iniciación a la poesía

1. I WAS A TEENAGER ONCE
If you live long enough, you'll make mistakes.
But if you learn from them, you'll be a
better person. It's how you handle adversity,
not how it affects you. The main thing is
never quit, never quit, never quit.
William J. Clinton

2. I believe (part 1)
I believe if I knew where I was going I’d lose my way
I believe that the words that he told you are not your grave
I know that we are not the weight of all our memories
I believe in the things that I am afraid to say
Hold on, hold on
I believe in the lost possibilities you can see
And I believe that the darkness reminds us where light can be
I know that your heart is still beating, beating,
I believe that you fell so you would land next to me
‘Cause I have been where you are before
And I have felt the pain of losing who you are
And I have died so many times, but I am still alive

3. I believe (part 2)
I believe that tomorrow is stronger than yesterday
And I believe that your head is the only thing in your way
I wish that you could see your scars turn into beauty
I believe that today it’s okay to be not okay
Hold on, hold on
‘Cause I have been where you are before
And I have felt the pain of losing who you are
And I have died so many times, but I am still alive.
This is not the end of me, this is the beginning

4. WHAT IS POETRY?
"the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings"
(William Wordsworth)

5. Main literary devices
ALLITERATION
ANTITHESIS
METAPHOR
PERSONIFICATION
REPETITION
SIMILE
HYPERBOLE

6. Alliteration
The practice of beginning several
consecutive or neighboring words
with the same sound.
Example: she sells seashell by the
seashore

7. Antithesis
It is a rhetorical
device in which two
opposite ideas are
put together in a
sentence to achieve
a contrasting
effect.
“To err is human; to
forgive divine.”Alexander
Pope in his “An Essay on
Criticism”
“Better to reign in Hell,
than serve in Heav’n.”John
Milton in “Paradise Lost”

8. Metaphor Simile
Comparison
of two unlike
things NOT
using "like"
or "as”.
“the oceans
of his face”
.
comparison of
two different
things or ideas
through the use
of the words
"like" or "as."
“his blue eyes like
oceans”

9. Personification
A kind of metaphor that
gives non-living objects
or ideas human
characteristics.
“The leaves danced in
the autumn breeze.”

10. Hyperbole
An outrageous exaggeration
used for effect.
“I have a ton of
homework”

11. Repetition
“easy come, easy go”
The purposeful
re-use of
words and
phrases for an
effect.

12. THINKING ABOUT WORDS
1. Who is this poem addressed to?
2. Who writes it?
3. Look for examples of antithesis, repetition, hyperbole and personification. Which one of
these rhetorical devices is more used in this poem?
4. Find in the text the opposites of be dead (v), find (v), relief(n), weak (adj), ugliness (n).
5. What is the meaning of hold on in this context: 1) wait, 2) stay courageous, 3) keep the
phone line or 4)maintain position
6. Choose the line you like most and explain its meaning and why you like it.
7. Can you summarize the main idea of the poem?

13. CAN SONGS BE POEMS?

14. Because I was a teenager too