Types of Stanzas

There are many different types of stanzas. Some of which are:

• Couplets (stanza with two rhyming lines)
• Tercets (stanzas with three lines that may or may not rhyme)
• Quatrains (stanzas with four lines that may or may not rhyme)
• Cinquains (stanzas with five lines)
• Sestet (stanzas with 6 lines)

Remember that in poetry you can identify a stanza by the number of lines that it has and its rhyme scheme or pattern.

A rhyme scheme is a regular pattern of rhyme, one that is consistent throughout the extent of the poem.  Poems that rhyme without any regular pattern can be called rhyming poems, but  only those poems with an unvarying pattern to their rhymes can be said to have a rhyme scheme.

Rhyme schemes are labeled according to their rhyme sounds.  Every rhyme sound is given its own letter of the alphabet to distinguish it from the other rhyme sounds that may appear in the poem.  For example, the first rhyme sound of a poem is designated as a.  Every time that rhyme sound appears in the poem, no matter where it is found, it is called a.  The second rhyme sound to appear in the poem is designated b.  Every other time that rhyme sound appears in the poem, no matter where it is found, it is called b.  The third rhyme sound to appear would be c, the fourth d, and so on, for as many rhyme sounds as appear in the poem.

The following short poem illustrates the labeling of a rhyme scheme.

                  There once was a big brown cat      a
                  That liked to eat a lot of mice.         b
                  He got all round and fat                   a
                  Because they tasted so nice.            b

Stanzas in Poetry

Here are the first stanzas of some poems that are recognized and widely respected:

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

The Daisy Follows Soft the Sun by Emily Dickenson

The daisy follows soft the sun,
And when his golden walk is done,
Sits shyly at his feet.
He, waking, finds the flower near.
"Wherefore, marauder, art thou here?"
"Because, sir, love is sweet!"

I Had a Guinea Golden by Emily Dickenson

I had a guinea golden;
I lost it in the sand,
And though the sum was simple,
And pounds were in the land,
Still had it such a value
Unto my frugal eye,
That when I could not find it
I sat me down to sigh.

Do Not Go Gentle Into that Good Night by Dylan Thomas

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light

As time progresses you will be able to see how easy it is to identify a stanza in both poetry and song. In due time, you will become a master at writing poetry and identifying stanzas.

Haiku

http://www.arttech.ab.ca/pbrown/haiku/lesson1.html  Ten tips for writing haiku Write in three lines of about 10 to 17 syllables (some writers use a short-long-short format, but sometimes it’s better to just say what you need to say and not worry about form); haiku are usually not 17 syllables long in English. Try to include some reference to the season or time of year. To make your haiku more immediate, write in the present tense. Write about common, everyday events in nature and in human life; choose events that give you a moment of understanding or realization about the truth of things around you—but don’t explain them. Write from personal experience (memories are okay) rather than from imagination to produce haiku that are authentic and believable. Create an emotional response in the reader by presenting what caused your emotion rather than the emotion itself. Put two images together in the poem to create harmony or contrast, using words that are specific, common, and natural (avoid long or conceptual sorts of words). One image of the haiku can appear in one of the poem’s three lines; the other image can be described in two lines (either the first two or the last two); avoid creating haiku with three images (or three grammatical parts) because this weakens the energy created by the gap between just two parts. Avoid titles and rhyme (haiku virtually never have either) as well as metaphor, simile, and most other rhetorical devices (they are often too abstract or detours around the directness exhibited in most good haiku). Avoid awkward or unnatural line breaks and avoid dropping or adding words just to fit a syllable count (the poem should come across as perfectly natural and easy; anything that is choppy or unnatural will detract from the reader’s perception and enjoyment—make the words come across as so natural and easy-going that the reader doesn’t even notice them).And of course, don’t forget to have fun and enjoy experiencing life through your five senses! --Michael Dylan Welch

Poetry Terms

POETRY TERMS Poetic Devices
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE:  Language using figures of speech and it cannot be taken literally.
IMAGERY: The representation through language of sense experience; language that appeals to the senses.
FIGURE OF SPEECH:  Any way of saying something other than in an ordinary way.


The following is a list of common figures of speech
SIMILE: A comparison between two unlike things using words such as: like, as, than, similar to, resembles, etc. I.e. Quiet as a mouse
METAPHOR:  An implied comparison between unlike things. I.e. He’s a house.
ALLUSION: A reference to something in history or literature. I.e. She had a Cinderella wedding.
ALLITERATION: The repetition of initial sounds.  I.e. Seven steaks sizzled.
CONSONANCE:  The repetition of end consonant (every letter that is not a vowel) sounds.  I.e. first and last, odds and ends, stroke of luck.
ASSONANCE: The repetition of vowel sounds. I.e. My words like silent raindrops fell.
PERSONIFICATION: Giving human characteristics to an animal, object, or idea. I.e. The hours crawled by like years.
PARADOX: An apparent contradiction, which is nevertheless somehow true.
ONOMATOPOEIA: “Sound words”; Words whose sound suggests their meaning. I.e. buzz, click, snap, chop.
OXYMORON: The setting together, for effect, two words of opposite meaning. I.e. burning cold, screaming whisper.
OVERSTATEMENT (or hyperbole): An extreme exaggeration used for effect. I.e. I’ve told you a hundred times…; I’m starving; The suspense is killing me.
SYMBOL: Roughly defined as something that means more than what it is.  I.e. A wedding ring is a symbol of commitment, love, honor, etc.  It is not just a ring.  It’s shape (a circle) is also symbolic; a circle never ends and therefore the love is not supposed to.
PUN: play on words.
UNDERSTATEMENT: Saying less than what is meant, for effect.

Where Does Writing Hide?

Where Does Writing Hide?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyHrVJEI73g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cDaFFGMKUA

Where Do Poems Hide? 

I
Valentine for Ernest Mann


You can’t order a poem like you order a taco.
Walk up to the counter, say, “I’ll take two”
and expect it to be handed back to you
on a shiny plate.
Still, I like your spirit.
Anyone who says, “Here’s my address,
write me a poem,” deserves something in reply.
So I’ll tell you a secret instead:
poems hide. In the bottoms of our shoes,
they are sleeping. They are the shadows
drifting across our ceilings the moment
before we wake up. What we have to do
is live in a way that lets us find them.
Once I knew a man who gave his wife
two skunks for a valentine.
He couldn’t understand why she was crying.
“I thought they had such beautiful eyes.”
And he was serious. He was a serious man
who lived in a serious way. Nothing was ugly
just because the world said so. He really
liked those skunks. So, he re-invented them
as valentines and they became beautiful.
At least, to him. And the poems that had been hiding
in the eyes of skunks for centuries
crawled out and curled up at his feet.
Maybe if we re-invent whatever our lives give us
we find poems. Check your garage, the odd sock
in your drawer, the person you almost like, but not quite.
And let me know.

Week of 9/17-9/21

Monday-- In Library Lab typing up 2 page short story
USE A PLAIN CLEAR FONT SUCH AS TIMES ROMAN
12 pt. , double-spaced
Be sure to put a heading and title on your short story


Tuesday and Wednesday--Continue to work on short story in the Library Lab
REVISE AND EDIT!!!

Thursday--Begin poetry unit

Friday---Retest on short story literary terms
Study plot structure (exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution), conflict (internal, external), kinds of characters (round, static, dynamic, flat) and the four kinds of conflict:

Person vs. Person
Person vs. Nature (Fate)
Person vs. Society
Person vs. Self

Quiz on short story terms/Writer's Workshop

Quiz on literary terms

Writers' Workshop--Share stories and participate in class.

HMWK:  Finish your stories.
Be sure you have a two page story to type up when we go to the Library Lab on Monday. 

Types of Characters in Fiction

Types of characters

Review for quiz tomorrow!!!!

Point of view (POV) :  First person, 3rd person (omniscient, limited omniscient, objective/camera eye)

Types of characters:

Characterization:  How a writer creates a character

 Static Characters

When people say that a character is "static," they're referring to the fact that a character doesn't change. (Sound familiar? There's a good reason for that.)

Round Characters

As a writer, your focus will be on developing your round characters. For readers, these are the characters you'll put the most effort into following and understanding.  They are complex, presented in detail

Dynamic Characters

The opposite of static characters, dynamic characters will undergo some kind of change in the course of the story.

Flat Characters

Flat characters are minor characters in a work of fiction who do not undergo substantial change or growth in the course of a story.  Characterized by one or two traits.

Protagonist

Major characters in a short story

Antagonist

The character or force opposing the protagonist.

If time permits:  Billy Collins'  "The Lanyard"
http://video.pbs.org/video/1851908803/

What gifts have you given to someone you love?  What have they given you that you treasure?  Write about a special gift you have given or received.

CONFLICT

CONFLICT

·      Conflict is essential to plot. Without conflict there is no plot. It makes the plot move forward.  

·      Conflict is not just an argument or physical fight, it is any form of opposition that faces the main character.

·      Within a short story, there only one conflict, or there could be one main one and several small ones.

There are two types of conflict:

1)    External - A struggle with a force outside one's self.

2)  Internal - A struggle within one's self; a person must make some decision, overcome pain, quiet their temper, resist an urge, etc.

There are four main kinds of conflict:

1)    Man vs. Man (physical) - The leading character struggles with his physical strength against other men, forces of nature, or animals.

2)  Man vs. Circumstances (classical) - The leading character struggles against fate, or the circumstances of life facing him/her.

3)  Man vs. Society (social) - The leading character struggles against ideas, practices, or customs of other people.

4)  Man vs. Himself/Herself (psychological) - The leading character struggles with himself/herself; with his/her own soul, ideas of right or wrong, physical limitations, choices…

Plot Elements and Story Starters

.

Anecdotes/Writers' Workshop

Quickwrite:  Literary Term  5 minutes

an·ec·dote

   [an-ik-doht]

noun, plural an·ec·dotes or, for 2, an·ec·do·ta [an-ik-doh-tuh]

1.

a short account of a particular incident or event, especially of an interesting or amusing nature.

2.

a short, obscure historical or biographical account.

Write a short anecdote about a time you lied.  Did you get caught?  Did you get away with it?  Why did you lie?  What was your MOTIVATION? 

Writers Workshop: 15-20 minutes 

Share your anecdote or share your short story. 

Review of week:

What did you learn?

Vocabulary:  Prevaricate,  5 W's and an H , Anecdote

Character, Protagonist, Antagonist, Setting, Plot, Motivation

   

Artist:  Pablo Picasso, Spanish painter, modernism, cubism 

"Art is a lie that enables us to realize the truth.

If time permits:
http://video.pbs.org/video/1851908803/

 

What Makes a Story?

Finish going over 2 Truths and a Lie

What Makes a Story?  Who, What, Where, When, Why and How
Elements of Fiction

Take one of your truths or lies and add to it, telling a story...

2 Truths and a Lie

A lie (also called prevarication, falsehood) is a type of deception in the form of an untruthful statement, especially with the intention to deceive others. Art is the lie that enables us to realize the truth. Pablo Picasso   The Lying Game Instructions 1 Provide each person with a slip of paper and pen or pencil. Instruct everyone to write down three statements about themselves. Two of the statements should be true and one of them should be a lie. Allow everyone about 5 minutes to come up with three good statements. 2 Select a person to go first. That person should read aloud her three statements. Then, conduct voting by having the person read her statements again, asking for a show of hands among the group as to which statement they think is a lie. 3 Ask the person to reveal the correct answer. The people who guessed correctly should mark a tally on their sheets for a correct guess. 4 Continue around the room, having each person read his statement and then conducting a vote. Participants should continue marking down each time they make a correct guess. 5 Ask everyone how many correct guesses they had once everyone has read their statements. The person with the most correct guesses at the end has won the game.