Chapter Notes: Mind Pictures

Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Let Loose Your Imagination
3. Meet a Modern Poet Who Uses Kennings
4. Plan and Write a Kenning Poem
5. What Is Colour?
6. Focus on Poetic Technique
7. Write a Colour Poem
8. Important Terms
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Introduction

Stories and poems help us see pictures in our minds. Poets and storytellers use special words and sound patterns to make these mind pictures strong and clear.
In this chapter, you will learn:

• How kennings, riddles, alliteration, rhyme and rhythm make poems interesting;
• How to plan and write a kenning poem and a colour poem;
• How colours can show feelings, sounds, tastes and smells in poems.

Let Loose Your Imagination

What Are Mind Pictures?

A mind picture is an image that appears in your head when you read or listen to words. Poets use describing words, comparisons and sounds to make these pictures strong and clear.

Kennings

(a) What Is a Kenning?

• A kenning is a short, descriptive phrase that stands in place of a simple noun. It does not name the thing directly. It gives a compact, vivid image.
• Examples:
  • sea → whale-road
  • candle → world-candle
• These are like tiny riddles that make you think.

(b) Where Did Kennings Come From?

• Old English (Anglo-Saxon) was spoken in England from the 5th to 11th centuries.
• Vikings (Old Norse explorers, traders and warriors) used kennings in their stories and poems.

(c) Practising Kennings

• Some simple kennings:
  • earth-walker → a person
  • world-candle → the sun
  • whale-road → the sea
  • iron shower → falling arrows or spears
  • sea stallion → a ship
• Kennings can also be combined. For example, stallion of the whale-road means a fast, strong ship.

Language Focus - Alliteration

• Alliteration is the repetition of the same starting sound in neighbouring words. It makes lines catchy and musical, and helps people remember the poem.
• Example:
  • "Those lazy lizards lie like lumps in the leaves."
  • Here, the /l/ sound is repeated.

Riddles and Kennings

• In Old English and Norse times, people liked to make riddles. These riddles often used indirect description and kennings.
• In groups, you can:
  • solve old or modern kenning-style riddles;
  • find alliteration in the riddles;
  • create your own animal riddle using kennings, for example for an ostrich:
    • long-necked lookout
    • desert-dasher
    • feathered runner
• You can use a dictionary or thesaurus to find strong words and create alliterative kennings like: swift-stepper or ground-grasper.

Word Families - The Suffix "-logy"

• The suffix -logy comes from Greek and means "the study of".
• Examples:
  • zoology: the study of animals
  • geology: the study of the Earth
  • mythology: the study of myths and legends
  • musicology: the study of music
  • graphology: the study of handwriting
• From these nouns we form related words:
  • biologist: a person who studies biology
  • biological: adjective related to biology

Vowel Sounds

• Many words have the same vowel sound but use different spellings. You can read words aloud and group them by sound, for example the long /o/ sound.
• This helps with reading, spelling and rhyme.

Meet a Modern Poet Who Uses Kennings

In this part, you learn about rhyme, rhythm and alliteration in modern kenning poems and practise reading aloud with expression.

Poem: Dad (Kenning Poem)

Dad
He's a:
Tall story weaver
Full of fib fever
Bad joke teller
Ten decibel yeller
Baggy clothes wearer
Pocket money bearer
Nightmare banisher
Hurt heart vanisher
Bear hugger
Football mad
Biscuit mugger
Fashion sad
Worry squasher
Not half bad
Noisy nosher
So glad I had
Lawn mower
My
Smile sower
Dad!  

The poet uses rhyme (weaver/fever, teller/yeller), rhythm, alliteration and kennings (like nightmare banisher, worry squasher). The list shows many sides of Dad - funny, loud, caring and loving.

Poem: Mum (Kenning Poem)

Mum
She's a:
Sadness stealer
Cut-knee healer
Hug-me-tighter
Wrongness righter
Gold star carer
Chocolate sharer
(well, sometimes!)
Hamster feeder
Bedtime reader
Great game player
Night fear slayer
Treat dispenser
Naughty sensor
(how come she
always knows?)
She's my
Never glum,
Constant chum
Second to none
We're under her
thumb!
Mum!

The poem uses kennings like sadness stealer, cut-knee healer, night fear slayer. It shows Mum as someone who cares, plays, protects and understands. The tone is warm and playful.

Reading and Sound Work

• A colon (:) introduces a list.
• A comma (,) separates items in a list.
• An exclamation mark (!) shows strong feeling or emphasis.

When you read these poems aloud, you should:

• Listen for -er rhymes (teller/yeller, wearer/bearer).
• Notice that some rhyming words share sounds but not always the same spelling.
• Add your own words with similar sounds to make more rhyme chains.

Long ago, the Ancient Greeks believed that rhythm and rhyme made stories easier to remember when shared orally.

Syllables, Stress and Rhythm

• A syllable is a unit of sound in a word.
  • Dad → 1 syllable
  • fa/ther → 2 syllables
• Stress is the strong beat in a word.
  • In FA/ther, the first syllable is stressed.

Plan and Write a Kenning Poem

Planning Your Poem

Think about a person who is important to you. Ask yourself:

• What do they do?
• What do they enjoy?
• What makes them special?

Steps:

• Write key words and short phrases for each mind picture (e.g., carpet creeper, picture painter, crafty card dealer).
• Turn these phrases into kennings.
• Try patterns using adjectives, nouns and verbs.

Writing Guidelines

• Write 6-8 lines.
• Each line should have at least three syllables and a clear rhythm.
• Make each pair of lines rhyme if you can.
• Use strong verbs and at least one alliterative kenning.
• Work with a partner to improve word choice.
• Present your poem neatly and, if possible, illustrate it.

What Is Colour?

Poem: "The Colors live ..." by Mary O'Neill

The Colors live
Between black and white
In a land that we
Know best by sight.
But knowing best
Isn't everything,
For colors dance
And colors sing,
And colors laugh
And colors cry -
Turn off the light
And colours die,
And they make you feel
Every feeling there is
From the grumpiest grump
To the fizziest fizz.
And you and you and I
Know well
Each has a taste
And each has a smell
And each has a wonderful
Story to tell...

Main Ideas

• Colours are shown as if they were alive - they dance, sing, laugh and cry.
• When the light is off, colours "die" - this is a figurative way to say we cannot see them.
• Colours can give us many feelings, from sad to excited.
• Each colour has a taste, a smell and a story.

Group Discussion

• Where do colours "live"? (Between black and white, in our sight.)
• Are the actions of colours (dance, sing) literal or figurative? (Figurative.)
• Create similes: "Pink is like ...", "Yellow is as ... as ...".
• Can colours really "die"?
  • Scientific meaning: no light, no colour seen.
  • Poet's meaning: colours disappear from our mind when it is dark.
• Match colours with feelings, tastes and smells.
• Invent a short story told by one colour.
• Use a dictionary and thesaurus to build a colour word bank.

Focus on Poetic Technique

Poem: "What Is Blue?" by Mary O'Neill

Blue is the colour of the sky
Without a cloud
Cool, distant, beautiful
And proud.
Blue is the quiet sea
And the eyes of some people,
And many agree
As they grow older and older
Blue is the scarf
Spring wears on her shoulder.
Blue is twilight,
Shadows on snow,
Blue is feeling
Way down low.
Blue is a heron,
A sapphire ring,
You can smell blue
In many a thing:
Gentian and larkspur
Forget-me-nots, too.
And if you listen
You can hear blue
In wind over water
And wherever flax blooms
And when evening steps into
Lonely rooms.
Cold is blue:
Flame shot from a welding torch
Is, too:
Hot, wild, screaming, blistering blue -
And on winter mornings
The dawns are blue...

Main Ideas

• Blue is shown in nature: sky, sea, flowers, birds.
• Blue is linked to feelings, especially feeling sad or low.
• Blue can feel both cold (snow, twilight) and hot (blue welding flame).
• The poet uses sight, sound and smell to describe blue.

Discussing the Poem

• Make a list of the "blue" things in the poem.
• Explain how the poem shows that blue can be both hot and cold.
• Choose the image of blue you like best and say why. Add your own "blue" mind picture.
• Notice how many sentences the poem has and how it ends with a slightly unfinished feeling.

Poem-Writing Checklist (Poem Box)

When writing your own poem, ask:

• How many stanzas and lines will I use?
• Do I want rhyme? If yes, which pattern (AABB, ABAB, ABCB)?
• Can I feel a beat in my syllables?
• Do I use alliteration and similes to paint pictures?
• Is any repetition helping my effect?
• What mood do I want (mysterious, thoughtful, funny)?

Comparing the Two Colour Poems

Compare "The Colors live ..." and "What Is Blue?" by looking at:

• Layout: short lines and stanza breaks.
• Sentences and punctuation: where sentences end, where commas and dashes are used.
• Poetic techniques: simile, metaphor, alliteration, repetition.
• Theme and mood: one is about all colours, the other about blue only.

Then write a short paragraph saying which poem you prefer and give examples from the text to support your view.

Write a Colour Poem

Steps to Follow

1. Draft: Use planning questions to create colour mind pictures and answer using images, not plain facts.
2. Choose Strong Words: Use your colour word bank and pick synonyms for stronger expression.
3. Use Poetic Techniques: Include one or two techniques such as repetition, rhyme, rhythm, alliteration or simile.
4. Read to a Partner: Ask your partner to close their eyes while you read. Check if the mind pictures are clear.
5. Revise: Replace weak words with stronger ones, improve rhythm, and check spelling and grammar.
6. Present Creatively: Add illustrations, make a simple multimedia slide, or set the poem to music.

Important Terms

• Mind Picture: An image you see in your mind when you read or hear words.
• Kenning: A short, compact descriptive phrase that replaces a simple noun (e.g., whale-road for sea).
• Alliteration: Repetition of the same starting sound in nearby words (e.g., lazy lizards lie).
• Riddle: A puzzle in words that describes something indirectly.
• Literal: Using words in their exact, factual meaning.
• Figurative: Using words in an imaginative way, not for exact fact (e.g., the sky cried).
• Simile: A comparison using like or as (e.g., as light as a feather).
• Metaphor: A direct comparison that says one thing is another (e.g., the classroom was a zoo).
• Rhyme: Words that end with the same or similar sounds (e.g., blue, you).
• Rhythm: The pattern of beats made by stressed and unstressed syllables in lines of poetry.
• Syllable: A beat or unit of sound in a word (e.g., ta/ble has two syllables).
• Stress: The part of a word that is said more strongly.
• Stanza: A group of lines in a poem, like a paragraph in prose.
• Theme: The main idea or message in a poem or text.
• Suffix: A group of letters added to the end of a word to change its meaning (e.g., -logy).
• -logy: A suffix meaning "the study of" (e.g., zoology - the study of animals).
• Twilight: The time just before it becomes fully dark in the evening.
• Gentian, Larkspur, Forget-me-nots: Flowers that are often blue.
• Flax: A plant with blue flowers used for fibre and seeds.
• Welding Torch: A tool used to join metal by heating it.
• Blistering: Extremely hot.
• Decibel: A unit used to measure how loud a sound is.
• Mugger: Someone who steals from another person.
• Nosher: An informal word for "eater."
• Slayer: Someone who kills.
• Chum: An informal word for "friend."
• Grump: A bad mood or a grumpy person.