ENGLISH

ELEVENTH GRADE

Module 3 - Lesson 1

Literary analysis, and critical thinking

Welcome!

Throughout this module, you will be able to use reading strategies, literary analysis, and critical thinking skills to construct meaning and develop understanding as well as an appreciation of a variety of genres of both fiction and nonfiction. You will learn by using the best way nowadays to work individually without the straight directions of a teacher; but remember, read very carefully the instructions given.

Table of Contents

Introduction and instructions

Lesson 1-Elements of poetry

Lesson 2-Genres

Lesson 3-Symbolism

Lesson 4-Alliteration

Lesson 5-Simile

Lesson 6-Metaphor

Lesson 7-Onomatopeia

Module 3

Objective:

After the studying this module, the students will:

     Distinguish between different elements of poetry.

     Analyze, interpret, and classify genres.

     Define:

o   Alliteration

o   Simile

o   Metaphor

o   Onomatopoeia

o   Theme

     Identify imagery and figurative language

     Identify symbolism

Lesson 1

Elements of poetry

Elements of poetry

Pretest

Anger
by Charles and Mary Lamb
Anger in its time and place
May assume a kind of grace.
It must have some reason in it,
And not last beyond a minute.

If to further lengths it go,
It does into malice grow.
'Tis the difference that we see
'Twixt the serpent and the bee.

If the latter you provoke,
It inflicts a hasty stroke,
Puts you to some little pain,
But it never stings again.

Close in tufted bush or brake
Lurks the poison-swellëd snake
Nursing up his cherished wrath;
In the purlieus of his path,

In the cold, or in the warm,
Mean him good, or mean him harm,
Whensoever fate may bring you,
The vile snake will always sting you.

 

I. Multiple choice:

Elements of poetry

Pretest_Answer Key

Multiple Choice

1. D
2. D
3. B
4. C

What is Poetry?
When we begin analyzing the basic elements of poetry, we should first know what poetry is all about in the first place. Poetry can be defined as ‘literature in a metrical form’ or ‘a composition forming rhythmic lines’. In short, a poem is something that follows a particular flow of rhythm and meter. Compared to prose, where there is no such restriction, and the content of the piece flows according to story, a poem may or may not have a story, but definitely has a structured method of writing.

Elements of Poetry
There are several elements which make up a good poem. In brief, they are described below.
Rhythm: This is the music made by the statements of the poem, which includes the syllables in the lines. The best method of understanding this is to read the poem aloud. Listen for the sounds and the music made when we hear the lines spoken aloud. How do the words resonate with each other? How do the words flow when they are linked with one another? Does sound right? Do the words fit with each other? These are the things you consider while studying the rhythm of the poem.
Meter: This is the basic structural make-up of the poem. Do the syllables match with each other? Every line in the poem must adhere to this structure. A poem is made up of blocks of lines, which convey a single strand of thought. Within those blocks, a structure of syllables which follow the rhythm has to be included. This is the meter or the metrical form of poetry.
Rhyme: A poem may or may not have a rhyme. When you write poetry that has rhyme, it means that the last words of the lines match with each other in some form. Either the last words of the first and second lines would rhyme with each other or the first and the third, second and the fourth and so on. Rhyme is basically similar sounding words like ‘cat’ and ‘hat’, ‘close’ and ‘shows’, ‘house’ and ‘mouse’ etc. Free verse poetry, though, does not follow this system.
Alliteration: This is also used in several poems for sound effect. Several words in the sentence may begin with the same alphabet or syllable sound. For example, in the sentence "Many minute miniature moments," the sound of the alphabet ‘M’ is repeated in all the four words continuously. When you say those words aloud, the sound effect generated is called Alliteration.
Simile: A simile is a method of comparison using the words ‘like’ or ‘as’. When, in a poem, something is said to be ‘like’ another it means that the poet is using Simile to convey his feelings about what (s)he is describing. For example, in the statement ‘Her laughter was like a babbling brook’, the poet is comparing the laughter of the girl to the sound made by a babbling brook. Note that ‘babbling brook’ is an example of Alliteration.
Metaphor: A metaphor is a method of comparison where the words ‘like’ and ‘as’ are not used. To modify the earlier example, if the statement used had been something like ‘Her laughter, a babbling brook’, then it would be the use of Metaphor.
Theme: This is what the poem is all about. The theme of the poem is the central idea that the poet wants to convey. It can be a story, or a thought, or a description of something or someone – anything which is what the poem is all about.
Symbolism: Often poems will convey ideas and thoughts using symbols. A symbol can stand for many things at one time and leads the reader out of a systematic and structured method of looking at things. Often a symbol used in the poem will be used to create such an effect.
Conclusion
These are the basic elements of poetry. They are an essential part of what any good poem is all about, structurally. Of course, it does not mean, that all poems must have all these elements. It depends entirely upon the poet, who is has all these tools at his disposal, to use in order to convey his ideas most effectively.

Elements of poetry

Practice exercise

Poetry - Rhyme, Rhythm, and More
By Brenda B. Covert                                                                                                                                                   

¹     When you heard that today's lesson was about poetry, did you think of the nursery rhymes of Mother Goose, sappy love poems that begin, "Roses are red, violets are blue," or a silly poem by Shel Silverstein about why Peggy Ann McKay can't go to school today? Maybe you thought of the lyrics to your favorite music. Or, maybe you groaned because you saw a writing assignment coming your way, and you just KNOW that you're not a poet. We should stop trying to turn you into one! If that's how you feel, try thinking of poetry as a game-a puzzle. Words are the puzzle pieces. Fit your words together according to the "rules," and you win! Find the right pieces, and you end up with an impressive word-picture of your own!
²     The tools we can use to craft a poem (other than pencil and paper) are rhyme, rhythm, meter, repetition, alliteration, assonance and consonance. How-and whether-any of these are used is the poet's choice.
³     The best-known poetic device is rhyme. When the words at the end of lines rhyme, they are called end rhymes. When the rhyme is arranged within the line itself, it is called internal rhyme. An example follows of internal and end rhyme:
        I enjoyed the shade in the hidden glade
        And spread out the picnic that I had made.
⁴     Alliteration, assonance, and consonance are more subtle ways to rhyme. Alliteration is the repetition of beginning sounds in two or more words. Tongue twisters often employ alliteration, such as "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers." Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds-not consonants-in nearby words. The words "hatch" and "stand" get assonance from the short "a" sound. Consonance is the repetition of consonant-but not vowel-sounds in nearby words. In the sentence, "The man in the orange cummerbund ended his bland speech with a bow," the words cummerbund, ended, and bland are related by the "nd" sound. To remember which is which, look at the letter beginning the word. Assonance begins with a vowel, and consonance begins with a consonant!
⁵     Rhythm is another useful tool in the puzzle-building craft of poetry. Poems often have a rhythmic pattern in the syllables, a pattern that says, "BOOM ba BOOM ba BOOM ba BOOM." (That pattern fits the rhyme, "Jack be nimble, Jack be quick.") Certain syllables are stressed, while others are unstressed. Think of your name! If it is a one-syllable name like Ann or Jake, then it is stressed-BOOM! If it has two syllables, then it is either "BOOM ba" or "ba BOOM." Examples are David or Michelle. If it has three syllables, usually just one of them is stressed, while the others aren't. Valerie and Jonathan have a pattern that goes "BOOM ba ba," while the pattern for Marisa and Josiah is "ba BOOM ba."
⁶     The rhythm or repeating pattern, chosen for a particular poem is called a meter. (In music it's called the beat.) The sequence of stressed and unstressed syllables is represented by "/" for the stressed syllable and "U" for the unstressed syllable. Were we to write a poem and choose this pattern, "ba BOOM ba BOOM ba BOOM," we'd mark it "U / U / U /" and work to find words that fit that pattern. Look at our pattern, and you'll see that its meter is "U /" with three meters. Apply the pattern to the statement, "The queen has lost her cat," and you have "The QUEEN has LOST her CAT." There are specific names for different meters, but we'll leave that for a future lesson. For now, the idea to remember is that each line of poetry should agree by rhythm.
⁷     The last tool to consider is repetition. Repetition of words, phrases, and even whole lines can be an effective way of stressing the message of the poem or making it memorable. "This is the House That Jack Built" is an example of a poem making good use of repetition.
⁸     There are two types of poetry that don't seem to use these tools. The first is called blank verse, which has meter, but no rhyme. (Most of Shakespeare's plays are in blank verse.) If you do away with meter as well, you have free verse. While free verse doesn't follow a set of rules, it often has an underlying rhythmic structure. At the least, on paper it looks like a poem!
⁹     Writing poetry is like putting an original, one-of-a-kind puzzle together. What it looks like when it is finished is up to you.

 

 Elements of poetry

Practice exercise-Answer key
1 various
2 various
3 rhyme
4    False
5    Internal rhyme
6    Rhyme
7 various - look for repeating consonant sounds within words
8 various

Elements of poetry

Quiz

Match the words in the first column to the best available answer in the second column.

_____simile                                                1) they plodded along on leaden feet      

_____metaphor                                          2) the low murmuring of doves

_____assonance                                       3) the wind howled and the heavens wept          

_____alliteration                                        4) the crunch and tinkle of the breaking glass     

_____onomatopoeia                                  5) as happy as a lark                   

_____personification                                  6) silly snakes slithered over the grass

Elements of poetry

Quiz-Answer key

5 - Simile

1 - Metaphor

2 - Assonance

6 - Alliteration

4 - Onomatopoeia

3 – Personification

Elements of poetry

Test

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