When you think of the word “poetry,” what images, words, and emotions come to mind? How would you define the word “poetry?”

The actual definition for a poem has been argued and re-phrased by many through out the years. Put simply however, a poem is writing in verse rather than prose. Poetry is different than other forms of writing because it uses meter, vivid images, and often rhyme.

One of the elements that make poetry poetry is: Figurative Language: language based on some sort of comparison that is not literally true, but simply a figure of speech. Figure of Speech: one thing being compared to something entirely different.

Ex:The Budget Committee hammered at the Treasury secretary for three hours. The committee did not literally hit the secretary with a hammer.

1. Metaphors and similes - Make non-literal comparisons 2. Personification - Giving human qualities to ideas and things.

Metaphors: compare two similar but unlike things. They can be simply figurative: War is hell! They can be extended and elaborate: War is hell brought up by the evil fires of man kind.

Similes: says that one thing is like or as another. They can be simple: Terry is as beautiful as a blossom. They can be extended and elaborate: Terry is as beautiful as a spring blossom sprinkled with dew in the morning sun.

Personification: giving human qualities to ideas and things. Breeze whispers Ideas leap into our minds Peacock struts The lion is a king

 Diction  Imagery  Details  Language  Syntax The idea is to first use diction in order to discover the tone of the poem. From there, you use imagery, details, language and syntax in order to support the tone.

Tone: the author’s attitude toward the subject, toward himself, or toward the audience. Diction: The style of speaking or writing as dependent upon choice of words. Ex: Adjectives, nouns, verbs, adverbs, negative words, positive words, synonyms, contrast. Hint: Look at the words that jump out at you - Evaluate only those words to find tone

Also look at: Colloquial (Slang) Old-Fashioned Informal (Conversational) Formal (Literary) Connotative (Suggestive meaning) Denotative (Exact meaning) Concrete (Specific) Abstract (General or Conceptual) Euphonious (Pleasant Sounding) Cacophonous (Harsh sounding) Monosyllabic (One syllable) Polysyllabic (More than one syllable)

Imagery: creates a vivid picture and appeals to the senses Other literary elements that help create imagery: Alliteration Assonance Consonance Onomatopoeia Simile Metaphor Hyperbole Understatement Personification Pun Symbol Analogy Oxymoron

Details: specifics the author includes about facts – his opinion  What details does the author choose to include? What do they imply? What does the author choose to exclude? What are the connotations of their choice of details?  PLEASE NOTE: Details are facts. They differ from images in that they don’t have a strong sensory appeal.

Language: words that describe the entire body of words in a text – not isolated bits of diction Artificial, Bombastic, Colloquial, Concrete, Connotative, Cultured, Detached, Emotional, Esoteric, Euphemistic, Exact, Figurative, Formal, Grotesque, Homespun, Idiomatic, Insipid, Jargon, Learned

Rhetorical Devices -- The use of language that creates a literary effect – enhance and support  Rhetorical Question: food for thought; create satire/sarcasm; pose dilemma  Repetition: also called refrain; repeated word, sentence or phrase  Restatement: main point said in another way  Irony: Either verbal or situational – good for revealing attitude  Allusion: refers to something universally known  Paradox: a statement that can be true and false at the same time

Syntax: The study of grammatical rules and sentence structure, as well as the manipulation of the rules to create meaning. Consider the following patterns and structures for identifying syntax: Does the sentence length fit the subject matter? Why is the sentence length effective? What variety of sentence lengths are present? Sentence beginnings – Variety or Pattern? Arrangement of ideas in sentences Arrangement of ideas in paragraph – Pattern?

I told them a thousand times if I told them once: Stop fooling around, I said, with straw and sticks; They won’t hold up; you’re taking an awful chance. Brick is the stuff to build with, solid bricks. You want to be impractical, go ahead. But just remember, I told them; wait and see. You’re making a big mistake. Awright, I said, But when the wolf comes, don’t come running to me. The funny thing is, they didn’t. There they sat, One in his crummy yellow shack, and one Under his roof of twigs, and the wolf ate Them, hair and hide. Well, what is done is done. But I’d been willing to help them, all along, If only they’d once admitted they were wrong. - Sara Henderson Hay

 What do you think Robin Williams’s character John Keating means when he asks his class, “What will your verse be?”  DgU DgU