ELEMENTS OF POETRY Prepared by Miss Jenny Lou C. Sasoy Faculty, UE-Caloocan EHSD

POETRY It is the art of expressing oneself in verse. It uses few words to convey its message. It is meant to be read aloud. It uses imagery or figures of speech to express feelings or create a mental picture or idea.

Lines A single line in a poem. Often organized into stanzas. "Chartless“ Emily Dickinson 1 I never saw a moor, 2 I never saw the sea, 3 Yet I know how the heather looks 4 and what a wave must be. 5 I never spoke with God, 6 nor visited in Heaven, 7 Yet I am certain of the spot 8 as if the chart were given. This poem has 8 lines organized into 2 stanzas.

STANZA It is the group of lines. Couplet – 2 lines Triplet – 3 lines Quatrain – 4 lines Quinrain – 5 lines Sestet – 6 lines Octet – 8 lines It develops and emphasizes one idea. “First and Last” by David McCord A tadpole hasn’t a pole at all, And he doesn’t live in a hole in the wall. You’ve got it wrong: a polecat’s not A cat on a pole. And I’ll tell you what: A bullfrog’s never a bull; and how Could a cowbird possibly be a cow? A kingbird, though, is a kind of king, And he chases a crow like anything. Four Stanzas in COUPLETS.

FORM The shape and number of stanzas a poem has.

RHYME AND RHYME SCHEME Words rhyme if they sound alike. Poems often use rhymes at the end of lines. Rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhymes in a poem. Poets use rhymes to add a musical sound to their poems.

TYPES OF RHYME  ALLITERATION – repetition of the initial consonant sound.  She sells sea shells by the sea shore.  CONSONANCE – repetition of the intermediate or final consonant sound. Tick tock, flip flop, singing longing  ASSONANCE – repetition of the intermediate or final consonant sound. Hear the mellow wedding bells, Golden bells! What a world of happiness their harmony foretells!

RHYTHM Pattern of beats or a series of stressed and unstressed syllables in poem. Poets create rhythm by using words in which parts are emphasized or not emphasized. “Windy Nights” By Robert Louis Stevenson Whenever the moon and stars are set, Whenever the wind is high, All night long in the dark and wet, A man goes riding by. Late in the night when the fires are out, Why does he gallop and gallop about?

MOOD The feeling that a poem creates in a reader. It can be positive or negative. Mood can be made with the length of the sentences, chosen words, and word sounds. “Poor” by Myra Livingston I heard of poor. It means hungry, no food. No shoes, no place to live, Nothing good. It means winter nights And being cold, It is lonely, alone. Feeling old. Poor is a tired face. Poor is thin. Poor is standing outside Looking in. Short words and lines create a serious mood. These words create the feeling of sadness.

TONE It is the attitude a writer takes towards the subject or audience of the poem. “The Crocodile” How doth the little crocodile Improve his shining tail, And pour the water of the Nile On every golden scale! How cheerfully he seems to grin, How neatly spreads his claws, And welcomes little fishes in With gently smiling jaws! The subject of the poem are crocodiles. The writers attitude towards crocodiles is that they are dangerous.

IMAGERY Also known as “sensory language” Language that appeals to the 5 senses. Are “word pictures”. Helps the reader to experience familiar things in a fresh way using the senses. “There is a Thing” by Jack Prelutsky There is a thing beneath the stair with slimy face and oily hair that does not move or speak or sing or do another single thing but sit and wait beneath the stair with slimy face and oily hair. These are image words

FIGURES OF SPEECH (Figurative Language) A mode of expression in which words are used out of their literal meaning or out of their ordinary use in order to add beauty or emotional intensity or to transfer the poet's sense impressions by comparing or identifying one thing with another that has a meaning familiar to the reader.

SIMILE A figure of speech in which two unlike things are compared, usually in a phrase introduced by like or as.figure of speech "Good coffee is like friendship: rich and warm and strong." (slogan of Pan-American Coffee Bureau) "You know life, life is rather like opening a tin of sardines. We're all of us looking for the key." (Alan Bennett, Beyond the Fringe, 1960) "When Lee Mellon finished the apple he smacked his lips together like a pair of cymbals." (Richard Brautigan, A Confederate General From Big Sur, 1964)

METAPHOR A figure of speech in which an comparison is made between two unlike things that actually have something in common. figure of speech "Between the lower east side tenements the sky is a snotty handkerchief." (Marge Piercy, "The Butt of Winter") "The streets were a furnace, the sun an executioner." (Cynthia Ozick, "Rosa")

PERSONIFICATION A figure of speech in which an inanimate object or abstraction is given human qualities or abilities.figure of speech The wind stood up and gave a shout. He whistled on his fingers and Kicked the withered leaves about And thumped the branches with his hand And said he'd kill and kill and kill, And so he will! And so he will! (James Stephens, "The Wind")

HYPERBOLE A figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect; an extravagant statement.figure of speech “I had to walk 15 miles to school in the snow, uphill” “you could have knocked me over with a feather”

ONOMATOPOEIA The use of words that imitate the sounds associated with the objects or actions they refer to. "Chug, chug, chug. Puff, puff, puff. Ding-dong, ding- dong. The little train rumbled over the tracks." ("Watty Piper" [Arnold Munk], The Little Engine That Could) "Brrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinng! An alarm clock clanged in the dark and silent room." (Richard Wright, Native Son, 1940) "I'm getting married in the morning! Ding dong! the bells are gonna chime." (Lerner and Loewe, "Get Me to the Church on Time," My Fair Lady)