.
What is happening?
Slow down, slow down,
take a few deep breaths,
read the poem slowly,
read the lines one at a time,
read the words one by one,
read the spaces between the words,
get sleepy, this is poetry,
relax until your heart
is vulnerable, wide open.
Ken Norris
"The Word Game" by Richard Sommer
by this time i am speaking to the reader
who has found his or her way somehow almost
to the end of this book.
anyone else can read this too,
but i am not really talking with them,
i am talking with people
who got here by a beautiful kind of patience
who got here by beautifully understanding
or who got here by a beautiful kind of anger,
listen, i have a suggestion for a game for you.
write a poem in twenty minutes,
like this one was.
don't leave poetry to the poets,
don't try to write a poem,
write one.
just pick up a pencil & write one.
Paper Matches
My aunts washed dishes while the uncles
squirted each other on the lawn with
garden hoses. Why are we in here,
I said, and they are out there?
That’s the way it is,
said Aunt Hetty, the shriveled-up one.
I have the rages that small animals have,
being small, being animal.
Written on me was a message,
“At Your Service,”
like a book of paper matches.
One by one we were taken out
and struck.
We come bearing supper,
our heads on fire.”
Piggies
Have you seen the little piggies
Crawling in the dirt
And for all the little piggies
Life is getting worse
Always having dirt to play around in.
Have you seen the bigger piggies
In their starched white shirts
You will find the bigger piggies
Stirring up the dirt
Always have clean shirts to play around in.
In their sties with all their backing
They don't care what goes on around
In their eyes there's something lacking
What they need's a damn good whacking.
Everywhere there's lots of piggies
Living piggy lives
You can see them out for dinner
With their piggy wives
Clutching forks and knives to eat their bacon.
- George Harrison