Poetry Concept Map

Poetry Key Concepts Map

I. Language

A. Musical Devices

1. Rhyme

- Masculine rhyme: one syllable

- Feminine rhyme: two or more syllables

- Internal rhyme scheme: within

- End rhyme: a rhyme at the end of a line

2. Alliteration

- A repetition of consonant sounds

3. Onomatopoeia

- Sound of that the word makes

4. Assonance

- Repetition of vowel sounds

5. Consonance

- Repetition of end consonants

B. The Kitchen Shears Speak

Meaning: The poem explains the thoughts and feelings of the kitchen shears, as though it they were real. The poem discusses that the shears feel degraded, tainted with guilt, and used only for dirty work.

Language: The poem uses several metaphors and similes to get the exact thoughts and feelings across, so the reader feels some of the agony that the pair of shears feel every single day.

C. The Poet

Meaning: This poem explains all of the fallacies in a poet's abilities, in order to show how a poets mind can be vastly different from others, though it may not always be the best thing.

Language: The poem gets its idea across by listing all of the attributes much like a report card of a young student, to explain the age and mind-set of the poet.

D. In the Well

Meaning: This poem is a story in which a young child goes through a terrifying task of retrieving a dead neighbour's dog from the bottom of a well, which would potentially save the town.

Language: The narrator is the young child in the story, so all of the dark experiences that the child goes through are expressed as if they are projected from a youth. The child also makes the connection of being hit on the head, and tasting blood like iron, which is the type of connection a child would make, and one that a reader could relate to.

E. Blessing

Meaning: This poem explains the release of water in a place where it is scarce, and not always accessible.

Language: The poem uses similes to relate sounds and feelings across, as well as through explaining the people's appreciation of the water, and how in many places it is considered a "Blessing" though in some places it is taken for granted.

F. Introduction to Poetry

Meaning: The poem explains a teacher's journey in helping the student in the class to find out poetry on their own, so that they can truly understand and appreciate it themselves, though it is later apparent that they would not do so.

Language: The poem is told from a teacher's perspective, and is explained through a series of similes and metaphors, ranging from "take a poem and hold it up to the light like a colour slide," to "I want them to water ski across the surface," and inevitably "all they want to do is tie the poem to a chair with a rope and torture a confession out of it."

G. Did I Miss Anything?

Meaning: This poem deals with the commonly asked question among students, "Did I miss anything," and the poem looks at alternating responses on two different sides of the spectrum.

Language: The poem uses sarcasm in each of the responses to get a thought out of the student asking the question.

H. Lines

Meaning: This poem was expressed very abstractly, though my interpretation is that its meaning is about war.

Language: The author uses a progression between solid lines and staying within them, which I thought to be laws. It progresses into looking around the lines, around different points of view, which I believed to be different sides of the law, or different perspectives of issues. When the poem progresses into speaking about, "A line of fire," and then, considering the shortest distance between two individuals, I felt that this it was talking about two parties at war, and then rejoining in peace.

I. Radio

Meaning: The poem tells a story that describes an individual's ongoing struggle to keep his vehicle from being broken into from the various criminals lurking in the unsafe neighbourhood.

Language: The poem generates its ideas by listing several different signs which exhibit all of the different attempts that the narrator used to warn criminals about breaking into his car.

II. Purposes

Linked in language.

III. Poetic Devices

A. Simile

- A comparison between two unlike objects, often with the words "like" or "as"

1. Example:

"The skin cracks like a pod" - Blessing

B. Metaphor

- A figure of speech comparing two different objects in an abstract way

1. Example:

"Then blood, which spiked my mouth with iron" - In The Well

C. Personification

- The act of giving an inanimate object a human quality

1. Example:

The Whole Poem "The Kitchen Shears Speak"

D. Paradox

- A statement much like an oxymoron, as it contradicts itself, though has truth to it

1. Example:

Though mostly made of mouth, I have no voice" - The Kitchen Shears Speak

E. Metonymy

- A figure of speech that uses an alternate statement to get a meaning across

1. Example: "Sometimes, the sudden rush of fortune" - Blessing

F. Hyperbole

- A device utilizing exaggeration to prove a point

1. Example

"Again I'm forced to amputate the chicken's limb" - The Kitchen Shears Speak

IV. Types of Poems

A. Blank Verse

A poem that appears, and is recited as regular human speech in iambic pentameter.

B. Elegy

A solemn poem that mourns death or celebrates the life of a passed one.

C. Pastoral

A poem commemorating rural life in a simple place or time.

D. Lyric Poem

A poem explaining the observations of one speaker that is about a single instance.

E. Sonnet

A poem strictly containing fourteen lines, revolving around one subject, including three quatrains and a rhyming couplet in Shakespearean style, and two quatrains and a sestet in Italian style.

F. Epic

A long poem that tells the tale of a supreme being or a hero, and can be lengthy, like that of a book.

G. Dramatic Monologue

A poem narrated by a fictional character communicating to a silent observer.

H. Pastoral

A poem commemorating rural life in a simple place or time.

I. Ode

A serious poem in honour of a person or event, which could be either personal or public.

J. Narrative Poem

A poem telling a story that is said with appropriate rhythmic structure.

K. Ballad

A poem that has a distinct length, which has the purpose of explaining a story that has intriguing and dramatic themes including mystery, murder, and suspense.

V. Connections between the Reader and the Poet

A. Blessing

Much like the poem "Radio", this poem made me feel more thankful for my possessions, especially for the fact that I had water readily available and accessible at any time that I had wished. It made me feel guilty as well, for the times when I took my water supply for granted. It also made me feel sympathy for the people living in the region in which the incident had occurred.

B. Radio

This poem made think about how lucky I am to live in a relatively safe environment, where I know that my belongings will be respected, and for the most part, my family's house and vehicles will be left alone. It also made me feel sympathy for the character, and wonder where the person lived and why the crime rate was so high.

C. The Poet

While reading this poem, I felt as if I was in the shoes of the poet, and I had to do all of the tasks that he so evidently failed at. I felt like I was not special in any way if I had to conform to some basic answers. I even shortly felt like asking the questions, "Why does 1+1=2?" as well as, "What if they don't want to". I felt trapped and insecure, which is exactly how I imagine the poet felt as well.

D. Introduction to Poetry

This poem was one that I could well relate to, having learnt poetry in many of my previous grades. There are always poems that seem puzzling at first, though often if enough time is spent analysing, and if the appropriate help is given, then one can figure them out. The students in the class of the teacher, reminded me about some of the students that have been in my classes in the past. As I recall, some students like to make conclusions themselves, though many just ask for the answer, or leave the poem thinking that it does not make sense.

E. Did I Miss Anything

This is another poem to which I can relate to. When students go to the bathroom, are sick, or even have an appointment, the most common question that is asked upon the arrival of the student is, "Did I miss anything?" Now, after thoroughly analysing the poem, I strongly believe that a more appropriate question would be, "What did I miss?" which shows that a student has acknowledged that they were not present for class, and that there has been some work that the student has missed as well. Whether the work is important or not is up to the student to decide, but the fact is, that he/she was not there, and they did in fact, miss something.

F. In the Well

This poem made me fell dark and scared. This poem made me think of some of the most frightening tasks I have ever had to do. Specifically, this poem made me reflect back to the first time that I had to watch a horror film with my brother and some friends. At first I felt too horrified to even think about doing such a thing, but slowly, and surely, I was "persuaded" to watch the movie. As the boy was gradually lowered, I felt fear for him, and fear for the unknown, much like he most likely did as well.

G. Lines

This was the most difficult poem for me to decipher, but I tried my best to figure it out. Much like in the poem "Introduction to Poetry", I looked at the poem from a variety of different ways, and finally I came to the conclusion that the theme of the poem was war. Some of my classmates that read the poem concluded that it was about love, which I feel are similar topics.

H. The Kitchen Shears Speak

This poem evoked much emotion out of me, in applying the thinking used by the author of the poem, and applying it to many objects around me. It made me think about how my clothes would feel, my computer would feel, how my books would feel; all things which I had used, and to an extent, worn away. It also reminded me of the "Toy Story" film series, and the hardships that the toys had endured.