Poetry
Packet
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Name
Mrs. Fava
Seven Gold English
Poetry Vocabulary
Form: The way a poem looks on paper
Line: a verse of poetry
Stanzas: lines of poem may be arranged in groups
Structured form: poem has a regular repeated pattern of rhyme and/or rhythm
Free Verse: poem has no pattern of rhyme or rhythm
Speaker: voice of poem; it may be the poet or a character he or she creates
Tone: writer’s attitude toward subject. Is he serious, sarcastic or playful? How does the writer feel about his subject? What is his purpose for the poem?
Mood: the feeling the writer creates for the reader. Setting/atmosphere is important to mood. How does the poem make the reader feel?
Theme: It is an abstract idea that is expressed through a work of art. A landscape painting might express beauty. A song might be about love. The story "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" portrays the author's opinion about honesty.
Imagery and Figurative Language: similar to special effects in a movie, they grab attention and help create mental pictures and moods.
Simile: comparison between two unlike things, using the word like or as
Metaphor: a comparison between two unlike things that does not contain the word like or as.
Personification: a description of an object, animal, place or idea, as if it were human or had human qualities
Rhyme: repetition of identical or similar sounds
Rhyme Scheme: pattern of rhyme in a poem
Rhythm (meter): the pattern of sounds created by the arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables
Alliteration: the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words
Assonance: the repetition of vowel sounds
Onomatopoeia: the use of words whose sounds suggest their meaning like buzz, hiss, and clap
Form: The way a poem looks on paper
Structured form: poem has a regular repeated pattern of rhyme and/or rhythm
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“If I Can Stop One Heart from Breaking”
By Emily Dickinson
If I can stop one Heart from breaking
I shall not live in vain
If I can ease one Life the Aching
Or cool one Pain
Or help fainting Robin
Unto his Nest again
I shall not live in Vain
“In the Event of My Demise”
by Tupac Shakur
In the event of my Demise
when my heart can beat no more
I Hope I Die For A Principle
or A Belief that I had Lived 4
I will die Before My Time
Because I feel the shadow's Depth
so much I wanted 2 accomplish
before I reached my Death
I have come 2 grips with the possibility
and wiped the last tear from My eyes
I Loved All who were Positive
In the event of my Demise
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Principle: value
Demise: death
1. How are these two poems structured? Give an example of structure from each.
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2. What is Dickinson’s philosophy of life? How do you know?
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3. What is Tupac’s philosophy of life? How do you know?
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Free Verse: poem has no pattern of rhyme or rhythm
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“Winter Poem”
By Nikki Giovanni
once a snowflake fell
on my brow and i loved
it so much and i kissed
it and it was happy and called its cousins
and brothers and a web
of snow engulfed me then
i reached to love them all
and i squeezed them and they became
a spring rain and i stood perfectly
still and was a flower
“In the Inner City”
By Lucille Clifton
in the inner city
or
like we call it
home
we think a lot about uptown
and the silent nights
and the houses straight as
dead men
and the pastel lights
and we hang on to our no place
happy to be alive
and in the inner city
or
like we call it
home
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1. How do you know “Winter Poem” is free verse? Give two examples.
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2. What is happening in this poem? Is it really happening?
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3. How does the speaker of “In the Inner City” feel about the inner city? How does the speaker feel about uptown? Give two examples to support your answer.
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Tone: writer’s attitude toward subject. Is he serious, sarcastic or playful? How does the writer feel about his subject? What is his purpose for the poem?
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“This is Just to Say”
By William Carlos William
I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox
and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast
forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold
“My Papa’s Waltz”
by Theodore Roethke
The whiskey on your breath
Could make a small boy dizzy;
But I hung on like death:
Such waltzing is not easy.
We romped until the pans
Slid from the kitchen shelf
My mother’s countenance
Could not unfrown itself.
The hand that held my wrist
Was battered on one knuckle;
At every step you missed
My right ear scraped a buckle.
You beat time on my head
With a palm caked hard by dirt,
Then waltzed me off to bed
Still clinging to your shirt
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Waltz: lighthearted dance
Romped: played
Countenance: facial expression
1. In the poem “This is just to say,” is the writer really sorry? What is his tone? Focus on the last stanza for clues.
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2. In the poem “My Papa’s Waltz,” what is actually happening? Is the dad being abusive or playful? Give two examples to support your opinion.
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3. What is the tone of the poem? Give an example to support your opinion.
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Speaker: voice of poem; it may be the poet or a character he or she creates
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“Mother to Son”
by Langston Hughes
Well, son, I’ll tell you.
Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.
It’s had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor-
Bare.
But all the time
I’se been a-climbin’ on,
And reachin’ landin’s,
And turnin’ corners,
And sometimes goin’ in the dark
Where there ain’t been no light.
So boy, don’t you turn back.
Don’t you set down on the steps
‘Cause you finds it’s kinder hard.
Don’t you fall now-
For I’se still goin’ honey,
I’se still climbin,
And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.
1. How old is the speaker? How do you know?
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2. How educated is she? How do you know?
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3. What is her economic status? How do you know?
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4. Where does she live? How do you know?
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5. What is her attitude toward life? How do you know?
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6. Who is she talking to and what is she telling him?
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“I Never Said I wasn’t Difficult”
By Sara Holbrook
I never said I wasn’t difficult,
I mostly want my way.
Sometimes I talk back or pout
and don’t have much to say.
I’ve been known to yell, “So what,”
when I’m stepping out of bounds.
I want you there for me and yet,
I don’t want you around.
I wish I had more privacy
and never had to be alone.
I want to run away.
I’s scared to leave me home.
I’m too tired to be responsible.
I wish I were boss.
I want to blaze new trails.
I’m terrified that I’ll get lost.
I wish an answer came
every time I asked you, “Why?”
I wish you weren’t a know-it-all
Why do you question when I’m bored?
I won’t be cross-examined.
I hate to be ignored.
I know,
I shuffle messages like cards,
some to show and some to hide.
But, if you think I’m hard to live with
you should try me inside.
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1. How old is the speaker of “I Never Said I Wasn’t Difficult”? How do you know?
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2. What does the line 24 mean, “I shuffle messages like cards?” What are some examples of mixed messages the speaker gives out?
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3. What is the tone of the speaker?
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4. Make a personal connection with this speaker.
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“Little Sister”
by Nikki Grimes
little sister
holds on tight.
My hands hurt
from all that squeezing,
but I don’t mind.
She thinks no one will bother her
when I’m around,
and they won’t
if I can help it.
And even when I can’t
I try
‘cause she believes in me.
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1. What is the form of this poem? How do you know?
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2. What word would you use to describe the tone? Resentful or protective? Give one example to support your answer.
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“The Secret in the Cat”
by May Swenson
I took my cat apart
to see what made him purr.
Like an electric clock
or like the snore
of a warming kettle,
something fizzed and sizzed in him
Was he a soft car,
the engine bubbling sound?
Was there a wire beneath his fur,
or humming throttle?
I undid his throat.
Within was no stir.
I opened his chest
as though it were a door:
no whisk or rattle there.
I lifted off his skull:
no hiss or murmur.
I halved his little belly
but found no gear,
no cause for static.
So I replaced his lid,
laced his little gut.
His heart into his vest I slid
and buttoned up his throat.
His tail rose to a rod
and beckoned to the air.
Some voltage made him vibrate
warmer than before.
Whiskers and a tail:
perhaps they caught some radar code
emitted as a pip, and a dot-and-dash
of woolen sound.
My cat a kind of tuning fork?--
amplifier?—telegraph?—
Doing secret signal work?
His eyes elliptic tubes:
there’s a message in his stare.
I stroke him
but cannot find the dial.
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throttle: lever
emmitted: sent forth
elliptic: two meanings are oval-shaped and mysterious
1. What is the gender of this speaker? How do you know?
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2. What is the age of this speaker how do you know?
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3.What is the education level of the speaker? How do you know?
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4. What is the speaker doing in the poem? How do you know?
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5. What is the attitude (tone) toward the cat? How do you know?
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Mood: the feeling the writer creates for the reader. When you read a poem, you may use some of the following adjectives to describe the mood: uplifting, happy, optimistic, hopeful, pessimistic, gloomy, mournful, suspenseful, eerie.
Listen to a recitation of the following poem. Underline words that contribute to the mood.
“The Raven”
by Edgar Allen Poe
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
`'Tis some visitor,' I muttered, `tapping at my chamber door -
Only this, and nothing more.'
Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December,
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow; - vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow - sorrow for the lost Lenore -
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels named Lenore -
Nameless here for evermore.
And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain
Thrilled me - filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating
`'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door -
Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door; -
This it is, and nothing more,'
Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,
`Sir,' said I, `or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;
But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,
And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,
That I scarce was sure I heard you' - here I opened wide the door; -
Darkness there, and nothing more.
Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before
But the silence was unbroken, and the darkness gave no token,
And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, `Lenore!'
This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, `Lenore!'
Merely this and nothing more.
Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,
Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before.
`Surely,' said I, `surely that is something at my window lattice;
Let me see then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore -
Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore; -
'Tis the wind and nothing more!'
Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,
In there stepped a stately raven of the saintly days of yore.
Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;
But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door -
Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door -
Perched, and sat, and nothing more.
Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore,
`Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou,' I said, `art sure no craven.
Ghastly grim and ancient raven wandering from the nightly shore -
Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!'
Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'
Much I marvelled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,
Though its answer little meaning - little relevancy bore;
For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being
Ever yet was blessed with seeing bird above his chamber door -
Bird or beast above the sculptured bust above his chamber door,
With such name as `Nevermore.'
But the raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only,
That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.
Nothing further then he uttered - not a feather then he fluttered -
Till I scarcely more than muttered `Other friends have flown before -
On the morrow will he leave me, as my hopes have flown before.'
Then the bird said, `Nevermore.'
Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken,
`Doubtless,' said I, `what it utters is its only stock and store,
Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful disaster
Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore -
Till the dirges of his hope that melancholy burden bore
Of "Never-nevermore."'
But the raven still beguiling all my sad soul into smiling,
Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird and bust and door;
Then, upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking
Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore -
What this grim, ungainly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore
Meant in croaking `Nevermore.'
This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing
To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom's core;
This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining
On the cushion's velvet violet lining that the lamp-light gloated o'er,
But whose velvet violet lining with the lamp-light gloating o'er,
She shall press, ah, nevermore!
Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer
Swung by Seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor.
`Wretch,' I cried, `thy God hath lent thee - by these angels he has sent thee
Respite - respite and nepenthe from thy memories of Lenore!
Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe, and forget this lost Lenore!'
Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'
`Prophet!' said I, `thing of evil! - prophet still, if bird or devil! -
Whether tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,
Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted -
On this home by horror haunted - tell me truly, I implore -
Is there - is there balm in Gilead? - tell me - tell me, I implore!'
Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'
`Prophet!' said I, `thing of evil! - prophet still, if bird or devil!
By that Heaven that bends above us - by that God we both adore -
Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,
It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels named Lenore -
Clasp a rare and radiant maiden, whom the angels named Lenore?'
Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'
`Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend!' I shrieked upstarting -
`Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!
Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!
Leave my loneliness unbroken! - quit the bust above my door!
Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!'
Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'
And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,
And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted - nevermore!