POETRY

Literary work in which special intensity is given to the expression of feelings and ideas by the use of distinctive style and rhythm.

Stanza

A group of lines forming the basic recurring metrical unit in a poem; a verse.

Example: I do not like Green Eggs and Ham

I do not like them Sam I am.

I do not like them in a boat.

I do not like them with a goat.

Figurative Language

Writing or Speech that is not meant to be taken literally.

Poets use figures of speech to state their ideas in new ways.

Examples: Metaphors Allusion

Personification Paradox

Similes

Symbols

Metaphors

Describe one thing as if it were something else.

Example: The house was a zoo this morning!

Personification

Gives human qualities to something that is not human.

Example: The cars growled in the traffic.

Simile

Uses like or as to compare two seemingly unlike things.

Example: He stormed into the meeting like a tornado.

Symbol

Anything that represents something else.

Example: A dove is a common symbol for Freedom.

Allusion

an allusion is the casual reference to a figure or event in history or literature that creates a mental image in the mind of the reader.

Paradox

• Paradox occurs when two things that should not be able to exist at the same time are said, in a poem, to exist at the same time.

Dark and Light

Dark remembers light,The day they separated,They try to be friends,

but can't.Dark doesn't like light

Their friendship no longer exists.

Theme: the message of the poem

Tone: the manner in which a poet makes his statement; it reflects his attitude toward his subject. The reader must learn to "hear" their tones with his mind's ear.

Sensory Language

Anything that appeals to the five senses.

Poets use sensory language to create strong images in the readers’ minds.

Examples: Slippery, Slimy, Fluffy, Cold

• Imagery: Descriptive language that creates vivid impressions.

Sound Devices

Enhance a poem’s mood and meaning.

Examples: Alliteration Onomatopoeia

Assonance Rhyme

Consonance Meter

Repetition Prosody

Alliteration

The repetition of consonant sounds in the beginning of words.

Example: I bought a black banana,And a broken baseball bat.A burst balloon, a busted boat,A beat-up bowler hat.

Assonance Assonance takes place when two or more

words close to one another repeat the same vowel sound but start with different consonant sounds.

Example:

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.Grave men, near death, who see with blinding

sight,Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”

Consonance

Repetition of internal or ending consonant sounds of words close together in poetry.

Example: I was unhappy when I dropped my locket in the thick mud.

Repetition The use of any element of language– a sound, word, phrase, clause,

or sentence—more than once.

Example: I'm nobody! Who are you?

Are you nobody too?Then there's a pair of us-don't tell!They'd banish us you know.

How dreary to be somebody!how public, like a frog.To tell your name livelong dayTo an admiring bog!

-Emily Dickinson

Onomatopoeia

The use of words that imitate sounds.

Examples: Crash, Bang, Hiss, Buzz, Bam

Crack! Crack!The fire crackles under the stars.Sizzle! Sizzle!The water sizzles above the fire.

Rhyme

The repetition of sounds at the ends of words.

Example:

I meant what I saidAnd I said what I meant….An elephant’s faithfulOne hundred percent! -Dr. Seuss

Meter

The rhythmical pattern in a poem.

Example: “But soft, what light through yonder window breaks”

That line consists of five iambs:

but SOFT / what LIGHT / through YON / der WIN / dow BREAKS

Prosody

1. the science or study of poetic meters and versification.

2. a particular or distinctive system of metrics and versification

3. a poem’s “sound meaning,” its particular “flow”

4. Part of the flavor of the poetry is conveyed by the tempo of the words.

Graphical Elements

Visual features that can influence a poem ’s meaning.

Examples: capital letters, line length, word position

Buffalo Bill's

Buffalo Bill's defunct who used to ride a watersmooth-silver stallion and break onetwothreefourfive pigeonsjustlikethat Jesus

he was a handsome man and what i want to know is how do you like your blueeyed boy Mister Death

e. e. cummings

Narrative

Poetry that tells a story in verse. Often have elements similar to those in short

stories, such as plot and characters.

Example: Annabel LeeFor the moon never beams without bringing me

dreamsOf the beautiful Annabel Lee;And the stars never rise but I feel the bright

eyesOf the beautiful Annabel Lee;And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the sideOf my darling, my darling, my life and my bride,In the sepulchre there by the sea,In her tomb by the sounding sea.

-Edgar Allan Poe

Haiku

A three-line Japanese verse form.

The first and third lines each have five syllables and the second line has seven.

Example: My homework is late. My dog ate it this morning.

I sure like my dog.

Free Verse

Poetry that is defined by it’s lack of strict structure.

It has no regular meter, rhyme, fixed line length, or specific stanza pattern.

Example: Licking a lolly slowly,sunlight lapping at the lazy lake.Lovely evening,lovely lolly,lazy life.

Lyric

Poetry that expresses the thoughts and feelings of a single speaker, often in a highly musical verse.

Example: Coach said to fake rightAnd break leftWatch out for the pickAnd keep an eye on defenseGotta run the give and goAnd take the ball to the holeBut don't be afraidTo shoot the outside "J"Just keep ya head in the gameJust keep ya head in the game

-“High School Musical”

Ballad

Songlike Poems that tell stories. They often deal with adventure and

romance.

Example: I am meA lone ballad of emotions.Who else could I be? Wether you love, hate, or envy me.I am no other.I am me.

-Katelin Sanderson

Concrete

Poems are shaped to look like their subjects. The poet arranges the lines to create a

picture on the page.

Example: Upon a Lilac Sea To toss incessantly His Plush Alarm Who fleeing from the Spring The Spring avenging fling To Dooms of Balm

-Emily Dickinson

Limericks

Humorous, rhyming, five-line poems with a specific rhythm pattern and rhyme scheme.

Example: There once was a poor boy named SidWho thought he knew more than he did.He thought that a sharkWould turn tail if you bark.So he swam out to try it --- poor kid!

Rhyming Couplets

Pairs of rhyming lines, usually of the same meter and length.

Examples: It’s hard to see the butterflyBecause he flies across the sky

Hear the honking of the gooseI think he’s angry at the moose

Analyzing Poetry

Analysis means literally picking a poem apart - looking at elements such as imagery, symbolism, allusion, metaphor, poetic language, rhyme scheme, and so on - in order to see how they all work together to produce the poem's meaning. Annotating is a great way to begin analyzing a poem.

Annotating a Poem

Annotation is the act of adding notes. STEP UP:

S: Subject Matter – What is the poem about? Look at the title.

T: Theme – What is the message of the poem?

E: Emotions – Tone? Mood?

P: Poetic Devices – Look for figurative language and sound devices.U: Your response – What do you think?

P: Positioning – look at the graphic elements in the poem