1. Elements of Literature: Poetry

2. Form
Form is the physical arrangement of the words on the page. This includes the length and placement of the lines, and the way they are grouped into stanzas.
Some poetry (limericks, sonnets, etc.) are written in strict formal patterns.

3. Stanza and Line
A stanza refers to a group of lines that form a unit of poetry.
This is comparable to a paragraph in prose.
Lines refers to a single line of poetry.
This is comparable to a sentence in a paragraph.

4. Examples of Stanza and Line
Stanza: a group of lines
Line: a single line
Softly, in the dusk, a woman is singing to me; Taking me back down the vista of years, till I see A child sitting under the piano, in the boom of the tingling strings And pressing the small, poised feet of a mother who smiles as she sings. In spite of myself, the insidious mastery of song Betrays me back, till the heart of me weeps to belong To the old Sunday evenings at home, with winter outside And hymns in the cozy parlour, the tinkling piano our guide. So now it is vain for the singer to burst into clamour With the great black piano appassionato. The glamour Of childish days is upon me, my manhood is cast Down in the flood of remembrance, I weep like a child for the past.
Softly, in the dusk, a woman is singing to me; Taking me back down the vista of years, till I see A child sitting under the piano, in the boom of the tingling strings And pressing the small, poised feet of a mother who smiles as she sings. In spite of myself, the insidious mastery of song Betrays me back, till the heart of me weeps to belong To the old Sunday evenings at home, with winter outside And hymns in the cozy parlour, the tinkling piano our guide. So now it is vain for the singer to burst into clamour With the great black piano appassionato. The glamour Of childish days is upon me, my manhood is cast Down in the flood of remembrance, I weep like a child for the past.

5. Sound Devices Alliteration: the repetition of initial consonant sounds
Example: Shelly sells sea shells at the sea shore.
Assonance: the repetition of vowel sounds within non-rhyming words
Example: a greed as deep as the sea
Consonance: the repetition of consonant sounds within and at the ends of words
Example: Last but not least

6. Rhyme
End rhyme: rhymes that occur at the ends of lines of poetry; usually creates a rhyme scheme
Internal rhyme: a rhyme that occurs within a line of poetry

7. Example of Rhyme End Rhyme Internal Rhyme
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate Rough winds do shake the buds of May And summer’s lease hath too short a date.
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore— While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.

8. Onomatopoeia Creating or using words that imitate sounds.
Examples: pop, boom, buzz, pow

9. Rhythm
Rhythm is the pattern or beat of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry.

10. Rhyme Scheme vs Free Verse
Rhyme scheme is the pattern of end rhyme in a poem, measured by using letters of the alphabet.
Example: ABAB CDCD
Free verse refers to poetry that does not contain a regular pattern of rhyme and meter.

11. Figurative Language
Figurative language is language that communicates ideas beyond the literal meanings of words.

12. Simile and Metaphor Simile Metaphor
A simile is a comparison between two things using “like” or “as.”
Example: I ran as quick as lightning.
A metaphor makes a comparison without using “like” or “as.”
Example: I am a strong warrior.

13. Imagery
Imagery is a type of figurative language that describes words and phrases that re-create vivid sensory experiences for the reader.
These words and phrases appeal to your five senses: touch, sight, smell, taste and sound.

14. Personification
Personification is a type of figurative language in which human qualities are attributed to an object, animal, or idea.
Example: The moon sings a sad song.