Elements of Literature: Poetry

Form Form is the physical arrangement of the words

on the page. This includes the length and placement of the lines, and the way they are grouped into stanzas.

Some poetry (limericks, sonnets, etc.) are written in strict formal patterns.

Stanza and Line A stanza refers to a group of lines that form a

unit of poetry. This is comparable to a paragraph in prose. Line refers to a single line of poetry. This is comparable to a sentence in a

paragraph.

Examples of Stanza and Line

Stanza: a group of linesSoftly, in the dusk, a woman is singing to me;Taking me back down the vista of years, till I seeA child sitting under the piano, in the boom of the tingling

stringsAnd pressing the small, poised feet of a mother who

smiles as she sings.

In spite of myself, the insidious mastery of songBetrays me back, till the heart of me weeps to belongTo the old Sunday evenings at home, with winter outsideAnd hymns in the cozy parlour, the tinkling piano our

guide.

So now it is vain for the singer to burst into clamourWith the great black piano appassionato. The glamourOf childish days is upon me, my manhood is castDown in the flood of remembrance, I weep like a child for

the past.

Line: a single lineSoftly, in the dusk, a woman is singing to me;Taking me back down the vista of years, till I seeA child sitting under the piano, in the boom of the tingling

stringsAnd pressing the small, poised feet of a mother who

smiles as she sings.

In spite of myself, the insidious mastery of songBetrays me back, till the heart of me weeps to belongTo the old Sunday evenings at home, with winter outsideAnd hymns in the cozy parlour, the tinkling piano our

guide.

So now it is vain for the singer to burst into clamourWith the great black piano appassionato. The glamourOf childish days is upon me, my manhood is castDown in the flood of remembrance, I weep like a child for

the past.

Sound Devices Alliteration: the repetition of initial consonant

sounds Example: Shelly sells sea shells at the sea shore. Assonance: the repetition of vowel sounds within

non-rhyming words Example: a greed as deep as the sea

Rhyme End rhyme: rhymes

that occur at the ends of lines of poetry; usually creates a rhyme scheme

Internal rhyme: a rhyme that occurs within a line of poetry

Example of Rhyme

End RhymeShall I compare thee to a

summer’s day?Thou art more lovely and more

temperateRough winds do shake the

buds of MayAnd summer’s lease hath too

short a date.

Internal RhymeOnce upon a midnight dreary,

while I pondered weak and weary,

Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—

While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,

As of someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.

Onomatopoeia Creating or using words that imitate sounds. Examples: pop, boom, buzz, pow

Rhythm Rhythm is the pattern or flow of sound in a

poem. Rhythm is measured in meter. The most common type of meter is iambic

pentameter, which we will study when we read a Shakespearean play.

Rhyme Scheme vs Free Verse

Rhyme Scheme Rhyme scheme is the

pattern of end rhyme in a poem, measured by using letters of the alphabet.

Example: ABAB CDCD

Free Verse Free verse refers to poetry

that does not contain a regular pattern of rhyme and meter.

Simile and Metaphor

Simile A simile is a comparison

between two things using “like” or “as.”

Example: I ran as quick as lightning.

Metaphor A metaphor makes a

comparison without using “like” or “as.”

Example: I am a strong warrior.

Imagery Imagery is a type of figurative language that

describes words and phrases that re-create vivid sensory experiences for the reader.

These words and phrases appeal to your five senses: touch, sight, smell, taste and sound.

Personification Personification is a type of figurative language

in which human qualities are attributed to an object, animal, or idea.

Example: The moon sings a sad song.

Speaker In poetry, a speaker is the voice that talks to

the reader. The speaker is not necessarily the poet. The speaker is similar to a narrator in fiction.