English & American

Literature
LECTURER: CALUM LEATHAM UNIT 8
Todays Seminar
Part 1 Part 2

Introduction to Poetry The Tools of Poet

Types of Poetry: Word Choice,

Word Order & Tones Writing Poetry
What is a poem?
 Poetry is typically seen as the shortest creative genre.
Each line needs to be skilfully-crafted with purpose.
Each lines should mean something important or evoke an emotional response from the reader.

Poetry can makes use of Rhyme, Rhythm, Repetition, Sound, Imagery and Form.

 Poems can focus on intense imagery, using metaphors, simile, and sensual descriptions.

 Poems can break rules!

How to enjoy Poetry?
Rules for enjoying poetry:
 There are no rules, everyone is different and we all enjoy different things.
Tips for enjoying poetry:
 Do not be intimidated by poetry.
 Listen/Read poetry in the same way you would music.
 Poems a meant to be read aloud. Much of their energy, charm, and beauty come
to life only when they are heard. Poets choose and arrange words for their
sounds as well as for their meanings.

 Before you think, feel. Does the poetry move you in anyway?
 Take some time to think about your emotions before you analyse the
poem.
Reading:
Each group will be given a poem and must elect one person
to read the poem out load to the group.
Once the group has finished listening to the poem they
need to write their feelings down on the groups paper then
analyse the poem.
Word Choice:
 Word choice (Diction) is about picking the correct words
to express yourself as the author.
 Novels and stores are thousands if not hundreds of
thousands of words.
Poems are usually less than 100 words.

 In a good poem no words are arbitrary (not on

purpose); each word serves a deliberate function in the
construction of the poetic work.
 A good poem should be efficient. Meanings must be
conveyed gracefully and economically’.
 Any and all language is welcome. From ol’ timey
complicated ‘sophisticated’ words to every day spoken
slang.
Word Choice: Types of Diction
Formal Diction: Dignified, elevated language typically
with an impersonal style:
Andrew Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress”
Thou by the Indian Ganges’ side
Shouldst rubies find; I by the tide
Of Humber would complain.…

 Notice the formal use of words like “Thou” and

“Shouldst”. The author has made the deliberate artistic
choice of complex words to elevate their work.
 The precise use of words feels almost unnatural.
Word Choice: Types of Diction
 Middle Diction: More informal than formal diction but
still clearly from an educated perspective:
Sharon Olds’s “Last Night”
Love? It was more like dragonflies
in the sun, 100 degrees at noon,
the ends of their abdomens stuck together, I
close my eyes when I remember.
 While the words aren’t uncommon the language evokes
a sophisticated meaning.
 Poets choose Middle Diction to make their poetry
approachable without sacrificing complexity.
 Word Choice: Types of Diction
 Informal Diction: everyday language, colloquial expressions, and a
conversational tone.
Philip Larkin’s “A Study of Reading Habits.”
When getting my nose in a book
Cured most things short of school,
It was worth ruining my eyes
To know I could still keep cool,
And deal out the old right hook
To dirty dogs twice my size.
Use of informal slang, idioms, and dialect.
Poets uses this to create a more relaxed and accessible
atmosphere or to represent a type of person/ culture.
Word Order: Syntax
 The arrangement of a poems words has meaning.
The ordering of words into meaningful verbal
patterns is called syntax.
Poets can manipulate the syntax to put emphasis
on words:
 The Narrow Fellow in the Grass: “His notice sudden is”
and not “His notice is sudden”. The verb “is” is unexpected
and so gives the feeling of unexpectedly seeing the snake.
Extra Note: The is at the end has the added “hiss” sound.
Tone
 Tone is the poets attitude towards everything within their poem.
 Impacts the readers interpretation of the poem setting the overall
atmosphere and shapes the reader's experience with the text.
 Serious tone with formal vocabulary might be used when examining a
difficult subject.
 Comical tone with informal structure and words might be used when
examining a lighthearted subject.
 Tone can be used to subvert readers expectations.

 The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner: “When I died they washed me
out of the turret with a hose.”
 The tone is serious, factual, emotionless, all while sometime so emotional
and brutal is happening. he voice within the poem almost sounds dead.
 The reader is forced to insert their own emotions, making the poem feel
more personalized and convincing.
Discussion

Each group needs to analyse one poem of their choice from the
handbook or https://www.poetryfoundation.org/
Examine the diction used, word order, syntax and tone.
See if you can highlight some tools poets commonly use in their
poems before we discuss them.
Tools of a Poet: Imagery
 A poem does not need to be a story or have meaning. A poem could just be the poets observation of the
world and experiences through the use of vivid images.
 Images is language that addresses our senses. Images can also convey emotions and moods
 Sight/Visual are a common form of imagery used by poets as they provide the readers a verbal picture of
the poets world – both read and imagined.
 Other senses are a part of image:
Li Ho “A Beautiful Girl Combs Her Hair”
Awake at dawn
she’s dreaming
by cool silk curtains fragrance of spilling hair half sandalwood, half aloes windlass
creaking at the well singing jade
Tools of a Poet: Rhythm
 In poetry, rhythm is about the pattern of stressed and unstressed sounds.
 Depending on how the sounds are put together, it can create a fast or slow, choppy or smooth pace.

 In English we put stress on syllables in words while other syllables receives no stress.
 “Is she content with the contents of the yellow package?”
 Poets arrange words using stress to create a rhythm.

 Meter is the rhythmic structure created by the arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables in a
line of verse.
When a line has a pause at its end, it is called an end-stopped line. Such pauses reflect normal speech
patterns and are often marked by punctuation.
 A line that ends without a pause and continues into the next line for its meaning is called a run-on line.
Rhythm calls back to the first poems created that were chants and sung but it can also be used to
create meaning, sounds, and to simulate experiences.
Tools of a Poet: Rhyme
 While not as popular in modern poetry, Rhyming is still something that can be used to great
effect by poets.
Rhyming makes lines more memorable, giving them more power.
Rhyming, like rhythm, can draw attention to words, ideas and images of importance to the poet.

Different rhyming patterns:

AABB – lines 1 & 2 rhyme and lines 3 & 4 rhyme
ABAB – lines 1 & 3 rhyme and lines 2 & 4 rhyme
ABBA – lines 1 & 4 rhyme and lines 2 & 3 rhyme
ABCB – lines 2 & 4 rhyme and lines 1 & 3 do not rhyme
 Tools of a Poet: Rhyme
First Snow Oodles of Noodles
Snow makes whiteness where it falls. I love noodles. Give me oodles.
The bushes look like popcorn balls. Make a mound up to the sun.
And places where I always play, Noodles are my favorite foodles.
Look like somewhere else today.
I eat noodles by the ton.
By Marie Louise Allen
By Lucia and James L.
From “Bliss” Hymes, Jr.
The Alligator
Let me fetch sticks, The alligator chased his tail
Let me fetch stones, Which hit him in the snout;
Throw me your bones, He nibbled, gobbled, swallowed it,
Teach me your tricks. And turned right inside-out.
By Eleanor Farjeon by Mary Macdonald
 Tools of a Poet: Repetition
 Repetition is also used to emphasise words as well as making lines more memorable and add rhyme (like a
song).
 Repetition can be used to alert readers to details that carry more than literal meanings – symbolism.
 Repeating certain elements can evoke specific emotions or feelings, intensifying the emotional impact of the
poem.
 Repetition can help structure a poem, providing a framework that guides the reader through the verses.
Repetition does not have to be words or lines.
 Alliteration is the repetition of the same consonant sounds at the beginnings of nearby words: “descending dewdrops,”
“luscious lemons.”
 Assonance is the repetition of the same vowel sound in nearby words: “time and tide,” “haunt” and “awesome”.
 Both alliteration and assonance help to establish relations among words in a line or a series of lines.
Tools of a Poet: Repetition
A Dream Within a Dream
BY EDGAR ALLAN POE
I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand —
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep — while I weep!
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy
Evening
BY ROBERT FROST
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
Writing a Poem

In your groups you must work together to write a short

poem of no more than 50 words.
The Poem can be about anything.
You can use or ignore any poetry tools.
Additional Work.
Read: Poetic Forms (Page 1671) and Open Forms (Page
1747) of the full Handbook.
Read: Chapter 30: Harlem Renaissance
Read and analyze: Dreams by Langston Hughes