Quiz: Sound & Line & Using the Lab to Write Poetry

After our quiz, please complete the following writing activities:

1. Use any DRAFT ONE poem (the sound poem or the 6-20 line poem first drafts we have done recently), and rewrite them to include any (or all) of the following (call this DRAFT TWO):

• Sound imagery: Alliteration, assonance, consonance, onamatopeia
• Meter: tetrameter, pentameter
• Metrical feet: iambic, trochaic, dactylic, anapestic
• Stanza: couplet, tercet or triplet, quatrain, sestet, octave
• Enjambment or self enclosed lines or caesura
• Syllabic verse (create a pattern with your first stanza, then stick to that pattern)
• Visual imagery: metaphor, simile, allusion, figurative language
• Cut unnecessary or repeated words that do not add to the meaning or overall effect of the poem
• Add specific words that create texture, tone, and feeling
• Hook us with your opening line
• Impress us, surprise us, or get us to think about your closing line

2. Write poetry. Choose a theme, consider a message or meaning, write a poem.

3. Done? Write more poetry. Choose another theme, create another message or meaning, write another poem.

4. Still done and the class has time left? Write another poem. And another. And another. Write until you have a portfolio filled with poem drafts. Use your time in the lab effectively and productively.

HOMEWORK: Please read about Diction, Tone, and Voice. Answer the questions on a separate piece of paper to be turned in as participation credit next class (Sept. 28):

• What does DICTION mean, according to Mary Oliver?
• What is TONE, as defined by Mary Oliver?
• What is VOICE, according to Mary Oliver?
• According to Mary Oliver, what three (3) components make up DICTION?
• What is the major style or tone contemporary poets use in their poems?
• Who created the definition for the concept of Negative Capability? 
• Try to explain negative capability in your own words.
• What are some characteristics of a lyric poem?
• What are some characteristics of a narrative poem?
• What is a prose poem? How is it both similar and different from prose?
• What is poetic diction? Give an example.
• What is a cliche? Give an example.
• What is inversion? Give an example.
• According to Mary Oliver, what 2 reasons should a beginning writer heed or understand when asked to write simple, clear, effective poetry, but is given complicated or difficult models from which to learn?
• Write a new poem. Your poem should be no longer than 6 lines. Make every word count. (You may write out your poem draft by hand in pen or pencil.)