“In a poem the words should be as pleasing to the ear as the meaning

is to the mind.” -- Marianne Moore

Read this very famous poem by Langston Hughes about suicide.

How is it different than speaking these thoughts?How is it different than writing a letter to someone?What is the effect of the poem?

Life Is Fine by Langston Hughes

I went down to the river,I set down on the bank.I tried to think but couldn't,So I jumped in and sank.

I came up once and hollered!I came up twice and cried!If that water hadn't a-been so coldI might've sunk and died.

But it was Cold in that water! It was cold!

I took the elevatorSixteen floors above the ground.I thought about my babyAnd thought I would jump down.

I stood there and I hollered!I stood there and I cried!If it hadn't a-been so highI might've jumped and died.

But it was High up there! It was high!

So since I'm still here livin',I guess I will live on.I could've died for love--But for livin' I was born

Though you may hear me holler,And you may see me cry--I'll be dogged, sweet baby,If you gonna see me die.

Life is fine! Fine as wine! Life is fine!

Watch this video interpretation! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKx9NdnWXiY

How is it different than speaking these thoughts?How is it different than writing a letter to someone?What is the effect of the poem?

Why is poetry important? They make us think in a different way than just

simply speaking or talking.

Poetry teaches us about life. It says something powerful in fewer words than we can speak. They deliver messages, points of view, comments with words that ignite the mind – imagination even reason in some cases. Poetry makes us think in a different way than just simply speaking or talking.

Poetry at its best calls forth our deep being.

Poetry can be dangerous as well as necessary because we may never be the same again after reading a poem that happens to speak to our own life directly.

Poetry reaches with its sounds and rhythms down below the realm of the conscious mind to awaken and nourish the imagination.

Right Brain:CreativityEmotions

Left Brain:Logic

Reality

What about the human brain – Are you right-brained or left-

brained?•Divided into 2 halves

•Each half has its own function.

To clarify . . .

When you are looking at big puffy clouds . . .

Your right brain tells you, “Hey! That one looks like a bunny.”While your left brain tells you . . .

It’s a cloud,

Stupid!

Here are a few hints: Poetry requires creativity Poetry requires emotion Poetry requires an artistic quality Poetry requires logic Poetry requires critical thinking

& problem-solving skills

Recognizing certain devices used within a poem will give the left brain something to concentrate on.

We’ll start with the sound devices:

Fill in the definitions on the worksheet handout.

The repetition of sounds

Example: hat, cat, brat, fat, mat, sat

My Beard

by Shel Silverstein

My beard grows to my toes,

I never wears no clothes,

I wraps my hair

Around my bare,

And down the road I goes.

Here is another example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGrcdq2viZg

The beatWhen reading a poem out loud, you may notice a sort of “sing-song” quality to it, just like in nursery rhymes. This is accomplished by the use of rhythm. Example:Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, by Robert Frost (the first two stanzas only)

Whose woods these are I think I know.His house is in the village, though;He will not see me stopping hereTo watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queerTo stop without a farmhouse nearBetween the woods and frozen lakeThe darkest evening of the year.

The repetition of the first letter or sound in two or more words in a line.Example: How much dew would a dewdrop drop if a

dewdrop did drop dew?

EXAMPLE: Amazing Ahmet annihilated any and all aliens and arachnids around Alabama.

Words that spell out sounds; words that sound like what they mean.

Examples: growl, hiss, pop, boom, crack.

Let’s see what this looks like in a poem we are not so familiar with yet.

Noise Day

by Shel Silverstein

Let’s have one day for girls and boyses

When you can make the grandest noises.

Screech, scream, holler, and yell –

Buzz a buzzer, clang a bell,

Sneeze – hiccup – whistle – shout,

Laugh until your lungs wear out,

Toot a whistle, kick a can,

Bang a spoon against a pan,

Sing, yodel, bellow, hum,

Blow a horn, beat a drum,

Rattle a window, slam a door,

Scrape a rake across the floor . . ..

Onomatopoeia

Several other words not highlighted could also be considered as onomatopoeia. Can you find any?

Using the same key word or phrase throughout a poem.

Example: Because I do not hope to turn againBecause I do not hopeBecause I do not hope to turn...

from 'Ash-Wednesday' by T. S. Eliot

A comparison between two usually unrelated things using the word “like” or “as”.

Examples: Joe is as hungry as a bear.In the morning, Rae is like an angry lion..

An implied comparison between two usually unrelated things.Examples:

Lenny is a snake.Ginny is a mouse when it comes to standing up for herself.

The difference between a simile and a metaphor is that a simile requires either “like” or “as” to be included in the comparison, and a metaphor requires that neither be used.

An exaggeration for the sake of emphasis.

Examples:I may sweat to death.The blood bank needs a river of blood.

Giving human characteristics to inanimate objects, ideas, or animals.

Example: The sun stretched its lazy fingers over the valley.

A word or image that signifies something other than what is literally represented.

Examples:Dark or black images in poems are often used to symbolize death.Light or white images are often used to symbolize life.

Using words to create a picture in the reader’s mind.

EXAMPLE: The hot red liquid spilled from the neck of the white dove, staining its pure, white feathers.