POETRY

ELEMENTS

OF

POETRY

RHYME

The repetition of sounds at the ends of words.

Scifi Miller’s cool

In the swimming pool.

Repetition

Repeated use of words, phrases, or rhythms.

Chorus or refrain

Rhythm

A poem’s pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables.

“the beat”

Sound Devices

Onomatopoeia - use of words whose sound suggests their meaning.

Snap, Crackle, Pop

Alliteration - the repetition of sounds at the beginning of words.

Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout

Figurative Language

Simile - compares using “like” or “as”.

White as snow

Metaphor - compares saying one is another.

Eyes were blazing stars.

Personification - gives human traits to something nonhuman.

The printer chattered loudly.

Form

•Structure of poem

•Stanzas; paragraph-like groupings of lines

Haiku; strict syllable and line count

Free Verse

* not written a rhythmical pattern

* lines of different lengths and beats

Rhyme Scheme

A regular pattern of rhyming words.

Under a spreading chestnut tree

The village smitty stands;

The smith, a mighty man is he

With large and sinewy hands;

And muscles of his brawny arms

Are strong as iron bands.

The rhyme scheme is ababcb.

TYPES

of

POETRY

Ballad

A song or songlike poem that tells a story divided into stanzas.

Adventure or Romance

Stanza of 4 or 6 lines

Includes a refrain; sometimes changes

Lyric Poetry

Expresses thoughts and feelings.

Nature is a common subject

Uses vivid, musical language; descriptive

Narrative Poetry

Tells a story

More use of sound* rhythm & repetition used to create musical effect

* has plot, characters & setting