Module 3: Kinds of Poetry

                                                            

                                                                     Poetic Form

Bibliography

Graham, Joan Bransfield. 1994. SPLISH SPLASH. Ill. by Steve Scott. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 09780395701287

Summary

Splish Splash is a book of twenty-one poems written in concrete form. Each poem visually illustrates the many shapes that water can form either a solid, liquid, or gas. From clouds producing droplets of words to represent raindrops to the sweet treat of a popsicle being enjoyed by a child, these engaging poems and illustrations will delight the reader with their unique patterns of words.

Quality and Appeal

Concrete poetry is a poetic form in which the words of the poem take on the shape of the topic of the poem. Joan Bransfield Graham introduces concrete poetry to young readers by grabbing their attention about water with superb examples of how water takes on many shapes. The poet begins the book by introducing the poem, ”Water.” In this poem the author touches on some of the topics explored in the rest of the book, including rivers, rain, snow, and brooks. In the poem the author also acquaints the reader with other elements of poetry with the words, “water has so many looks, sounds and moods and colors.”

Examples of concrete poetry can be seen with titles like "Clouds," “ Waterfall,” and  "Sprinkler." In the poem, “Clouds,” words take the place of raindrops forming as drop from the sky tilting saying, “put the water back!” The poem “Waterfall” shows the words cascading down, down, down just as water flows over a vertical drop into a river. “Sprinkler” is a fun poem with its visually representation of a lawn sprinkler spraying words into the air like, “shimmy through the sprinkler / sipping lemonade.” The letters in the word “shimmy” are staggered within the poem to look as if the word is actually wobbling.

Examples of figurative language can be seen throughout several poems. Onomatopoeia can be seen in the poems, “Waterfall,” “Ice Cubes,” and “Hail.” “Waterfall” uses the words “a kind of HOP  a CRASH  a  SMASH/ a giant SPLASH!” to describe water’s final descent.  “Ice Cubes” is an entertaining poem that expresses the sounds ice cubes make as “clinking / clatter / clink,” and “chattering / about / the cold.” A final example of onomatopoeia is seen in the poem, “Hail” with the words “a rain of ice/ such tiny balls /  that ping and pong / upon the walls.”

The poem, “Babbling Brook” exhibits the quality of personification with its implication that the brook can “tattle / gossip / gab / mutter / murmur /  mumble / hey / please / speak up / what / did / you / say?” Personification can also be observed in the poem, “Crocodile Tears,” as a crocodile is pitied for crying “so hard you soaked your pillow.”

Sensory images of touch and taste are identified in the poem, "Popsicle"  with the lines “popsicle /  popsicle / tickle / tongue fun” and “dripsicle / slipsicle /  melt, melt / tricky / stopsicle / plopsicle /  hands all / sticky.” In the poem, “Rain” the image of sight is clearly evident in the lines, “rain / has washed / the world today / the green’s / a greener / GREEN.”

A bulk of the poems produce a rhyme scheme that will appeal to young readers and those not quite fluent. The illustrations are unique to the topic, which will engage and hold the reader’s interest. Splish Splash is an outstanding example of concrete poetry and should be used within the classroom setting to introduce students to this particular form of poetry.

Spotlight Poem

WAVE

© Joan Bransfield Graham Illustration credit: © Steve Scott, illustrator, Splish Splash, Houghton Mifflin

The poem, “Wave” is an excellent example of how concrete poetry can be produced to show the word “wave” as a visual image. The poem is simplistic as to not intimidate young writers who are attempting to create their own concrete poem for the first time. The poem offers an example of personification by implying that as the wave reaches the shore it waves good-bye just as a human might do. The line “waves gather water building high” is also an acceptable example for the sensory image of sight.

  

Connections:

1. Lead a discussion about the different states of matter and their properties.

2. Introduce poems that represent each state of matter and have students identify the state

    of matter represented in each poem.

3. Lead a discussion about shape poems and identify the shape of each poem read.

4. Have students brainstorm a topic, possibly Science related, and write a shape poem

    about that topic.