   
 
|
|
Resources.......
Poetry
Types
|
Ballad:
The
word `ballad' has changed over the centuries. If you find the
word `ballad' in a pre-1600 source, it is unlikely to be
referring to a song that we would consider a ballad today. In
the fifteenth century the word referred to a song meant to
accompany a dance.
Earlier
than that, it referred to the French verse form (possibly set
to music) for which we now reserve the term `ballade'. By the
sixteenth century, any light, simple song might be called a
ballad.
At
the end of the seventeenth century, the word generally
referred to broadside ballads, which were often topical songs,
set to the tunes of the day. (The broadsides themselves were
the cheaply printed song sheets often sold on street corners.
Some of the broadside ballads were songs we would call ballads
today, but most were not. )
By
the nineteenth century,`ballad' had come to refer to the sort
of narrative verse we associate with ballads today. The ballad
as popular song, however, had suffered enough of a decline
that many academics only knew of it as a form of poetry. The
Oxford English Dictionary (OED), for instance, cites an 1870
definition of the ballad as "A simple spirited poem in
short stanzas...in which some popular story is graphically
narrated." Folk ballads are simple narrative stories in
poetic form which can be recited or sung. They tell
interesting stories about people, animals, or events. A good,
steady rhythm or beat is one characteristic of a ballad which
is important to consider when you begin writing. Here’s an
example:
Westward Ho!
We
forged ahead with spirit,
We
stopped - but only to rest,
We trudged over hill and vale,
To
meet out dream out West.
Refrain:
Westward ho! Westward ho!
To the land we long to know!
Hunger
was our companion,
Thirst and disease had their day,
But out mission was clear before us,
As we pushed on the western way.
Refrain:
Westward ho! Westward ho!
To the land we long to know!
[Top]
|
|
Cinquain
A
cinquain has a definite number of words or syllables on each
of its five lines and a purpose, or formula for each line. One
way of creating a cinquain is to follow this pattern:
Line
1 - 1 word giving the title ‑ usually 2 syllables
Line
2 - 2 words describing the title ‑ usually 4 syllables
Line
3 - 3 words expressing an action ‑ usually 6 syllables
Line
4 - 2 words expressing a feeling ‑ usually 8 syllables
Line
5 - another word for the title ‑ usually 2 or 3
syllables
Lion
Lion
Wild, ferocious
Stalking, attacking,
Roaring
Running for my life
Danger
Jaguar
Jaguar
Harmful, fast
Runs, roars, attack
s
Prey struggling for life
Deadly
Trees
Pines
Densely lined
Rustling Closely Together
Quietly stilling my mind
Forest
[Top]
|
Concrete
and Visual Poetry
The
most common type of concrete poetry depends on incorporating
and array of poetically pleasing words or phrases with a
strong visual component which identifies the topic in some
way. A poem about slippery, slimy, slithering, sneaking snakes
could be arranged with the words “snaking” along the page.
A simple form of this kind of poetry depicts a single word
drawn in an artistic way to convey its meaning. The words
“fire” or “rage” could be drawn with red flames
forming peaks at the top of the letters which are painted a
crimson red. Or, the word “beetle” could be written in the
shape of a Volkswagen bug.
Here’s another example:
[Top]
|
Definition
Poetry
Definition
poetry is a from of free verse which uses a selection of
direct, succinct phrases to define an idea or concept. These
phrases are arranged in a specific pattern with the first and
last lines stating the topic of the poem in different ways;
the remaining lines, containing the content phrases, are all
indented one tab from the left margin of the page. Here are
two examples written by younger students:
Courage
What
is courage?
reciting
in class
wearing something different to school
taking your report card home
telling on someone who did something bad
backing down from a fight
passing the gang on the corner
arguing with your parents when you know you are right
That
is courage!
Paul
Struthers - Gr. 6
Aboriginals
Who
are the aboriginals?
dance
to celebrate
wear fur for warmth
live in teepees
play lacrosse
hunt bison
tell legends
wear masks to honour spirits
eat bannock
travel by canoe
create beadwork
They
are the aboriginals.
Jackie
Legault - Gr. 2
[Top]
|
Diamante
Diamante
is a form of poetry created by a lady by the name of Iris
Tiedt. Its name, which comes from the Italian word for
diamond, resembles this shape on the page.
Two
different patterns can be used when creating a diamante:
Pattern
One:
Line
1 - topic (noun)
Line 2 - two describing
words (adjectives)
Line 3 - three action
words (verbs or “ing” action words
Line 4 - a four-word
phrase capturing some feeling about the topic
Line
5 - three action words (verbs or “ing” words)
Line 6 - two describing
words (adjectives)
Line 7 - ending word
(noun, synonym for topic, emotional word)
Pattern
Two:
Line
1 - topic (noun)
Line 2 - two describing words (adjectives)
Line 3 - three action
words (verbs or “ing” action words
Line 4 - two words to
capture topic noun - two words to capture ending noun
Line 5 - three action
words for ending noun (verbs or “ing” words)
Line 6 - two describing
words for ending noun (adjectives)
Line
7 - ending word (antonym of the topic noun)
Here’s an example of a pattern two diamante:
Squares
Symmetrical,
Conventional
Shaping, Measuring, Balancing
Boxes, Rooms, Clocks, Halos
Encircling, Circumnavigating, Enclosing
Round, Continuous
Circles
Here are some more examples
of diamante poems written by younger students:
School
Busy,
scheduled
Studying, working, learning
Lessons, homework, recess, freedom
Relaxing, playing, resting
Short, delightful
Vacation.
Weather
Hot
Warm, steamy
Tanning, boiling, burning
Equator, tropic, ice, glacier
Freezing shivering chilling
Arctic frigid
Cold.
Zombie
Brainless
dead
Walking, scaring, biting
Monster, headless spectre, person, friend
Sharing, caring, talking
Pleasant, bony
Human.
Planets
Mars
Red, small
Orbiting, rotating, floating
Rocks, lightness, flames, star
Sparkling, flaring, burning
Orange,
yellow
Sun.
[Top]
|
Haiku
From
the Japanese, we have inherited the powerful poetic form of
Haiku (pronounced hi-coo). Usually haiku are written in three
lines. It's possible to do haiku in two lines though, as well
as in one line or in more than three, as in this example:
along
the graveyard fence
a little girl picks daisies
Paul
Mena
However,
there is more "internal" reason for three lines,
which is defined (mostly) by the structure and the average
length of the unit of Japanese speech (and thus in poetry),
and by the stucture of haiku images. The format is easy
(5‑7‑5 syllables in the 1st‑2nd‑3rd
lines) but it’s also complicated because writing good haiku
requires a lot of thought and editing to get the desired
results.
Most haiku contain a special season word or kigo: it
introduces a certain background in which "a haiku
event" takes place.
It may be direct naming ("winter night") or
something that gives a hint:
under
the desk light
the
buzz of a spinning moth
on
a half‑empty page
Ron Hahn
In
the example above, "moth" says it's supposed to be
summer. Winter can be implied by using words such as
"icicle" or "scarf". Every haiku is a sort
of little picture, an interesting image. Two main ideas about
these images:
1.
They come from direct experiences that you have had; certain
bright moments of life
you managed to catch with your "internal
camera": wonders, strange coincidences, funny situations;
scenes that reflect your current "soul state" or
even change, shock you suddenly, giving you a moment of
sadness or another sensation.
2.
This image, being written down, should evoke certain deep
feelings in readers, too; this is really difficult
‑‑ not only to present the experience in words but
to do it such a way that it could be effectively reflected in
someone's mind.
Now
for some guidelines to help you better understand what haiku
is all about. A haiku captures a moment in nature or life and
“freezes” it within its unique form. The reader’s job is
to “thaw” the picture painted by your words and bring the
scene to life. The clever and effective thing about haiku is
its ability to convey a mood or feeling through the picture
painted in words. Directly telling the mood is not generally
acceptable as an effective haiku.
[Top]
|
Tanka
Tanka
is the modern name of a form of Japanese verse that dates back
over twelve centuries. Older than haiku, tanka differs from
haiku in both its form (31 syllables) and its style of
expression. In Japan, tanka has long been considered the most
important form of Japanese poetry.
In
recent decades, poets in many western countries have begun to
explore the power of the tanka form in their own languages.
Around the world, tanka poetry is making poets out of people
who never would have thought of writing a poem before.
Tanka
is simply a longer version of haiku; it consists of a total of
thirty-one syllables arranged in the following pattern:
Line
1
5 syllables
Line
2
7 syllables
Line
3
5 syllables
Line
4
7 syllables
Line
5
7 syllables
Remember
that the focus is on capturing a moment in nature or in life;
your words should convey that image clearly to your audience.
Here’s an example:
The
rain spills from clouds
Over
thirsty grass and trees
It
mists the landscape
Like
a soft, gentle shower
Spring
awakens the whole world.
[Top] |
|
|
