Poetry and Syllables
2023-03-10
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1Last week, we looked at two kinds of poems, the cinquain and the diamante or diamond poem.
2We explored parts of speech: nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs with poems.
3Many of you wrote to us and shared your poems.
4In today's Everyday Grammar, we will look at the cinquain and the haiku.
5But we will place our attention on the use of syllables to create the poems.
6A syllable is a natural division of a word.
7For example, the word, "flower" has two syllables: -flow and -er.
8The number of syllables in the word depends on the number of vowel sounds.
9In the word "flower" there are two vowel sounds.
10Although there are about 20 vowels sounds in English, all the sounds can be written with the letters a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y.
11One syllable can be written with more than one vowel letter, like in the word "boot."
12Although there are two vowel letters, o and o, there is only one vowel sound -oo.
13When two separate vowel sounds are next to each other in the same syllable, it is called a diphthong.
14One way to identify vowel sounds is to clap your hands together when you hear the vowel sounds.
15Take the word "winter." We clap our hands together twice, win-ter. If you cannot clap, you can tap your foot or tap a desk, or even count on your fingers.
16Haiku are short poems that are based on syllables and not do rhyme.
17They are a Japanese art form.
18But writers in many countries have copied them.
19In English, they are expressed in three lines, and the poem has 17 syllables throughout the three lines.
20They are centered on nature and two opposing ideas in a single moment in time.
21In English, haiku can deal with nature, or they can be about anything, as long as the traditional structure is maintained.
22Let's look at the English form of the syllable structure for a haiku:
23Line 1: Five syllables
24Line 2: Seven syllables
25Line 3: Five syllables
26Let's look at an example:
27Sleeping guinea pigs
28Eyes wide open, no true trust
29Until food arrives
30In the poem above, I wrote about my guinea pigs. We can see the syllable structure below:
31Slee-ping gui-nea pigs (5 syllables)
32Eyes wide o-pen, no true trust (7 syllables)
33Un-til food ar-rives (5 syllables)
34Here is another example about winter.
35Still snowing in March
36When will spring be on its way?
37No sunshine, so sad
38Hopefully, spring will be here soon. Let's move on to another kind of poem that we learned about before, the cinquain.
39Just like the cinquain from last week, the form with syllables has five lines. Each line contains an even number of syllables.
40Line 1 contains two syllables.
41Line 2 has four syllables.
42Line 3 has six syllables.
43Line 4 has eight syllables.
44Line 5 contains just two syllables, like the first line.
45Here is an example:
46Hot days
47Arrive soon now
48Sun ri-ses earlier
49Sun sets later in the evening
50Warm nights
51Now, let's look at the syllable structure line by line.
52Hot days (2 syllables)
53Arr-ive soon now (4 syllables)
54Sun rises ear-li-er (6 syllables)
55Sun sets la-ter in the eve-ning (8 syllables)
56Warm nights (2 syllables)
57If you understand syllables well, you can include a rhyme or two within the cinquain poem.
58Now, you have the structure for two kinds of poems created by using syllables, haiku and a cinquain. Haiku have three lines.
59All the lines add up to 17 syllables, divided up into 5-7-5. A cinquain has five lines and a total of 22 syllables.
60Each line has an even number of syllables, increasing by two until the last line.
61Now, start brainstorming ideas for your own poem. Write about what you know.
62Get outside and take a walk; let nature or your surroundings inspire you.
63Once you have an idea, you can jump right in with counting syllables.
64Or you can write your idea in a paragraph form or a list, and then fit it to the structure of either a cinquain or a haiku.
65Send your poems to learningenglish@voanews.com.
66Or share your poems in the comments below!
67We love reading what you send! We will select a few to give feedback on next week!
68I'm Faith Pirlo. And I'm Dan Novak.
1Last week, we looked at two kinds of poems, the cinquain and the diamante or diamond poem. We explored parts of speech: nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs with poems. Many of you wrote to us and shared your poems. 2In today's Everyday Grammar, we will look at the cinquain and the haiku. But we will place our attention on the use of syllables to create the poems. 3Syllables 4A syllable is a natural division of a word. For example, the word, "flower" has two syllables: -flow and -er. 5The number of syllables in the word depends on the number of vowel sounds. In the word "flower" there are two vowel sounds. 6Although there are about 20 vowels sounds in English, all the sounds can be written with the letters a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y. 7One syllable can be written with more than one vowel letter, like in the word "boot." Although there are two vowel letters, o and o, there is only one vowel sound -oo. 8When two separate vowel sounds are next to each other in the same syllable, it is called a diphthong. 9One way to identify vowel sounds is to clap your hands together when you hear the vowel sounds. Take the word "winter." We clap our hands together twice, win-ter. If you cannot clap, you can tap your foot or tap a desk, or even count on your fingers. 10Haiku poems 11Haiku are short poems that are based on syllables and not do rhyme. They are a Japanese art form. But writers in many countries have copied them. In English, they are expressed in three lines, and the poem has 17 syllables throughout the three lines. They are centered on nature and two opposing ideas in a single moment in time. 12In English, haiku can deal with nature, or they can be about anything, as long as the traditional structure is maintained. 13Let's look at the English form of the syllable structure for a haiku: 14Line 1: Five syllables 15Line 2: Seven syllables 16Line 3: Five syllables 17Let's look at an example: 18Sleeping guinea pigs 19Eyes wide open, no true trust 20Until food arrives 21In the poem above, I wrote about my guinea pigs. We can see the syllable structure below: 22Slee-ping gui-nea pigs (5 syllables) 23Eyes wide o-pen, no true trust (7 syllables) 24Un-til food ar-rives (5 syllables) 25Here is another example about winter. 26Still snowing in March 27When will spring be on its way? 28No sunshine, so sad 29Hopefully, spring will be here soon. Let's move on to another kind of poem that we learned about before, the cinquain. 30Cinquain with syllables 31Just like the cinquain from last week, the form with syllables has five lines. Each line contains an even number of syllables. 32Line 1 contains two syllables. 33Line 2 has four syllables. 34Line 3 has six syllables. 35Line 4 has eight syllables. 36Line 5 contains just two syllables, like the first line. 37Here is an example: 38Hot days 39Arrive soon now 40Sun ri-ses earlier 41Sun sets later in the evening 42Warm nights 43Now, let's look at the syllable structure line by line. 44Hot days (2 syllables) 45Arr-ive soon now (4 syllables) 46Sun rises ear-li-er (6 syllables) 47Sun sets la-ter in the eve-ning (8 syllables) 48Warm nights (2 syllables) 49If you understand syllables well, you can include a rhyme or two within the cinquain poem. 50Writing tips and ideas 51Now, you have the structure for two kinds of poems created by using syllables, haiku and a cinquain. Haiku have three lines. All the lines add up to 17 syllables, divided up into 5-7-5. A cinquain has five lines and a total of 22 syllables. Each line has an even number of syllables, increasing by two until the last line. 52Now, start brainstorming ideas for your own poem. Write about what you know. Get outside and take a walk; let nature or your surroundings inspire you. 53Once you have an idea, you can jump right in with counting syllables. Or you can write your idea in a paragraph form or a list, and then fit it to the structure of either a cinquain or a haiku. 54Send your poems to learningenglish@voanews.com. 55Or share your poems in the comments below! 56We love reading what you send! We will select a few to give feedback on next week! 57I'm Faith Pirlo. And I'm Dan Novak. 58Faith Pirlo wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 59________________________________________________________________ 60Words in This Story 61syllable - n. any one of the parts into which a word is naturally divided when it is pronounced 62vowel - n. a letter (such as a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y in English) that makes a specific sound 63clap - n. to hit the palms of your hands together usually more than once 64guinea pig - n. a small furry animal, or rodent, that is often kept as a pet 65rhyme - n. one of two or more words or phrases that end in the same sounds 66brainstorm - v. to think of many ideas 67inspire -v. to get an idea about what to do or create from a person or something you see or experience 68___________________________________________________________________ 69What do you think of this story? We want to hear from you. Write to us at learningenglish@voanews.com or leave us a comment below. 70We have a new comment system. 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