Mental Library: Poetry: Types of Poems--Concrete, Diamante, Haiku

Good day, Friends!

Last month, we learned about rhyming patterns in poetry. This month, we are learning about some common types of poems.

Concrete Poetry (Shape Poetry)

This type of poetry uses a shape as an outline. You can really pick any shape. The only confines are the shape you pick. Usually, the shape has something to do with the topic of the poem.

Diamante Poetry

This kind of poetry is similar to concrete poetry, but has more specific rules. The first line is a noun, the second line is two adjectives describing the noun, the third line is three verbs describing the noun, and the fourth line has a short phrase about the first noun, and the last noun [line 7]. From there, it's just like a mirror. The bottom line is a noun opposite to the top one, and right above that are the two adjectives describing the last noun, and it continues. Here is an example. (I just made it up now, so it's not the greatest. Also, I'm thinking of the sea. I just read a book about pirates. . . :) )

Sea

Calm, wild

Roaring, churning, bellowing

Untamed glory, Quiet monotony

Living, growing, submitting

Awe-inspiring, dull

Land

Haiku

Haikus have five syllables in the first line, seven in the second, and five in the third. Here's an example. (Again, I just made it up.)

The tiny mouse runs.

My cat pounces on his prey.

A playful game starts.

Here are a few types of poems. Next month, we'll talk about even more types of poems! Do you have a favorite type of poem? Why?

Spruce Nogard

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamante_poem

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concrete_poetry

Attributions: https://pixabay.com/en/water-sunrise-ocean-island-sea-1641780/ 

https://pixabay.com/en/cat-mouse-catch-hunting-play-396535/

Mental Library: Poetry: Rhyming Patterns

Hello, Friends!

Okay, so I haven't done much with this blog for, well, the whole school year. Sorry about that! I got really busy. I'm hopefully going to keep it up this summer, and I'll see about next year. I need to figure out what my school schedule looks like, and then I can figure out this blog. Sorry, everyone! Also, Happy Summer!

In any case, I'm going to continue a series I had just started before, well, not posting for a while. If you want to read the Intro to Poetry post, click here.

So, today, we're going to talk about rhyme schemes.

Rhyme schemes are basically the ways of identifying rhyming patterns throughout a poem. They are often labeled with letters. Let's look at a few examples:

“When the Dark Comes Rising” from The Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper:

When the Dark comes rising six shall turn it back;-A
Three from the circle, three from the track;-A
Wood, bronze, iron; Water, fire, stone;-B
Five will return and one go alone.-B

Most of you probably learned this at some point in elementary school. However, rhyme schemes are nice to be able to recognise, and they can get quite complicated.

Here's another example: “The Pied Piper of Hamelin” by Robert Browning. (I've used this poem to analyze stressed and unstressed syllables in a previous post, so that's why it might sound familiar. :) )

Hamelin town's in Brunswick,
By famous Hanover city; -A
The River Weser, deep and wide,-B
Washes its wall on the southern side;-B
A pleasanter spot you never spied;-B
But, when begins my ditty,-A
Almost five hundred years ago,-C
To see townsfolk suffer so-C
From vermin, was a pity.-A

So, the rhyme scheme for “The Pied Piper of Hamelin” is a little more complicated, but a little less predictable. Rhyme schemes don't have to follow a pattern, although they often do. Browning's rhyme scheme for “The Pied Piper of Hamelin” used a little bit of a looser structure.

Rhyme schemes get even more complex, however, and actually, rap music is brilliant at rhymes. However, most rap music contains content I do not agree with. As a result, here is part of “Alexander Hamilton” from the musical Hamilton.

Moved in with a cousin, the cousin committed suicide

Left him with nothin' but ruined pride, something new inside

First of all, there are tons of really cool literary devises in this, not just the rhyming, but I'm not going to talk about those today. :) In any case, the lavender words all rhyme. At least, they sound very close to rhyming. The cool thing about this is phrases that are more than one word rhyme. This is harder to do, but also sounds amazing. Also, the rhymes are not always in the same place! I think this is fun. :) Rhymes in rap music can get much more complicated and brilliant than this, but if you want to find out more, you'll have to look it up. As I said, rap music often has material I do not agree with in it, so I did not add links to videos or anything.

What are your favorite poems? Why? Post in the comments!

Spruce Nogard

Sources:

https://genius.com/Lin-manuel-miranda-alexander-hamilton-lyrics 

http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/hameln.html#browning 

http://darkisrising.wikia.com/wiki/Circle_of_Signs 

Attributions:

https://pixabay.com/en/hamelin-the-pied-piper-of-hamelin-221448/  

https://pixabay.com/en/happy-fun-spring-spring-background-2220481/

Combination of Tons of Topics: Mirror Mirror, Follow Follow, and Echo Echo

Hello, Friends. Or, should I say Friends, hello?

You see, I was just thinking about poems that have different meanings if you read them from top to bottom or bottom to top.

As you know, this is the "fifth" week this month, so to keep the post schedule going on a monthly basis, I kind of do whatever I want for the Monday and Saturday posts. Today, I am partially writing  a Mental Library post, Book post, a Fairy Tale post, and partially writing a Creative Complex post.















The type of poem: nicknamed "reverso" poems, because they can be read two different ways.

The book(s): Mirror Mirror, Follow Follow and Echo Echo.

The poems are so amazing because if you reverse the order of the lines, you read a different poem, but it makes sense. Also, they're amazing because even though writing a "reverso" poem looks easy, it's not. I've tried.





One of the best things about the books is this: they are based on fairytales and mythology!!! What could be better?

Sorry, but I don't think I can copy a poem or a picture of the page, especially since I don't own the book. :( I wish I did, though. I should really just go buy it. . .  so I'm going to link you to a poem which displays cool perspectives, and I really like.




"In the Hood:" https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqFK_-zH0KmpUFJZN7lxzNrXam9gF-yt7kQBn0VpGss1ypF4Y3_eC_-Ul1dPS_VR5Ry0YqQ1x5u-NIHGpaE5Q5N24l7M5U_OvnhlsGy47bHIEk-quluj-835PYXSK_ya73BUBhVGU9oxQ/s1600/Mirror+Mirror_Riding+Hood.jpg

Also, as an extra challenge, try writing a "reverso" poem yourself. (Just start with two or three lines.) Share your poems in the comments!

Good luck!

 Spruce Nogard

Attributions:

https://www.amazon.com/Mirror-Book-Reverso-Poems/dp/0525479015 

https://www.amazon.com/Follow-Book-Reverso-Poems/dp/0803737696 

https://www.amazon.com/Echo-Reverso-Poems-About-Greek/dp/0803739923/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1471748689&sr=1-1&keywords=echo+echo%3A+A+Book+of+Reverso+Poems 

On the Breath of a Dragon's Wing Poem

This is a poem I wrote a while ago, and I still absolutely love it. This poem is the blog's namesake.

On the Breath of a Dragon's Wing

On the Breath of a Dragon's Wing,

A story was once told.

A story of longing,

A story of old.

On the Breath of a Dragon's Wing,

A dragon was born.

It's mother was neglected,

The baby was forlorn.

On the Breath of a Dragon's Wing,

A story was once told.

Here is that story,

Let it be your mold.

Everything has a purpose,

So heed the words you read.

Let them help your troubles,

Let them help your needs.

The dragon's wing is soft,

And its rider sings.

So be comforted young ones,

On the Breath of a Dragon's Wing.

Spruce Nogard

Attributions: https://pixabay.com/en/silhouette-landscape-castle-dragon-240965/