Understanding Poetry: A Study of Songs in One Word

1. POETRY ENGLISH 2 A STUDY OF SONGS

2. IN One Word… What is poetry? Give your opinion.

3. TyPESoF POETRY • Narrative – tells a story • Lyric – talks about feelings/emotions • Epic – very long about a “national” hero’s journey • Dramatic – has “characters” who speak (sometimes to one another) • Elegy – tribute to someone who has died • Sonnet – specific form (8 & 6 or 6 & 8 lines) emotional poem written to a particular person (Shakespeare wrote many) • Others??? – ballad, blank verse, haiku, ode, etc.

4. TYPES OF POETRY – notebook • Take a look/listen to the poems and then classify them as one of the types of poetry. Tell what makes them fit the type. • “Everything Has Changed” • “Cop Car” • The Odyssey • “River” – Note the context of this piece – about a young actor who tragically overdosed. • “Wake Me Up” • “American Pie”

5. “speaker” of a poem • Narrator – one who “tells the poem” –NOT necessarily the author/writer • Point of View – perspective from which the poem is told (usually 1st or 3rd person) • Characters – “people” in the poem (either the speaker or those depicted/created in dramatic poetry)

6. “SPEAKER” of a poem - notebook • Looking specifically at “Cop Car” answer the following: • WHO is the narrator? (Not necessarily a name, just WHAT do we know about the narrator? How do we know?) • What point of view is used? • What “characters” take part in the poem?

7. “SPEAKER” of a poem - notebook • Looking specifically at “Doesn’t Remind Me” answer the following: • WHO is the narrator? (Not necessarily a name, just WHAT do we know about the narrator? How do we know?) • What point of view is used? • Is the speaker necessarily the author? Why would a writer not write as himself? What purpose could it serve?

8. Structure of a poem • Stanza – group of related lines that form a division or section of a poem • Refrain/Chorus – regularly repeated words, lines, or sections in a poem/song • Repetition – reappearance of a word, phrase or structure • Parallelism – repetition of a structural pattern (lines or sections set up the same way)

9. POETIC STRUCTURES - NOTEBOOK • Examining “I Want Crazy” answer the following: • How many stanzas are there? (Do NOT count groupings of just one single line) • Which lines make up the refrain/chorus? How many times does it occur on the page? • Give example of any prominent repetition. • Where are there examples of parallelism?

10. POETIC STRUCTURES - NOTEBOOK • Examining “Wake Me Up” answer the following: • How many stanzas are there? (Do NOT count groupings of just one single line) • Which lines make up the refrain/chorus? How many times does it occur on the page? • Give example of any prominent repetition. • Where are there examples of parallelism?

11. “Sounds” of a poem • Rhythm – arrangement of stressed & unstressed syllables – the “beat” of the poem • Rhyme – repetition of sounds – vowels + ending consonants (e.g. cat and hat) • End Rhyme – rhyming words occurring at the end of successive lines of poetry • Rhyme Scheme – pattern of end rhyme in poetry (can be charted w/ alphabet symbols) • Internal Rhyme – rhyming words within one line of poetry (e.g. “put a little gravel in my travel”)

12. END RHYME – class practice • Using “Wake Me Up” let’s chart the end rhyme directly onto the page. • Start with the letter a for the 1st line • If the next line ends with a rhyme for the 1st, label it a again. If NOT label it b. • Each time a new sounding end word occurs, give it the next available letter. • Each time a rhyming end word occurs, give it the same letter as the last time that rhyme sound was labeled. • Sometimes, it’s a judgment call when the rhyme is imperfect, but you will see patterns emerge. Trust them. • Further practice with “Uprising.”

13. “SOUNDS” of a poem - NOTEBOOK • Examining “Wagon Wheel” answer the following: • Is there a rhythmic element to the lines when read aloud? Is it a regular rhythm or one imposed by the musical arrangement? • Find & list 3 sets of rhyming words. • Chart the end rhyme on the poem itself. Is there a regular pattern of end rhyme? • Note that there really isn’t any clear internal rhyme within the lines in this poem.

14. “Sounds” of a poem • Alliteration – repetition of consonant sounds in words close together (e.g. “fabulous and fantastic friends) • Assonance – repetition of vowel sounds in words close together (e.g. “please agree to provide eats”) • Onomatopeoia – word whose sound imitates its meaning (e.g. whip, buzz, chatter) • Word Choice – *note that words are chosen very carefully by poets to create any and all of the “sounds” of a poem

15. More “Sound” - notebook • Examining “The a Team” answer the following: • Find & list an example of internal rhyme (imperfect rhyme will be acceptable) • Find & list at least 3 examples of alliteration. • Find & list at least 2 examples of assonance. * Note this poem is powerful, some background knowledge is important to understanding it. (“The a team” refers to Class A narcotics of which meth is one). It contains much figurative language and strong imagery. • Notice word choice is important in making this work “poetic.” Careful selection by the writer makes a difference.

16. Language & “pictures” of a poem • Figurative Language – words used to mean something OTHER than their literal meaning • Simile – comparison of relatively unlike things using comparison words like, as or than • Metaphor – comparison of relatively unlike things without comparison words / implies that one thing is another • Hyperbole – exaggeration for effect • Personification – describing inanimate or animal forms in human terms

17. FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE - NOTEBOOK • After reading “Breathe (2am)” locate a simile. Explain what two things are compared and what it might mean. • Simile: “You can’t jump the track, we’re like cars on a cable” • Simile: “Life’s like an hourglass glued to the table”

18. FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE - NOTEBOOK • After reading “Breathe (2am)”locate a metaphor. Explain what two things are compared and what it might mean. • Metaphor: “Unravel my latest mistake?” • Metaphor: “No one can find the rewind button, girl.” • Metaphor: “Cradle your head in your hands”

19. FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE - NOTEBOOK • After reading “Breathe (2am)” locate an example of personification. Explain what is being described in human terms and what this might mean. • Personification: “so accusing their eyes” • Personification: “threatening the life it belongs to” • Personification: “are my diary, screaming out loud”

20. FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE - NOTEBOOK • Sometimes the figurative language is bigger than individual examples and includes the whole idea of the work. • After reading “Welcome to the Fishbowl” explain what “the fishbowl” really is? • What kind of figurative language is used in this comparison? Explain what it means to be “swimmin’ around” in the “fishbowl.”

21. Language & “pictures” of a poem • Imagery– use of words/language to create a visual or otherwise sensory image of whatever is described (The better the imagery, the more the reader can imagine themselves immersed in the poem.) • Word Choice *note that words are chosen carefully by the poet to create imagery through detail and figurative language

22. “Images” in poetry - notebook • After reading “Royals” think about what images are in your mind. What lines of the poem help you see pictures, depict lifestyles? • Is there any contrast between these images? Explain it. • Is the imagery only visual or are there other sensory elements? Give examples. • What specific word choices contribute to the imagery?

23. “Images” in poetry - notebook • After reading “Slow Dancing in a Burning Room” think about what images are in your mind. • Is the imagery only visual or are there other sensory elements? Give examples. • What specific word choices contribute to the imagery? • How is repetition important to the imagery provided?

24. “Images” in poetry - notebook • Revisit “The a Team” and think about what images are in your mind. • Give example of strong visual imagery provided in the poem. • How is figurative language important to the imagery provided?

25. Interpretation of poetry • What does it mean? *The question is really what do you think it means? And why do you think that? Can you explain? • Tone – attitude of the writer toward the subject

26. INTERPRETATION OF POETRY - NOTEBOOK • Looking again at “Uprising.” • What do YOU think this poem is about? Give reasons for your thoughts. “ALL-RIGHT, ALL-RIGHT, ALL-RIGHT”

27. Text or context? Consider – Meaning of a word: discombobulate By itself, do you know what it means? In context: “The method of execution shall be discombobulation!” declared the king of the land.

28. Interpretation of poetry • Textual • What can you find in the actual text and ONLY in the text? • What words in the poem contribute to your thoughts on, opinions of, or connections with the poem? • For textual analysis – all you have is the poem (or story or whatever you’re reading)

29. TEXTUAL INTERPRETATION - NOTEBOOK • After reading the three articles provided, write a brief interpretation of the situations described. What do you think about the things happening in the news? What do these kind of events say about society?

30. Interpretation of poetry • Contextual • What else do you know about the background of the text? • Who wrote it? When? Where? Is there a story behind the writing of the poem? • For contextual analysis – you have much more information about the poem (or story or whatever you’re reading) • How does it change HOW you read the poem? What, in your interpretation, changes?

31. CONTEXTUAL INTERPRETATION - NOTEBOOK • After reading “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” reconsider the articles you read earlier. What is this poem about? How does it connect to the articles? With a new context, is your attitude or opinion toward the articles altered or changed? • Why do you think a new perspective is gained by the connection of text (the articles) to context (the ideas in the poem)?

32. Textual/contextual interpretation • After reading “Sunday Bloody Sunday” write a brief paragraph about it. What is it about? Explain what point you think the writer might be trying to make. Provide an example from the text to back up your point. • After listening to the information about the historical event “Bloody Sunday” and learning a bit more about who wrote the song and when, what do you think it is about? How does this context change your understanding of the poem itself?

33. An extra point about interpretation - notebook • Revisit “Breathe (2am).” Check out the 6th stanza. What does the writer say about the writing process itself and about what others will think about what she has written? • Can you control the interpretation of your writing once you send it out into the world? Why or why not? • “Death of the Author”

34. MORE INTERPRETATION - NOTEBOOK • Choose any other poem we have covered in class so far and write an interpretation. • What do you think it means? How do you know? • Is your interpretation textual or contextual? (Can be both)

35. References in POetry • Symbols – item/action used to stand both for itself and for an idea, quality, or belief “larger than” itself • Allusion – reference in a poem to another literary work, important person, or historical event with which the writer “expects” the reader to be familiar

36. SYMBOLS & ALLUSIONS - NOTEBOOK • Looking back through the poems we’ve studied, see what symbols & allusion examples you can find. Explain. • Cable car symbol – 2 am • Flashing lights symbol – Cop car • Opposite of symbols – Doesn’t Remind Me • Burning room symbol – Slow Dancing in a Burning Room • Symbols of rich lifestyles – Royals • Historical allusion – Sunday Bloody Sunday • Criminal knowledge allusion – The a Team • Pop culture allusion (British) – Royals • Censorship – government control allusion – Uprising • Etc.

37. EVALUATION Assessment on Poetry Format 4poems to read Questions to answer much like work we have done in notebooks this week Review the terms & how they work in poems