Unveiling the Art of Poetry

1. POETRY Traditionally, poetry is a language arranged in lines with a regular rhythm and often with a definite rhyme scheme.

3. SPEAKER • The speaker is the voice in a poem. A poem can sometimes have more than one voice.

4. 5 Guidelines for Reading a Poem • Read the poem aloud at least once, following the punctuation for phrasing. • Be alert to key words and references. • Write a paraphrase of any lines that are not clear to you or need simplifying. • Arrive at the central idea or meaning of the poem. • Use internet sources to help with paraphrasing or analysis.

5. Diction • The words a poet chooses and the way he or she arranges the words to express a thought are referred to as the poet’s diction.

6. Connotation • The emotional meaning of the word • In poetry, diction is especially important because every word must relay the right connotation.

7. Poetic License • The poet’s freedom to use language creatively • Poets often invent (coin) words to relay an intended meaning. • The poet may change words, invent (coin) new ones, rearrange the normal order of words, and omit understood phrases in order to create a certain mood or create a special meaning.

8. Imagery • Words or phrases that use description to create pictures (images) in the reader’s mind

9. Tone • The attitude a writer takes toward the subject or the reader

10. Figurative Language • The use of language to describe one thing in terms of something else • Figurative language is at the heart of poetry.

11. 10 Major Figures of Speech • Personification • Symbol • Simile • Metaphor • Implied Metaphor • Extended Metaphor • Dead Metaphor • Mixed Metaphor • Pun • Irony of Situation

12. Personification • A special form of metaphor in which an inanimate thing or animal is given human characteristics

13. Symbol • An object, such as a person, action, or an event that stands for something more than itself as well

14. Simile • A straightforward comparison of two unlike things, using either of the words like or as • Example: The clouds were like puffs of cotton candy.

15. Metaphor • A more powerful figure of speech comparing two unlike things, without the use of the words like or as • It omits the specific word of comparison and directly identifies the two unlike things • Example: The clouds were puffs of cotton candy.

16. Implied Metaphor • A comparison between two unlike objects. It is not directly stated, but only suggested.

17. Extended Metaphor • A comparison of two unlike things which is extended throughout the poem

18. Dead Metaphor • A metaphor which has become so commonplace that it has lost its force. • Example: a fishy story; a cold shoulder; the foot of a hill

19. Mixed Metaphor • The use of two or more inconsistent metaphors in one expression. • When they are examined, they make no sense, and they are often unintentionally funny. • Examples: To hold the fort, he’d have to shake a leg.” “We’re skating on a very gray area.”

20. Pun • A humorous play on words, using either: • Two or more different meanings of the same word, or • Two or more words that are pronounced somewhat the same but have different meanings • Example: Romeo and Juliet’s Mercutio, fatally wounded, knows he does not have long to live. Punning on the word grave, he says, “Ask for me tomorrow and you shall find me a grave man.”

21. Irony of Situation • The opposite of what the reader expects to happen

22. 19 Musical Devices in Poetry • Rhyme Rhyme Scheme • End Rhyme Exact Rhyme • Internal Rhyme Approximate Rhyme • Alliteration Assonance • Refrain Onomatopoeia • Allusion Parallelism • Repetition Rhythm • Meter Iamb • Iambic Pentameter Free Verse • Blank Verse

23. Rhyme • The repetition of accented vowel sounds and all succeeding sounds in words that appear close to each other

24. Rhyme Scheme • The pattern of rhymes in a stanza or poem

25. End Rhyme • Rhyming words that occur at the end of a poetic line

26. Exact Rhyme • Words that exactly repeat a sound

27. Internal Rhyme • Rhyme occurring within a line of poetry

28. Slant RhymeorApproximate Rhyme • Rhyme in which the final sounds of words are similar but not identical Example: because/was

29. AlliterationorConsonance • The repetition of consonant sounds, usually at the beginning of words. • Example: “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.”

30. Assonance • The repetition of vowel sounds. • Example: “The bad, fat cat sat on the mat.”

31. Refrain • The recurring use of a phrase, entire line, or stanza

32. Onomatopoeia • The sound of a word imitates or suggests its meaning. • Examples: “Whoosh!” “Tick-tock” “Zoom!”

33. Allusion • A reference to a person, place, an event, or a literary work to which the writer expects the reader to recognize and respond • Example: Biblical allusions are common in English literature

34. Parallelism • The repetition of structures of ideas • Example: “…of the people, by the people, and for the people…” (Gettysburg Address)

35. Repetition • The reappearance of a word, phrase, stanza, or structure in any literary work • 3 Common forms of Repetition: (1) refrain; (2) rhyme; (3) alliteration

36. Rhythm • Any regular, recurrent flow of motion or sound

37. Meter • Regularized rhythmic pattern in a line of poetry

38. Iamb • An unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable

39. Iambic Pentameter • One of the most popular metrical forms in English • It contains 5 (pent-) iambic feet (iambs) to a line of poetry.

40. Free Verse • Poetry that is not controlled by any regular metrical pattern. • This is the easiest type of poetry to write.

41. Blank Verse • Unrhymed iambic pentameter that conveys a natural, conversational rhythm.

42. Structures of Poetry • Structure is the form or pattern a poet chooses for the arrangement of his thought • There are 5 we will consider: • Stanzas • Sonnets • Terza Rima • Villanelles • Verse Paragraphs

43. Stanza • Any group of related lines that forms a division of a poem. They function somewhat like paragraphs do.

44. Sonnet • A fixed form of poetry that contains fourteen lines, usually written in iambic pentameter • The sonnet has 2 traditional rhyme schemes: (1) English and (2) Italian

45. English Sonnet • Also known as the Shakespearean Sonnet • It contains 3 quatrains (groups of 4 lines) + 1 couplet (2 lines) = 14 lines

46. Italian Sonnet • Also known as the Petrarchan Sonnet • It contains 1 octave ( 8 lines) + 1 sestet (6 lines) = 14 lines

47. Terza Rima • A verse form consisting of a sequence of interlocking 3-line stanzas (tercets) • The 1st and 3rd lines of the first stanza rhyme. • The 2nd line provides the rhyme for the 1st and 3rd lines of the next stanza. • Forms the rhyme scheme aba-bcb-cdc and so on

48. Villanelle • An intricate 19-line poem of French origin • Only two rhymes are allowed in the villanelle, and 8 lines are refrains.

49. Verse Paragraph • Sometimes a poet chooses to divide units of thought into verse paragraphs of varying length rather than fixed stanzas. It allows the poet more flexibility in his thought. • Verse paragraphs are alternatives to stanzas.

50. 9 Types of Poetry Narrative Dramatic Monologue Epic Closet Dramas Ballad Lyric Poetry Folk Ballad Literary Ballads Dramatic Poem