Unit 6- Poetry

1. Unit 6- Poetry English II World Literature

2. Types of Poems • The Sonnet • The Acrostic • The Ode • The Riddle Poem • The Villanelle • The Ekphrasis • The Elegy • The Narrative Poem

3. Sonnet A fixed verse form of Italian origin consisting of 14 lines that are typically 5-foot iambics rhyming according to a prescribed scheme

4. Petrarchan Sonnet July 20, 1304 July 19, 1374 • The first and most common sonnet is the Petrarchan, or Italian. Named after one of its greatest practitioners, the Italian poet Petrarch. • Rhyme Scheme= abba, abba, cdecde or cdcdcd • two stanzas: • the octave (the first eight lines) • the sestet (the final six lines). • The importance of line 9: • Since the Petrarchan presents an argument, observation, question, or some other answerable charge in the octave, a turn, or volta, occurs between the eighth and ninth lines. This turn marks a shift in the direction of the foregoing argument or narrative, turning the sestet into the vehicle for the counterargument, clarification, or whatever answer the octave demands.

5. William Wordsworth - 14 lines • Milton! thou shouldst be living at this hour: - A • England hath need of thee: she is a fen - B • Of stagnant waters: altar, sword, and pen, - B • Fireside, the heroic wealth of hall and bower, - A • Have forfeited their ancient English dower - A • Of inward happiness. We are selfish men; - B • Oh! raise us up, return to us again; - B • And give us manners, virtue, freedom, power. - A Octave - Introduces the theme or problem • Thy soul was like a Star, and dwelt apart; - C • Thou hadst a voice whose sound was like the sea: - D • Pure as the naked heavens, majestic, free, - D • So didst thou travel on life's common way, - E • In cheerful godliness; and yet thy heart - C • The lowliest duties on herself did lay. - E Sestet – Addresses or answers the theme or problem

6. Shakespearean Sonnet • The Shakespearean Sonnet is also popular. • Rhyme Scheme= abab, cdcd, efef, gg. • four stanzas: • three quatrains (3 stanzas of 4 lines) • and a couplet (1 stanza of 2 lines) • The importance of the couplet: • The couplet plays a pivotal role, usually arriving in the form of a conclusion, amplification, or even refutation of the previous three stanzas, often creating an epiphanic quality to the end.

7. William Shakespeare My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;Coral is far more red than her lips' red; If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun; If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head. I have seen roses damasked, red and white, But no such roses see I in her cheeks; And in some perfumes is there more delightThan in the breath that from my mistress reeks. I love to hear her speak, yet well I knowThat music hath a far more pleasing sound; I grant I never saw a goddess go; My mistress when she walks treads on the ground. And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rareAs any she belied with false compare.

8. The Modern Sonnet The old form is used in new ways Recognize : 14 lines / or some by name only Nothing was ever what it claimed to be, the earth, blue egg, in its seeping shell dispensing damage like a hollow hell inchling weeping for a minor sea ticking its tidelets, x and y and z. The blue beneficence we call and spell and call blue heaven, the whiteblue well of constant water, deepening a thee, a thou and who, touching every what— and in the or, a shudder in the cut— and that you are, blue mirror, only stare bluest blankness, whether in the where, sheen that bleeds blue beauty we are taught drowns and booms and vowels. I will not. Karen Volkman.- “American Sonnet”

9. Ode In poetry, a poem of praise.

10. Strand and Boland describe the ode: “It elevated the person, the object, to occasion” (240). They continue to relate that the ode is a dynamic art form which in the beginning in ceremonial terms, praised heroic deeds and later, during the Romantic period, in less ceremonial forms, celebrated life. Though not a common form today, its influences are still felt.

11. The Ode • A dignified three-part song sung by the chorus in Greek Drama. • The parts are the strophe, the antistrophe, and the epode. • In poetry – The ode is a poem that gives tribute or praise to someone or something.

12. The Strophe – • The first of the three parts of the verse ode sung by a Greek chorus. While singing the strophe, the chorus moves in a dancelike pattern from right to left.

13. The Antistrophe • The second of the three parts of the verse ode sung by the chorus in a Greek drama. During the antistrophe, the chorus moves from left to right – back to the original position.

14. The Epode • The third of the three parts of the verse ode sung by the chorus in a Greek drama.

15. Throughout time, there have been several variations on the form resulting in particular ode types: the Pindaric and the Horation. The Pindaric form has a three tier structure and often employs metaphor to amplify emotion. In 1656, Cowley published Pindarique Odes, and with this publication, ushered in an even newer version that was freer and more irregular in form and it was this more irregular type which became known as Pindarics. William Wordsworth’s Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood, (1802-1804) is an English example of this form.

16. No, no, go not to Lethe, neither twist        Wolf's-bane, tight-rooted, for its poisonous wine; Nor suffer thy pale forehead to be kiss'd        By nightshade, ruby grape of Proserpine;                Make not your rosary of yew-berries,        Nor let the beetle, nor the death-moth be                Your mournful Psyche, nor the downy owl A partner in your sorrow's mysteries;        For shade to shade will come too drowsily,                And drown the wakeful anguish of the soul. But when the melancholy fit shall fall        Sudden from heaven like a weeping cloud, That fosters the droop-headed flowers all,        And hides the green hill in an April shroud; Then glut thy sorrow on a morning rose,        Or on the rainbow of the salt sand-wave,                Or on the wealth of globed peonies; Or if thy mistress some rich anger shows, Emprison her soft hand, and let her rave,                And feed deep, deep upon her peerless eyes. She dwells with Beauty—Beauty that must die;        And Joy, whose hand is ever at his lips Bidding adieu; and aching Pleasure nigh,        Turning to poison while the bee-mouth sips: Ay, in the very temple of Delight Veil'd Melancholy has her sovran shrine,                Though seen of none save him whose strenuous tongue        Can burst Joy's grape against his palate fine; His soul shalt taste the sadness of her might,                And be among her cloudy trophies hung. Ode on Melancholy By John Keats (1795–1821)

17. Happy the man, whose wish and care A few paternal acres bound, Content to breathe his native air, In his own ground. Whose herds with milk, whose fields with bread, Whose flocks supply him with attire, Whose trees in summer yield him shade, In winter fire. Blest, who can unconcernedly find Hours, days, and years slide soft away, In health of body, peace of mind, Quiet by day, Sound sleep by night; study and ease, Together mixed; sweet recreation; And innocence, which most does please, With meditation. Thus let me live, unseen, unknown; Thus unlamented let me die; Steal from the world, and not a stone Tell where I lie. Ode to Solitude by Alexander Pope

18. Rhyme Scheme • Ode on a Grecian Urn

19. The Riddle Poem • A riddle is a type of poetry that describes something without actually naming what it is, leaving the reader to guess. • A riddle is a light hearted type of poetry which involves the reader. • Riddles can be about anything, from riddles about animals to riddles about objects. There are no rules on how to structure a riddle poem, a riddle can be funny or it can rhyme, it depends on the person writing the riddle.

20. Example of a rhyming riddle I come in different styles I can help one walk for miles I come in a pair I’m something you wear With heels I am glam Can you guess what I am …? Answer: Shoes

21. This thing all things devours:Birds, trees, beasts, flowers;Gnaws iron, bites steel;Grinds hard stones to meal;Slays kings, ruins town,And beats high mountains down. A Riddle TIME.

22. acrostic poem • In this form, a word or phrase is coordinated by the first letter of each line. 

23. acrostic poem - history According to nineteenth century literary historian Charles Vaughan Grinfield, the form originated in ancient times and functioned to “impress the memory, by means of alphabetic associations with the truths or facts contained in the verses” (iv).  Acrostics existed in a number of different languages, from Ancient Greek to Hebrew, before arriving in the English language. 

24. writer poet short story writer January 19, 1809- 1849 Gothic

25. A Modern Example • In more modern times, Edgar Allan Poe adopted the form for his 1829 poem “An Acrostic,” where the name Elizabeth is spelled out by the first letter of each line:

26. An Acrostica poem by Poe Elizabeth it is in vain you say“Love not” — thou sayest it in so sweet a way:In vain those words from thee or L.E.L.Zantippe's talents had enforced so well:Ah! if that language from thy heart arise,Breath it less gently forth — and veil thine eyes.Endymion, recollect, when Luna triedTo cure his love — was cured of all beside —His follie — pride — and passion — for he died. • N ote: In the fourth line, the reader can see how Poe responds to the demands of the acrostic form by writing the name Xantippe with a Z (as in Zantippe) to preserve the integrity of the poem. 

27. Meeting the Demands of the Form Note: In the fourth line, the reader can see how Poe responds to the demands of the acrostic form by writing the name Xantippe with a Z (as in Zantippe) to preserve the integrity of the poem.  Elizabeth it is in vain you say“Love not” — thou sayest it in so sweet a way:In vain those words from thee or L.E.L.Zantippe's talents had enforced so well:Ah! if that language from thy heart arise,Breath it less gently forth — and veil thine eyes.Endymion, recollect, when Luna triedTo cure his love — was cured of all beside —His follie — pride — and passion — for he died.

28. “No Sun Shines Today” No sun shines today; it is the blazing eye ofUnholy design that scorches the earth at our feet.Chasing the devil’s tail, were we, when weLet this monstrosity come to be. Nevertheless, toErr is to be human, but to impose is to be more human,And we know that well, for upon that one thoughtRests the fabric of all our decisions and practices.War is when a gleaming death parcel whistling aboveExplains the irony that a grain of life should becomeA particle of death; the irony that our white-coatPatriot saints should become white-faced in horrorOn hearing the chorus of shrill cries at ground zero.Nevertheless, to impose is to be human, but toSubdue is to be most human, for that is our nature.And where is the sport of it, when there are noRemaining souls to subdue, values to impose, orErrors to make in the dead vacuum of time and space?The hubris of man is attained, realized in anEarth-quaking spectacle, a torrent of fiery despairRippling across the dirt. A particle perched in the airReduced by half announces its explosive preambleOver valleys and cities, and the carrion are left toRot as vermin in the hanging malaria of fallout.Its high-yield payload broke records today—So, what?  We’re not any more dead, or less.Memento mori is the lecture, but who will listen?

29. Work Cited Grinfield, Charles Vaughan. A Century of Acrostics. London: Simpkin, Marshall & Co., 1855.

30. Villanelle A poem with 19 Lines and 6 stanzas and 2 refrains Stanzas 1-5 = 3 lines each aba rhyme scheme Stanza 6 = 4lines abaarhyme scheme 2 REFRAINS: Line 1 of stanza 1 repeats as the last line of stanzas 2 and 4 and line 3 of stanza 6. Line 3 of stanza 1 repeats as the last lines of stanzas 3 and 5 and the last line in stanza 6

31. “Unlike most other rhymed poems . . . the villanelle repeats one sound thirteen times and other six. And two entire lines are repeated four times” (Strand and Boland 8).

32. And though many writers use the form to write about loss, the form itself carries the meaning of “retrieval” or rebirth. This is interesting to me because of the earlier speculation that the poem sparked up along with an agricultural task of “binding sheaves” or “scything” (Strand and Boland 6) which is associated with death and at the same time life.

33. Writers for Norton suggests that this, “verse form derived from an earlier Italian folk song, retains the circular pattern of a peasant dance” (Ferguson, Salter and Stallworthy 1269). An important example of this complicated form is The Waking by Roethke.

34. An important example of this complicated form is The Waking by Roethke.

35. Read the Poem and answer these questions: Villanelle • Title: __________________________ • Author: ________________________ • # of lines __________________ • Number of stanzas _______________ • Lines per stanza _____________________ • ________________________________ • Any words stand out? _________________

36. ReRead the Poem • Mark the Rhyme Scheme • Mark the meter • How many feet per line?

37. Ekphrasis – A poem that responds to a piece of art _

38. The Ekphrasis • The earliest and best known example of ekphrasis is the long description of the shield in Book 18 of the Iliad by Homer. • This shield was made by Hephaistos and given to Achilles by his mother Thetis.

39. Homer gives a detailed description of the imagery which decorates the new shield. Starting from the shield's center and moving outward, circle layer by circle layer, the shield is laid out as follows:The Earth, sky and sea, the sun, the moon and the constellations (484–89)"Two beautiful cities full of people": in one a wedding and a law case are taking place (490–508); the other city is besieged by one feuding army and the shield shows an ambush and a battle (509–40).A field being ploughed for the third time (541–49).A king's estate where the harvest is being reaped (550–60).A vineyard with grape pickers (561–72).A "herd of straight-horned cattle"; the lead bull has been attacked by a pair of savage lions which the herdsmen and their dogs are trying to beat off (573–86).A picture of a sheep farm (587–89).A dancing-floor where young men and women are dancing (590–606).The great stream of Ocean (607–609).[2]

40. The Ekphrasis • The earliest and best known example of ekphrasis is the long description of the shield made by Hephaistos and given to Achilles by his mother Thetis. (The passage is found in Book 18 of the Iliad.) Low-relief sculpture embossed in metal on the surface of the shield is described in elaborate detail. Hephaistos's subjects include constellations, pastures, dancing, and great cities. In fact, visual notation is so extensive that critics have commented that no actual shield in the real world would be able to contain the disparate elements mentioned.   • So then Homer has imagined a work of art that could not, materially, exist. The immaterial nature of verbal art allows him to do this. The effect on the reader of his description is multi-faceted. On one hand, it tends to move the narrative farther away from ordinary plausibility. On the other, it provides a dreamlike expansion of the subject at hand and allows the poet to make oblique comments on the Iliad's main narrative.   •  Corn in his article Notes on Ekphrasis points to an early example of a poetic description of art is in Book 18 of Homer’s Iliad. In this passage the art depicted on a shield is described in great detail. •  In this passage, Homer embellishes reality.

41. In the twentieth century many poets produced ekphrastic poems, and the vast majority of these concern actual, not imaginary works of art. Consider, for example, Rilke's "Archaic Torso of Apollo" ; Marianne Moore's "No Swan so Fine" and "Nine Peaches"; Wallace Stevens's "Angel Between Two Paysans"; William Carlos Williams's Pictures from Breughel ; John Berryman's "Hunters in the Snow"; Randall Jarrell's "Knight, Death and the Devil"; W. H. Auden's "The Shield of Achilles," and Elizabeth Bishop's "Large Bad Picture" and "Poem." In recent times there have been a large number of examples, in fact, several anthologies of ekphrastic poems have been assembled, sometimes commissioned by museums whose collections are featured.  •  In the 1900’s, more and more poets began to describe actual works of art, rather than imagined.

42. Some ekphrastic poems describe photographs, and these may be art photographs or else ordinary snapshots, the latter often depicting members of the poet's family.

43. The Ekphrasis The Great Wave 神奈川沖浪裏 By Amy Craig Beasley Okinami – mighty in the open ocean off Kanagawa—Two fisherman’s boats climb The mountain, Fuji. Blue and blue and blue and white Rowing, reeling, rising roar Okinami – mighty in the open ocean Centered solid permanent Wall of water The mountain, Fuji. Ominous Beautiful Okinami Capped in white And a white spray The mountain, Fuji. Rising cloud in pinkish sky The guard whispers, “Closing time.” Okinami – mighty in the open ocean The mountain, Fuji.

44. The Narrative Poem A poem that tells a story

45. A narrative poem takes the form of a story. Narrative poetry originated in the oral tradition, and its formal meter and rhyme structure made it easier to memorize and deliver orally to a crowd. Thus, it is one of the oldest forms of poetry. Outside of the metered verse, a narrative poem shares many literary attributes with short stories and novels including narrator, characters, setting, plot, conflict and resolution.

46. Narrator • A narrative poem is told from the point of view of a narrator. This narrator can be a main character in the story, a character who has witnessed the particular events of the story, or a character who is retelling the story he has heard from someone else. Because this form of poetry originated in the oral tradition, the poet is neither a character in the story nor the narrator of the story.

47. Structure • A narrative poem contains a formal meter and rhyme structure. This structure is not predictable, but instead uses different poetic tools and literary devices, such as symbolism, assonance, consonance, alliteration, and repetition, in different combinations throughout the poem. Furthermore, a narrative poem is typically broken into stanzas that contain a series of cinquains or rhyming couplets.

48. Story • A narrative poem always tells a story. A story is made up of a setting, characters, events, and a conflict, and, like other forms of narrative, such as novels and short stories, narrative poems typically begin with descriptions of characters and setting. Though most narrative poetry is fictional, it can also be nonfictional and tell the story of a war or a biography of a real person. A narrative poem can also be a combination of these two elements such as the early narrative poem, Homer’s “The Iliad.” This poem is about the 10-year siege of the city of Troy, during the Trojan War. The setting of the poem is considered nonfictional, but story of the quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon is considered fictional.

49. Purpose and Examples • The main purpose of narrative poetry is to entertain, and it uses imagery, figurative language and different sound patterns to grab and hold the audience’s attention. Because its main function is to entertain, a narrative poem does have any expressions of the poet’s thoughts or feelings. Early examples of narrative poems are “The Epic of Gilgamesh,” Homer’s “Odyssey” and Virgil’s “Aeneid.” Homer’s work influenced later narrative poems like “Beowulf,” Chaucer’s “The Canterbury Tales” and “The Book of the Duchess,” and Dante’s “Divine Comedy.” Narrative poetry rose in popularity during the 18th and 19th centuries in Britain. Examples include a variety of works by Lord Tennyson, Lord Byron, John Keats, William Wordsworth, Lewis Carroll and Edgar Allan Poe. Though narrative poetry is one of the oldest poetic traditions, it continues to be relevant because of its ability to tell entertaining and informative stories.

50. The Odyssey is an example of an early narrative poem