How to uncover the secrets locked within the writing...

1. How to uncover the secrets locked within the writing...

2. What is poetry? • Noun • A piece of writing that partakes of the nature of both speech and song, and that is usually rhythmical and metaphorical. • Poems are written to be READ • A verbal composition designed to convey experiences, ideas, or emotions in a vivid and imaginative way, characterized by the use of language chosen for its sound and suggestive power

3. Structure • Poems are organised into STANZAS • A stanza is a clearly defined part of a poem, usually 2 or more lines and characterised by a common pattern of meter, rhyme and line numbers. Each section is a STANZA (stanza 1, stanza 2, stanza 3, etc)

4. Structure Cont’d... • The words in a poem are arranged to create a particular rhythm. • The rhythm is the beat of a poem, the way it sounds when it is read aloud. • Poets carefully arrange words to slow the poem down, or speed it up (for example phrases that are difficult to say would help slow the poem down). • “Caught in a loop of sighing, saltless waters”

5. Structure Cont’d... • Some lines of a poem end with a full-stop. These are called END-STOP LINES. • Some phrases may continue on to the next line, these are known as ENJAMBMENTS.

6. Rhyme • Many poems also use rhyme to enhance their rhythm, to attract attention, and make their poem easy to remember. • The way that rhymes within a poem are organised is known as the Rhyme Scheme. • Rhyme is the repetition of final vowel and consonant sounds in words.

7. Refrain... • When a recurring phrase or lines are used at the end of each stanza, this is known as a refrain. • Refrains are popular in songs

8. Imagery... • To express their thoughts and feelings, poets will use imagery. • This is when the language in a poem is purposefully selected to conjure up an idea in the reader’s mind. • This is achieved by using figurative language and sensory imagery.

9. Figurative Language includes... • Similes: • A comparison between two things, usually using the terms ‘like’ or ‘as’. • Metaphors: • A direct comparison, stating that something is the thing it resembles. • Personification: • When a non-living thing is represented as having human characteristics

10. Further Language Techniques... • There are a range of other language techniques which are popular in poetry. These include: ALLITERATION: The deliberate repetition of consonant sounds, e.g. “When Willy Wonka Walked” ASSONANCE: The deliberate repetition of vowel sounds, e.g. The exagerrated ‘O’ sound in “Poetry is old, ancient, goes back far. It is among the oldest of living things. So old it is that no man knows how and why the first poems came.” ONOMATOPOEIA: Words that are spelt the same way that they sound. HYPERBOLE: The deliberate exaggeration for effect, e.g. “I ran faster than the speed of light”

11. Last, but not least.... • The TONE a poem is the overall feeling or mood of a poem created by the combination of rhythm, rhyme and language features. It is the attitude behind the words... Think of a mother yelling “don’t you use that tone of voice with me” to a cheeky or sarcastic child