Poetry

1. Poetry the art of rhythmical composition, written or spoken for exciting pleasure by beautiful, imaginative, or elevated thoughts. Developed by Jennifer Tomka

2. Does a poem have to: Please answer yes or no to each of these. If you do not know the answer please guess. • Have a rhythmical composition? • Be written or spoken for exciting pleasure? Or, can it evoke other feelings such as fear, dread, sadness, comedy and so on? • Be beautiful, imaginative, or create elevated thoughts (in other words make you think deeper about something)?

3. There are many types of poems. Here are a few: Lyrical poetry Narrative poetry Dramatic poetry

4. Narrative Poetry • Definition: Tells a story Presents characters and leads them through a plot

5. Too Many Daves by Dr. Seuss Did I ever tell you that Mrs. McCaveHad twenty-three sons, and she named them all Dave?Well, she did. And that wasn’t a smart thing to do.You see, when she wants one, and calls out “Yoo-Hoo!Come into the house, Dave!” she doesn’t get one.All twenty-three Daves of hers come on the run!This makes things quite difficult at the McCaves’As you can imagine, with so many Daves.And often she wishes that, when they were born,She had named one of them Bodkin Van Horn.And one of them Hoos-Foos. And one of them Snimm.And one of them Hot-Shot. And one Sunny Jim.

6. Too Many Daves by Dr. Seuss And one of them Shadrack. And one of them Blinkey.And one of them Stuffy. And one of them Stinkey.Another one Putt-Putt. Another one Moon Face.Another one Marvin O’Gravel Balloon Face.And one of them Ziggy. And one Soggy Muff.One Buffalo Bill. And one Biffalo Buff.And one of them Sneepy. And one Weepy Weed.And one Paris Garters. And one Harris Tweed.And one of them Sir Michael Carmichael Zutt.And one of them Oliver Boliver Butt.And one of them Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate . . . .But she didn’t do it. And now it’s too late.

7. Is this a poem? Is this a narrative poem? Why or Why not?

8. Speaker • Definition: (also narrator, persona) The person supposedly uttering the poem. It may be a careful way of describing the poet himself or a character. • Who is the speaker in “Too Many Daves”? • Who is the speaker in the following poem?

9. To fling my arms wide In some place of the sun, To whirl and to dance Till the white day is done. Then rest at cool evening Beneath a tall tree While night comes on gently, Dark like me-- That is my dream! To fling my arms wide In the face of the sun, Dance! Whirl! Whirl! Till the quick day is done. Rest at pale evening . . . A tall, slim tree . . . Night coming tenderly Black like me. Dream Variations by: Langston Hughes

10. Imagery • Definition: the words a poet uses to evoke images that the reader "sees" (or hears, smells, tastes, touches) because they describe what the senses can "sense. (Sights, sounds, smells, flavors, textures, etc.) • What imagery do we “see” in the last poem?

11. To My Brother Miguel in memoriamby: César Vallejotranslated by: Robert Bly Brother, today I sit on the brick bench outside the house, where you make a bottomless emptiness. I remember we used to play at this hour of the day, and mama would calm us: "There now, boys..." Now I go hide as before, from all these evening prayers, and I hope that you will not find me. In the parlor, the entrance hall, the corridors. Later, you hide, and I do not find you. I remember we made each other cry, brother, in that game.

12. To My Brother Miguel in memoriamby: César Vallejotranslated by: Robert Bly Miguel, you hid yourself one night in August, nearly at daybreak, but instead of laughing when you hid, you were sad. And your other heart of those dead afternoons is tired of looking and not finding you. And now shadows fall on the soul. Listen, brother, don't be too late coming out. All right? Mama might worry.

13. Journal Entry • Give me at least three characteristics that might make a poem. • In your own words, define these terms: narrative poem speaker imagery

14. Day 2: Poetry Inference an idea about a poem that is based upon evidence, but is not stated directly Definition:

15. What can we infer from this title? The Loser by: Shel Silverstein Mama said I’d lose my head If it wasn’t fastened on. Today I guess it wasn’t ‘Cause while playing with my cousin If fell off and rolled away And now it’s gone.

16. And I can’t look for it ‘Cause my eyes are in it, And I can’t call to it ‘Cause my mouth is on it (Couldn’t hear me anyway ‘Cause my ears are on it), Can’t even think about it ‘Cause my brain is in it. So I guess I’ll sit down On this rock And rest for just a minute… The Loser by: Shel Silverstein

17. THE POOL PLAYERS. SEVEN AT THE GOLDEN SHOVEL. We real cool. We Left school. We Lurk late. We Strike straight. We Sing sin. We Thin gin. We Jazz June. We Die soon. We Real Cool by: Gwendolyn Brooks Poets.org - Poetry, Poems, Bios & More - We Real Cool

18. Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village, though: He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow. My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farmhouse near Between the woods and frozen lake The darkest evening of the year. He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if there is some mistake. The only other sound’s the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake. The woods are lovely, dark, and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep. STOPPING BY WOODS ON A SNOWY EVENING by: Robert Frost

19. Inferences Handout - a tool to help STOPPING BY WOODS ON A SNOWY EVENING by: Robert Frost Questions Handout – in-class assignment if time, otherwise homework

20. Day 3: Poetry Write our own poetry!

21. One Sentence Poetry Can any sentence be a poem? Can a poem be a poem if it only has one sentence? asentence-poem.pdf http://www.readwritethink.org/lesson_images/lesson246/capemay.jpg

22. The New DogBy: Linda Pastan Into the gravity of my life,the serious ceremoniesof polish and paperand pen, has come this manic animalwhose innocent disruptionsmake nonsenseof my old simplicities— as if I needed himto prove again that afterall the careful planning,anything can happen.

23. Bio-Poem What is a bio-poem? Line 1: Your first nameLine 2: Who is...(Descriptive words that describe you)Line 3: Who is brother or sister of...Line 4: Who loves...(three ideas or people)Line 5: Who feels...(three ideas )Line 6: Who needs...(three ideas)Line 7: Who gives...(three ideas)Line 8: Who fears...(three ideas)Line 9: Who would like to see...Line 10: Who shares...Line 11: Who is...Line 12: Who is a resident of...Line 13: Your last name

24. This is Me JenniferWho is funny, loveable, talkative, and sometimes shyWho is the sister of Glen and Sissy space coasterWho loves family, animals, and the environmentWho feels happy, anxious, and excited when teaching new ideasWho needs love, humor, and sometimes some helpWho gives grades, parties, and breaksWho fears losing loved ones, drowning, and making mistakes in front of studentsWho would like to see happy people and environmental consciousnessWho shares storiesWho is happyWho is a resident of Cascade LocksTomka

25. Bio-Poem Our Class Poem Line 1: Your first nameLine 2: Who is...(Descriptive words that describe you)Line 3: Who is brother or sister of...Line 4: Who loves...(three ideas or people)Line 5: Who feels...(three ideas )Line 6: Who needs...(three ideas)Line 7: Who gives...(three ideas)Line 8: Who fears...(three ideas)Line 9: Who would like to see...Line 10: Who shares...Line 11: Who is...Line 12: Who is a resident of...Line 13: Your last name

26. Works Cited Drury, John. The Poetry Dictionary. Cincinnati: Story Press, 1995. Frost, Robert. The Poetry of Robert Frost: The Collected Poems, Complete and Unabridged. New York: Henry Holt and Company, Inc, 1979. "poetry." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 23 Jan. 2008. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/poetry>. Poets.org. The Academy of American Poets. 26 Jan 2008 <www.poets.org>. Read/Write/Think. 27 Jan 2008. NCTE and International Reading Association. 28 Jan 2008. Silverstein, Shel. Where the Sidewalk Ends. New York: Harper Collins, 1974. Seuss, Dr. The Sneetches and Other Stories. New York: Random House,1989.