Poetry

1. Poetry Terms and Examples

2. Theme • The meaning, moral, or message about life or human nature that is communicated by a literary work • Example: The theme of “The Monkey’s Paw” might be that you should be careful what you wish for.

3. Form • The way a poem’s lines and words are arranged on the page is its form. • Most common forms are the ballad, epic, ode, sonnet, and free verse.

4. Lines and Stanzas • Poems are written in lines, which can vary in length. The poet chooses the line length to fit the rhythm, feeling, or thought expressed in the poem. • Lines are grouped together in stanzas. These are sections of the poem separated by a space.

5. Rhyme • Repetition of sounds at the end of words (shell and well) • Internal Rhyme: rhyming words within the same line • End Rhyme: use of rhymes at end of lines • Pattern of end rhymes in a poem is called the rhyme scheme

6. Rhythm • The pattern of sound created by stressed and unstressed syllables in a line • Stressed syllables are word parts that are read with emphasis, while unstressed syllables are less emphasized

7. Repetition • Sounds, words, phrases, or lines that are stated or used more than once in a poem. • Used to emphasize an idea or convey a certain meaning • Happy, happy, happy, so happy!

8. Alliteration • The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginnings of words • Example: No one knows your name

9. Imagery • Words and phrases that appeal to the five senses • Poets use imagery to create a picture in the reader’s mind • Example: The wet green grass gleamed.

10. Figurative Language • Conveys a meaning beyond the ordinary, literal meaning • Simile, metaphor, personification

11. Simile • A comparison of two things with a common quality • Expressed using the words like or as • Example: The dog was as small as a mouse. • Example: The horse was skinny like twig.

12. Metaphor • Also a comparison of two things with a common quality but it does not use the words like or as. • Example: She is a clown= she is crazy.

13. Personification • When a poet describes an animal or object as if it were human or had human qualities • Example: The tea cups in Beauty and the Beast are examples of personification.

14. Symbol • A person, place, an object, or an action that stands for something beyond itself. • Example: Bald Eagle is a symbol for the United States of America.

15. Speaker • The speaker is the voice that talks to the reader in a poem like a narrator in a story • Not necessarily the poet

16. Voice • The distinctive style or manner of expression • Can reveal much about the author’s or narrator’s personality

17. Free Verse • Free verse is poetry without a regular pattern of rhyme, rhythm, or meter. Free verse is used for a variety of subjects.

19. Narrative Poetry • Tells a story or recounts events • Includes a plot, characters and setting • Epics and ballads

21. Ballad • A type of narrative poem that tells a story. • Meant to be sung or recited • Has a setting, a plot, and characters • Most have regular patterns of rhythm and rhyme

23. Epic • A long narrative poem about the adventures of a hero whose actions reflect the ideals and values of a nation or group

25. Lyric Poetry • Presents the thoughts and feelings of a single speaker • Sonnet, elegy, ode, and free verse

27. Ode • A type of lyric poem that addresses broad, serious themes such as justice, truth, or beauty

29. Sonnet • A poem that has a formal structure, containing fourteen lines and a specific rhyme scheme and meter • Means “little song” and can be used for a variety of topics

31. Elegy • A type of lyric poem of mourning or lamentation for the dead. Usually it expresses sorrow over the death of someone the poet admired, loved or respected; sometimes it simply mourns the passing of all life and beauty.

33. Dramatic Poetry • May also tell a story but focuses more on character • Soliloquies and monologues

35. Couplet Poem • A two-lined poem that rhymes. • We Jack o’ Lanterns have a song That we like to sing all night long.

36. Try to write your own!