1. Poetry p

2. Poetry
Definition:
A type of literature in which ideas and feelings are expressed in a compact, imaginative, and musical way.
Pleasing to the eyes
Sings to the ears
Tickles the taste buds

3. Poetry Characteristics:
Squeezes meaning into a short number of lines and words
Lines end in a specific place to make a special effect
Stanzas

4. What is Prose?
Prose
Short stories, novels, newspapers, any type of essay
Longer, looser works or paragraphs
Everything poetry is not!

5. Basic Elements of Poetry
Sound
Figurative Language
Form
Imagery
Speaker
(List these as elements instead of examples.)

6. Sound Definition: Words are used to create appealing sounds.
Characteristics:
Four Techniques:
Rhyme
Rhythm
Repetition
Onomatopoeia

7. Figurative Language
Definition:
Poet uses language that stretches words beyond their usual meaning
Characteristics:
Language is non-literal

8. Figurative Language Examples: Alliteration Simile Metaphor
Onomatopoeia
Personification
Symbolism

9. Form
Definition:
The way a poem looks on a page; the way a poem is written or organized.
Characteristics:
Poems are written in lines or shapes
Stanzas-lines grouped together
Run-on lines ( , ; : )
End-stopped lines ( . ? ! )

10. Form Examples: Free Verse No pattern or structure
Sounds like conversation
Specific Forms
Limerick, Diamonte, Shape, etc.

11. Speaker
Definition:
The voice that relates the story or ideas of the poem
Examples:
Poet
Character or Voice
Characteristics:
Poet is not always the speaker
Speaker could be a ghost, a tree, etc.

12. Meaning Definition: The central idea or emotion behind the poem
Characteristics:
Restate the poem in your own words,
Paraphrase; ask yourself is the poem about a person? Place? Thing? Feeling? Idea?
What emotion do you feel when you read the poem?
Who is the speaker?
Example: “Sister for Sale” by Shel Silverstein

13. Rhyme
Definition:
The repetition of the same or similar sounds in words that appear near each other in a poem.
Characteristics:
End Rhyme: rhyme that comes at the end of lines
Rhyme Scheme: pattern of rhyme(s)

14. Rhyme Scheme
Example:
Lowercase letters describe the scheme.
A limerick is aabba. The first two lines rhyme, the second two lines rhyme, and the first two rhyme with the last.

15. Rhythm Definition: Characteristics:
The pattern of beats made by stressed or unstressed syllables in the lines of a poem
Characteristics:
Meter: regular stressed and unstressed beats
Meter allows you to hear or feel the “beat” of the poem

16. Refrain
Definition:
A line or group of lines repeated at regular intervals
Characteristics:
Appears in some songs and poems
Example: “The Cremation of Sam McGee”

17. Repetition Definition:
The repeated use of sounds, words, phrases, or lines
Characteristics:
Emphasizes important items and helps unify a poem or other work of literature

18. Imagery
Definition:
Image or mental picture that is created with words which appeal to one or more of the senses
Characteristics:
sight, sound, taste, touch, smell are affected as you read

19. Tone Definition: Writer’s attitude toward his or her subject matter.
Characteristics:
The feeling the author projects from the words chosen.
Examples: angry, humorous, factual
(Mood is the feeling the reader gets from the work. Ex. eerie, suspenseful, joyful)

20. Traditional Definition:
Any poem that follows the strict structure and rules of traditional form
Characteristics:
Usually begin each line with a capital letter.
Written in basic lines and stanzas unless it is a specific form (ex. Haiku)

21. Modern Poetry Definition:
Poems that do not have to follow a specific, traditional structure
Characteristics:
Comes in many forms
Capital letters to begin lines are not required
No set structure or form followed

22. Narrative Poetry Definition:
Narrative poetry is a specific form that tells a story
Characteristics:
Setting, characters & plot

23. Concrete Poetry Definition:
Poetry that uses typography or placement of letters and words to create an image.
Characteristics:
Shapes are suggested or revealed

24. Reading Poetry Strategies
Preview the poem and read it aloud a few times.
Visualize the images.
Clarify the words and phrases.
Evaluate the poem’s theme.
Let your understanding grow.