Poetry

Poetry You can't believe what happened last weekend: Jay-Z has decided that Roc-a-fella Records will be putting out a book of poetry that includes some up-and-coming performers, and your contest entry was chosen! Before the limo sweeps you up and whisks you away to New York (and yes, you are too young for the 40-40 Club), you have to submit your portfolio to Hova himself.
 * The Low-Down:**

Your portfolio will need to have these components:


 * 1) Open a Word Document (MLA – yay!) and write a cover letter explaining why you’re so fly and that lists your 5 favorite elements of poetry (see the glossary below) and explains WHY you think these are the most important or the best. Don’t bore Jay-Z. He owns the planet.
 * 2) Next, tell Jay-Z your favorite song. Why do you like it? How does it make you feel? What is your favorite part? How is your song like a poem?
 * 3) Then, look up the different kinds of poetry forms on the websites below. Choose 5 different kinds of poems and find an example of each. Copy these and add them to your word document.
 * 4) Next, because he really likes it, Jay-Z wants to know your thoughts on “I Have a Dream.” Introduce the song lyrics below into the packet and tell Jay-Z what you think about the construction of the song as a poem. I’ve included some questions to help get you started.

5. Write an original poem of your own – start with the change poem below:

The Change Poem

I was __//(a description of who you were)// .__ I remember __(describe a sad memory from your past) .__ I heard __(something you wish you didn’t hear) .__ I saw __(something you weren’t supposed to see) .__ I worried __(something that troubled you) .__ I thought __(a description of where your life was head) .__ But, I want to change.

I am __(an accurate characteristic of who you are) .__ I think __(how you perceive yourself) .__ I need __(a goal you wish to fulfill) .__ I try __(something that will help you improve yourself) .__ I feel __(describe an emotion) .__ I forgive __(someone or something caused you pain) .__ Now I can change.

I will __(a positive prediction of who you will be) .__ I choose __(something you want to do differently) .__ I dream __(something you want dare o dream about) .__ I hope __(something positive you strive for) .__ I predict __(how you see yourself in the future) .__ I know __(a description of your future self) .__ I will change.

6. Close your portfolio with a shout-out – who do you thank for supporting you? Save and print it out! If you have time, make a cover using color and images (extra credit).

=**Your Resources:**=


 * Poetry [|Slam] at the [|White House]
 * [|Top 10 rap songs] that use similies and metaphors
 * Different kinds of poems
 * How to write a haiku
 * Websites for elements of poetry:
 * http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/jan- june00/poetryboxdevicesexamples.html
 * @http://www.buzzle.com/articles/basic-elements-of-poetry.html
 * @http://library.thinkquest.org/J0112392/
 * @http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/virtualit/poetry/elements.html
 * @http://projects.uwc.utexas.edu/handouts/?q=node/40
 * @http://www.wku.edu/3kinds/csbpoetryweb.html
 * [] 11
 * Websites for types of poems:
 * **[]**
 * **http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/janjune00/poetryboxformexamples.html**
 * **http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/append/AXF.HTML**
 * **http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/197**
 * Websites for poems:
 * []
 * []

=**Poetry Terms: **=
 * **aesthetic effects**—the reactions a reader has to the form, content, and/or beauty of a work and that engender enjoyment or an emotional reaction in that reader
 * **alliteration** – the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginnings of words
 * **assonance** – the repetition of vowel sounds within non-rhyming words
 * **blank verse** – unrhymed poetry written in iambic pentameter
 * **connotation** – the attitudes and feelings associated with a word
 * **consonance** -- the repetition of consonants (or consonant patterns) especially at the ends of words
 * **denotation** – the literal or dictionary meaning of a word
 * **diction**—precise word choice; selection of words for specific denotative, connotative, or figurative purposes
 * **figurative language**—speech or writing that departs from literal meaning in order to achieve a special effect or meaning; speech or writing employing figures of speech such as similes or metaphors, etc.
 * **fixed form poems**—poems that conform to definite, predetermined patterns of line and stanza, e.g., sonnets, ballads, haikus, villanelles, sestinas, etc.
 * **form** – the way a poem is laid out on the page; the length and placement of the lines and the grouping of lines into stanzas
 * **free verse** – poetry that does not contain a regular pattern of rhyme and meter
 * **hyperbole**—exaggeration
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**iambic pentameter** – a metrical line of five feet, or units, each of which is made up of two syllables, the first unstressed and the second stressed
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**imagery**—vivid or figurative language used to represent those things that can be perceived by the five senses: sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures, etc.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**lyric poem** – a short poem in which a single speaker expresses personal thoughts and feelings
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**metaphor** – a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two things that are basically unlike but that have something in common without using “like” or “as”
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**meter** – the regular pattern of accented and unaccented syllables in a line of poetry
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**mood** – the feeling or atmosphere that the writer creates for the reader
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**narrative poem**—a poem that tells a story
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**onomatopoeia** – the use of words such as “pow,” “buzz,” and “crunch” whose sounds suggest their meaning
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**personification**—endowing animals, ideas, abstractions, or inanimate objects with human characteristics
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**poetry**—a genre of literature in which individual works are generally recognizable in terms of form and/or structure (e.g., meter, versification, rhyme, etc.), and/or precise and figurative use of language
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**repetition** – a technique in which a sound, word, phrase, or line is repeated for effect or emphasis
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**rhyme** – the occurrence of a similar or identical sound at the ends of two or more words; internal (occurs within a line), end rhyme (occurs at the ends of lines), slant rhyme (occurs when the sounds are not quite identical)
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**rhythm** – the pattern or flow of sound created by the arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**simile** – a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two things using the word “like” or “as”
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**sonnet** – a lyric poem of 14 lines, commonly written in iambic pentameter
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**stanza** – a grouping of two or more lines in a pattern that is repeated throughout a poem
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**symbolism**—the practice of representing things or ideas by means of other objects or ideas; attributing symbolic meanings or significance to objects, events, or relationships
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**theme** – the main idea in a work of literature
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**voice** – a writer’s unique use of language that allows a reader to “hear” a human personality in his or her writing

=**Class Documents:**=



Choose one poem from packet I gave you yesterday to analyze using TP-CASTT. Here is a copy of my presentation from yesterday and a graphic organizer  that you can use (print it out, if you want), then write Jay-Z a paragraph in your portfolio that includes the title and the author of the poem with your analysis. FYI, poem titles are written with quotes around them.