Poetry: Exaggeration and Meter [7/14-7/17] July 15, 2008
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Our poetry for this week often demonstrates a combination of regular meters and exaggerated language/imagery. Pick one of our poems and help me understand how the two work together within the poem’s structure to help illuminate the poem’s theme.
- Establish how the meter is working: iambic pentameter or otherwise.
- Establish the rhyme scheme (if there is one).
- What words and/or images are exaggerated, whether overstated or understated?
- Does the poem’s rhythm do anything to highlight the exaggerated parts of the poem?
- Look for ways in which the regularity of the meter/rhythm are disrupted. Why would the poem change at this point?
Use these questions as a starting point to gather ideas about what is happening within the poem. Then, provide a brief analysis of its theme.