Poetry

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Slide 1

Poetry

Gaile Wotherspoon

Poetry 9-12

Slide 2

Introduction

meter – comes from the Greek term for measure

poetry written in a regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables

the recognition and naming of broad wave patterns in lines of verse (like waves on the shore or the wave patterns of sounds in physics)

Slide 3

Meter continued

there are a succession of lines or sentences that have the same metrical pattern, but is not necessarily exactly rhythically identical

lines are repeated again and again in the same broad rhythical patterns, creating a rhythical unit

eg: “To this I witness call the fools of Time

Which die for goodness, who have lived for crime.”

Slide 4

Poetry has Feet

the technical meaning – has one stressed syllable and one or more unstressed syllables or has one unstressed syllable and one or more stressed syllables

is a measurable, patterned, conventional unit of poetic rhyth

the non-technical meaning – connected to how we walk

pattern and rhyth of steps equal to pattern and rhyth of poems

rhyth of music connected to movement of body and rhythical pattern of movement

Slide 5

Scansion

the system of using symbols to represent stressed and unstressed patterns in a poem in order to be able to “read” the poem

gives the broad wave pattern, but doesn’t define the individual wave or pattern

Slide 6

Kinds of patterns

iamb(ic) – unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable

* ‘ * ‘

The way a crow

* ‘ * ‘

Shook down on me.

Slide 7

Trochee(trochaic)

stressed followed by unstressed

‘ * ‘ * ‘ * ‘ *

Once upon a midnight dreary

Slide 8

Anapest (anapestic)

has two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed one

* * ‘ * * ‘ * * The Assyr/ ian came down/ like a

‘ * * ‘

wolf/ on the fold,

Slide 9

Dactyl

one stressed followed by two unstressed

‘ * * ‘ * * ‘ **

Hickory, dickory, dock

Slide 10

Spondee (spondaic)