Introduction to Poetry
Key Terms
Standard
ELA8R1g The student Analyzes and evaluates
the effects of sound, form, figurative
language, and graphics in order to uncover
meaning in literature:
i. Sound (e.g., alliteration, onomatopoeia,
internal rhyme, rhyme scheme, meter)
ii. Figurative language (e.g., simile, metaphor,
personification, hyperbole, symbolism,
imagery).
What is a Poem(1)?
• A poem is a verbal composition created in
verse rather than prose
• Prose is ordinary writing that relies on
sentences and paragraphs.
• Verse is writing that happens in lines or
stanzas. It is not confined to paragraphs.
Line (4)
• A line is a row of words within a poem.
• A line might be very long, or it might be as
short as one word, or even one letter.
• One complete thought might be split up over
several lines, so a reader shouldn’t necessarily
pause at the end each line. It might flow right
into the next one with no stop. Pause when
you reach punctuation.
1. How many lines?
2. Where should the reader pause?
If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.
- Emily Dickinson
Stanza (3)
• A stanza is one group of lines within a poem.
• A stanza can be made of as many lines as the
poet desires.
• Stanzas are usually separated by a horizontal
gap of space on a page.
• A poem might have one stanza or many
stanzas.
• The form each stanza follows does not have to
match, but it can.
How Many Stanzas
I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox
and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast
Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold
This is Just To Say
by: William Carlos Williams
Rhyme (2)
• A rhyme is 2 or more words that end with the
same vowel sound.
• Poems can rhyme, but they don’t have to.
• Rhyming words can be found in a Rhyming
Dictionary
Rhyme Scheme (5)
• Rhyme Scheme is the pattern in which a
poem’s rhymes are arranged.
• Some poems have a very rigid, predictable
rhyme scheme pattern
• Some poems have no rhyme scheme at all
Labeling Rhyme Scheme
• We label rhyme scheme by calling the first line
“A.” Every line in that stanza that rhymes with
“A” is labeled “A.”
• The first line that does NOT rhyme with “A” is
labeled “B.” Every line that rhymes with “B” is
labeled “B.”
• Continue going through the alphabet until you
run out of lines in the stanza.
• We name the rhyme scheme after the pattern
Example: A Hippo is Bounding…
A hippo is bounding around on my head.
Gorillas are banging on drums.
A rhino is charging me full speed ahead
while a crocodile's eyeing my thumbs.
A rattlesnake's winding his way up my side.
A tiger is sniffing my clothes.
A grizzly just grabbed me, his mouth open wide.
A tarantula's perched on my nose.
I'm drowning, surrounded by man-eating sharks.
An elephant sits on my chest.
Yes, that's how it feels when the teacher remarks,
"Grab your pencils. It's time for the test."
--Kenn Nesbitt
Free Verse (22)
• Free Verse is when a poem has no set rhyme
or pattern.
• The verse does not conform to a specified
number of lines or syllables.
• It may have no rhyme whatsoever, though
the author may occasionally throw a rhyme in
here and there. The rhyme, however, will NOT
have a pattern.
Free Verse Example
Sunset by: Lillian Moore
There's dazzle
in the western sky
Colors spill and
run
The pond mouth
lies open
greedy
for the last drop
of
melting
sun
Assignment!
• Write a poem in your interactive notebook (on
page 6). You can write about family, friends,
or current events (things going on in the
world). You can make it have a rhyme scheme
or use free verse.
• GO! 