Elements of Poetry

What is poetry? Poetry is a form of writing in which the sound and meaning of language combine to create ideas and feelings. Poetry uses form, patterns of sound, imagery, & figurative language to convey its message.

Tone Writer’s attitude toward his or her audience and subject Often be described by an adjective such as formal or informal, serious or playful, bitter or ironic Factors that contribute to the tone are word choice, sentence structure, line length, rhyme, rhythm, and repetition

Mood Feeling created in the reader by a literary work or passage Similar to tone

Stanza Group of lines of poetry that are usually similar in length and pattern and are separated by spaces Like a paragraph of poetry It states and develops a single main idea

Stanza Stanzas are groups of lines in a poem I climbed up the door and I opened the stairs. I said my pajamas and buttoned my prayers. I turned off the covers and pulled up the light. I’m all scrambled up since she kissed me last night. stanza Scrambled by Bruce Lansky, reprinted from My Dog Ate My Homework published by Meadowbrook Press. http://gigglepoetry.com/poetryclassdetail.aspx?LessonPlanID=3 stanza

Lines Poems are separated into lines on a page. Sometimes they may have a rhyme pattern at the ends of lines. I climbed up the door and I opened the stairs. I said my pajamas and buttoned my prayers. Lines Scrambled

Refrain Averse or phrase that is repeated at intervals throughout a song or poem, usually after the chorus or stanza. Example: The cat so silent Lay curled up on the rug The fire a blaze The room so snug. Purring, purring Quiet and still Purring, purring Content from his fill. Tatters the cat Big, fat cat. He had just eaten A dinner of fish What a treat to have Filling up his dish. Purring, purring Quiet and still Purring, purring Content from his fill. Tatters the cat Big, fat cat. No more cold for the day He was in for the night Fun he had had When the day was light. Purring, purring Quiet and still Purring, purring Content from his fill. Tatters the cat Big, fat cat.

Poetic Elements Dealing with Word Choice Rhyme Imagery Figurative Language Alliteration Onomatopoeia Hyperbole Refrain Tone Mood

Rhyme Repetition of sounds at the ends of words. Poets use rhyme to lend a song-like quality to their verses and to emphasize certain words or ideas Many poems contain end-rhymes or rhyming words at the ends of lines

Rhyme poems that repeat the same or similar sounds at the end of two or more lines/words in the poem I climbed up the door and I opened the stairs. I said my pajamas and buttoned my prayers. I turned off the covers and pulled up the light. I’m all scrambled up since she kissed me last night. Lines stanza rhyming words Scrambled by Bruce Lansky, reprinted from My Dog Ate My Homework published by Meadowbrook Press. http://gigglepoetry.com/poetryclassdetail.aspx?LessonPlanID=3 stanza rhyming words

Poets use imagery, figurative language, and sensory details to describe feelings, experiences, or ideas

Imagery Words or phrases that appeal to one or more of the 5 senses Writers use imagery to describe how their subjects look, sound, feel, taste, and smell Poets often paint images, or word pictures, that also appeal to your senses These pictures help you experience the poem fully

Poets use of words or expressions to describe something or someone Figurative Language Poets use of words or expressions to describe something or someone personification metaphors similes alliteration onomatopoeia hyperbole adapted from Developing Readers, Figurative Language anchor chart

but determined visitor. Personification giving non-human objects human qualities or characteristics WINTER The chill night air swept through my room like an unwelcome, but determined visitor.

Metaphor Metaphors compare two things by saying that one thing is another thing. Metaphors do not use the words like and as to compare. The girl who sang the solo was a nightingale. This metaphor describes a girl who sings beautifully.

My love is like a red, red rose. Simile Simile makes a comparison between two things, using words such as like, as, than, or resembles. My love is like a red, red rose. - Robert Burns

Alliteration Repeating the same beginning sound in more than two words. Writers use this to draw attention to certain words or ideas to imitate sounds and to create musical effects Example: Seven snakes slithered silently. Crazy Kangaroos kissed quietly.

Onomatopoeia Words that sound like the or actions they refer to Examples: The mosquitos buzzed. Thunder boomed overhead.

Hyperbole One way a writer can add humor to a story Hyperbole One way a writer can add humor to a story. It is an exaggeration of the truth for emphasis or humorous effect. Examples: These books weigh a ton! Our menus were so big that to read mine I almost had to stand up!

Idiom Definition: word combinations which have a different meaning than the literal meanings of each word. Your own example: It’s raining cats and dogs.