Section #3 Haiku
Most poems describe the world around us and express how we feel about that world. If you are interested in nature and the environment, you will enjoy reading and writing haiku poems. Every word in a haiku is carefully chosen to present a picture that is full of mood and feeling.
Down fall the freezingThe trees are bending
White snowflakes like a large, coldWhispering to each other
Glistening blanket.Passing out secrets.
-Anorea Richard, student -Janet Vanderpost, student
The wave from the seaStick on the blue line
Chased a small Japanese boyConnects and punches the net.
Through burning hot sand.Pandemonium.
-Francis Silvaggio, studentPatrick Lashmar
Guppies in a bowl
Swift submarines, cruising
But they go nowhere.
-Patrick Lashmar
- Someone said that a haiku is like a tree without leaves in the winter. What do you think this means?
- What does each of the examples of haiku describe?
- Haiku poems have three lines. Count the syllables in each line.
The Haiku is a beautiful form of poetry. It is a three-line poem that creates a mood or feeling. Haiku follows a pattern of 17 syllables.
Line 1 ~ 5 syllables
Line 2 ~ 7 syllables
Line 3 ~ 5 syllables
Write three examples of haiku poetry making sure that each word is chosen carefully to help create thefeeling you are trying to portray.
Section #4The Poetry of Robert Frost
Robert Frost was a very traditional writer. Despite the fact that he followed the “rules” of traditional poetry closely, he still manages to produce some of the most beautiful poems. Robert Frost wrote mostly in traditional 4-line stanzas. Each stanza presents thoughts, feelings and experiences in sequence. Below are two of Frost’s most famous poems.
Stopping By the Woods on a Snowy EveningThe Road Not Taken
Whose woods are these I think I know.Two roads diverged in yellow wood,
His house is in the village though;And sorry I could not travel both
He will not see me stopping hereAnd be one traveler, long I stood
To watch his woods fill up with snow.And looked down one as far I could
To where it bent in undergrowth.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse nearThen took the other, as just as fair,
Between the woods and frozen lakeAnd having perhaps the better claim,
The darkest evening of the year.Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
He gives his harness bells a shakeHad worn them really about the same.
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweepAnd both that morning equally lay
Of easy wind and downy flake.In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,Yet knowing how the way leads on to way,
But I have promises to keep,I doubted if I should ever come back.
And miles to go before I sleep.
And miles to go before I sleep.I shall be telling this with a sighj
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Your task for today is to create a poem in the style of Robert Frost, a traditional 4 or 5 line stanza that tells the reader a story.
Section 2 Limericks
A limerick is different from other kinds of poetry. It has a special rhythm and rhyme pattern. Limericks are funny and sometimes even silly!
Ex: There was a young man of SouthBay,
Making fireworks one summer day,
He dropped his cigar
In the gunpowder jar…
There was a young man of SouthBay.
A poet from Winnipeg, Man.,
Wrote verses that never would scan,
When asked why this was,
He replied, “Well because
I try to fit in as many words to a line I can!”
How well did you note the pattern for a limerick?
A limerick is a five line poem
Lines 1,2 and 5 rhyme
Lines 3 and 4 rhyme and are indented
It has a bouncy beat
The first line introduces the person or animal who is the subject
Poem #1~ A limerick about a person
- Decide who the limerick will be about and where they live
- Think about some rhyming words
- Think of a ridiculous idea you want to tell about
- As you write, say the poem quietly to yourself. Make sure you have a bouncy beat.
Poem#2 A limerick about an animal
Section #1 Free Verse
Poems that rhyme are easy to remember and repeat. However, many great poems do not follow a regular rhyme pattern of rhythm and rhyme. They are called free verse poems. Below are examples of free verse poems by Lilian Moore.
The tree on the corner
I’ve seen
the tree on the corner
in spring bud
and summer green
Yesterday
it was yellow gold.
Then a cold
wind began to blow
Now I know-
you do not see
a tree
until you see
its bones.
Roofscape
The lines are
straight
and
many-cornered-
plunging
rising high.
From my window
I can see
how roofs
design a sky.
How do poets produce these beautiful images?