Images Images are pictures (with words): “The sky was blood red, and the dust made the plains look like a giant beach with no water in sight.”
Figures of Speech Language that makes connections between dissimilar (different) things Personification Simile Metaphor
Stanzas Groups of Lines in a Poem “I rise to make four prayers of thanksgiving for this fine clear day,”
He was as big as a mountain. Simile Compares two unlike things, using a specific word of comparison such as “like” or “as.” He was as big as a mountain.
Metaphor Directly compares two unlike things without the use of a specific word of comparison. He is a mountain of a man!
Extended Metaphor A metaphor developed or extended through several lines. This mountain of a man Stood over everything around him, Blocked out the sun And rumbled in bad weather
The stars danced in the night. Personification Giving a human characteristic to a nonhuman thing. The stars danced in the night.
Tone The way a writer feels about a subject. My school was dark and cold, And it was like we studied in a cave full of alumni’s bones, with trolls for teachers…
Imagery Language that appeals to the senses. “How thin and sharp is the moon tonight! How thin and sharp and ghostly white Is the thin curved crook of the moon tonight.”
Narrative Poem A poem that tells a story.
Lyric Poem A poem that expresses an emotion
Sonnet A lyric poem of exactly fourteen lines.
Ode A poem that pays tribute (honors or praises) someone or something.
Rhythm Refers to the rise and fall of our voices as we use language.
Rhyme Words that have different beginning sounds but the same ending sounds. Fat/cat/rat/sat
End rhyme Rhymes that occur at the end of two or more lines: “Moldy melons, dried-up mustard, Eggshells mixed with lemon custard”
“Candy the yams and spice the hams.” Internal Rhyme Words that rhyme within lines. “Candy the yams and spice the hams.”
Example of an abcb poem: Rhyme Scheme The pattern of rhymes in a poem: Example of an abcb poem: Roses are red, Violets are blue, This class stinks And so do you…
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. Alliteration Repetition of a consonant sound in words that are close together: Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
Pow, Bang, clickety clack, varoom… Onomatopoeia Use of words with sounds that echo their meaning: Pow, Bang, clickety clack, varoom…
Couplet Two lines in a row that rhyme and express a complete thought: I think that I shall never see Anything as lovely as a tree.
Elegy A peom that mourns the passing of something.
Four lean hounds crouched low and smiling… Repetition Words or lines or stanzas that repeat. Four lean hounds crouched low and smiling…
Free Verse Poem A poem without rhyme scheme or regular meter.