The Language of Poetry - LanguageArts-NHS

poetic form: free verse
Most modern poems are written in free verse, a poetic form
with no regular pattern of rhyme or rhythm. A free verse poem
can be structured as one long, unbroken stanza, as in “The
Fish,” or with many stanzas of varying length, as in “Christmas
Sparrow.” The lines in free verse poems may also vary in
length. Without a strict meter, the rhythm of free verse poetry
often seems more like everyday speech. As you read, notice
how the line length, sounds of words, and punctuation create
a rhythm in each poem.
literary analysis: imagery
Sometimes a poem can seem like a portrait of a moment, a
person, an animal, or an object. Imagery, or words and phrases
that appeal to the reader’s senses, can help create these types
of portraits and often reinforce certain ideas about the subject
described. For example, in “The Fish,” Bishop appeals to the
senses of sight and touch when she describes the fish’s skin.
Lines like these help depict a beautifully fragile old fish.
hung in strips / like ancient wallpaper
shapes like full-blown roses / stained and lost through age
As you read the poems, record strong, evocative imagery on a
chart like the one shown. Identify
• the sense the word or phrase appeals to
• the associations the imagery conjures up
• the idea that is being reinforced
Poem Title:
Imagery Sense(s) Associations Idea Reinforced
reading strategy: visualize
As you read the following poems, notice how the imagery,
descriptions, and specific words help you visualize the animals,
settings, and events in the poems. Use your imagination to
“see” what they might look like. For example, what image of a
fish comes to mind when you read the following description?
He hung a grunting weight, / battered and venerable / and
homely. . . .
Elizabeth Bishop:
Soulful Poet The poetry
of Elizabeth Bishop is
marked by its exact and
tranquil descriptions
of the physical world.
Hidden beneath her
poems’ air of serenity
and simplicity, however,
are underlying themes
of great depth. When
writing about loss
and pain, the struggle to belong, and other
themes, Bishop worked hard to ensure that
“the spiritual [was] felt.”
Billy Collins: Poet for
the People Billy Collins
remembers publishing
a poem in his high
school newspaper that
was later confiscated.
Rising to national and
popular prominence
years later, Collins
became U.S. Poet
Laureate (2001–2003)
and launched the
Elizabeth Bishop
1911–1979
Billy Collins
born 1941
“Poetry 180” program, which aimed to get
more high school students to read wellwritten,
understandable poetry each day
during the 180-day school year.
Theodore Roethke:
Passion for Nature
“When I get alone
under an open sky,”
wrote Theodore
Roethke, “where man
isn’t too evident—
then I’m tremendously
exalted. . . .” A passion
for nature pervades
Roethke’s poetry. His Theodore Roethke
1908–1963
poems also explore
love, mortality, and the
quest for spiritual wholeness.
more about the author
For more on these poets, visit the
Literature Center at ClassZone.com.
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