A Look at deconstructing Poetry, including a STEP UP guide.

1. When power leads man toward arrogance, poetry reminds him of his
limitations. When power narrows the area of man's concern, poetry reminds
him of the richness and diversity of existence. When power corrupts, poetry
cleanses.
John F. Kennedy
Understanding leads to appreciation
Poetry

2. Words are often considered the greatest form of human expresson.The
written word allows us to express ourselves in a way we aren’t often able to
otherwise.
Words communicate ideas, thoughts, joys, hopes, and, of course, fear,
anxiety, hate and depression.
PoeticVoices

3. Poetry is one of the oldest surviving art forms, present in all forms of
language both current and ancient.
Poetry crosses cultural boundaries, explores universal human ideas,
emotions, and concerns, and yet remains one of the most misunderstood,
and disliked forms of written expression.
What is poetry?

4. So what is Poetry?

5. Poetry is more than words that rhyme.
Poetry is an expression.
It is a creation.
It is symbolism and reflection.
It shows the world a new way of looking at things.
What is poetry?

6. So what’s in a poem?

7. In order to fully appreciate a poem we need to know how to ‘read’ it.
We have to look for meaning within the text, by searching out poetic
devices.
By understanding the poetic devices we can begin to understand what a
poem means to us.
The following slide will tell you a method of deconstruction.
So what’s in a poem?

8. S - Subject matter:
Underlying content of the poem. Should be identified in your opening paragraph.
T – Theme:
The message the poem conveys to the reader.
E – Emotion:
Many poems engage emotion through use of images and other devices to create an
emtional response.
P – Poetic devices:
What poetic devices have been used? How do these help convey meaning and
emotion?
U – U (You):
What is your response to the poem? How does it make you feel?
P – Purpose:
Why was the poem written?
S.T.E.P. U.P.

9. Simile: A simile is a figure of speech that compares two things by using the
words ‘like’ or ‘as.’ For example, ‘pretty as a picture.’
Metaphor: Also compares two things by saying one thing is another. For
example ‘She’s a goddess.’ Although she is not literally a goddess the reader
begins to gain a clearer picture.
Rhyme and rhythm: the rhyming of words, particularly the last in each
sentence, and the beat of the line.
Other devices include alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia, and repetition.
Poetice Devices

10. A rhyming scheme is the patterns of rhyme in a poem, generally marked by a
system of letters, with similar rhymes given the same letter
For example if a four line poem stanza rhymes on lines 1 and 3 the scheme
would look like this: A,B,A,C. If it rhymed on lines 1 and 2, and, a different
rhyming couplet on 3 and 4 the scheme would look like this: AA,BB.
Rhyming scheme

11. Alice Cooper’s “Poison”
Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m On Fire”
Christian Kane’s “Pretty as a Picture”
Bob Dylan’s “Eve of Destruction”
Jim Morrison’s “Celebration of the Lizard”
Examples of Poetic Devices