Showing posts with label poetry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label poetry. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird
Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird
I
Among twenty snowy mountains,
The only moving thing
Was the eye of the black bird.
II
I was of three minds,
Like a tree
In which there are three blackbirds.
III
The blackbird whirled in the autumn winds.
It was a small part of the pantomime.
IV
A man and a woman
Are one.
A man and a woman and a blackbird
Are one.
V
I do not know which to prefer,
The beauty of inflections
Or the beauty of innuendoes,
The blackbird whistling
Or just after.
VI
Icicles filled the long window
With barbaric glass.
The shadow of the blackbird
Crossed it, to and fro.
The mood
Traced in the shadow
An indecipherable cause.
VII
O thin men of Haddam,
Why do you imagine golden birds?
Do you not see how the blackbird
Walks around the feet
Of the women about you?
VIII
I know noble accents
And lucid, inescapable rhythms;
But I know, too,
That the blackbird is involved
In what I know.
IX
When the blackbird flew out of sight,
It marked the edge
Of one of many circles.
X
At the sight of blackbirds
Flying in a green light,
Even the bawds of euphony
Would cry out sharply.
XI
He rode over Connecticut
In a glass coach.
Once, a fear pierced him,
In that he mistook
The shadow of his equipage
For blackbirds.
XII
The river is moving.
The blackbird must be flying.
XIII
It was evening all afternoon.
It was snowing
And it was going to snow.
The blackbird sat
In the cedar-limbs.
Among twenty snowy mountains,
The only moving thing
Was the eye of the black bird.
II
I was of three minds,
Like a tree
In which there are three blackbirds.
III
The blackbird whirled in the autumn winds.
It was a small part of the pantomime.
IV
A man and a woman
Are one.
A man and a woman and a blackbird
Are one.
V
I do not know which to prefer,
The beauty of inflections
Or the beauty of innuendoes,
The blackbird whistling
Or just after.
VI
Icicles filled the long window
With barbaric glass.
The shadow of the blackbird
Crossed it, to and fro.
The mood
Traced in the shadow
An indecipherable cause.
VII
O thin men of Haddam,
Why do you imagine golden birds?
Do you not see how the blackbird
Walks around the feet
Of the women about you?
VIII
I know noble accents
And lucid, inescapable rhythms;
But I know, too,
That the blackbird is involved
In what I know.
IX
When the blackbird flew out of sight,
It marked the edge
Of one of many circles.
X
At the sight of blackbirds
Flying in a green light,
Even the bawds of euphony
Would cry out sharply.
XI
He rode over Connecticut
In a glass coach.
Once, a fear pierced him,
In that he mistook
The shadow of his equipage
For blackbirds.
XII
The river is moving.
The blackbird must be flying.
XIII
It was evening all afternoon.
It was snowing
And it was going to snow.
The blackbird sat
In the cedar-limbs.
Wallace Stevens
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Haikus and Poetry Terms
Today, periods 6, 7 had to take the vocabulary quiz. The rest of us were introduced to some basic poetry terms in preparation for tonight's assignment (and later the rap battle).
Imagery- creating a strong picture with words, usually involving sensory details.
Haikus - traditional Japanese poetry involving strong imagery and heavy symbolism. It is three lines, 5-7-5 syllables per line, involves nature and a season.
Examples: (these are both translated from Japanese, so the syllables don't match)
The old pond
A frog jumps in -
The sound of water
No sky
no earth - but still
snowflakes fall.
Symbolism: Having a thing (object, season, or color) represent some bigger idea.
Metaphor: two things compared using a form of "TO BE"
Simile: using "like" or "as" to compare two things.
Oxymorons: when you place two "opposite" things close together to show their contrast
Enjambment: when a line of poetry does not end in end-punctuation (periods, colons, or semicolons)
End-Stopped: when a line of poetry does end in end-punctuation (periods, colons, or semicolons)
Homework: Reply to the post on Edmodo, submitting a haiku of your own!
Imagery- creating a strong picture with words, usually involving sensory details.
Haikus - traditional Japanese poetry involving strong imagery and heavy symbolism. It is three lines, 5-7-5 syllables per line, involves nature and a season.
Examples: (these are both translated from Japanese, so the syllables don't match)
The old pond
A frog jumps in -
The sound of water
No sky
no earth - but still
snowflakes fall.
Symbolism: Having a thing (object, season, or color) represent some bigger idea.
Metaphor: two things compared using a form of "TO BE"
Simile: using "like" or "as" to compare two things.
Oxymorons: when you place two "opposite" things close together to show their contrast
Enjambment: when a line of poetry does not end in end-punctuation (periods, colons, or semicolons)
End-Stopped: when a line of poetry does end in end-punctuation (periods, colons, or semicolons)
Homework: Reply to the post on Edmodo, submitting a haiku of your own!
Friday, February 8, 2013
Full and Half-Rhymes
The human brain is a pattern finding machine...it even tries to create patterns when there aren't any. Rhyming are repeating sounds...and poets use these repeating sounds to form a pattern...which are therefor pleasing to the ear.
Have lyrics from a song ever gotten stuck in your head? There's a reason for that, it has either a half-rhyme or a full rhyme or both in it!
Full Rhyme: when the endings of two or more words sound the same.
rhyme, time, crime, dime, slime....all end with an "ai" sound and and "em" sound.
Half-Rhymes: when one part of two or more words sound the same. There are three kinds of half-rhymes:
Now, in poetry, full-rhymes and half-rhymes show up in two paces: at the ends of lines or within a line.
End-Rhyme: When a rhyme happens at the ends of two or more lines of poetry.
Internal Rhyme: When a rhyme happens within a line of poetry.
Have lyrics from a song ever gotten stuck in your head? There's a reason for that, it has either a half-rhyme or a full rhyme or both in it!
Full Rhyme: when the endings of two or more words sound the same.
rhyme, time, crime, dime, slime....all end with an "ai" sound and and "em" sound.
Half-Rhymes: when one part of two or more words sound the same. There are three kinds of half-rhymes:
- Alliteration: When two or more words begin with the same sound.
- Consonance: When two or more words share a consonant sound in the middle or ends of the words.
- Assonance: When two or more words share a vowel sound in the middle or ends of the words.
Now, in poetry, full-rhymes and half-rhymes show up in two paces: at the ends of lines or within a line.
End-Rhyme: When a rhyme happens at the ends of two or more lines of poetry.
Internal Rhyme: When a rhyme happens within a line of poetry.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Epic Rap Battles and Vocabulary
We briefly touched upon the start of our next unit, which are Epic Rap Battles of History and Literature. To do this, you need some poetry skills to become good rappers. You will need to watch the below video to learn three of these terms.
The rest of class today we spent practicing lesson one of the iPad vocabulary unit. The app is called Brain Snacks SAT, if you want to practice at home.
Homework: Vocabulary quiz by Friday. Watch the above video for one more checkin assignment.
The rest of class today we spent practicing lesson one of the iPad vocabulary unit. The app is called Brain Snacks SAT, if you want to practice at home.
Homework: Vocabulary quiz by Friday. Watch the above video for one more checkin assignment.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Rhymes
The human brain is a pattern finding machine...it even tries to create patterns when there aren't any. Rhyming are repeating sounds...and poets use these repeating sounds to form a pattern...which are therefor pleasing to the ear.
Have lyrics from a song ever gotten stuck in your head? There's a reason for that, it has either a half-rhyme or a full rhyme or both in it!
Full Rhyme: when the endings of two or more words sound the same.
rhyme, time, crime, dime, slime....all end with an "ai" sound and and "em" sound.
Half-Rhymes: when one part of two or more words sound the same. There are three kinds of half-rhymes:
Now, in poetry, full-rhymes and half-rhymes show up in two paces: at the ends of lines or within a line.
End-Rhyme: When a rhyme happens at the ends of two or more lines of poetry.
Internal Rhyme: When a rhyme happens within a line of poetry.
Have lyrics from a song ever gotten stuck in your head? There's a reason for that, it has either a half-rhyme or a full rhyme or both in it!
Full Rhyme: when the endings of two or more words sound the same.
rhyme, time, crime, dime, slime....all end with an "ai" sound and and "em" sound.
Half-Rhymes: when one part of two or more words sound the same. There are three kinds of half-rhymes:
- Alliteration: When two or more words begin with the same sound.
- Consonance: When two or more words share a consonant sound in the middle or ends of the words.
- Assonance: When two or more words share a vowel sound in the middle or ends of the words.
Now, in poetry, full-rhymes and half-rhymes show up in two paces: at the ends of lines or within a line.
End-Rhyme: When a rhyme happens at the ends of two or more lines of poetry.
Internal Rhyme: When a rhyme happens within a line of poetry.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Free Verse and Blank Verse
So, you've heard about a very structured type of poetry...the sonnet. Now, let's talk about two other kinds:
Blank Verse: Blank verse has no formal rhyme scheme or pattern like a sonnet does. However, it does still keep the iambic pentameter. People wrote in blank verse, because it kept a certain, pleasing beat, or rhythm.
from William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet where Juliet is going on and on (she’s such a drama queen) about how she would rather be tossed off a tall tower, be a villain, walk in snake-infested pits, be chained to bears, or locked in a crypt, or even get buried with a dead person in a new grave…..instead of being forced to marry some guy named Paris, instead of her love, Romeo.
...bid me leap, rather than marry Paris,
From off the battlements of yonder tower;
Or walk in thievish ways; or bid me lurk
Where serpents are; chain me with roaring bears;
Or shut me nightly in a charnel-house,
O’er covered quite with dead men’s rattling bones,
With reeky shanks and yellow chapless skulls;
Or bid me go into a new-made grave,
And hide me with a dead man and his shroud;
(Note: This section is also an excellent example of hyperbole, because the girl is out of control in exaggeration with what she'd rather do. It's also an example of verbal irony, because she does get locked in a crypt later on!)
Free Verse: At some point, people got fed up having to fit their poetry in such a formal structure. They decided to free their verse from all those rules. Free verse has no rhyme scheme, and not even iambic pentameter or any other restriction on it. Sure, you can have rhymes or anything else in it, but you're not tied down.
"The Storm" by Vivian Gilbert Zabel
Lightning strikes as thunder roars
Sending war across the skies.
Blackness blankets light of night
Except when fire flashes bright,
Blinding eyes to truth, to right.
Tears of agony rain from irate clouds,
Which smother joy, bringing moans
Of pain, despair, distress,
Leaving open bleeding sores
That never can be healed
Until the battle ends
With God’s peace revealed.
Note: although rhyme is used, there is no rhyme scheme (or pattern).
Blank Verse: Blank verse has no formal rhyme scheme or pattern like a sonnet does. However, it does still keep the iambic pentameter. People wrote in blank verse, because it kept a certain, pleasing beat, or rhythm.
from William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet where Juliet is going on and on (she’s such a drama queen) about how she would rather be tossed off a tall tower, be a villain, walk in snake-infested pits, be chained to bears, or locked in a crypt, or even get buried with a dead person in a new grave…..instead of being forced to marry some guy named Paris, instead of her love, Romeo.
...bid me leap, rather than marry Paris,
From off the battlements of yonder tower;
Or walk in thievish ways; or bid me lurk
Where serpents are; chain me with roaring bears;
Or shut me nightly in a charnel-house,
O’er covered quite with dead men’s rattling bones,
With reeky shanks and yellow chapless skulls;
Or bid me go into a new-made grave,
And hide me with a dead man and his shroud;
(Note: This section is also an excellent example of hyperbole, because the girl is out of control in exaggeration with what she'd rather do. It's also an example of verbal irony, because she does get locked in a crypt later on!)
Free Verse: At some point, people got fed up having to fit their poetry in such a formal structure. They decided to free their verse from all those rules. Free verse has no rhyme scheme, and not even iambic pentameter or any other restriction on it. Sure, you can have rhymes or anything else in it, but you're not tied down.
"The Storm" by Vivian Gilbert Zabel
Lightning strikes as thunder roars
Sending war across the skies.
Blackness blankets light of night
Except when fire flashes bright,
Blinding eyes to truth, to right.
Tears of agony rain from irate clouds,
Which smother joy, bringing moans
Of pain, despair, distress,
Leaving open bleeding sores
That never can be healed
Until the battle ends
With God’s peace revealed.
Note: although rhyme is used, there is no rhyme scheme (or pattern).
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Another Modern Sonnet
Here is another modern sonnet, by e. e. cummings....who liked to play with capitalization and punctuation for fun and poetic effect...it's not because he is a bad writer.
life is more true than reason will deceive by e. e. cummings
life is more true than reason will deceive
(more secret or than madness did reveal)
deeper is life than lose:higher than have
—but beauty is more each than living’s
allmultiplied by infinity sans if
the mightiest meditations of mankind
cancelled are by one merely opening leaf
(beyond whose nearness there is no beyond)
or does some littler bird than eyes can learn
look up to silence and completely sing?
futures are obsolete;pasts are unborn
(here less than nothing’s more than everything)
death,as men call him,ends what they call men
—but beauty is more now than dying’s when
life is more true than reason will deceive by e. e. cummings
life is more true than reason will deceive
(more secret or than madness did reveal)
deeper is life than lose:higher than have
—but beauty is more each than living’s
allmultiplied by infinity sans if
the mightiest meditations of mankind
cancelled are by one merely opening leaf
(beyond whose nearness there is no beyond)
or does some littler bird than eyes can learn
look up to silence and completely sing?
futures are obsolete;pasts are unborn
(here less than nothing’s more than everything)
death,as men call him,ends what they call men
—but beauty is more now than dying’s when
What's a Sonnet?
Today we learned what a sonnet was, essentially, and learned some new terms that you'll be responsible for:
- Sonnet
- quatrain
- couplet
- iambic pentameter
- line
- stanza
- end-rhyme
Modern Sonnet - Robert Frost
So, he doesn't follow the same rhyme scheme as Shakespeare - he has a slightly different pattern. Also, it's not necessarily a poem about love, appreciation, or admiration...it has a pretty dark tone to it. Check it out:
Into My Own by Robert Frost
- One of my wishes is that those dark trees,
- So old and firm they scarcely show the breeze,
- Were not, as 'twere, the merest mask of gloom,
- But stretched away unto the edge of doom.
- I should not be withheld but that some day
- Into their vastness I should steal away,
- Fearless of ever finding open land,
- Or highway where the slow wheel pours the sand.
- I do not see why I should e'er turn back,
- Or those should not set forth upon my track
- To overtake me, who should miss me here
- And long to know if still I held them dear.
- They would not find me changed from him they knew--
- Only more sure of all I thought was true.
Friday, May 18, 2012
Epic Rap Battles of English
Today we worked on our rap battles. See the requirements below:
Epic Rap Battles
of English!!
Boast, Roast, and/or
Toast
You must assume the personality of any fictional,
historical, or political character. You
will be “rapping” or performing your poem as this character.
MEANNESS/INAPPROPRIATENESS WILL NOT BE TOLERATED!! You can criticize your opponent’s character,
but not the real person.
Everyone must participate in at least one battle.
You will be working with/against your partner. Decide who goes first. Each partner has two “rounds.” Round 1 is an opening gambit. Round two is a rebuttal against what the
other partner has stated. It’s like a
debate.
YOUR BATTLE, Round #1 is on Friday, June 1st!
Requirements (yes, it is graded):
·
You must bring a typed copy of your poem/rap to
class, MLA-formatted the day of your battle.
·
The typed poem/rap must be in “poetry format,”
or broken into lines and stanzas.
·
You must include at least one allusion to Greek
Mythology, the Bible, or some well-known story.
·
It must include some verbal irony
·
It must include a pun
·
You have obviously used 5 of the poetic devices
that we have learned in class.
·
Your poem/rap must be split into two parts: an
opening gambit, and a rebuttal.
Puns and Verbal Irony
Puns are a play on words (or phrases) that have more than one meanings, one of which is humorous.
Verbal Irony is a contradiction between what is said and what is meant (usually opposite).
- Camping is too intense (in tents) for me!
- I really wanted to be a doctor, until I realized I didn't have the patience for it!
- A boiled egg in the morning is hard to beat.
Verbal Irony is a contradiction between what is said and what is meant (usually opposite).
- Saying "Oh, great!" when something really bad happens.
- When a mother walks into a room and sees that her children, instead of doing their homework, are playing video games, she gives them a stern look and says "Once you're done with your very important work there, let's take some time out for recreation in the form of some chemistry problems."
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