What is Poetry?Terms to Know

Poetry is self expression…The craft of poetry can include:

Metaphor: a direct comparison of two different things “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”

Simile: a comparison of two things, using “like” or “as”

Imagery: description that paints a picture for the reader

Sensory language: descriptive words that appeal to the senses of the reader

Repetition: a word, phrase or sound (alliteration) that is repeated for a specific effect

Poetic StyleFree verse Carl Sandburg

This type of poetry has no specific rules about…o Rhyme: it may or may

not rhymeo Length of lines: they

may be the same or different for effect

o Length and number of stanzas: they can range from a single line to many lines

I Sang

I sang to you and the moonBut only the moon remembers.

I sangO reckless free-hearted

free-throated rhythmsEven the moon remembers themAnd is kind to me.

Specific Forms of PoetrySome types of poems have very specific rules:

Haiku: has only three lines with a limited number of syllables per line. Line one, 5 syllables Line two, 7 syllables Line three, 5 syllables

SonnetA sonnet is a poem with very specific rules

It has fourteen lines Three quatrains (a quatrain is a four line stanza) One couplet (a couplet is a two-line stanza where

the last word of each line rhymes) Rhyme scheme: ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, GG Meter is the rhythm of the lines, sonnets have ten

syllables per line (iambic pentameter)