POETRY TOOLBOX –
POETIC DEVICES
Mr. Sabolcik
West Forsyth HS
2012
IN THIS PRESENTATION, WE WILL
COVER THE FOLLOWING:
 Poetic Devices
… Rhyme
… Rhythm
… Refrain
… Imagery
POETIC DEVICE
Rhyme
I am Sabolcik.
He is Sabolcik.
Little Miss Muffet,
sat on her tuffet,
- When similar
or identical
sounds are
repeated at
the ends of
words
West is Best!
WRITE A WORD THAT RHYMES
WITH EACH OF THE FOLLOWING
 Goat
 Mood
 Fool
 Plane
 Honey
 2 Chainz
2 Major Types of
Rhyme
Internal
Rhymes in the middle of a
line
External
Rhymes at ends of lines
2 KINDS OF RHYME
INTERNAL
But the raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust,
spoke only,
Nothing further then he uttered - not a feather
then he fluttered –
Edgar Allan Poe, “The Raven”
EXTERNAL
What this grim, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore
Meant in croaking `Nevermore.‘
Edgar Allan Poe, “The Raven”
Different Rhyme Schemes
 pattern of rhyme between lines
of a poem or song
 For example:
… Roses are Red
A
… Violets are Blue
B
… Pencils have lead
A
… Sabolcik loves all of you. B
Your Turn!
Choose a song and
analyze the rhyme
scheme of 6-8 lines.
They must be
SCHOOL
APPROPRIATE lyrics.
POETIC DEVICE
Rhythm
The wind in her hair over there
The chair that sat with her hair
Eyes on eyes
Fire and lye
in the river sky on I
- What words
you accent or
stress in a line
of poetry
-The “beat” of
the poem
-Fast, slow,
accelerating,
etc.
THE BEST WAY TO DETERMINE
RHYTHM IS TO SPEAK THE POEM.
ANY VOLUNTEERS?
-Keep the rhythm!
-Try tapping your toe
while you read it out
loud!
-Think about what
kind of beat or pattern
it has!
-Is it long or short?
Flowing or choppy?
-Does it sound like
anything familiar?
-Are there any
patterns or is it
random?
Gaily bedight,
A gallant knight,
In sunshine and in shadow,
Had journeyed long,
Singing a song,
In search of Eldorado.
But he grew oldThis knight so boldAnd o'er his heart a shadow
Fell as he found
No spot of ground
That looked like Eldorado.
REFRAIN
Repeated line or group of
words in a poem.
Like a chorus.
Adds importance to the
words repeated.
Helps the phrase stick in
your mind.
“It was not I that ate the pie”
SPOT
THE
REFRAIN!
Bobby said that he would give me his right
shoe
For a piece of the sweet treat
And I thought that it would be nice to have
another shoe
But no,
It was not I that ate that pie
Jimmy caught a sniff while sneaking
thorugh our yard
He would give me a fistful of mice for just
one slice
I told him I needed a left shoe,
But no,
It was not I that ate that pie
Then Mary walked by my door,
I told her she could test the rest
For the the smallest peck,
But no,
It was not I that ate that pie.
Subject
 In poetry, the subject is basically what
we’re talking about.
 It is the idea or thing the poet is
concerned with.
 Some poems have multiple subjects.
 How is this different than theme?
… Subject can be one word. Theme is the
moral or lesson.
… The subject is what the moral or
lesson is about!
 Gaily bedight,

A gallant knight,
 In sunshine and in shadow,

Had journeyed long,

Singing a song,
 In search of Eldorado.


But he grew old—
This knight so bold—
 And o’er his heart a shadow—


Fell as he found
No spot of ground
 That looked like Eldorado.
Different Types of Poetry
 Lyric
 Narrative
 Epic
 Haiku
 Sonnet
Lyric Poem
Highly musical verse that
expresses the thoughts,
observations, and feelings
of a single speaker
Lyric Poem Example
Turn back the heart you've turned away
Give back your kissing breath
Leave not my love as you have left
The broken hearts of yesterday
But wait, be still, don't lose this way
Affection now, for what you guess
May be something more, could be less
Accept my love, live for today.
Narrative Poem
A poem that tells a
story (a narrative)
Narrative Poem Example
I place my tiny hand in his
as we walk to Papa’s Fishing Hole.
I hand him a wiggling night crawler
fighting for his life.
The deadly hook squishes
through the worm’s head,
and I watch the brown guts ooze out.
Epic Poem
Long narrative
poem about the
deeds of gods or
heroes.
Haiku
Japanese poem of
three-line verse form
5 syllables
7 syllables
5 syllables
Haiku Example
An old silent pond...
A frog jumps into the pond,
splash! Silence again.
Sonnet
14 line lyric poem
written in rhymed
iambic pentameter.
Milton’s “On His Blindness”
When I consider how my light is spent (a)
Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide, (b)
And that one talent which is death to hide, (b)
Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent (a)
To serve therewith my Maker, and present (a)
My true account, lest he returning chide; (b)
"Doth God exact day-labor, light denied?" (b)
I fondly ask; but Patience to prevent (a)
That murmur, soon replies, "God doth not need (c)
Either man's work or his own gifts; who best (d)
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state (e)
Is Kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed (c)
And post o'er land and ocean without rest; (d)
They also serve who only stand and wait." (e)