Free Verse- Types of Poetry

Definition: A poem that is composed of rhyme or unrhyme lines that have to fixed pattern. The poet usually wants to write freely whatever that comes to their minds.

Example:

Song of Myself
by
Walt Whitman

I celebrate myself, and sing myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.
I loaf and invite my soul,
I lean and loaf at my ease observing a spear of summer grass.

Elegy- Types of Poetry

Definition: A sad and thoughtful poem talking about the death of a person.

Example:

Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard
by
Thomas Gray

The curfew tolls the knell of parting day,
The lowing herd winds slowly o'er the lea,
The ploughman homeward plods his weary way,
And leaves the world to darkness and to me.

Ode

Definition: A type of poem that shows how grateful and thankful the poet or someone is to something else.

Example:

Ode to Cheese

Ode to cheese,
Which makes us smile,
When camera's go clack.
Ode to cheese,
Which make us taste,
The greatest of flavors, the wackiest of whack.
Ode to cheese,
Blue, Gorgonzola,
American and Cheddar.
Ode to cheese,
Beja and Feta,
In all types of weather.
Ode to cheese,
For those on a diet,
or trying to get fatter.
Ode to cheese,
with crackers and wine,
with grapes can flatter.
ode to cheese,
when you're sad and happy,
Cheese just fits.
ode to cheese,
mountains and mountains,
or bits and bits.
ode to the cheese,
To appreciate,
eat,
and take pictures.

Sonnet

Definition: Lyric poems that have 14 lines with each line 10 syllables.

Example:

Red Blushed And All Cut UpBy Paul McCann

Talking to myself there
Someone had overheard.
I was lost for a word.
There was nothing to share.
Embarrassed I was there.
Left awkward and absurd .
A broken wingless bird.
With nowhere to fly there.
Caught red faced there was I.
Didn't want to be seen.
I just wanted to die.
I just wanted to scream.
I'm so terribly shy.
Lost for words it would seem

Lyric

Definition: A type of poem that expresses the feelings and thoughts of the poet

Example:

Dying
(aka I heard a fly buzz when I died )
by
Emily Dickinson

I heard a fly buzz when I died;
The stillness round my form
Was like the stillness in the air
Between the heaves of storm.

Epic

Definition: Long, serious poems that talk about a hero

Example:

Hiawatha's Departure
from The Song of Hiawatha
by
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

By the shore of Gitchie Gumee,
By the shining Big-Sea-Water,
At the doorway of his wigwam,
In the pleasant Summer morning,
Hiawatha stood and waited.

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Odyssey

Ballad

Definition: A narrative poem that tells a story about love, betrayal, friendship... often sung.

Example:

The Mermaid
by
Unknown author

Oh the ocean waves may roll,
And the stormy winds may blow,
While we poor sailors go skipping aloft
And the land lubbers lay down below, below, below
And the land lubbers lay down below.

Narrative

Narrative

Definition: Poems that have a plot & tells a story

Example:

What The Doctor Said

He said it doesn't look good
he said it looks bad in fact real bad
he said I counted thirty-two of them on one lung before
I quit counting them
I said I'm glad I wouldn't want to know
about any more being there than that
he said are you a religious man do you kneel down
in forest groves and let yourself ask for help
when you come to a waterfall
mist blowing against your face and arms
do you stop and ask for understanding at those moments
I said not yet but I intend to start today
he said I'm real sorry he said
I wish I had some other kind of news to give you
I said Amen and he said something

it
and me to have to fully digest it
I just looked at him
for a minute and he looked back it was then
I jumped up and shook hands with this man who'd just given me
something no one else on earth had ever given me
I may have even thanked him habit being so strong

- Raymond Carver

Lines

Definition: A group of words forming a single connected mark

Example:
Two lovers, one parachute, no survivors.

Explanation: Having too many short lines don't give any more confusions to the readers if the poem is too long. If there is one continuous long line, the readers might lose track of where they were reading.

Symbol

Definition: Something that represents something else

Example:
"One perfect Rose" ~ by Dorothy Parker, 1926

A single flower he sent me, since we met.

All tenderly his messenger he chose;

Deep-hearted, pure, with scented dew still wet--

One perfect rose.

I knew the language of the floweret;

"My fragile leaves," it said, "his hear enclose."

Love long has taken for his amulet

One perfect rose.

Why is it no one ever sent me yet

One perfect limousine, do you suppose?

Ah no, it's always just my luck to get

One perfect rose.

Explanation: To make the poem more interesting and to let the readers think about the poem after reading it. The readers will have to find out the meaning of the symbol in the poem, and it is easy to remember.

PeAcE (:

Onomatopea

Definition: The sound effect of a poem using words.

Example:
KABOOM!Kaboom!
Ka-blast
Way in the past
the miners mined for ore.
They searched for copper, iron and salt,
for that and much, much more.
[...]

Explanation: To capture the attention of the reader. It also makes the hearing sense and imagery more real.

Assonance

Definition: The repitition of vowels of a phrase or line (like rhyme)

Example:
What a world of solemn thought their monody compels!
In the silence of the night,
How we shiver with affright
At the melancholy menace of their tone!
For every sound that floats
From the rust within their throats
Is a groan.

Explanation: This helps catch the readers' attention when it is read aloud. It sounds like music and it's like the author's trying to make the meaning of the words deeper.

Alliteration

Definition: The same sound at the beginning of two or more close words.

Example:
Dewdrops Dancing Down Daisies-By Paul Mc Cann-

Don't delay dawns disarming display .
Dusk demands daylight .
Dewdrops dwell delicately
drawing dazzling delight .
Dewdrops dilute daisies domain.
Distinguished debutantes . Diamonds defray delivered
daylights distilled daisy dance .

Explanation: This catches the attention of the readers when it's read aloud when the author use alliteration to play with words.

Meter

Definition: The rhythmic structure of a verse using stressed and unstressed syllables

Example:
The As SYR..|..ian came DOWN..|..like the WOLF..|..on the FOLD,
........1.......................2..........................3....................4
And his CO..|..horts were GLEAM..|..ing in PUR..|..ple and GOLD; 

Explanation: To make the poem more catchy and rhythmic when the readers read aloud.

Poem Podcast

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What is a friend?

-Unknown-
A friend is someone who listens,
A friend is someone who cares.
A friend is someone who understands,
A friend is someone who shares.

It's nice to have a special friend
To tell all your secrets to.
It's nice to know that someone you like,
Is someone who really likes you.

A friend is someone you call on the phone
To talk about nothing at all.
A friend is someone who cheers you up.
And makes you feel ten feet tall.

Everyone would like to have
A special friend it's true
But if you want a special friend,
You need to be one, too.

Smile

-Unknown Author-

A smile is cheer from you to me,
the cost is nothing its given for free.
They console the weary and gladden the sad.
And can make someone happy when they are mad.
Unlike blessings in which we pray
its the only thing you keep when you give it away.

Elegy

Definition:
A mournful and sad poem written in response to a death or lost of a person.

Example:
The curfew tolls the knell of parting day,
The lowing herd winds slowly o'er the lea,
The ploughman homeward plods his weary way,
And leaves the world to darkness and to me.

Explanation:
Elegy poems are made out of the author's feelings towards a person. It's used to remember someone and show respect towards them.

Couplet

Definition:
Two lines that rhymes and have the same rhythm.

Example:
from Turtle Trouble
Tell me if you think you know
How to make a turtle go.

Explanation:
This captures the attention of the readers and are also very easy to remember.

Rhyme

Definition:
The same sound, usually at the end of the line or verse.

Example:
The cat in the hat.

Explanation:
Poems are usually good at letting the words rhyme. It's easier to remember for the readers and also very catchy and fun. Readers tend to remember the poem easier when it rhymes.

Rhythm

Definition:
Like music, rhythm is the beat and pattern of the poem. There are two styles: stressed and unstressed voice.

Example:
The wind in her hair
The chair that sat there
Eyes on eyes
Fire and lye
in the river sky
Explanation:
Rhythm makes the poem more exciting and fun to read out loud. It's almost like hearing a song with a beat pattern.

Personification

Definition:
To make something inhuman sound like human. It can be actions or thoughts.

Example:
I am big, dark, and stormy.
Most people don't like me.
I can make strong sounds
and get people inside.
I can stretch a long way,
and make a lot of friends.
I am big and mighty.
The sun comes after me.
I am a thunderstorm.
These are the words that describe me.

Explanation:
Personification is like comparing an object to human. It helps the reader understand the thoughts and actions of the object more. It also makes the poem more interesting and fun to read.

Speaker

Definition:
Someone who is transferring a message to you in the poem.

Example:
I'm nobody! Who are you?
Are you nobody, too?
Then there's a pair of us

Explanation:
It is less boring to have someone to talk to you, right? If you only have a poem that describes an event going on without someone telling you their perspective, it's not really interesting.

Tone

Definition:
How deep/effective is the poem to the readers. It's also the up and down and voice of the author while reading the poem.

Example:
*Teachers are very good at the tone of their voice. They speak it up and down, which captures the students' attention.

Explanation:
The tone of the voice or poem are very important because it captures reader's attention and also make reading fun and interesting to hear. It also makes the reader pay attention to the poem and understand (interpretate) it more.

Interpretation

Definition:
An understanding about the meaning of something.

Example:

you are the mixture
of passion and ignorance
of trust and simple truths
you are wonderful that way
your eyes glisten with curiosity

I on the other hand
have spent willingness
like a rusted nail
granted three wishes
I gave them all away
to those
who would change things

*This poem talks about the young people who have a greater chance of changing things. Old people have experienced a lot, but they cannot change the way things were. Youngsters, however, can and will experience new things and learn deeper than those that have aged. Though they might still be ignorant and young, but they'll grow through time. The old peopel leave the future to the young ones.

Explanation:

When reading a poem, readers should understand what a poem means. It might be deep and thoughtful, and they'll have to find out what it is. The readers will understand and know more about the poem if they interpretate.

Simile

Definition:
Simile (See-mee-lee) is the comparision between two things using the word like or as. It's almost like metaphor.

Example:
He's as fat as a pig.

Explanation:
Simile makes the poem more interesting, easier to understand and connect if you don't understand one of the subject, and fun.

Extended Metaphor

Definition:
This is like metaphor but larger. You can use it to compare between sentences or paragraphs.

Example:
A piece of paper is a cube.
It is boring and blank.
It's always white and always square.
A piece of paper is always there.

Explanation:
This also has the use of metaphor, though it may be easier to understand or more complicated. Readers might find this interesting, useful to them if they do not know the meaning of one object, and fun.

Metaphor

Definition:
A metaphor is a figure of speech that uses comparision words like like or as to compare two different things.

Example:
The cookie is like a brown ball.

Explaination:
This helps the reader a lot throughout the poem. If the reader only knows one thing and doesn't know the other, metaphor helps the readers visualize what the object they do not know about. It also makes the poem more interesting and fun to read.

Stanza

Definition:
A paragraph. A verse.

Example:
I am fast and fun.
I can dream, dreams that nobody has dreamt before.
I would go on adventures all over the world.
I want to write out my imagination.
I enjoy seeing peace.

Explaination:
These stanzas (paragraphs) help the readers to know where one point ends. When the author shifts to another idea, the readers will know. Also, it helps to not confuse the readers.

Imagery

Definition:
When people read poems, they use imagery- creating visual images in your mental mind. Imagery is like the five senses: hearing, smelling, seeing, feeling, and tasting.

Example:
Let us go the, you and I,
When the evening is spread out against the sky
Like a patient therised upon a table;
Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets,
The muttering retreats
Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels
And sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells.

Explain:
Imagery or imagination is important for readers to obtain. If the readers only read the poem and not visualize a picture in mind, it won't help them understand more clearly about the poem. Imagery also applies on the readers' experiences.

Poetry

POETRY

Definition
 a literary art that uses words to tell a story or show your feelings.

Example
Roses are red
Violets are blue
Sugar is sweet
And so are you.

Explain
We use poetry in Language Arts because it's also a form of writing that has meaning. Stories, novels, poetry... they all use words that tells a story.