Poetry

1. Poetry Text Features

2. Poetry Review • Stanza A stanza is a division of a poem made by arranging the lines into units separated by a space. *** Stanzas can also be called verses. • Meter • Meter is the rhythmic pattern of a stanza, determined by the kind and number of lines. • Rhythm • Rhythm is the regular or progressive pattern of recurrent accents in the flow of a poem.

3. Monday

4. Little Sister at the CircusBy Mickey Toom • Under a creaking canvas sky, • Nearly as wide as my world is wide, • Trapeze artists glide— • Somersaulting, devil-may-care, • In the glow of a spotlight’s blue-bright glare— • They catch in midair. • And far below their dangling swing, • In the colorful glow of the center ring, • Clowns are scampering. • There are bareback riders, lion’s roar, • Calliope¹ tunes, a sawdust floor, • And peanuts galore. • My little sister seems unaware • Of Cracker Jack tangled in her hair • And elephants’ blare. • Her cotton candy was sticky-sweet— • She stood to cheer from her wooden seat— • And now she’s asleep.

5. Questions • “Clowns are scampering.” • 1. In the line above, the word scampering means • waiting • laughing • running • climbing • The poem describes the circus as being under a “creaking canvas sky.” This • PROBABLY means that • the sky is made of canvas. • noises are interrupting the circus. • the sky is about to fall over. • the circus is under a tent. • Which of these describes what the poem is MOSTLY about? • Trapeze artists swing high above the center ring. • A child and his or her younger sister go to the circus and see lions. • A young girl stands and cheers for the circus. • While the circus makes noise around her, a young girl falls asleep.

6. Questions… • The poem’s narrator could BEST be described as • someone who is not a character. • the young girl who falls asleep. • the young girl’s older brother or sister. • one of the trapeze artists. • Which of these is true about the way the poet wrote “Little Sister at the Circus”? • Every other line rhymes. • Each line in each stanza rhymes. • Each line is a complete sentence. • Each stanza has four lines. • Which of the following is an example of alliteration? • far below their dangling swing • And now she’s asleep • Nearly as wide as my world is wide • Calliope tunes, a sawdust floor • What does the poem say is on the floor? • cotton candy • sawdust • clowns • canvas

7. Create • Create a poem that has a rhyming pattern of abab • You poem must also contain alliteration (repetition of beginning letter sound) • Example: Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers

8. Tuesday

9. October NightsBy Tiffany Carlisle • I love October nights in bed • Snuggled beneath the sheets and spread, • As the wind goes dancing and clouds are shred • And shadows are sweeping around my head. • I love to watch the old leafless trees • Shake gnarled elbows and rickety knees • In the howl of autumn’s keen, crisp breeze, • Which has stolen their red and golden leaves. • I love the wind when it rants and roars, • Knocking at windows and shaking doors. • I love to listen as it explores, • With a series of snorts and grunts and snores. • And when I watch closely—I often do— • I can see clouds playing peekaboo • With the bone-white moon in my window view. • (If you look closely, you’ll see them, too.) • I love to be safe and snug in my room • As winds are moaning their songs of doom, • And the moon is sweeping the night’s gray gloom • Beneath my bed with her silver broom.

10. Questions • “I love to watch the old leafless trees • Shake gnarled elbows and rickety knees” • What part of a tree is the poet comparing to gnarled elbows and rickety knees in the above lines? • bark • roots • leaves • branches • What time of year is this poem set? • spring • summer • fall • winter • What is the rhyme scheme of “October Nights”? • aabb • aaaa • abab • abba

11. Questions • Which of the following is an example of imagery? • I love October nights in bed • I love to listen as it explores, • With the bone-white moon in my window view. • I love to be safe and snug in my room • When the speaker says, “And the moon is sweeping the night’s gray gloom / • Beneath my bed with her silver broom,” she means that • moonlight is flooding the room. • the moonlight is becoming dimmer. • the moon is shining only under her bed. • the moon is mopping the bedroom floor. • Which of the following is an example of personification? • I love to be safe and snug in my room • I love the wind when it rants and roars • (If you look closely, you’ll see them, too.) • Snuggled beneath the sheets and spread • Which of the following BEST describes how the speaker feels at the end of the poem? • secure • lonely • anxious • frightened

12. Shadow March • All around the house is the jet-black night; • It stares through the window-pane; • It crawls in the corners, hiding from the light, • And it moves with the moving flame. • Now my little heart goes a beating like a drum, • With the breath of the Bogies in my hair; • And all around the candle and the crooked shadows come, • And go marching along up the stair. • The shadow of the balusters, the shadow of the lamp, • The shadow of the child that goes to bed— • All the wicked shadows coming tramp, tramp, tramp, • With the black night overhead.

13. Questions • Lines 1 and 2 of the poem are an example of • a simile. • a refrain. • a metaphor. • personification. • How many stanzas are in the poem? • two • three • four • five • In the poem, the words tramp, tramp, tramp • make the poem seem scarier. • give the reader a visual image. • make the poem funnier. • show the age of the child. • An antonym of wicked is • evil. • wonderful. • light. • frightening.

14. Create • Create a poem that has a rhyming pattern of aabb (at least 1 stanza) • Your poem must have personification (human characteristics to things that are not alive) • Example: the clouds cried

15. Wednesday

16. Duty Read the Poem Duty on page 686 Questions for Duty • What Rhyme Scheme did you see in Duty? • What is Duty in this poem? • Why does the poem say not turn away from duty? • How is this poem using personification?

17. Jim • After reading the poem Jim (pg. 687) answer these questions • 1. What rhyme scheme did you see in Jim? • 2. Why did Jim decide to miss his baseball game? • 3. What does it mean when it says “the sun should drop it’s greatest gold on him” • 4. Compare the two poems? What do the poems have in common?

18. Create • Create a poem with 2 stanzas • Stanza 1 must have the rhyming pattern of abab • Stanza 2 must have a rhyming pattern of aabb • You poem must contain alliteration and personification