Understanding Poetic Structure Rhyme Meter Figurative Language Poetic Terms

Rhyme The repetition of vowel sounds in accented syllables and all syllables that follow (ex. glisten – listen) When rhyme is found within the same line of poetry, it is internal rhyme When rhyme is found at the end of lines of poetry, it is end rhyme

Rhyme The purpose of rhyme is to create a sound cadence for the reader Poets often create a pattern of end rhyme This pattern, when identified, is called a rhyme scheme When determining the rhyme scheme, each rhyming sound is represented by a different letter of the alphabet

Rhyme Because rhyming is difficult, and to create different effects on the reader, poets also use approximate rhyme Approximate rhyme is also known as off rhyme, half rhyme, or slant rhyme These rhymes can be equated to a sharp or flat note in music

Meter A pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry Each syllable in a line of poetry is labeled with a stress mark, or an unstressed mark The purpose of meter is to create a recognizable rhythm through a regular sound pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables

Meter Metrical patterns, composed of stressed and unstressed syllabic marks, create a foot of meter Common metrical feet are: iambic, anapestic, trochaic, and dactylic Each is a different combination of stressed and unstressed syllabic marks

Meter An iambic foot of meter is composed of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable An anapestic foot of meter is composed of two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable

Meter A trochaic foot of meter is composed of a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable A dactylic foot of meter is composed of a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables Reading a poem to determine its metrical pattern is called scansion

Meter A poem that has two of a particular metrical foot in each line is written in dimeter If it has three metrical feet in each line it is written in trimeter If it has four feet, it is written in tetrameter If it has five feet, it is written in pentameter Six feet – hexameter Seven feet – heptameter Eight feet - octameter

Figurative Language Using words or phrases to describe something in terms of another thing, with the intent that the description will not be taken literally The more common figures of speech are simile, metaphor, personification, and symbol Conceit is an elaborate figure of speech that is often lengthy, and which compares two startlingly different objects

Figurative Language Sound devices are also a form of figurative language Some common sound devices are assonance, alliteration, consonance, onomatopoeia Other figures of speech are hyperbole, metonymy, oxymoron, synecdoche

Poetic Devices and Terms Allusion is a reference to someone of something known from history, literature, religion, sports, science, etc. – allusion is a device also used in other forms of writing Apostrophe is a technique a poet uses to address an inanimate object, idea, or person who is dead or absent – apostrophe is also used in other forms of writing

Poetic Devices and Terms Caesura is a pause or break within a line of poetry Concrete Poem is a poem in which the words of the poem themselves are arranged in a manner to visually suggest the poem’s subject of meaning Couplet consists of two rhyming lines of poetry

Poetic Devices and Terms Dramatic monologue is a poem in which a character in the poem speaks to one or more listeners Epic is a long narrative poem – it uses very formal language and recounts heroic figures Free verse is poetry that does not conform to a regular meter or rhyme scheme

Poetic Devices and Terms Lyric Poem is a poem that does not tell a story, but expresses the personal thoughts or feelings of the speaker/poet Octave is an eight line poem, or more often, the first eight lines of a Petrarchan sonnet Ode is a lyric poem that is usually very long and pays homage to a person or an object Quatrain is a poem consisting of four lines that function as a unit of thought

Poetic Devices and Terms Refrain is a word, phrase, line, or group of lines in a poem that are repeated for effect several times during a poem Sestet is a six line poem, especially the last six lines of a Petrarchan sonnet Sonnet is a fourteen line poem, usually written in iambic pentameter, and following a Petrarchan or Shakespearian structure