Part 9: Poetry
Part 9: Poetry
Poetry is not a literary genre, but rather, as with many other areas of literature mistaken for genre, it is a format in which literature can be written. Although students usually learn many types of poem formats, such as haiku, concrete or limerick, these are often considered subcategories in poetry, which can be written in free verse or formal verse, and is often thought to basically fall into lyrical, narrative, or dramatic--though sometimes these categories exhibit crossover. Within actual genres and subgenres, all categories and subcategories of the format of poetry may be found.
It is important for the Library Media Specialist to understand and practice using critical criteria when evaluating poetry for students. For example, younger students rely on the structure of rhyme to learn and recognize poetry, while older children and teens grow to have a greater appreciation for such types as blank verse, which contains no rhyme scheme but rather a more subtle patterned rhythm. Rhyme, on the other hand, is more capable of drawing younger children in and encouraging them to respond in some way, such as clapping or tapping along, and to wanting to hear the poem repeated again. Narrative poetry, too, tends to be more appealing to younger students, who enjoy hearing a good story, especially when it is humorous.
Another element needed to engage children is the language, which must be suitable to the younger audience and include sensory and other ideas with which children are themselves familiar. They must not only understand but delight in the imagery, and be encouraged to see something in a new and interesting light. The poem should appeal to not only the students’ hearing, but to all senses, such as sight, touch, and taste. Language used, such as metaphor and simile, must be within reach, while not clichéd.
It is also necessary to consider the poem’s purpose before presenting it to students; is it simply to amuse, or to make a philosophical observation about life, or is it didactic in nature? It should be accessible to children but not condescending, so that it is relatable, not offensive to young people. However, it is important to emphasize with students that poetry may be read simply for enjoyment, and not always to analyze or dissect. This is not to say that we do not teach students the tools to understand and evaluate on their own, but should encourage them to enjoy poetry both in reading and in writing it. Likewise, when reading versus writing on their own, they may prefer some types over others.
When looking back over poetry that I enjoyed as a child, Shel Silverstein is one of the first writers who comes to my mind. I greatly enjoyed most everything in his collections, and remember discussing and laughing over them with peers in the classroom, choosing them when possible for class assignments. In evaluating it by the given criteria in this chapter, I agree that as a student I enjoyed it because it told humorous stories with which I could relate--many about children, families, school--and definitely because it contained rhyme, repetition, and figurative language, specifically alliteration as I remember it from a child’s perspective.
I can also relate to the idea of being turned off by overanalysis, but when asked to create poetry in various forms, I was always up for a challenge. Unfortunately I do not particularly recall being asked to necessarily interact with poetry in school, such as in reader’s theater; I do feel that becoming an early reader likely did rely heavily on the rhyming stories I heard repeatedly at home, and ultimately memorized and pretended to “read” on my own. While picture books were part of my earliest introduction to poetry, I was also presented with traditional poems and lullabies, such as “Hickory, Dickory, Dock,” in a written volume that I pored over because of the rhyme and soft illustrations. I definitely feel that this early establishment of poetry as fun and pleasurable led to me being less disagreeable when I encountered it later in drier, more analytical contexts, so it really drives home to me the importance of educators evaluating and presenting the best poetry to students through the best possible means. as part of the ongoing goal of creating lifelong readers.
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