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Pathfinder for 8th grade

Purpose and Characteristics of Poetry

Literary Analysis Eight Grade Language Arts

CA State Standard 8.2.3 Determine and articulate the relationship between the purposes and characteristics of different forms of poetry (e.g., ballad, lyric, couplet, epic, elegy, ode, sonnet).

 

  • Three main forms of poetry are lyric, dramatic, and narrative.
  • In eighth grade we focus on narrative and lyric poetry. You can use different forms of poetry for different purposes.
    • Narrative = in response to a story
    • Dramatic = in response to a character is a particular situation
    • Lyric is harder to define. It is the heart felt response to something like death, war, etc
      • The lyric poem is often written in first person. "As I watched the writhing bird…"

 

Lewis Subscription Database:

Columbia Grangers Index to Poetry

Excellent online resource. Find a poem by author, first line, lines of the poem, title, or subject/theme.

For Lewis students only. Paid for by Lewis GATE department teachers. See Lewis Librarian for username & password.

 

Free Online Resources:

Keywords: narrative, couplet, ballad, sonnet, epic, elegy, ode (also try the plural form of the word, e.g., couplets, odes, elegies)
  • Craft of Poetry: brief descriptions and examples of different forms of poetry from Vince Gotera: some poems may contain more mature content
  • Get examples of different types of poems at Americanpoems.com. Search for elegy, odes, epics, etc. Also links to poet information if a poet is known for a certain form. Does list poets from other countries such as Pablo Neruda. This is a site with ads and is written for general Internet use so may have some poems containing mature content.
  • Write On Reader Thinkquest winner introduces narrative and lyric forms of poetry. Brief and easy to read.
  • Another Thinkquest, Tangerine! Poetry Extraordinaire gives brief description and example of Ballad and Narrative poetry formats.
  • Poetic Forms: The Ballad. Ballad basics by Conrad Geller. Ad heavy but helpful.

 

Lewis Print Resources: Dewey 372 (How to write Poetry) 808 & 811 (examples of poetry)

  • Cohn, Myra Livingston. Poem Making: Way to Begin Writing Poetry. New York: Harper Collins. 1991.

Overview of voice including lyrical, narrative, and dramatic, with additional information about sound and rhyme including couplets and ballad. Other areas covered include figurative language, rhythm and metrics, and other forms such as haiku, cinquain, and free verse.

  • Pinsky, Robert. Ed. Americans' Favorite Poems. New York: W.W. Norton and Co. 2000. 249-251.
  • Janeczko, Paul. How to Write Poetry. New York: Scholastic. 1999. 75.

Teaches readers how to read/write narrative poetry.
  • Epic Poetry on the shelves of the Lewis Library: Beowulf, Gilgamesh, Iliad

 

My own experience…My favorite poem is a narrative poem in the book My Man Blue by Nikki Grimes. Grimes once said that in this book the theme of friendship becomes the true main character. It's an awesome read and the poetry takes me on a journey that reminds me of living with my single mother who wanted me to accept that she was dating. I was furious. Grimes' poems hit me hard as I read about the boy's reluctance to accept a new man in his life. --Jenny Sims

Here are some inspirational words that might light a fire under your pen…

I love the book and the look of words the weight of ideas that popped into my mind I love the tracks of new thinking in my mind. -Maya Angelou

If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire can ever warm
me, I know that it is poetry. -Emily Dickinson

Be yourself. Don't imitate other poets. You are as important as they
are. -Gwendolyn Brooks

Don't worry about not measuring up to other writers. No one has the same
genetic makeup, the same life experiences as you. No one else sees the
world quite the way you do, or can express it quite the same way. You're
already the worlds foremost expert on you. -Charles Webb

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