Download ENG2DG Poetry Unit

ENG2DG Poetry Unit • Name: ____________________________
Poetry Unit
Poetry
Term
Glossary • *Literary Devices are found in the Language Resource
Definition
Acrostic
A poem, word puzzle, or other composition in which certain letters in each line form a word or words.
Ballad
A poem that can be sung or recited, telling a story in a simple but dramatic way. In the past, ballads were
passed from generation to generation orally, helping people to remember their history. Since then, poets
and singers have used the traditional ballad form to create “literary” ballads.
Blank Verse
Verse without rhyme, especially that which uses iambic pentameter.
Caesura
(in Greek and Latin verse) A break between words within a metrical foot. (in modern verse) A pause near the
middle of a line.
Concrete
Poetry in which the meaning or effect is conveyed partly or wholly by visual means, using patterns of words
or letters and other typographical devices.
Elegy
A poem of serious reflection, typically a lament for the dead.
Enjambment
(in verse) The continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, couplet, or stanza.
Epic
A long and highly stylized narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject, celebrating the heroic
achievements of its hero and events significant to a culture or nation. Homer's Iliad and Odyssey are usually
regarded as the first important epic poems, and much later, Paradise Lost by John Milton, and are
considered to define the form.
Found
Does not originate as poetry. The poet finds an interesting selection or excerpt and arranges the words or
sentences into poetic form.
Free Verse
Poetry that does not rhyme or have a regular meter. Also called vers libre.
Haiku
A Japanese poem of seventeen syllables, in three lines of five, seven, and five, traditionally evoking images
of the natural world. Formal Japanese haiku are based on three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five
syllables respectively Using the senses, the poet observes and records his or her experiences in exact
language.
Kinetic
Poetry that presents the words of a poem in motion. The graphic representation must give the reader the
sound, the shape, and the meaning. The print determines how the poem should be read aloud.
Limerick
A poem of five lines. A humorous, frequently bawdy, verse of three long and two short lines rhyming aabba,
popularized by Edward Lear.
Lyric
Is a song-like work, often with the theme of nature’s beauty, expressing the writer's emotions, usually briefly
and in stanzas or recognized forms.
Narrative
Tells a story. The story can be presented from the viewpoint of a character in the poem or of a narrator.
Ode
A lyric poem in honour of a particular person, object, or subject, often elevated in style or manner to be
dignified and sincere, and written in varied or irregular meter.
Parallel
A poem that is a series of comparisons. The poem has one theme, and each of the lines describes a new
aspect of the subject.
Parody
An imitation of the style of a particular writer, artist, or genre with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect.
Rhyming Couplet
A unit of verse consisting of two successive lines, usually rhyming and having the same meter and often
forming a complete thought or syntactic unit.
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Term
Definition
Rondeau
A thirteen-line poem, divided into three stanzas of 5, 3, and 5 lines, with only two rhymes throughout and
with the opening words of the first line used as a refrain at the end of the second and third stanzas.
Scansion
The action of scanning a line of verse to determine its rhythm.
Sonnet
A lyric poem of fourteen lines that follow a definite rhyming scheme. There are two types of sonnets: the
Italian (with end rhymes abba abba cde cde) and the English (with end rhymes abab cdcd efef gg). The first
eight lines describe the poet’s feelings, and the last six lines comment on those feelings.
Verse
Writing arranged with a metrical rhythm, typically having a rhyme. A group of lines that form a unit in a poem
or song; a stanza.
Definitions from ABC’s of Creative Writing by David W. Booth/Stanley Skinner and Oxford American Dictionaries
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Poetry
Puzzle Poetry Activity
In this activity, you are to break into 7 groups of approximately 4 people each. Designate one person in the group as the
secretary, who will be writing for the group.
I will give each group an envelope. In that envelope will be a poem cut into its individual lines. Each group’s task is to
arrange the lines in the order they believe the poem should be. The secretary’s job is to write this below, in the space
provided, when the group comes to consensus about the order of the lines. When that has all been decided and transcribed,
your group will decide on a title for the poem, then write the poem on the chart paper, and tape it to the wall or chalkboard.
Each group will then orally explain why they made the choices they made in arranging the poem. What clues helped you
make your decisions, etc? What have you learned about the organization and structure of language?
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Poem Title: ____________________________________________________________
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Poetry
Found Poem Activity • Name: _______________________
In this activity, you will be working independently. I can provide you with scissors, glue sticks, and blank sheets of paper.
However, you are expected to provide your own magazines and newspapers.
You are to flip through your magazine or newspaper and cut out any words or phrases that jump out at you, that catch your
eye. Only words or phrases are to be cut out, not individual letters; this is not a ransom note! You will then take all of the
words and phrases you have cut out and arrange them on your desk in the order you think best encapsulates a theme or topic
you wish to create a poem about. Give your poem a title. On your page, you will start to glue them down. Remember, as with
anything you hand in, presentation is everything. Keep it neat! Feel free to dress it up prior to handing it in.
Here are a couple exemplars of this activity:
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Poetry
Image-Inspired Poem Activity • Name: ___________________
In this activity, there is to be no talking! A series of images will be shown to the class. You will have about
15 seconds to look at the image. In that time, you will write the first word, phrase, thought, or memory that comes
to mind upon seeing the image, beside the corresponding number below.
When all images have been viewed, you will look at your list and attempt to create a poem from it–
independently! You do not have to use every item in your list, or in the order they appear. The idea here is to start
a poem inspired from a strong emotion in you. As we already know, it does not have to rhyme just because it is a
poem. Let your thoughts roam freely as you do this activity.
Remember, as with anything you hand in, presentation is everything. Feel free to do a good copy of the
poem and dress it up prior to handing it in at the end of the week.
Write the word/phrase/thought/memory beside the number in the left column for each picture you view:
The List
Your Poem
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Poetry
Childhood Toy Ode Activity • Name: ____________________
In this activity, you will be working independently to write an ode about a childhood toy of your choice.
Your Childhood Toy: ______________________________
Your Childhood Toy Ode
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