POETRY:

an imaginative expression of ideas and emotions

Poetry usually . . . • is arranged in lines.• uses compressed language to make

a point.• has a regular pattern of rhythm.• uses literary devices to appeal to our

emotions and imagination.• has a theme, or topic, that the poem is about.

Poetry sometimes . . . • has a regular rhyme scheme

Poetry Terms

• Stanza – the division of lines in a poem; a poem “paragraph”.

• Meter – the pattern and number of syllables in a line of poetry.

• Refrain/Repetition – the repeating of words or phrases throughout a poem.

• Tone/Mood-- the overall feeling given by the poem.

End Rhyme: words at end of lines rhyme Rhyme Scheme: the pattern of rhyme

Across the years he could recall aHis father one way best of all. aIn the stillest hour of night bThe boy awakened to a light. bHalf in dreams, he saw his sire cWith his great hands full of fire c

from “The Secret Heart” by R.Coffin

Internal Rhyme: rhyme within lines

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary . . .While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.“It is some visitor,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door-

from “The Raven”by Edgar Allan Poe

Sound devices are poetic devices that relate to sound, including:

consonanceassonancealliterationonomatopoeia

Consonancerepetition of consonant sounds within a line of poetry

He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there is some mistake.The only other sound’s the

sweepOf easy wind and downy flake.

Assonance: repetition of vowel sounds in a line of poetry

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Alliteration: repetition of beginning consonantsounds in words close together

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary . . .While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly

there came a tapping . . .

from “The Raven”by Edgar Allan Poe

Onomatopoeia: the use of a word whose sound imitates its meaning.

roar

buzz

hisssplash

Refrain – the repeating of words or phrases throughout a poem

Allusion – a reference to a well-known person, place, thing or event with which the writer assumes the reader will be familiar

George rushed in like Superman to save the man from the burning building.

Figurative Language

A “figure of speech” is a word or phrase that describes one thing in terms of another and is not meant to be understood as literally true.

Simile HyperboleMetaphor SymbolPersonification Imagery

Oxymoron Irony

Simile - a comparison between two things using “like” or “as”.

The cookie was hard as a rock.

Metaphor – a comparison between two things without using “like” or “as”.

Life is a river.

Personification – a figure of speech in which a nonhuman thing (an idea, object, or animal) is given human characteristics.

The picture spoke to us of the sacrifices

our family had made.

Oxymoron – a technique putting two words with opposite meanings together for a special effect.

jumbo shrimp old news

bittersweet small fortune

Imagery – vivid description that appeals to the senses.

They were flat round wafers, slightly browned on the edges and butter-yellow in the center. With cold lemonade they were sufficient for childhood’s lifelong diet.

Symbol – a concrete or real object used to represent an idea

A bird, because it can fly, has often been used as a symbol of freedom.

Hyperbole – an extreme exaggeration or overstatement that a writer uses for emphasis. My brother exploded when he saw the damage to his car.

Irony – a technique that uses a word or phrase to mean the exact opposite of its normal meaning.Danielle laughs all the time, so we call her “Grumpy”.