Introduction to

Poetry
 Unit Goals
1. I will understand why we study
poetry.
2. I am able to identify different types
of poetry.
3. I have an understanding of poetic
devices.
4. I have the skills to critically analyze
a poem
5. I have the ability to effectively
recite a poem
 Why do we study
poetry?
❄ Poetry can give us a healthy outlet for
surging emotions.
❄ Poetry with its constraints has its kinship in
rap and can be a gateway to other forms of
writing
 Why do we study
poetry?
❄ It boosts your creativity. Reading poetry
forces you to step outside your comfort
zone to understand a new perspective.
❄ Poetry allows us to tell a compelling story.
The Red Wheelbarrow by,
Williams Carlos Williams
So much depends
Upon

A red wheel
Barrow

Glazed with rain

Water

Beside the white

Chickens
 Discussion
❄ What are your thoughts on this poem?
❄ Does it tell a compelling story?
❄ What do you think the poem means?
❄ How did this poem take you out of your
comfort zone?
 8 Mile
Eminem
Sometimes I just feel like quittin’,
I still might
Why do I put up this fight? Why
do I still write?
Sometimes it’s hard enough just
dealin’ with real life
Sometimes I just want to jump on
stage and kill mics
And show these people what my
level of skill is like
But I’m still white and sometimes
I hate life
 Discussion
❄ Is rap music a form of poetry, why or why
not?
❄ How is 8 Mile similar or different to Red
Wheelbarrow?
❄ How does this piece take you out of your
comfort zone?
 Poetic Devices
Poetic devices are a form of literary devices
used in poetry. They are essential tools that the
poet uses to create rhythm, enhance a poems
meaning, or intensify a mood or feeling.
Figurative
Language
 Allusion
An allusion is a brief reference to a person, place, or event in history
or literature. An allusion draws on associations to provide layers of
meaning without detailed descriptions and explanations.

Example:
Love Story by Taylor Swift
“That you were Romeo, you were throwin’ pebbles
And my daddy said stay away from Juiliet”
 Metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech in which a word or a phrase is
applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable.

Example:
As you Like It: William Shakespeare
“All the world's a stage/ and all the men and women merely players ”
 Simile
A simile is a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing
with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description
more emphatic or vivid. Unlike a metaphor a simile uses “like” or
“as” to compare unlike things.

Example:
“I am as hungry as a horse”
“I am as brave as a lion”
 Symbol
A symbol is something that stands for something else. A public
symbol has a shared understanding (i.e. A dove symbolizes peace). A
private symbol is one that is created by an individual writer for a
particular work and has specific meaning within this work.
Example of Public Symbols:
Rose: Symbolizes love and romance
Four leaf clover: Symbolizes good luck
Rainbow: Symbolizes hope and promise
Sound Devices
 Anaphora
An Anaphora is a literary device that repeats the same phrase at the
beginning of each line. In the example below Martin Luther King
used the line “I Have a Dream” to start eight consecutive sentences.
Example: Martin Luther King I have a Dream Speech
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of

former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice,

sweltering with the heat of oppression will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
 Alliteration
An Alliteration refers to the succession of words with similar sounds.
An alliteration is a powerful means of controlling the poems mood. A
series of S’es may make the poem sound sinister or sneaky.

Example:
“Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers”
 Poetic
Structure
 Verse
Poetry or a single line of poetry. The words that make a line in poetry
are not called sentences they are called verses.

Example: The Road not Taken Robert Frost

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-I took the road less travelled
by”
 Persona
A persona is the person speaking in the poem. The speaker of the
poem unlike short stories is not the narrator but the persona.
 Tone
The poet's attitude towards an audience or subject. Tone can be
detected through figurative language or the sound devices.

Example:
If the poet decides to use a “D” alliteration that tends to be a hard
alliteration which may signal the tone of the poem to be serious.
Whereas if the poet used an “H” alliteration which tends to be softer
and harmonious this may signal the tone of the poem to be lighter
and playful.
 The Types of Poetry
A poetic form is a set of rules that dictate the
rhyme scheme, structure, rhythm, and metre of
a poem. The form may also guide the purpose
and tone of a poem.

Types of Poetry
 Discussion
❄ What do you notice about the different
types of poetry as we progress over time
(look at rules and structure)?
❄ What type of poetry is your favourite
(text-to-self connection)?
❄ What do you see for the future of poetry
(Predictions)?
 Poetry Analysis
❄ There are four steps to analyzing poetry:
1. Engagement/First Reading
2. Understanding Content
3. Understanding Form
4. Evaluation or Critical Judgement
 Poetry Graphic Organizer
First Understanding Understanding Evaluation
Reading Context Form
2Pac Shakur “Keep Your Head Up”
 Step One: First
Reading
❄ We all have 2Pac Shakur’s Song “Keep Your Head Up” in front of
us.
❄ First we will engage in a silent reading of the poem.
❄ Try to relate to what the poem is saying and form a mental
image of what the poem is describing
❄ DO NOT evaluate the poem at this time
❄ Try to avoid any judgements about the poem.
❄ Set aside attitudes or preferences.
 Step Two: Understanding
Content
Attempt to process and understand what the poem is saying.

Take note of the Clarify the Understanding the

CONTENT of the UNKNOWN: PURPOSE of the
poem: 1. Check the title poem:
1. Subject matter 2. Define 1. Context
2. Context unfamiliar 2. Tone
3. Purpose words 3. Mood
4. Theme 3. Clarify 4. Theme
allusions
 Step Three:
Understanding Form

How does the form Take note of the Take note of the style
(technique and style) technique used by the used by the poet:
reinforce the content: poet: 1. Diction: Word
1. What line choice:
structure was Simple/complex
used? , literal/figural?
2. How has the 2. Sound devices
poem been used
divided? 3. Figures of
speech
4. Rhyme scheme
and patterns
used.
 Step Four: Evaluation
❄ After completing all three steps we now have the ability to make
an informed verdict on the effectiveness, relevance, and overall
value of the poem.
❄ Relate the poem to yourself and others, especially in terms of life
experiences.
❄ Evaluate the poem according to personal criteria or standards of
what makes good poetry.
 Homework
1. On your desk you will find a sticky note with a number on it. That
number represents what group you are in.
2. Based on your group number you will have to find a poem based on the
criteria provide on the next slide. I.E. If you are in group number one you
will have to find a poem about Christmas.
3. For homework you will have to fill out the graphic organizer with an
analysis of the poem you chose. The graphic organizer can be filled out
in point form.
4. You will then have to select what song you would choose to play along
with the poem you selected based on the poem's tone and themes. You
will have to justify why you selected the song you did.
 Homework
Group Themes
Group One: Find a poem about Christmas
Group Two: Find a poem that has an alliteration
Group Three: Find a poem that does not rhyme
Group Four: Find a poem that does rhyme
Group Five: Find a poem that was written in 2021
Group Six: Find a poem about love
Group Severn: Find a poem that has a metaphor
Group Eight: Find a poem written by Shakespeare
Group Nine: Find a poem with two stanzas.
Group Ten: Find a poem about life.