1. Poetry Unit
ESS ENGLISH

2. GENRE Genre: a type or kind of literature.
(i.e. poetry, drama, short story, novel)

3. LINE
Line: a unit of meaning that stands all by itself for a moment, before the reader goes on to the next line.
2 basic types of line breaks
Enjambed: break in the middle of a sentence of phrase ( , ; )
End-stopped: end with punctuation
( . ? !)

4. STANZA
Stanza: a group of lines in a poem, like a paragraph in prose

5. SPEAKER Speaker: the voice we hear in the poem.
NOT THE POET!!! The speaker and the poet are separate entities

6. MUSIC Music: Poetry was originally sung to music.
It is an “aural” art, meaning that it is supposed to be heard.
Poetry uses many poetic elements to give it a musical quality (rhyme, alliteration, consonance, assonance, meter, and others)

7. RHYME
Rhyme: repetition of sounds at the end of words. Gives poetry a musical quality. Not necessary in poetry.
Most common are end rhyme
Rhyme at the end of the line –
But still I say it was not fair
To ask of me to cut my hair.
and internal rhyme
rhyme within a line –
it was not fair to mislead the pair.

8. RHYME SCHEME
Rhyme Scheme: a general pattern that the rhymes follow in a poem.
The rhymes are all assigned a letter (starting with “a”) to create a rhyme scheme.

9. REPETITION
Repetition: A repetitive word, phrase, metrical pattern, syllable, or sound.
Repetition conveys a sense of urgency or importance, or adds music to the poem

10. NARRATIVE POEM Narrative Poem: A poem that tells a story.
It typically follows the tradition story plot line (characters, setting, events, resolution).

11. DIALOGUE
Dialogue: exchange of words between two or more speakers.
“ “

12. TONE Tone: The author’s attitude toward his or her subject or audience
(i.e. bitter, ironic, sad, cheerful, etc.)

13. PERSONIFICATION
Personification: giving human (or animal) qualities to inanimate objects.
Example:
The trees were dancing in the wind.
The skies wept over her death.

14. IMAGERY
Imagery: using words that appeal to one or more of our five senses-sight, hearing, taste, touch, or smell
Example:
The rose pedal scent that fills the air,
The silky satin of the dress,
The sound of church bells,
Making my heart jump from my chest.
Teresa Ly Imagery of a wedding day

15. METAPHOR Metaphor: a comparison between two dissimilar things Examples
"Men's words are bullets, that their enemies take up and make use of against them."
"Language is a road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going."

16. SIMILE
Simile: a comparison between two dissimilar things using “like” or “as”
Examples:
"Good coffee is like friendship: rich and warm and strong."
"Life is like an onion: You peel it off one layer at a time, and sometimes you weep."

17. SYMBOL
Symbol: a thing or action in a poem that has meaning beyond itself.
Examples:
apple = fall of Eden
snake = rebellion and the consequences
bird = freedom

18. ALLITERATION Alliteration: repetition of initial consonant sounds.
Example: Brown bears beat boats.
TONGUE TWISTERS

19. CONSONANCE Consonance: repetition of consonant sounds within words.
Example: Better letters litter lighter.

20. ASSONANCE Assonance: repetition of similar vowel sounds.
VOWELS – A E I O U
Example:
High in the sky shines a field as wide as the world.

21. ONOMATOPOEIA Onomatopoeia: words sound similar to their meaning.
Examples: plop, hiss, fizz, skid, buzz, sizzle, bang, roar, squeak, etc.