I like poems but it is like looking at a painting. It is beautiful but I have no idea how it was created. I think that is one of the reasons why I like ballads as it almost like a story and at least I can understand a story.
So here are some poems for people who find poetry difficult. These are poems that are more like a story and therefore you can use the same skills needed to understand them as you need to read a short story and then I'll help you pull out some techniques that are used.
I'm going to start with James K. Baxter.
He likes to repeat sounds. But not always at the end of a line so instead of just a plain ryhme he is instead using things like Alliteration - which is at the start of a word - and Assonance - which is in the middle sound of a word like the vowel sounds - I think this particular works when read in an New Zealand accent.
I've always enjoyed the way Sam Hunt performs his poems. The cadence of his voice adds another layer to the poem itself.
Sam Hunt isn't always constrained by rhyme. It is up and down of the words like in a sonnet creates the cadence and rhythm.
Repetition can be very powerful. Allen here builds up on his idea by repeating the titles we often place people in and put words into their mouth. Or we can flip it around that we often will label ourselves and have others dictate what we will say or contribute to society.
Rhyme is often used but in this the rhyme is much more subtle because the repetition and the structure of the couplets makes the rhyme something that is inevitable.
You can read about the poem here.
One of my favourite poems is the charge of the light brigade.
Again repetition is important in this poem. In this case it is to build up the tension and to create a picture of what the men were to face.
Rhythm is significant in this poem as it is trying to create the same kind of pattern of the horses riding and then falling to the cannons.
This poem though is more about its historical significant. This was before easy communication and most British were unaware of the dangers their people faced. This went on to cause an outrage amongst the people. Though unfortunately they didn't change their ways until after WWI.
The word order in this case is to support the rhythm but also highlights certain words like "why".
I find the poems that deal with dark and heavy topics the easiest to analyse as the effect on the audience is clear.
The Highwayman is famous for its imagery, similes and metaphors. These are easy to spot and therefore discuss in any essay.
I do always think he was an idiot to go back after she had killed herself to save him. But what else can be expected from a tragedy.
Unlike the others this poem is not grounded in a story. Instead it speaks more to you. You connect to the possibility.
By the end you realise it is an old man talking to his son about the possibilities but this ambiguity about who he is talking to is what draws in the reader. We ask ourselves the what if question that touches us.
In the US you are most likely to come across Emily Dickinson and Sylvia Plath
And pretty much everyone in an English speaking country has come across Shakespeare.
Though easier to study the ballads are not the easier poem to write. You can always try for yourself.
If you haven't tried out the flash cards on language features I highly recommend them.
Teacher's Notes
This is to help prepare students for the unfamiliar text external.
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