An introduction to FORM in Poetry

Transcription

1 An introduction to FORM in Poetry Metaphors by Sylvia Plath I m a riddle in nine syllables, 1 An elephant, a ponderous house, A melon strolling on two tendrils. O red fruit, ivory, fine timbers! This loaf s big with its yeasty rising. 5 Money s new-minted in this fat purse. I m a means, a stage, a cow in calf. I ve eaten a bag of green apples, Boarded the train there s no getting off. 9 Ponderous: slow and clumsy because of great weight Tendril: A slender plant stalk Yeasty: Related to the fungus that bakers use in making bread Means: A method or a tool used to achieve a purpose Sylvia Plath (October 27, 1932 February 11, 1963) was an American poet, novelist and short story writer. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, she studied at Smith College before receiving acclaim as a professional poet and writer. She married fellow poet Ted Hughes in 1956, and they lived together first in the United States and then England, having two children together: Frieda and Nicholas. Plath had a difficult childhood, and she suffered from depression for much of her adult life. Her poems are often darkened by a sense of imprisonment; many explore themes of rage, despair, vengeance, and dread. Insight: So far, we ve focused mainly on the CONTENT of the poems we ve read. CONTENT = a poem says. Plath reminds us that a poem s FORM is just as important. FORM = a poem says it.

2 r-p-o-p-h-e-s-s-a-g-r by E. E. Cummings r-p-o-p-h-e-s-s-a-g-r 1 who a)s w(e loo)k upnowgath PPEGORHRASS 5 eringint(oathe):l ea!p: S a 10 (r riving.grreapsphos) to rea(be)rran(com)gi(e)ngly,grasshopper; 15

3 A contrast in form The Drum by Nikki Giovanni daddy says the world is a drum tight and hard and i told him i m gonna beat out my own rhythm VS. The Drum (Version 2) My dad says, The world is a drum, tight and hard. So I replied, I m going to beat out my own rhythm. Some elements of poetic form Spelling: Are words spelled according to Standard English? Line breaks: Where does the poet choose to end a line and begin a new one? Indenting: Does the poet start a new line all the way to the left, or somewhere else? Stanza breaks: How does the poet group lines together? Capitalization: Which letters are capitalized? Does the poet break traditional rules? Punctuation: How does the poet slow (or speed) the poem with commas, periods, & dashes? Rhythm: Do the syllables in the poem s words have a certain beat? Is it predictable or not? Rhyme: Do words rhyme? Where do words rhyme? Is the use of rhyme predictable or not? Word choice: Lots of big words? Slang? Lots of adjectives? Words with a particular sound, mood, or tone? Repetition: Are words or phrases repeated? Are certain consonants or vowel sounds repeated? QUESTIONS 1. Factual INFERENCES 2. Interpretive 1. Not literal (metaphor, etc.) 2. Mood CONNECTIONS 3. Symbolism 1. Text- to- self 4. Theme 2. Text- to- text 5. Speaker 3. Text- to- world 6. Tone 4. Within text 7. OBSERVATIONS 1. Imagery 2. Form

4 l(a by e. e. cummings l(a 1 le af fa ll 5 s) one l iness E. E. Cummings ( ) was a leading voice in 20 th Century American poetry. He often incorporated humor, playfulness, and imagery of nature into his work. A number of his poems feature an unconventional style, with words, parts of words, or punctuation symbols scattered across the page, often making little sense until read aloud. Cummings, who was also a painter, understood the importance of presentation, and used typography to "paint a picture" with some of his poems.

5 The Dance by William Carlos Williams In Brueghel's great picture, The Kermess, 1 the dancers go round, they go round and around, the squeal and the blare and the tweedle of bagpipes, a bugle and fiddles tipping their bellies (round as the thick- 5 sided glasses whose wash they impound) their hips and their bellies off balance to turn them. Kicking and rolling about the Fair Grounds, swinging their butts, those shanks must be sound to bear up under such 10 rollicking measures, prance as they dance in Brueghel's great picture, The Kermess. wash: beer impound: to consume; drink shanks: lower legs rollicking: lively; spirited measures: a segment of music The Kermess, by Pieter Brueghel William Carlos Williams (September 17, 1883 March 4, 1963) was a major American poet closely associated with Imagism. Imagist poets favored precision of imagery and clear, sharp language. Williams tried to invent an entirely fresh and uniquely American form of poetry whose subject matter centered on everyday circumstances of life and the lives of common people. He rejected overly abstract work, an approach best captured in the phrase, No ideas, but in things.