Poetry According to Bah
All You Need to Know to Excel in Your Poetry Unit
First, Let's Understand the Differences Between Poetry and Literature:
Poetic Language is Dense—It Contains Multiple Meanings, Such as Connotations and Denotations, and Evokes Feelings Through Single Words. Poets are Also Much More Concerned with Line Breaks and the Structure of Sentences.
Now, Here's how to Annotate Poetry in Mr. Bah's Class:
- Always, when studying poetry, consider the rhythm, meter, and rhyme-scheme.
- Poetic techniques can be the same as literary techniques (i.e. imagery and diction)
- Rhythm is the sound of the syllables in the poem.
- In order to scan a poem, count the syllables in each line.
- Take notes of poetic techniques such as similes and metaphors
- If you can understand the first and last lines of the poem, you can often understand the entire piece.
- Look for symbolism
- Look up words you don't know. This will help you immensely.
- Break longer poems up into chunks, and analyze small parts of the poem at a time.
A Crash Course in Iambic Pentameter:
u' iamb ^/
/u trochee Rhythm
uu/ anapest
/uu dactyl
// spondee Feet
uu pyrrhic
/u trochee Rhythm
uu/ anapest
/uu dactyl
// spondee Feet
uu pyrrhic