Poetry Project Styles and Techniques

These are styles we have learned:
- blank verse
- ballads
- song lyrics
- couplets and quatrains

These are other styles you could use, if you read about them:
- sonnets (three quatrains and one couplet)
- limericks, a five-line humorous poem (be careful - some examples are very rude!)
- quintains (five lines), such as: cinquain, tanka and limericks
- English haiku or senryu

Many languages trade poem styles, so you may do the same from your own, so long as you write in English:
- haiku, senryu and tanka  are from Japanese

- ghazal from Arabic via Urdu

- sonnets  came from Italian
- Onegin stanza, or Chastushka from Russian
- various Spanish forms
- Chinese forms
- Korean forms like sijo
- Swedish, such as Old Norse forms (Viking war ballads!)
- Tagalog, such as tanaga

These are techniques you can use in many poems:
- metaphor and simile, descriptive adjectives and adverbs
- assonance, consonance and alliteration
- iambic and trochaic meter
- anapest and dactylic meter

MONTHLY BOOK REVIEW

IT IS NOT A SUMMARY!

Due: 4/02, 4/30, 5/28 (every four weeks on a Wednesday)

1. 500 to 750 words; ESL, 300 to 750 words

2. Two of the three books you review must be novels (fiction); the third one may be a book of short stories, poetry, non-fiction on a single subject, etc. or a third novel.  You may do these in any order.

3. The book must be more than 250 pages long; ESL, more than 150 pages, or a graphic novel.  It is a good idea to show it to me before you read very far.  You should show the class the book the day that you present it.

3. How do you write a review?  You tell your opinion, clearly, on all of the major elements of the story/book:
- a paragraph to introduce the book and state whether you like it or not
- a paragraph about what you thought of the plot
- a paragraph about what you thought of the characters
- a paragraph about what you thought of the setting or situations
- a paragraph about what you thought of the author's style of writing and genre
- a short reading from the book (#5)
- a paragraph to conclude everything that you have said

4. For the one book that you may choose that is not a novel, we can discuss what you should write about, because each style of book differs.

5. Choose a short interesting passage from the book that you will read to us, that will make us want to read it, or make us agree it is terrible: about fifty words.  Do your reading with appropriate drama.

6. Always edit your writing.  Times New Roman 12, black, double spaced (or 1.5 spaced).

7. You may present it simply as a speech; or you may also record it as an A/V presentation.  The speech should be close to memorized so that you have good eye-contact, etc.; an A/V presentation must be well edited and checked to see that it will play well at school.

Poetry Unit Project: due March 12, 2014

This is what I wrote about the poetry unit project back on January 26.  I have made a few changes:

Final Assignment:
- due March 12, Wednesday, 08:30, Tokyo time
- presented Wednesday through Friday of that week, this will give you the week to finish it if late, losing 5%/day if doing so, of course
- no partners
- format of the assignment is a poetry 'booklet', poster or movie: on paper, or online, video etc.
- contents must include either several different forms or styles of poetry, with different themes or emotions, or one long ballad (multi-stanza rhyming and rhythmic poem that tells a complete story arc)
- whether you do a booklet, poster, or presentation, you must hand in a separate printed copy of your poems labelled as to what type of poems they are, so I know what to mark for, and so I do not use pen all over a nice booklet or poster

Some suggestions:
- most of the mark, as always, is about the written content; however, there will be marks for your readings aloud and for pictures or video you have matched to it: pictures or video made by you are better.  Other than that, I'll give you a lot of freedom on how you present it, but check with me first.
- between 250 and 500 words, and be new poems: not ones from the minor assignments (except if you make a paper booklet - include these at the end); ESL may do 150 to 500 words.
- font and size is your choice this time, but it must be easy to read and leave room on the page for me to edit
- there will be a 10% bonus to your mark if it is good enough to show at 'Wednesday café': 80% would become 88%, 75% become 82.5%

Options: - a handmade poetry booklet, and reading in class (wouldn't work for 'Wednesday café')
- a web-based or computer file poetry 'booklet', and reading in class (might work for 'Wednesday café')
- a video online, or as a file: the video has to be more than just your face reading poetry, so match pictures/video to it from online or of your own - your own is better (would work for 'Wednesday café')


The Revolution Will Not Be Televised- Gil Scott... by larsen42

Blank Verse

Blank verse is poetry written in regular metrical but unrhymed lines, almost always iambic pentameters.^[1] It has been described as "probably the most common and influential form that English poetry has taken since the 16th century"^[2] and Paul Fussell has estimated that "about three-quarters of all English poetry is in blank verse."^[3]

From Milton's 'Paradise Lost':

The mind is its own place, and in it self
Can make a Heav’n of Hell, a Hell of Heav’n.
What matter where, if I be still the same,
And what I should be, all but less then he
Whom Thunder hath made greater? Here at least
We shall be free; th’ Almighty hath not built
Here for his envy, will not drive us hence:
Here we may reign secure, and in my choyce
To reign is worth ambition though in Hell:
Better to reign in Hell, then serve in Heav’n. 

From Shakespeare's Hamlet:

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death.…….

Sound: Alliteration, Assonance, and Consonance

Besides rhyme, there are other techniques using sounds, such as: alliteration, assonance, and consonance.

This short definition is copied from here:

ALLITERATION is the repetition of the beginning consonant of nearby words.

EXAMPLE

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
Full fathom five thy father lies.

CONSONANCE is the repetition of the other consonant sounds of nearby words that do not rhyme.

EXAMPLE

I dropped the locket in the thick mud.
The dove moved above the waves.

ASSONANCE is the repetition of vowel sounds of nearby words that do not rhyme.

EXAMPLE

I made my way to the lake.
Hear the mellow wedding bells.

Longer definitions can be found here.  And much more detail can be found here.

'Tongue twisters' use which of the three above?

How much wood could a woodchuck chuck

If a woodchuck could chuck wood?

As much wood as a woodchuck could chuck,

If a woodchuck could chuck wood.

How is Assonance used in 'Daffodils' by Tennyson?

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Ballads

An option for your final project is a ballad.  There are too many definitions of 'ballad' to talk about them all, but in any case most are long narrative poems (tell a story) with a rhyme and rhythm pattern; they often have a refrain.  This is not homework, unless it is part of your final project.

We have already seen a few examples:
- Jabberwocky
- The Charge of the Light Brigade, by Tennyson
- The Destruction of Sennacherib, by Lord Byron

A few more examples are:
- The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, by Coleridge
- The Raven, by Poe

Song Lyrics: due Thursday, 2/27

As we talked about last week, song lyrics are essentially poems with a refrain, set to music.  In fact, most cultures did, or do, set their poetry to music.

Your task will be to rewrite lyrics to a song of your choice, that is written with poetic devices.  You must match the song's stanza structure, rhyme scheme and rhythm as closely as possible.  Change the content entirely.

You may record you reading, playing and reading, or singing the music.  You do not have to sing it, but that would certainly help your presentation mark.  If you sing, but only if you sing, you may work with a partner, but you must work on two songs then.  Otherwise work alone on one song.

Written Work (the cake)
This is the most important and must be finished for Thursday.  You will print it (Times New Roman 12, black, double-spaced), post it, and present it as before, but try to memorize!  Due Thursday, 2/27.  If you do not have any music to sing or play, you may have to present on Thursday, and if everything is not ready you will get late marks.

Music (the icing)
If you sing, or play and read, this will certainly help your presentation mark; however, the writing is more important.  If you do this, you have until Friday to prepare.


Here's an example of a song and lyrics.

Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit Lyrics

Load up on guns, bring your friends 
It's fun to lose and to pretend 
She's overbored and self-assured 
Oh, no, I know a dirty word 

Hello, Hello, Hello, How Low (x3) 
Hello, Hello, Hello 

With the lights out, it's less dangerous 
Here we are now, entertain us 
I feel stupid and contagious 
Here we are now, entertain us 

A mulatto 
An albino 
A mosquito 
My libido 
Yeah 

Hey... Yay 

I'm worse at what I do best 
And for this gift I feel blessed 
Our little group (tribe) has always been 
And always will until the end 

Hello, Hello, Hello, How Low (x3) 
Hello, Hello, Hello 

With the lights out, it's less dangerous 
Here we are now, entertain us 
I feel stupid and contagious 
Here we are now, entertain us 

A mulatto 
An albino 
A mosquito 
My libido 
Yeah 

Hey... Yay 

(Guitar solo) 

And I forget just why I taste 
Oh, yeah, I guess it makes me smile 
I found it hard, it's hard to find 
Oh well, whatever, nevermind 

Hello, Hello, Hello, How Low (x3) 
Hello, Hello, Hello 

With the lights out, it's less dangerous 
Here we are now, entertain us 
I feel stupid and contagious 
Here we are now, entertain us 

A mulatto 
An albino 
A mosquito 
My libido 

Yeah a denial 
A denial! (x9)


Here is a parody of the same song.

Weird Al Yankovic – Smells Like Nirvana

What is this song all about?
Can't figure any lyrics out
How do the words to it go?
I wish you'd tell me, I don't know
Don't know, don't know, don't know, I don't know!
Don't know, don't know, don't know...

Now I'm mumblin' and I'm screamin'
And I don't know what I'm singin'
Crank the volume, ears are bleedin'
I still don't know what I'm singin'
We're so loud and incoherent
Boy, this oughta bug your parents
Yeah!

*belch*

Hing!

It's unintelligible
I just can't get it through my skull
It's hard to bargle nawdle zouss 
With all these marbles in my mouth
Don't know, don't know, don't know, I don't know!
Don't know, don't know, don't know...

Well, we don't sound like Madonna
Here we are now, we're Nirvana
Sing distinctly? We don't wanna
Buy our album, we're Nirvana
A garage band from Seattle
Well it sure beats raisin' cattle
Yeah!

Moo..

Baa...

And I forgot the next verse
Oh well, I guess it pays to rehearse
The lyric sheet's so hard to find
What are the words, oh nevermind
Don't know, don't know, don't know, I don't know!
Don't know, don't know, don't know...

Well, I'm yellin' and we're playin'
But I don't know what I'm sayin'
What's the message I'm conveyin'?
Can you tell me what I'm sayin'?
So have you got some idea?
Didn't think so 
Well, I'll see ya
Sayonara, sayonawa
Ayonawa, hodinawa
Odinaya, yodinaya
Yaddayadda, yaaahyaaah
Ayiyaaaaaah!