What Do You Need to Know About Poetry?

What Do You Need to Know About Poetry? Feature Menu • Sounds of Poetry • Word Choice • Rhythm • Rhyme • Repetition • Onomatopoeia

Sounds of Poetry A song’s lyrics need music to bring them to life. Poetry is different: Poets use words to create music. Listen to the beginning of Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem “Kubla Khan.” Which lines or phrases seem particularly musical?

buzz! onomatopoeia rhythm word choice repetition Sounds of Poetry Poets create music through the written word in several ways:

pace stroll walk Sounds of Poetry Word Choice One way poets create music in their poems is through the words they choose. Think about the different sounds these word choices make. [End of Section]

Sounds of Poetry Rhythm Rhythm, the repetition of stressed and unstressed syllables, provides the poem’s beat. Like many other languages, English is accented, which means that certain syllables get a stronger beat than others.

Sounds of Poetry Rhythm Saying words aloud can help you hear the natural beats in words. ’ ˘ FRIEND-ship ˘ ’ ˘ ex-CITE-ment Stressed syllables are marked ′ , and unstressed syllables are marked ˘.

A gentleman dining at Crewe Found quite a large mouse in his stew Said the waiter, “Don’t shout, And wave it about, Or the rest will be wanting one, too!” Sounds of Poetry Rhythm A poem’s beat comes from the patterns made by the stressed and unstressed syllables. Read the following limerick aloud and listen to its beat.

Sounds of Poetry Rhythm To see the beats in a poem, mark the syllables as stressed or unstressed. A gentleman dining at Crewe Found quite a large mouse in his stew Said the waiter, “Don’t shout, And wave it about, Or the rest will be wanting one, too!” ˘ ’ ˘ ˘ ’ ˘ ˘ ’ ˘ ’ ˘ ˘ ’ ˘ ˘ ’ ’ ˘ ’ ˘ ’ ’ ˘ ’ ˘˘ ’ ˘ ˘ ’ ˘ ˘ ’ ˘ ˘ ’ A regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables is called meter.

wraps prince wince scraps Sounds of Poetry Rhyme When words sound the same at the end, they rhyme. The chiming effect of rhyme adds to the music of a poem.

Sounds of Poetry Rhyme Most rhymes in poetry are end rhymes. The rhymes appear at the end of the lines. Read, then listen to, the following lines from Longfellow’s “Paul Revere’s Ride.” Identify the end rhymes. He said to his friend, “If the British march By land or sea from the town tonight, Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch Of the North Church tower as a signal light—” He said to his friend, “If the British march By land or sea from the town tonight, Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch Of the North Church tower as a signal light—” a b a b

Sounds of Poetry Rhyme When a line rhymes with the one immediately before it, that pair of lines is called a couplet. Identify the couplets in this excerpt from the poem “Blueberries” by Robert Frost. "You know where they cut off the woods—let me see— It was two years ago—or no!—can it be No longer than that?—and the following fall The fire ran and burned it all up but the wall." "Why, there hasn't been time for the bushes to grow. That's always the way with the blueberries, though: "You know where they cut off the woods—let me see— It was two years ago—or no!—can it be No longer than that?—and the following fall The fire ran and burned it all up but the wall." "Why, there hasn't been time for the bushes to grow. That's always the way with the blueberries, though: a a b b c c

Sounds of Poetry Rhyme Rhymes can also occur within lines; these are called internal rhymes. Read, then listen to, these lines from Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven.” Identify the internal rhymes. While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of someone gently rapping—rapping at my chamber door. While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of someone gently rapping—rapping at my chamber door.

arm miss whisk calm Sounds of Poetry Rhyme Many modern poets prefer approximate rhymes, sounds that are similar but not exactly the same. Approximate rhymes are also called near rhymes,off rhymes,imperfect rhymes, or slant rhymes.

Sounds of Poetry Rhyme Some people think approximate rhymes sound less artificial than exact rhymes, more like everyday speech. Some poets use approximate rhymes because they feel that all the good exact rhymes have already been used too many times.

Sounds of Poetry Rhyme Read, then listen to, the following lines from “Maiden-Savin’ Sam.” Identify the approximate rhymes. Sam, Sam, Maiden-Savin’ Sam, Greatest maiden saver in all of the land Saved all the short ones, all the tall ones, too With his hat on his head and spurs on his shoes. Sam, Sam, Maiden-Savin’ Sam, Greatest maiden saver in all of the land Saved all the short ones, all the tall ones, too With his hat on his head and spurs on his shoes. Although neither pair rhymes exactly, Sam and land sound similar, as do too and shoes.

Sounds of Poetry Repetition Poets also make music in their poems by using repetition, using the same words, sounds, or images more than once. Give me the splendid silent sun with all his beams full-dazzling, Give me juicy autumnal fruit ripe and red from the orchard, Give me a field where the unmowed grass grows, Give me an arbor, give me the trellised grape . . . How does Walt Whitman create rhythm in “Give Me the Splendid Silent Sun”?

Sounds of Poetry Repetition Whitman creates rhythm in his poem by repeating sentence patterns. Give me the splendid silent sun with all his beams full-dazzling, Give me juicy autumnal fruit ripe and red from the orchard, Give me a field where the unmowed grass grows, Give me an arbor, give me the trellised grape . . . The repetition of “Give me” creates a sound pattern.

snake snack Sounds of Poetry Repetition In the same way that poets repeat words, they also repeat sounds. The repetition of the same consonant sound in several words that are close together is called alliteration.

Sounds of Poetry Repetition Listen for the alliteration in this line from Poe’s “The Raven.” And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain Do you hear the rustling of a curtain in all those s sounds?

wrap cash Sounds of Poetry Repetition Repeated vowel sounds are called assonance. Listen to these lines from Billy Collins’s “Introduction to Poetry.” Notice the long isounds. [End of Section]

quack screech Sounds of Poetry Onomatopoeia Poets also may use onomatopoeia, which is the use of words with sounds that imitate or suggest their meaning. Onomatopoeia helps poets bring sound and sense together.

Sounds of Poetry Onomatopoeia Using your knowledge of onomatopoeia, try to label the photographs below. The first one has been done for you. rustle slurp thump or bang sizzle

What Do You Need to Know About Poetry?