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Poetry

Poetry

Definition:

Literature expressed in various, metrical forms, structures and arrangements that is traditionally characterized by rhythmical patterns of language.

Purposes:

• To create mental/visual and sensory images
• To engage the reader in thinking beyond the literal/superficial
• To illuminate the art, mystery and novelty of language
• To appreciate the sound of language
• To understand self and world in new ways
• To capture the essence of meaning in the sparest of language
• To express thoughts and feelings through lyrical language
• To engage the reader/listener in reflection
• To focus attention on and reconsider an object, thought, observation or experience
• To broaden or intensify the reader’s experiences and understandings

Characteristics:

• Many forms and lengths
• Open, unlimited subject matter (from fantastic to stark realism)
• Does not usually follow conventions of narrative structure or grammar
• Patterns are typically expressed in meter (regular patterns of high and low stress), syllabication (the number of syllables in each line of text), rhyme (the correspondence of sounds at the ends of lines), alliteration (phrase or line having two or more words with the same initial sound)
• Variations in punctuation and layout to facilitate cadence (rhythm) and how the poem is read
• Condensed language
• Precise word choice for sensory imagery (vivid description to produce mental pictures )
• Figurative language, especially metaphor (comparison)
• Words are specifically chosen to represent sounds or meanings
• Three main types:
  1. Narrative (which tells a story or sequence of events)
  2. Dramatic (meant to be read aloud), and
  3. Lyrical (personal and descriptive — showcasing melodic language)
• Forms: alliterative, ballad, blank verse, bio poem, cinquain, concrete (shape) poem, dramatic monologue, elegy, epic, epigram, formula poem, free verse, haiku, limerick, list poem, narrative poem, ode, slam poetry, sonnet, etc.
• Themes, characters, settings, and plots vary in relationship to purpose and form

Author’s craft:

• Elements related to specific forms
• Writing in phrases
• Using strong verbs and nouns
• Details to enhance and clarify significant moments
• Selecting fewer words to say more
• Repetition and patterns of sounds, words, lines and images
• Borrowing/transforming others’ phrases or sentences
• Sensory imagery
• Imagery (through syntax, rhythm and context) to convey the larger message
• Creation of images
• Use of figures of speech, such as metaphor/simile and other techniques for comparing and contrasting
• Departing from usual word orders and pronunciations
• Creating new words
• Meaning inferred through suggestion or by omission
• Inclusion of words with layers of meanings
• Rhythm schemes convey mood
• Conveying mood through visual layout
• Use of first person or “character anonymous”
• Unconventional punctuation to meet the poet’s purpose
• Use of personification (figure of speech in which animals, ideas, things, are represented as having human qualities)
• Noticing and using alliteration (repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of several words)
• Use of assonance (repletion of vowel sounds without the repletion of consonants)
• Use of onomatopoeia (using words, the sound of which, suggests their meaning)
• Use of consonance (repetition of consonant sounds within and at the ends of words)
• How to use line breaks and white space
• Titles
• Beginnings and endings
• Changing prose to poetry
• Expressing human emotion and feeling
• Conveying meaning from fantastic events to stark realism
• How meter, rhythm and rhyme determine line length
• Figurative language
• Compact language that is both imaginative and artistic
• Visual layout (may enhance or direct how the poem is read)
• Language composed according to a pattern of beat and melody
• Condensed language
• Linking and or creating an interdependence of words

Grade Level Instructional Scope for COMPREHENDING the Genre and Text of Poetry:

Grade Level Instructional Scope for COMPOSING the Genre and Text of Poetry:

Booklists:

• Grades K-1
• Grade 2
• Grade 3
• Grades 4-5
• Grade 6
• Grade 7
• Grade 8

Access to the Documents:

Complete K-8 Genre Project
From the Michigan Department of Education

Complete K-8 Genre Booklist
From Kent Intermediate School District