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• Poetry is literature in verse form,
a controlled arrangement of lines
and stanzas.
• Poems use concise, musical, and
emotionally charged language to
express multiple layers of
meaning.
• The word poetry is derived from
the Greek poiesis, meaning a
“making” or “creating.” It is a
form of art in which language is
used.
Figurative Language
Language that is used
imaginatively, rather than
literally, to express ideas
or feelings in new ways.
Figures of Speech
Similes: compares one thing to
another and uses the words “like” or
“as.”
Metaphors: an implied comparison
made between two unlike things.
Personification: giving human traits
(qualities, feelings, action, or
characteristics) to non-human
objects.
Allusion: an allusion is the casual
reference to a figure or event in
history or literature that creates a
mental image in the mind of the
reader.
Symbolism: the use of one object
(a symbol) to represent or suggest
something else.
Imagery: Descriptive language that
creates vivid impressions. These
impressions, or images, are developed
through sensory language, which
provides details related to sight,
sound, taste, touch, smell, and
movement.
Theme: the message of the poem
Tone: the manner in which a poet
makes his statement; it reflects his
attitude toward his subject. The reader
must learn to "hear" their tones with
his mind's ear.
Rhythm the pattern created by stressed
and unstressed syllables of words in
sequence. A pattern of rhythm is called
meter.
Rhyme is the repetition of identical
sounds in the last syllables of words. A
pattern of rhyme at the ends of lines is a
rhyme scheme.
Alliteration or initial rhyme, is the
repetition of the initial consonant sounds
of words, as in light and lemon.
Assonance or vowel rhyme, is the
repetition of vowel sounds in
nearby words, as in the words date
and fade.
Consonance the repetition of
consonants within nearby words in
which the preceding vowels differ,
as in the words milk and walk.
Narrative poetry tells a story with a plot,
characters, and a setting.
Carpe diem is a Latin expression that
means "seize the day." Carpe diem poems
have the theme of living for today.
•Epic is a long narrative poem about the
feats of gods or heroes.
•Ballad is a songlike narrative with
stanzas and a refrain.
Dramatic poetry tells a story using a
character’s own thoughts or spoken
statement.
Imagery Poems draw the reader into poetic
experiences by touching on the images and
senses which the reader already knows.
Lyric poems express the feelings of a single
speaker.
*Lyrics are the most common type of poem in
modern literature.
Poems can also be categorized by structure, or form.
Poetic structures are defined by patterns of line and
stanza length, rhythm, and rhyme. Some examples
are:
Haiku is a verse form with three unrhymed lines of
five, seven, and five syllables.
Free verse poems have neither a set pattern of
rhythm or rhyme.
Acrostic Poem tells about the word. It uses the
letters of the word for the first letter of each line.
Analyzing Poetry
*Mark the poem as you read, and make notes on the following:
*Title
*Ponder the title before reading the poem; predict what the poem may be "about.“
*Paraphrase
*Put the poem into your own words. Focus on one syntactical unit at a time, not necessarily
on one line at a time, or write a sentence or two for each stanza of the poem.
*Figurative Devices
*Examine any and all poetic devices, focusing how such devices contribute to the meaning,
the effect, or both, of a poem (What is important is not that you can identify poetic devices
so much as you can explain how the devices enhance meaning and effect). Especially note
anything that is repeated, either individual words or complete phrases. Anything said more
than once may be crucial to interpretation. (See below for devices.)
*Attitude
*Observe both the speaker’s and the poet’s attitude (tone). Diction, images, and details
suggest the speaker’s attitude and contribute to the meaning.
*Shifts
*Rarely does a poet begin and end the poetic experience at the same place. As is true
for most of us, the poet’s understanding of an experience is a gradual realization, and
the poem is a reflection of that epiphany. Trace the changing attitudes of the speaker
from the beginning to end, paying particular attention to the conclusion. To discover
shifts, watch for the following:
*key words: but, yet, however, though
*punctuation: dashes, periods, colons, ellipsis
*stanza and/or line divisions: changes in line or stanza length or both
*irony: sometimes irony hides shifts
*effect of structure on meaning, how the poem is "built"
*changes in sound that may indicate changes in meaning
*changes in diction: slang to formal language, positive to negative connotation
Speaker
The speaker is the voice behind the poem – the person we imagine to be
speaking. It’s important to note that the speaker is not the poet. Even if the poem
is biographical, you should treat the speaker as a fictional creation, because the
writer is choosing what to say about himself.
Title
Examine the title again, this time on an interpretive level.
Theme
In identifying theme, recognize the human experience, motivation, or condition
suggested.