Poetic Devices (as portrayed through the music of Childish Gambino)
ENJAMBMENT
When a line of poetry continues onto the next line mid-phrase, without punctuation
Example:
I used to get more laughs when I got laughed at.
"Oh, you got a mixtape? That's fantastic"
But everybody thought it was jokes though.
They half right, the joke is
I got flow so
Don't act like
You ain't sittin' there with your friends like, it can't be;
I know Donald Glover, he weak man, he campy.
I'm still knocked down, but I up the ante.
Notes:
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Often used to create a disjointed, disorienting, or edgy mood unexpectedly
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Also used to enhance the effect of the timing of puns or other unexpected wordplay
STANZA
A section in a poem (almost like a poem's version of a paragraph)
Example:
I'm winnin', yeah, yeah, I'm winnin' (what?)
I'm winnin', yeah, yeah, I'm winnin' (what?)
I'm winnin', yeah, yeah, I'm winnin' (what?)
Don't be mad cause I'm doing me better than you doing you
Don't be mad cause I'm doing me better than you doing you
Don't be mad cause I'm doing me better than you doing you
Notes:
Note that there are two stanzas represented here, as noted by the separation between the two sections.
FREE VERSE
A form of poetry that does not follow any established pattern in rhyme, rhythm, or structure
Example:
Can't sleep
3 a.m., stare at the ceiling, murder the feeling
Spider crawl in the corner
Brown recluse
So appropriate cornucopia,
So be it, say I'm over it.
Notes:
Note that poems can contain rhymes and still be considered free verse as long as there are no established, consistent patterns repeated within the poem.
LYRIC POETRY
A poem expressing intense personal feelings, usually written in first person
Example:
You're the only girl that I have ever wanted
Every other girl is trying to be you
My mama says that I should write you letters
But I think you're with other dudes
Take my hand, you'll like it
You don't even have to call
Yes I've had some alcohol,
I'm sorry
Take my hand
You don't even have to call
You're somewhere out there after all
Notes:
This is one of the three types of poetry: lyric, dramatic, and narrative. The emotional nature of music is why a song's words are called "lyrics."
NARRATIVE
POETRY
A poem that tells a story
Example:
I used to wake up in a bed between my mom and aunt
Playing with this Land Before Time toy from Pizza Hut
My dad works nights, putting on a stone face
He's saving up so we can get our own place
In the projects, man that sounds fancy to me
They called me "fat nose", my mom say,
"You handsome to me."
Mrs. Glover, ma'am, your son is so advanced
But he's acting up in class and keeps peeing in his pants
And I just wanna fit in, but nobody was helping me out.
Notes:
This is one of the three types of poetry: lyric, dramatic, and narrative. A "narrative" just means a story.
COUPLET
Two rhyming lines at the end of a poem that give the finale a sense of closure
Example:
Common sense, the consequences
Retweet the truth then regret the mentions
We are the wireless survivors of things gone
Slaves to the unnamed, never live long
Live and die by the line, never know fear
Even I won't survive, is it unfair? Is it unfair?
Cause I don't care
When I step on that ant on the grass
Progress the only thing that will last 3005, the year that we fear
Only God will survive
To be alone is alive.
Notes:
To remember what a couplet is, remember that there are two lines in a couplet just like there are traditionally two people in a relationship.
PROSE
Not poetry; normal writing using regular sentences like you would see in essays or novels
Example:
We’re still wearing our orange camp t-shirts. We still smell like pineneedles. I like you and you like me and I more-than-like you, but I don’t know if you do or don’t more-than-like me. You’ve never said, so I haven’t been saying anything all summer, content to enjoy the small miracle of a girl choosing to talk to me, and choosing to do so again the next day and so on.
Notes:
Understanding the concept of prose tends to be tricky for students, mostly because it's actually pretty straightforward, but kids overthink it.
This is a bit of an oversimplification, but:
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If you're reading a poem, it's not prose.
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If you're not reading a poem, it most likely is prose.