1. Understanding Poetic Structure
Rhyme
Meter
Figurative Language
Poetic Terms

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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