Mental Library: Poetry: Types of Poems-- Acrostic, Free Form, Sonnet

Hello, Friends!

Today concludes our poetry series. There is tons more to talk about with poetry, but I'm just providing a basic overview. I enjoy poetry, just not as much as other types of literature. :)

Last week, we looked at a few different types of poems, and this week, we'll finish that. There are millions of types of poems, so these past two poetry posts are not complete at all, but these are just a few I've come into contact with.

Acrostic

Basically, acrostic poems use adjectives starting with the letters in a word. Here's an example:

Charismatic
Agile
Terrific

The first letter of each adjective spells the word "Cat." When I was little, I made acrostic poems for my parents using their names. :)




Free Form

Free form poetry is anything you want it to be. This is fairly self-explanatory, so I'm not going to give you an example.

Sonnet

Hurrah! Sonnets! Sonnets are tricky.

First, there are three stanzas of four lines each. These are called quatrains. After these, there is a couplet. The rhyme scheme is: abab cdcd efef gg.

To make it more complicated, sonnets have to follow a specific foot pattern. Feet are made up of stressed and unstressed syllables (if you do not know what these are, please see here.) Sonnets use iambic pentameter, which means five feet, each consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. A famous example from Shakespeare says: (U = unstressed, S = stressed)

Shall I comPARE thee TO a SUMMer's Day?

      U   S  U      S     U     S   U    S        U     S        

Have you heard of any of these before? What type do you prefer to write? What type do you prefer to read?

Spruce Nogard

Source: http://www.shakespeare-online.com/sonnets/sonnetstyle.html

Attributions: https://pixabay.com/en/cat-kitty-kitten-feline-animal-2858906/

https://pixabay.com/en/summer-background-trees-day-walk-3529798/

Topic (Genre) of the Month: Tragic Hero*

Hello, Archetypal Characters.

Today, we are looking at tragic heroes. To not offend anyone and keep this interesting for everyone, we are sticking to fictional characters. I just realized I haven't posted about tragic heroes before. I will devote an entire post to the definition of a tragic hero later. For now, though, a tragic hero is basically someone who could be a traditional hero, but makes the wrong decision and usually dies as a result.

Beware! Spoilers included!

Bellerophon

Bellerophon was sent to accomplish multiple strenuous tasks, and once he came back victorious, received much glory and honor. However, he got increasingly prideful, and decided to fly Pegasus to Mount Olympus. The gods got mad at him because no mortal was as great as a god. So, they sent a fly to sting Pegasus, and Bellerophon got thrown off Pegasus's back, crippled for the rest of his life.

Anakin Skywalker

In the chronological first three Star Wars movies, we meet Anakin Skywalker, a young slave. As Anakin grows up, it is apparent he has great power in the Force, and as a result, has great potential. However, he continually lets his anger get out of control and makes the wrong choice. Eventually, the lure of the Dark Side is too strong for him, and he joins the Dark Side.

Gatsby

Jay Gatsby, in The Great Gatsby is a millionaire, and moves into a mansion near Daisy and Tom Buchanan. The story is told from the viewpoint of Nick Carraway, Daisy's cousin. Daisy and Gatsby dated when they were younger, and Gatsby hopes Daisy will fall in love with him again. They have an affair, and in the end, Gatsby is killed because of this.

Macbeth

Macbeth, from William Shakespeare's Macbeth, starts out as an honorable noble, but when he receives a prophecy he will become king, he kills the king to fulfill the prophecy and makes himself a tyrant. He continues to spiral downward, and is eventually killed.

Who are some tragic heroes you've heard of? Who's your favorite tragic hero?

Spruce Nogard

*Actually posted on June 1st. See here for details.

Source: http://www.uexpress.com/tell-me-a-story/2008/9/21/bellerophon-and-pegasus-a-greek-legend

Attributions: 

https://pixabay.com/en/pegasus-rodos-horse-greece-white-1542716/ 

https://pixabay.com/en/star-wars-darth-vader-cult-space-1204193/

https://www.amazon.com/Great-Gatsby-F-Scott-Fitzgerald/dp/0743273567/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1496345383&sr=1-1&keywords=the+great+gatsby 

Writing: Creative Complex: Elddir

Hello, Srellet-Elddir.

I know we've done posts about riddles before, but today's is a little different. Today, make up a riddle or a little poem using stressed and unstressed syllables.

Riddles are a little bit like optical illusions. What do you see?

Here are some examples:

• "Be bold, be bold, but not too bold, lest that your heart's blood should run cold." -Mr. Fox
• Link to my post about "Mr. Fox"
• "It is not so, it was not so, and God forbid it should ever be so." -"Mr. Fox" (Also quoted in Much Ado About Nothing by Shakespeare)
• "Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary" -"The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe (And the rest of the poem)
• Link to full poem
• "You heard as if an army muttered" -"The Pied Piper of Hamelin" by Robert Browning
• Link to full poem
• "Double, double, toil and trouble;/ Fire burn and cauldron bubble" -Macbeth by Shakespeare
• Here is a link to the Hogwarts Choir singing a song based on the witches' potion in Macbeth

If you can't quite remember stressed and unstressed syllables, see Dragomir's post about them here.

Share your creations in the comments!

Spruce Nogard

Attributions: https://pixabay.com/en/photos/?q=face+vase&image_type=&cat=&min_width=&min_height=

Topic of the Month*: Themes and Morals in Shakespeare

Hello, Actors!

Recently, we have been studying Shakespeare in English, and so. . . here is a blog post about it!

Anyways, one of the things we have been talking about is Shakespeare's ambiguity. Also, what is he trying to say through his literary works?

There are many ways to analyze Shakespeare, and he has many cautionary/tragic hero plays and many funny plays.

What are some Shakespeare poems/ plays you have read? Do you think he was trying to convey a message? What are some themes throughout his plays?

Spruce Nogard

*The title of this category used to be Genre of the Month.

 

Attributions: https://pixabay.com/en/shakespeare-poet-writer-author-67698/

Genre of the Month: Tragedy

Hello and Happy Thanksgiving, Friends!

Did you have a fun Thanksgiving? What was your favorite food?

This month's genre is tragedy. I do not read tragedy because it's, well, depressing. When I read, I  read so I don't have to deal with dull, sad, or problematic, everyday life. Not that my life is always like this. To the contrary, I have a very happy life. However, I read to escape, so I don't prefer tragedy. The only tragedy I have read is Romeo and Juliet, and that was for school. :)

Have you read tragedy? Why do you read? What is your favorite book in this genre?

Spruce Nogard

Attributions: https://www.amazon.com/Romeo-Juliet-William-Shakespeare/dp/1505259568/ref=pd_sbs_14_img_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=FTXM6V5DTV5BQE9TTSDQ