1. Characteristics, Analysis, Key Terms
Poetry Notes
Characteristics, Analysis, Key Terms

2. 4 Characteristics of Poems

3. Poetry is...
Condensed language - every word is important - no unnecessary words are included - focused
Imagery/ Figurative language -language not to be taken literally -conveys images-“pictures in the mind” -figures of speech: simile, metaphor, hyperbole, personification, oxymoron

4. Poetry is...
3. Organized language - lines and stanzas are shaped intentionally - some poems follow patterns (of rhyme, rhythm,word pattern)
4. Rhythmic / Musical language - the meter or “beat” of lines - the sounds of words - examples: alliteration, assonance, rhyme, onomatopoeia

5. Analyzing Poetry

6. When responding to a poem, you may comment on:
the Subject of the poem -what/who is the poem about? -is a setting or pov significant?
the Mood and Tone of the poem -what mood or feeling does it convey? -what attitude does the narrator have toward the subject of the poem? the audience?

7. 3. the Organization of the poem -what patterns do you notice. (of
3. the Organization of the poem -what patterns do you notice? (of rhyme, rhythm, image, punctuation, sound, etc) -what effect do these patterns have?
4. the Imagery of the poem -which images seem vivid? important?-what do these images convey? -what other figurative language is used?
5. the Meaning of the poem -what is the experience conveyed? -is there a message? -what does the poem make you understand and/or wonder?

8. Poetry terms

9. imagery / figurative language
imagery - concrete words or details that provide vividness
simile - a direct comparison between two things using like or as
metaphor - an indirect or implied comparison between two things (does not use like or as)
personification - the representation of abstractions, ideas, animals, or inanimate objects as if human

10. patterns... of sound, rhythm & words
5. rhyme scheme - any pattern of rhyme in a poem; may be end rhyme or internal rhyme
6. alliteration - the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginnings of words (or within words)
7. assonance - the repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds
8. consonance - the repetition of consonant sounds that are preceded by different vowel sounds

11. 9. meter - the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry; rhythm; it may be regular or it may vary
10. repetition - a poetic device in which a sound, word, or phrase is repeated for style and emphasis
11. stanza - a group of lines that are set off and form a division in a poem

12. devices that affect meaning...
12. symbol - a person, place, event, or object that has a meaning in itself but suggests other meanings as well
13. tone - the author's attitude, either stated or implied, toward his or her subject matter and toward the audience
14. allusion - a brief reference to a person, event, or place, real or fictitious

13. 15. connotation - the emotional associations surrounding a word, as opposed to the word's literal meaning
16. denotation - the strict, literal meaning of a word
17. diction - an author's choice of words and phrases; may be casual or formal, simple or complex, etc.