1. Poetry
Definition of Poetry
...the effective combination of sound and sense
...concrete and artistic expression in emotional and rhythmical language
...invention by producing something unexpected, surprises and delights
...a momentary stay against confusion...an arrest of disorder [Robert Frost]
Effects of Poetry
X. J. and Dorothy M. Kennedy:
1. makes us laugh (nonsense poems to poems of comedy)
2. tell us stories (set scenes, establish characters, convey plots)
3. send us messages (points, ideas)
4. share feelings with us (from the poet)
5. start us wondering (see things in new ways, stretch our
imaginations)
On children musical rhythm is felt and yields movement
Poetry as a set of tools
External form* (the stanza)
Internal sound and imagery
Forms of Poetry
Narrative poetry (a story in verse)
Ballad

straightforward; easy to understand; frequently tragic
and plaintive setting, character, events with a climax;
beginning, middle, end character motivation and
possibly character development; underlying theme
typically follows a four-line scheme with second and
fourth lines rhyming
Epic poems (The Iliad, The Song of Hiawatha, The

Highwayman
Lyric poetry (describes a feeling; intellectual or
emotional response to a subject; usually focus on one

2. experience; are usually brief; depend heavily on
musical and rhythmical qualities)
Haiku

17 syllables divided into three lines; usually about
nature or people’s relationship to nature; uses
metaphor to look at an ordinary event in a new,
imaginative way; Japanese
Cinquain

five-line stanza of 2, 4, 6, 8, 2 syllables respectively;
medieval origin (5 lines)
Concrete poetry

words arranged to form a pictorial representation of
the subject of the poem
Limerick

six-line humorous poem; first, second, and fifth lines
rhyming; and the third and fourth rhyming [AABBA]
Free verse

no pre-set rules; may have rhyming and rhythmical
pattern; 20th century
Language of Poetry
...uses strong, vigorous words or evocative, rich words or
delicate, precise words that define with accuracy
Imagery (mental pictures created by the words)
Direct images--visual (sight), tactile (touch) auditory

(sound), olfactory (smell), gustatory (taste)
Indirect images--simile (like or as comparison),

metaphor (implied or is a comparison),
personification (gives life qualities to inanimate
objects, idea, forces of nature; metaphorical by
nature)
Sound

3. Rhythm (pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables

in a poem; called meter; smallest unit called a foot)
 Iamb (two syllables with the emphasis on the
second)
 Trochee (two syllables with emphasis on the
first)
 Anapest (three syllables with emphasis on the
last)
 Dactyl (three syllables with emphasis on the
first)
Rhyme (similarity of sound between two or more

words)
 Alliteration--repetition of initial sounds in
two or more words
 Assonance--repetition of identical vowel
sounds
 Consonance--repetition of consonant sounds
within words
POETRY INDEXES
Granger's Index to poetry (also Index to poetry)
[indexes anthologies by first line and title of poems] SCSU
Reference PN1022.G8
The Columbia Granger's index to poetry
[indexes anthologies by first line and title of poems] SCSU
Reference PN1022.H39
Last lines: an index to the last lines of poetry
SCSU Reference PN1022.K55
Master index to poetry: an index to poetry in anthologies &
collections
SCSU Reference PN1022 .M37
Spoken poetry on records and tapes: an index of currently
available recordings
SCSU Reference Z674.A75
Subject index to poetry; a guide for adult readers
SCSU Reference PN1021.B7
CHILDRENS POETRY INDEXES

4. Subject index to poetry for children and young people.
SCSU Reference PN1023.A5
Children's poetry index
[indexes anthologies by first line, subject, author, and title of
poems]
SCSU Reference PN1023.M25
Index to children's poetry
[indexes anthologies of poems for children and youth by first
line, subject, author, and title of poems]
SCSU Reference PN1023.B7
Index to poetry for children and young people
[indexes anthologies of poems for children and young
people by first line, subject, author, and title of poems]
SCSU Reference PN1023.B723
Source: http://www.southernct.edu/~brownm/Gpoe.html