Poetry Support

eWriting > Poetry Support > 6.3.4

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6.3.4 Understanding poetic technique

Although it is not necessary for primary schoolchildren to "[acquire] information about technical devices" (Board of Studies NSW Modules, p.366, 1998), their appreciation of poetry can be enhanced if they have some understanding of the ways in which poets create atmosphere and meaning in their works.

Pat Edwards (1985) advises that teacher avoid discussions about poetic conventions to begin with. However, she suggests that as children get involved and their sense of poetry develops, the teacher can "move gradually into talking about what poets do, about their content, their skills, their techniques". (p. 35-36)

The children can also be encouraged to experiment and to explore different devices when they come to write their own poetry. Where the classroom establishes an environment of enquiry and discovery, students need not be intimidated by learning about techniques, but rather feel supported to try out their own ideas.

It is generally better to explore different devices after the children have had the chance to listen to a particular poem and express their initial subjective reactions. A more objective treatment can then be embarked on, but the teacher always needs to bear in mind that the reason for looking at poetic devices is to see how they contribute to the meaning of the poem, not as ends in themselves.

Some anthologies with poems suitable for studying features such as rhythm, rhyme, onomatopoeia as well as some individual poems are given below.

There is however one excellent book which teachers may like to use to introduce their students to the more formal aspects of poetry. It is:

P-plate poets by Ron Thomas. (Macmillan Education, 1999).

The book which is illustrated by Marjorie Gardner looks anything but formal. It has sections on the different forms of poetry, literary devices and a collection of poems, rhymes and verses in thematic units, together with exercises for students to practise. Blackline masters are provided so copies of the poems and activities can be given to students.

Another excellent book is How to write, recite and delight in all kinds of poetry by Joy Hulme and Donna Guthrie. As in I like this poem, most of the work in this beautifully illustrated anthology is written by children, and there are sections on poetic forms and techniques. One traditional poem (Aesop's The fox and the crow) has been re-written as a rap poem, a form which "has made poetry cool for urban kids in school", according to Russell Simmons (as cited in Baum, 2004).

Some poems and anthologies for K-2 children (Early Stage 1 & Stage 1) are included in this section. However it is unlikely at this stage that the teacher would more likely engage them in formal activities but focus rather on their subjective reactions.

NOTE: The books and anthologies are all available in the Strathfield campus library.

Rhyme

Rhythm

Personification

Onomatopoeia and Sound

Alliteration

Repetition

Imagery including similes and metaphors

These suggestions are just one way to treat the poems in class and do not need to be restricted to the various age groups. Colonel Fazackerley, for instance, can be compared to Prowlpuss (discussed in Section 6.3.3) in an exploration of the theme of illusion and reality. Similarly in Tennyson's The Eagle, his view can be compared with that of Bwalla the hunter in Oodgeroo's poem (Section 6.3.3), while Susan Hill's Raps and Rhymes lend themselves particularly well to multivoice reading and other types of performance discussed in Section 6.3.2 (Motivating Activities).

Example of a poem using several different techniques

OVERHEARD ON A SALTMASH

Nymph, nymph, what are your beads?

Green glass, goblin. Why do you stare at them?

Give them me.

No.

Give them me. Give them me.

No.

Then I will howl all night in the reeds,

Lie in the mud and howl for them.

Goblin, why do you love them so?
They are better than stars or water,
Better than voices of winds that sing,
Better than any man's fair daughter.
Your green glass beads on a silver ring

Hush, I stole them out of the moon.

Give me your beads, I want them.

No.

I will howl in a deep lagoon
For your green glass beads, I love them so.
Give them me. Give them me.

No.

Harold Monro. I like this poem. Puffin Books. 1979)

This poem appeals to the child's imagination and sense of magic, and the 11 year old who commented on it liked it "... because it has a kind of mystic charm ..." (I like this poem, p. 104).

Monro uses repetition to emphasise the goblin's desire for the beads, "Nymph, nymph", and "Give them me" which in said several times in the short poem. Similarly the nymph's short, emphatic "no" is said several times.

Onomatopoeia is the correspondence between sound and sense and it is possible to "hear" the long drawn out howl of the goblin's yearning and pleading with the nymph, a word which again is repeated.

Alliteration is often used to draw the reader's attention to certain qualities and here the beads are not just "glass" beads or "green" beads. But "green, glass beads", the focus of the goblin's longing.

The rhyming scheme (abab) of the middle stanza reinforces the meaning and binds the whole poem together. Coming at the very centre, this part encapsulates all of the goblin's feelings.

These techniques could be discussed with the class once they have had the chance to listen to and reflect on the poem which is, of course, an ideal one for multivoice reading.

Other areas for discussion could be the effect of the nymph's short responses and the children's reactions to both the nymph and the goblin. The child who reviewed the poem felt rather sorry for the goblin "who seems to feel a great love for the beads and not just to want them out of greed." (p.104).