Multi-Media Poetry Project
Katie Burdick
Mrs. Gardner
3 April 2014
10th Lit/Comp AB 18 Weeks
Borrowed Poems
"Footprints in the Sand"
By Mary Stevenson
One night I dreamed I was walking
along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,
other times there were one set of footprints.
This bothered me because I noticed that
during the low periods of my life, when I was
suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat,
I could see only one set of footprints.
So I said to the Lord,”You promised me
Lord, that if I followed you,
you would walk with me always.
But I have noticed that during the most trying periods
of my life there have only been
one set of footprints in the sand.
Why, when I needed you most,
you have not been there for me?"
The Lord replied,
“The times when you have
seen only one set of footprints,
is when I carried you.”
Explanation
Figurative Language
Image: Footprints
Dialogue: "Quotation marks" indicate conversation.
Free verse: No rhyme or pattern to poem.
"'Twas the Night Before Christmas"
By Clement Clarke Moore
'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled down for a long winter's nap,
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,
With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;
"Now, DASHER! now, DANCER! now, PRANCER and VIXEN!
On, COMET! on CUPID! on, DONDER and BLITZEN!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my hand, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.
His eyes -- how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!
Explanation
Figurative Language
Personification: Sugar-plums danced in their heads.
Simile: I flew like a flash. He looked like a peddler. His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry! His mouth was drawn up like a bow. Beard was as white as the snow. Smoke encircled his head like a wreath. Round belly shook like a bowlful of jelly. They all flew like the down of a thistle.
Alliteration: When, what to my wondering eyes
Onomatopoeia: St. Nicholas came with a bound
End rhyme: house, mouse. care, there. End rhyme for every two consecutive lines through entire poem.
The Tea Party
By Jessica Nelson North
I had a little tea party
This afternoon at three.
'Twas very small-
Three guest in all-
Just I, myself and me.
Myself ate all the sandwiches,
While I drank up the tea;
'Twas also I who ate the pie
And passed the cake to me.
Explanation
Figurative Language
End rhyme: small, all. three, me. tea, me.
Image: tea
Original Poems
Books
By Katie Burdick
Action and fantasy,
Romantic and thrilling,
Books are our adventures.
From a pirate or a princess,
To a bird in the sky,
Books are our dreams.
A hero is like a mountain,
And the villain is the wind.
Complex characters, climax, and charisma,
Reel us in like Sea Basses.
Books are our hopes,
And everything we can't do.
But fantasies and dreams,
Make books our realities.
Explanation
Figurative Language
Metaphor: Books are our adventures. Books are our dreams. And the villain is the wind. Books are our hopes.
Simile: A hero is like a mountain. Reel us in like seabasses.
Friday Night Football
By Katie Burdick
Friday nights
And stadium lights
Fans are clad in their colors.
After tailgating with brothers
They fill up the stands
Hoping to beat the others.
The players run
Like they're chased by the sun.
Throw - it is caught
The other team looks distraught.
Our crowd shouts
While the other team pouts
Another successful pass.
A touchdown for us
The team boards the bus
Another big Friday night win.
Explanation
Figurative Language
Alliteration: Clad in colors.
Simile: Players run like they're chased by the sun.
Metaphor: Our crowd shouts.
End rhyme: brothers, others. run, sun. caught, distraught. shouts, pouts. us, bus.
Glossary
Poetry Terms
Alliteration- the repetition of beginning consonant sounds in words.
Ex: Busy bumbling bees.
Allusion- a reference to a historical figure, place, or event.
Ex: A team competed in a David and Goliath battle.
Connotation- a word that goes beyond its dictionary meaning.
Ex: love.
Denotation- the literal meaning or dictionary definition of a word.
Ex: a home is the house where one lives.
End Rhyme- rhymes that have the same ending sounds.
Ex: stay and way.
Epigram- a brief and witty poem.
Ex: "Here's my wife: here let her lie! Now she's at rest - and so am I."-John Dryden.
Hyperbole- an extreme exaggeration to make a point.
Ex: She was so old she could have been born when North America was discovered.
Iamb- an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one.
Ex: to-DAY.
Metaphor- a comparison between two unlike things, saying one thing IS another.
Ex: The blanket is a fluffy cloud.
Metonymy- a figure of speech in which a closely related term in substituted for an object or idea.
Ex: I have always remained loyal to the crown.
Onomatopoeia- words that sound like noises.
Ex: Boom! Bang! Crash! Woof!
Parody- a humorous and mocking imitation of a literary work, yet playful and respectful in its imitation.
Ex: "Austin Powers" (spoof on James Bond movies).
Personification- giving a nonhuman thing human characteristics.
Ex: The trees waved when I ran by.
Quatrain- a four line stanza with end rhyme.
Ex: The mountain frames the sky, as a shadow of an eagle flies by. With clouds hanging at its edge, a climber proves his courage on its rocky ledge. -Donna Brock
Repetition- when a word, phrase, line, or stanza is repeated in a poem.
Ex: "Quoth the raven, "Nevermore."" -Edgar Allan Poe
Satire- a literary work that criticizes and ridicules human misunderstandings.
Ex: In "Shrek" an ogre is the knight in shining armor.
Simile- a comparison between two things using "like" or "as."
Ex: He roared as loud as a lion.
Slant Rhyme- rhymes that are close, but not exact.
Ex: brow and below.
Theme- the main idea in a work of literature.
Ex: Love conquers all (Sleeping Beauty).
Understatement- a figure of speech that is less important than it actually is; the opposite of exaggeration.
Ex: I'm having a little operation.
Works Cited
Pictures:
Footprints in the Sand picture:
'Twas the Night Before Christmas picture:
The Tea Party picture:
strings-of-memories.blogspot.com
Books picture:
Friday Night Football pictures (left to right):
Glossary Terms:
"Glossary of Poetic Terms." Literature. McGraw-Hill Online Learning Center, n.d. Web. 03 April. 2014. http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0072405228/student_view0/poetic_glossary.html