Forms+of+Poetry

Talk about the forms that poetry might take
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Added by Tessa Grassetti Poetry began in prehistoric times when people passed down their oral history in poetic language and song. Poetry takes the sound of language and arranges it in beautiful forms. Through the years, three main kinds of poetry have developed: lyric, narrative, and dramatic. Lyric poetry is any short poem. Narrative poems are ones that tell stories, an epic or ballad. Dramatic poetry also tells a story, but in this case one or more of the poem's characters acts out the story. Children should be exposed to many of these forms in order to gradually develop an appreciation for poetry (HH&H 463). Most poetry written for children is lyrical. Lyric poetry typically describes the poet’s innermost feelings or observations and evokes a musical quality in its sounds and rhythms. Lyric poems exhibit many forms, which include haiku, cinquain, sonnet, limerick, free verse and concrete. A haiku is an unrhymed poem of Japanese origin with seventeen syllables divided into three lines. Although it appears simple, higher-level thinking skills are needed to fully comprehend this form of poetry (HH&H 467). Cinquain is a five-line stanza of medieval origin, often with two, four, six, eight, and two syllables in the five lines. A sonnet is a very old form of poetry, which is usually not found much in poetry for children. Sonnets have fourteen lines, each with ten syllables. One example of a sonnet is “The Children of the Night,” by Edwin Arlington Robinson. Free verse adheres to no predetermined rules, but requires the same thoughtful choice of words and rhythmical patterns as the more rigid forms. A good example of free verse is “My Shadow” from Robert Louis Stevenson’s “A Child’s Garden of Verses.” Lastly, with concrete poetry, the words of the poem are arranged to form a pictorial representation of the poem’s subject. Popular examples are hearts, angel wings (such as “Easter Wings” by George Herbert (1633)), clouds, waves, and the shape of the number 7. Lamb, Annette, and Larry Johnson. "Poetry for Kids." //Thematic Pathfinders//. May 2003. Eduscapes, Web. 4 Oct 2009 Morgan, Mia. “Poetry.” PowerPoint presentation for LBS 803. Fall 2009. Ronderman, Margaret, Bill Glaister, and Barbara Huston. "Our Favorite Children's and Young Adult Authors." //Children's and Young Adult Literature//. Sep 2009. University of Lethbridge, Web. 27 Sep 2009. Added by Mary McGuinness A poetry form is the general organizing principle of a literary work (poetry-online.org p.1). There are many poetry forms such as ballads, haiku’s, limericks, narratives, sonnets, and many more. In poetry, form is described in terms elements like rhyme, meter, and verse (poetry-online.org p.1). The first poets were expert storytellers who told elaborate tales to entertain people and as a way of recording history (Norton p.326). These tales and stories are known as narrative poems. In my experience lyrical poems are the most popular types of poems written for children. The term is derived from the word, “lyric,” and means poetry that sings its way into the minds and memories of its listeners (HH&H p. 465). Children enjoy the “sing song” verses, they find them easy to predict and join in on, and it allows them to play along with its melody. Another form of poetry is Haiku. According to HH&H (p. 467) Haiku may be divided into two parts; first, a simple picture making description that usually includes some reference, direct or indirect, to the season; and second, a statement of mood or season. Though Haiku’s may be short in structure, they are rather complex. Various forms of poetry have a specific structure they need to follow, some have rhyming, some require a precise number of lines per stanza, etc. These details need to be followed while writing a poem. It is important that we understand the development of children and recognize what we ask from them not only in writing poetry but in reading poetry as well. [|www.poetry-online.org]. published November 2003. //Children’s Literature in the elementary school// by Charlotte S. Huck, Susan Hepler, Janet Hickman, 5th ed. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers, 1993. //Through the Eyes of a Child: An Introduction to Children’s Literature// by Donna E. Norton, 7th ed. Peasrson: NJ.

Poetry can take many different forms including narrative, lyric, ballad, free verse, limerick, concrete, haiku and tanka. A narrative poem is one that tells a story. Narrative poems are one of the earliest forms, arising from the storytellers of long ago. Story poems are particularly interesting to children with “their rapid action and typically chronological order” (Norton 419). They often convey an episode in history that children find fascinating, and through their carefully chosen words are able to carry a child’s imagination.
 * Added by Marcia Bernard**

Many narrative poems have been transformed into beautiful picture books. //Casey at the Bat// by Ernest L. Thayer and illustrated by Christopher H. Bing provides a wonderful story that children of all ages have come to love. The melodic line “And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout; But there is no joy in Mudville-mighty Casey has struck out.” fills the reader with both the hope and disappointment that the team felt. //The// //Midnight Ride of Paul Revere// by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and also illustrated by Christopher Bing is another example of a classic in American poetry that has been adapted into this format. This poem transports children back to 1775 and through words and rich illustrations, they can feel the imminent danger in the Boston air.

In addition to the picture book narratives, recent years have seen entire novels written in poetry. Most often free verse, these book-length narratives have kid appeal and are truly special to read. Karen Hesse’s //Out of the Dust// chronicles Billie Jo’s life during the Oklahoma Dust Bowl of the 1930’s. The telling of the story in poetry raises it up—each carefully chosen word moving the sadness forward. Sharon Creech’s //Love that Dog// is more upbeat, as Jack learns to like poetry as he studies famous poets. The blending of theme and form make this narrative a winner.

As shown through this assortment of book-length poems, narrative poetry, as Norton states, surely “increase a child’s interest in and appreciation for poetry” (419).

Sources Creech, Sharon. //Love that Dog//. New York: HarperTrophy, 2001. Hesse, Karen. //Out of the Dust//. New York: Scholastic, 1999. Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. //The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere//. Brooklyn, NY: Handprint Books, 2001. Morgan, Mia. “Poetry” Powerpoint for LBS 803. Fall 2009. Norton, Donna E. //Through the Eyes of a Child.// 5th ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice-Hall, 1995. Thayer, Ernest L. //Ernest L. Thayer’s Casey at the Bat: a ballad of the Republic sung in the year 1888//. Brooklyn, NY: Handspring Books, 2000.