Poetic ElementsBy

Katy Gladden

Poetry At Its’ Best

Featuring the Following Books

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/imageviewer.asp?ean=9780618607037&imId=

What Does It Mean?

• In this presentation, definitions and examples of the following poetic elements will be provided.

1. Alliteration2. Humorous Style3. Imagery 4. Onomatopoeia5. Personification6. Simile

Alliteration

• Defined in our class text, alliteration is the “…repetition of initial consonants.” (Page 198).

• In the following example of alliteration, the similar sounding words attract the reader’s attention into the story.

Chicky Chicky Chook Chook by

Cathy MacLennan

“Chicky, chicky, chook chook.Chick, chick chick.

Chicky, chicky, chook chook.” (Page 5)

Humorous Style

• In the class text, humor in poetry can come from “…surprise…”. (Page 244).

• A prime example on how the reader can be unexpectedly surprised by the poetic author Shel Silverstein can be seen in the following example.

Falling Upby

Shel Silverstein

“ScaleIf I could only see the scale,I’m sure that it would state

That I’ve lost ounces..maybe poundsOr even tons of weight.

‘You’d better eat some pancakes –You’re skinny as a rail.’

I’m sure that’s what the scale would say…If I could see the scale.” (Page 13).

Onomatopoeia

• One of the more popular poetic devices used in children’s poetic literature is onomatopoeia.

• It is defined in A Critical Handbook of Children’s Literature by Rebecca J. Lukens as a “…variety of sound effects in nursery rhymes..” (Page 241).

• Basically, it is a word used to imitate a sound such as “tick tock” for the ticking of a clock.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/imageviewer.asp?ean=9780618607037&imId=

City Lullaby by

Marilyn Singer

“Traffic Jam, 10 horns beeping.In the stroller, Baby’s sleeping.Ice cream truck jing-a-linging.9 annoying cell phones ringing.Nine phones ringing, ten horns beeping.In the stroller, Baby’s sleeping.” (Page 3).

://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/imageviewer.asp

ImageryOur class text refers to imagery as “…the appeal to any of the senses; it helps create setting, establish a mood, or show a character.” (Page 192).

In the following example, the imagery in this poem makes the reader very hungry for pizza!

http://www.morguefile.com/archive/display/148513

A Pizza the size of the sunby Jack Prelutsky

“I’m making a pizza the size of the sun,A pizza that’s sure to weigh more than a ton,A pizza too massive to pick up and toss,A pizza resplendent with oceans of sauce.”(Page 7).

http://www.morguefile.com/archive/display/206183

Personification• Personification, a poetic device, can be used

by a writer to help a story come alive.• In the class text, the author defines

personification as “…the giving of human traits to nonhumans or inanimate objects.”

(Page 193).

http://www.morguefile.com/archive/display/112885

The Llama Who Had No Pajamaby

Mary Ann Hoberman

“The llama who had no pajamasWas troubled and terribly sadWhen it became known That he had outgrownEvery pair of pajamas he had;” (Page 42)

In the above paragraph, the author hasattributed human like qualities of wearingclothes such as pajamas to the llama.

http://www.morguefile.com/archive/display/18577

Figurative Language - Simile

A simile can be defined as a “comparison between unlike things, using as, like, or occasionally, than.” (Page 194 of class text).

In the book Owl Moon, the author compares the silence of the night to that of a dream.

Figurative Language - Simile

In this book, the author uses a simile as a comparison toemphasize and contrast how quiet the forest becameafter the train and dogs no longer could be heard.

“They sang out, trains and dogs,For a real long time.And when their voices faded away,It was as quiet as a dream.” (Page 5)

Summary

• Often many children’s first exposure to literature is through nursery rhymes and jingles.

• Poetic devices such as alliteration, humorous style, imagery, onomatopoeia, personification, and simile help to Illuminate the message of the poetic selection.

It is the literary elements of poetry that add to the joy of reading, the experience of listening to poetry and ultimately the appreciation of this type of literature.

http://www.morguefile.com/archive/display/50902

Summary

Works CitedHoberman, Mary Ann., and Betty Fraser. The Llama Who Had

No Pajama: 100 Favorite Poems. San Diego: Harcourt Brace &, 2006. Print.

Lukens, Rebecca J. A Critical Handbook of Children's Literature. Boston: Pearson Allyn and Bacon, 2007. Print.

MacLennan, Cathy. Chicky Chicky Chook Chook. New York: Boxer, 2007. Print.

Prelutsky, Jack, and James Stevenson. A Pizza the Size of the Sun. London: Collins, 2003. Print.

Silverstein, Shel. Falling Up: Poems and Drawings. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 1996. Print.

Singer, Marilyn, and Carll Cneut. City Lullaby. New York: Clarion, 2007. Print.