POE - Scanning the Poets Lesson

English_Lesson_TopBanner.png Scanning the Poets

To begin, let's look at a few poems, just to practice reading poetry. Remember the terms you learned in the previous lessons and examine: rhyme, meter, and figurative language.

"The Vantage Point" by Robert Frost "Sonnet 43" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

If tired of trees I seek again mankind,
      Well I know where to   hie me—in the dawn,
      To a slope where the cattle keep the lawn.
There amid lolling juniper reclined,
Myself unseen, I see in white defined
        Far off the homes of men, and farther still
        The graves of men on an opposing hill,
Living or dead, whichever are to mind.

And if by noon I have too much of these,
        I have but to turn on my arm, and lo,
        The sunburned hillside sets my face aglow,
My breathing shakes the bluet like a breeze,
        I smell the earth, I smell the bruisèd plant,
        I look into the crater of the ant.

 How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

Questions to Ponder:

Can you identify a simile?

What does the title mean?

Use the TPCASTT method to analyze this poem.

Questions to Ponder:

What is the rhyme scheme in this sonnet?

How many metrical feet are in each line?

Use the TPCASTT method to analyze this poem.

Though we looked sonnets in detail, as well as clearly structured metrical feet, much of poetry has no rhyme, no clear structure, and still says just as much! Take a look at the video below that is one woman's take on slam poetry, which is a competition where poets read/recite original works. How does this poem differ from the ones we've studied in the module so far?

Become a Slam Poet in Five Steps

Take a few moments to view the video below. Please be patient while the video loads.

Acrostic Poetry

Examine this acrostic poem below by Edgar Allan Poe. In an acrostic, the first letter (or syllable) of each line forms a word or message.

Elizabeth it is in vain you say

"Love not" — thou sayest it in so sweet a way:

In vain those words from thee or *L.E.L.

**Zantippe's indicator talents had enforced so well:

Ah! if that language from thy heart arise,

Breathe it less gently forth — and veil thine eyes.

***Endymion indicator, recollect, when Luna tried

To cure his love — was cured of all beside —

His follie — pride — and passion — for he died.

This poem spells out: ELIZABETH

*    Poetic Device: Allusion  Letitia Elizabeth Landon

**  Poetic Device: Allusion - a Greek philosopher's wife

***Poetic Device: Allusion - Mardi Gras Parade

Module Review - Meter and Form Review

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