Where the sidewalk ends is one of my all-time favorite poetry books. In the past, I have only glanced at these poems and hadn’t really taken notice of why these poems are so popular. This past time I read this book and really thought about “what makes a great poem?”. The first thing that I learned was about changing the point of view. It’s Dark In Here is a poem about a boy who gets swallowed by a lion while exploring the zoo. “I am writing these poems from inside a lion, And it’s rather dark in here”(pg 21). The author did a really nice job changing the point of view by making the boy talk about himself and his situation. Instead of saying “Timmy is inside the lion” he made things more interesting.
Each poem is unique and interesting in its own way. When I write my poems I try to make my lines and stanzas super structured and precise. While reading Where The Sidewalk Ends I noticed that some of Shel Silverstein’ poems have a unique structure formatting that matches the purpose of the poem. Silverstein’ poem Lazy Jane is about a girl who is too lazy to get a glass of water that she decides to lay down on the ground and wait for the rain to come so she can get a drink of water. What is unique about the structure of this poem is that Silverstein made the words look like raindrops that are falling into the girl's mouth. I learned that poems don’t always have to look “clean cut” and even. Part of creating a purpose is making the poem structure fun and creative.
Rhyming has always been something that I am fond of in poetry. I have always wondered how people create such amazing poems just by rhyming. Normally in the past when I have tried to incorporate rhyming into my poetry I find it sounding almost “childlike” and out of place. I have learned that rhyming can be extremely effective in creating a stronger purpose. Even though it is a challenge to find the correct words, these words could have a stronger impact in the end. “Ricky was ‘L’ but he’s home with the flu, Lizzie, our ‘o’ had some homework to do” (pg.95). Silverstein did a great job in creating a rhyming poem that flowed well, and he found words that rhyme with each other but at the same time, they still sounded really natural.
Each poem is unique and interesting in its own way. When I write my poems I try to make my lines and stanzas super structured and precise. While reading Where The Sidewalk Ends I noticed that some of Shel Silverstein’ poems have a unique structure formatting that matches the purpose of the poem. Silverstein’ poem Lazy Jane is about a girl who is too lazy to get a glass of water that she decides to lay down on the ground and wait for the rain to come so she can get a drink of water. What is unique about the structure of this poem is that Silverstein made the words look like raindrops that are falling into the girl's mouth. I learned that poems don’t always have to look “clean cut” and even. Part of creating a purpose is making the poem structure fun and creative.
Rhyming has always been something that I am fond of in poetry. I have always wondered how people create such amazing poems just by rhyming. Normally in the past when I have tried to incorporate rhyming into my poetry I find it sounding almost “childlike” and out of place. I have learned that rhyming can be extremely effective in creating a stronger purpose. Even though it is a challenge to find the correct words, these words could have a stronger impact in the end. “Ricky was ‘L’ but he’s home with the flu, Lizzie, our ‘o’ had some homework to do” (pg.95). Silverstein did a great job in creating a rhyming poem that flowed well, and he found words that rhyme with each other but at the same time, they still sounded really natural.