POETRY
RHYTHM
Rhythm is the flow
of the beat in a poem.
Gives poetry a musical feel.
Can be fast or slow, depending on mood
and subject of poem.
You can measure rhythm in meter,
by counting the beats in each line.
Rhythm Examples
The Pickety Fence by David McCord
Pickety fence
The pickety fence
Give it a lick it's
The pickety fence
Give it a lick it's
A clickety fence
Give it a lick it's a lickety fence
Give it a lick
Give it a lick
Give it a lick
With a rickety stick
pickety
pickety
pickety
pick.
Where are you now?
When the night begins to fall
And the sky begins to glow
You look up and see the tall
City of lights begin to grow –
In rows and little golden squares
The lights come out. First here, then there
Behind the windowpanes as though
A million billion bees had built
Their golden hives and honeycombs
Above you in the air.
By Mary Britton Miller
The rhythm in this poem is slow –to match the night gently falling and the lights slowly coming on.
Lines and Stanzas
Most poems are written in lines.
A group of lines in a poem is called a stanza.
Stanzas separate ideas in a poem.
They act like paragraphs.
This poem has two stanzas
March
A blue day
A blue jay
And a good beginning.
One crow,
Melting snow -
Spring’s winning!
By Eleanor Farjeon
First Stanza
Second Stanza
Mood
•Mood is the atmosphere, or emotion, in the poem created by the poet.
•Can be happy, angry, silly, sad, excited, fearful or thoughtful.
•Poet uses words and images to create mood.
•Author’s purpose helps determine mood.
Mood -Barefoot Days�
In the morning, very early,
That’s the time I love to go
Barefoot where the fern grows curly
And grass is cool between each toe,
On a summer morning-O!
On a summer morning!
That is when the birds go by
Up the sunny slopes of air,
And each rose has a butterfly
Or a golden bee to wear;
And I am glad in every toe –
Such a summer morning-O!
Such a summer morning!
The mood in this poem is happy. What clues in the poem can you use to determine the mood?
Mood - Mad Song I shut my door �
To keep you out
Won’t do no good
To stand and shout
Won’t listen to
A thing you say
Just time you took
Yourself away
I lock my door
To keep me here
Until I’m sure
You disappear.
By Myra Cohn Livingston
The mood in this poem is angry. What clues in the poem can you use to determine the mood?
Mood-I loved my friend.�
He went away from me.
There’s nothing more to say.
The poem ends,
Soft as it began –
I loved my friend:
By Langston Hughes
The mood in this poem is sad. What clues in the poem can you use to determine the mood?
Now that we’ve talked about rhythm and mood… let’s practice some similes!
Similes Practice
Copy and complete these in your language notebooks: