Parts of Speech and Poetry
2023-03-03
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1Have you ever written a poem in English? Some of you have written to us in recent weeks asking us about writing and sharing poems.
2When I was a teacher at a university, I taught my ESL students creative writing.
3We spent time learning to use parts of speech to write poems.
4In today's Everyday Grammar, we will look at two different kinds of poems that can be easily written using several parts of speech, the cinquain and a diamante poem or diamond poem.
5Let's start with the cinquain.
6The cinquain poem gets its name from the number five in the French language, or "cinq."
7It has five lines. One form of a cinquain uses parts of speech, like nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs.
8Let's look at the structure of a cinquain.
9The first line is the subject. Keep this to one word. Use a noun.
10The second line is two adjectives that describe the subject.
11Line three includes three action words.
12These can be either verbs or the -ing form of verbs called gerunds.
13Line four uses four words that describe the subject.
14This line often brings attention to the mood or emotion of the poem.
15This can be a simple phrase, or group of words expressing a thought.
16And lastly, line five is one word that again reflects the subject of the poem in the first line.
17This can be a synonym, or another word that has the same meaning as the subject.
18Let's look at an example:
19Spring
20Warmer, brighter
21Planting, watering, blooming
22Sweet smell of flowers
23Gardens
24Now let's look at a similar poem using parts of speech.
25The diamante poem or diamond poem is a seven-line poem.
26It is shaped like a diamond. Let's look at the structure:
27The first line is only one noun.
28Line two has two adjectives.
29The third line has three verbs.
30Line four has four nouns.
31The fifth line is like the third line and has three verbs.
32The sixth line has two adjectives like the second line.
33The seventh line is a one-word noun.
34Here again is a description of the shape, the line structure, and the parts of speech:
35Line 1: noun
36Line 2: adjective, adjective
37Line 3: verb, verb, verb
38Line 4: noun, noun, noun, noun
39Line 5: verb, verb, verb
40Line 6: adjective, adjective
41Line 7: noun
42A Diamante poem can either express synonyms with the first and last lines describing similar ideas, or the poem can change to show the opposite meaning of the subject.
43The first and last lines would then be antonyms, or opposites.
44The second half of the poem could even explore something with similarities to the subject but with important differences.
45Let's look at an example of each.
46Synonym:
47Cat
48Small, cute
49Sleeping, running, climbing
50Toys, trees, birds, food
51Jumping, meowing, cuddling
52Fluffy, curious
53Feline
54Antonym:
55Fruit
56Juicy, sweet
57Growing, ripening, picking
58Apples, berries, tomatoes, eggplant
59Eating, cooking, pickling
60Healthy, savory
61Vegetables
62In the last poem, "fruit" and "vegetables" are different.
63In the fourth line, the poem changed from describing fruit to describing vegetables.
64Line four shows a change from the subject of the first part of the poem to the new subject of the second half, connecting the two in only a few words.
65Now it's your turn
66Today we looked at ways we can use parts of speech to create two kinds of poems. The cinquain poem and the diamond poem.
67The Cinquain poem has five lines. Lines two through five expand on the subject of the poem, which is the first line.
68The diamond-shaped poem has seven lines containing four parts of speech.
69This poem structure can be like a cinquain with synonyms of the first and last lines, or antonyms can be used to create a contrast or to show a difference in the poem.
70Now it's your turn! Create a cinquain or diamond poem of your own!
71Try to choose a simple subject, something that you know well.
72You have the structure. Just think about describing your subjects with different parts of speech.
73Send your poems to learningenglish@voanews.com.
74Or share your poems in the comments below!
75I'm Faith Pirlo. And I'm Jill Robbins.
1Have you ever written a poem in English? Some of you have written to us in recent weeks asking us about writing and sharing poems. 2When I was a teacher at a university, I taught my ESL students creative writing. We spent time learning to use parts of speech to write poems. 3In today's Everyday Grammar, we will look at two different kinds of poems that can be easily written using several parts of speech, the cinquain and a diamante poem or diamond poem. 4Let's start with the cinquain. 5Cinquain 6The cinquain poem gets its name from the number five in the French language, or "cinq." It has five lines. One form of a cinquain uses parts of speech, like nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. 7Let's look at the structure of a cinquain. 8The first line is the subject. Keep this to one word. Use a noun. 9The second line is two adjectives that describe the subject. 10Line three includes three action words. These can be either verbs or the -ing form of verbs called gerunds. 11Line four uses four words that describe the subject. This line often brings attention to the mood or emotion of the poem. This can be a simple phrase, or group of words expressing a thought. 12And lastly, line five is one word that again reflects the subject of the poem in the first line. This can be a synonym, or another word that has the same meaning as the subject. 13Let's look at an example: 14Spring 15Warmer, brighter 16Planting, watering, blooming 17Sweet smell of flowers 18Gardens 19Diamante or diamond poem 20Now let's look at a similar poem using parts of speech. The diamante poem or diamond poem is a seven-line poem. It is shaped like a diamond. Let's look at the structure: 21The first line is only one noun. 22Line two has two adjectives. 23The third line has three verbs. 24Line four has four nouns. 25The fifth line is like the third line and has three verbs. 26The sixth line has two adjectives like the second line. 27The seventh line is a one-word noun. 28Here again is a description of the shape, the line structure, and the parts of speech: 29Line 1: noun 30Line 2: adjective, adjective 31Line 3: verb, verb, verb 32Line 4: noun, noun, noun, noun 33Line 5: verb, verb, verb 34Line 6: adjective, adjective 35Line 7: noun 36A Diamante poem can either express synonyms with the first and last lines describing similar ideas, or the poem can change to show the opposite meaning of the subject. The first and last lines would then be antonyms, or opposites. The second half of the poem could even explore something with similarities to the subject but with important differences. 37Let's look at an example of each. 38Synonym: 39Cat 40Small, cute 41Sleeping, running, climbing 42Toys, trees, birds, food 43Jumping, meowing, cuddling 44Fluffy, curious 45Feline 46Antonym: 47Fruit 48Juicy, sweet 49Growing, ripening, picking 50Apples, berries, tomatoes, eggplant 51Eating, cooking, pickling 52Healthy, savory 53Vegetables 54In the last poem, "fruit" and "vegetables" are different. In the fourth line, the poem changed from describing fruit to describing vegetables. Tomatoes and eggplant are often thought of as vegetables in the United States, but scientifically they are fruit. Line four shows a change from the subject of the first part of the poem to the new subject of the second half, connecting the two in only a few words. 55Now it's your turn 56Today we looked at ways we can use parts of speech to create two kinds of poems. The cinquain poem and the diamond poem. 57The Cinquain poem has five lines. Lines two through five expand on the subject of the poem, which is the first line. 58The diamond-shaped poem has seven lines containing four parts of speech. This poem structure can be like a cinquain with synonyms of the first and last lines, or antonyms can be used to create a contrast or to show a difference in the poem. 59Now it's your turn! Create a cinquain or diamond poem of your own! Try to choose a simple subject, something that you know well. You have the structure. Just think about describing your subjects with different parts of speech. 60Send your poems to learningenglish@voanews.com. 61Or share your poems in the comments below! 62I'm Faith Pirlo. And I'm Jill Robbins. 63Faith Pirlo wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 64___________________________________________________________________ 65Words in This Story 66mood - n. an emotional state of mind or feeling 67reflects - v. to show (something) or make (something) known 68bloom - v. to produce flowers 69cute - adj. having a pleasing, youthful appearance 70meow - n. or v. the sound a cat makes 71cuddle - v. to hold (someone or something) in your arms in order to show affection 72fluffy - adj. light and soft or airy 73feline - n. a word that describes a cat or something that is like a cat 74juicy - adj. containing a lot of liquid or juice 75ripen - v. to become ready to eat 76berry - n. a small fruit (such as a strawberry, blueberry, or raspberry) that has many small seeds (plural berries) 77eggplant - n. a vegetable with a smooth, dark purple skin. 78pickle - v. a method of preserving food in vinegar, salt brine or a similar mixture. 79savory - adj. having a spicy or salty quality without sweetness 80______________________________________________________________________ 81What do you think of this story? 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