Poetry usually . . .
• is arranged in lines.
• uses compressed (shrunken)
language to make a point.
• has a regular pattern of
rhythm.
• uses literary devices to appeal
to our emotions and
imagination.
Poetry sometimes . . .
has a regular rhyme
scheme
 1.
Stanza – the division
of lines in a poem; a
poem “paragraph.”

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Stanza one
Stanza two
 2.
Meter – the pattern and number
of stressed and unstressed
syllables in a line of poetry.
That time of year thou mayst in me behold
Tell me not in mournful numbers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dxSU3HYhBSs
Across the years he could recall
His father one way best of all.
In the stillest hour night
The boy awakened to a light.
Half in dreams, he saw his sire
With his great hands full of fire.
A woman who once heard a mouse
ran screaming all throughout her house.
She sent in the cat
to dispose of the rat
to find it was only her spouse.
3.
Refrain – the repeating
of words and/or phrases
throughout a poem.

For the moon never beams without bringing
me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but I feel the bright
eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the
side
Of my darling, my darling, my life and my
bride,
In the sepulcher there by the sea,
In her tomb by the sounding sea.
4. End Rhyme: words at
end of lines rhyme
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
5. Rhyme Scheme: the
pattern of rhyme (ex: aabb)
Life is but life, and death but death!
Bliss is but bliss, and breath but breath!
And if, indeed, I fail,
At least to know the worst is sweet.
Defeat means nothing but defeat,
No drearier can prevail!
6. Internal Rhyme: rhyme
within lines

For the moon never beams without bringing me
dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling, my darling, my life and my bride,
In the sepulchre there by the sea,
In her tomb by the sounding sea.
7. enjambmentthe running on of the thought from
one line, couplet, or stanza to the
next without a break in thought.
NOT an enjambment:
Enjambment:
I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A glooming peace this morning with it brings.
The sun for sorrow will not show his head.
Go hence, to have more talk of these sad things.
Some shall be pardon’d, and some punished.
A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
8. Tone - is what the author projects
or the author’s attitude.
There's a patch of old snow in a corner,
That I should have guessed
Was a blow-away paper the rain
Had brought to rest.
It is specked with grime as if
Small print overspread it.
The news of a day I've forgotten –
If I ever read it.
 9.
Mood-how you feel after
reading the poem. (excited,
joyous, somber, sad, etc..)


For the moon never beams without bringing me
dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling, my darling, my life and my bride,
In the sepulchre there by the sea,
In her tomb by the sounding sea.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=1tkzL8_BxOU
1. A “figure of speech” is a
word or phrase that
describes one thing in
terms of another and is not
meant to be understood as
literally true.
He gives his harneSS bellS a Shake
To aSk if there i Some miStake.
The only other Sound’S the Sweep
Of easy Wind and doWny flake.
DO nOt gO gentle intO that gOOd
night,
Old Age should burn And rAve At
close of dAy;
RAge, rAge AgAinst the dYIng of the
lIght.
Alliterationrepetition of beginning
consonant sounds in words
close together
Rain
Three grey geese in a
Rain races,
green field grazing,
Ripping like wind. Grey were the geese and
Its restless rage
green was the grazing.
Rattles like
Rocks ripping through
The air.
Onomatopoeiathe use of
a word whose sound
imitates its meaning.
splash
buzz
roar
hiss
Other Figurative Language
Allusion
Simile
Hyperbole
Metaphor
Personification
Oxymoron
Idiom
Symbol
Imagery
Irony
3. Allusion –
a reference to a well-known
person, place, thing or event
with which the writer assumes
the reader will be familiar
1. George rushed in like Superman to
save the man from the burning building.
2. We’re not in Kansas anymore.
3. She pulled a ‘Miley.’
 "As
the cave's roof collapsed, he was
swallowed up in the dust like Jonah,
and only his frantic scrabbling behind a
wall of rock indicated that there was
anyone still alive".
 "Christy
didn't like to spend money. She
was no Scrooge, but she seldom
purchased anything except the bare
necessities".
4. Simile –
a comparison between two
things using “like” or “as.”
She swims like a fish.
 He's as hairy as a gorilla.
 Peter laughs like a hyena.
 Mr. John is as wise as an owl.
 Allow me, it's as easy as ABC.
 Because I was embarrassed my face was as red as a ripe tomato.
 My love is like a red, red rose.
 The world is like a stage.
 “As dry as a bone”
 “As easy as shooting fish in a barrel”
 “They fought like cats and dogs”
 “Stand out like a sore thumb”

5.
Metaphor –
a
comparison between 2
things without using “like” or
“as.” These can be implicit or
explicit!





He was a tornado, blasting his way through the
opposing team.
He was a lion in the fight.
The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy
seas.
Education is your passport to satisfying employment.
My love is a red, red rose.
6. Personification –
a figure of speech in which a
non-human thing
(an idea, object, or animal) is given
human characteristics.





The stars danced playfully in the moonlit sky.
The run down house appeared depressed.
The first rays of morning tiptoed through the meadow.
She did not realize that opportunity was knocking at
her door.
He did not realize that his last chance was walking
out the door.
Oxymoron –
a technique putting two
words with opposite
meanings together for a
special effect.
jumbo shrimp old news
bittersweet small fortune

http://www.oxymoronlist.com/#b
A blind man looks back
Into the future with the
Ear-splitting whispers of
Unconcealed ghosts
Thundering silently.
A wealthy peasant
marches
Weakly across a
blazing glacier
As the stars in the
cloudy sky
Glisten grimly.
Imagery –
vivid description that
appeals to the senses.
They were flat round wafers, slightly
browned on the edges and butteryellow in the center. With cold
lemonade they were sufficient for
childhood’s lifelong diet.
Symbol –
a concrete or real object
used to represent an idea
A bird, because it can fly, has
often been used as a
symbol of freedom.








a dove for peace
the rose for purity
the stars and stripes for America
the lion for strength and courage
Red rose or red color stands for love or
romance.
Black is a symbol that represents evil or
death.
A ladder may stand as a symbol for a
connection between the heaven and the
earth.
A broken mirror may symbolize separation
“In the spring, I asked the daisies
If his words were true,
And the clever, clear-eyed daisies
Always knew.
 Now the fields are brown and barren,
Bitter autumn blows,
And of all the stupid asters
Not one knows.”

Hyperbole –
an extreme exaggeration or
overstatement that a writer
uses for emphasis.
He's got tons of money.
I will die if he asks me to dance.
Her brain is the size of a pea.
I'm so hungry I could eat a horse.
I told you a million times not to He is older than the hills.
lie!
Irony –
a technique that uses a word or
phrase to mean the exact
opposite of its normal meaning.
(verbal, dramatic, situational)
Verbal: Danielle laughs all the time, so we call
her “Grumpy.”
Dramatic: The audience watching the movie
knows that the girl’s boyfriend is going to ask
her to marry her, but she doesn’t know.
Situational: A fire station is on fire.
A traditional way of saying
something that does not
seem to make sense if
taken literally
 He’s
ready to kick the bucket.
 She’s under the weather.
A
chip on your shoulder - means you
think you know a lot
 High as a kite - means you are drunk or
on drugs
 Sick as a dog - means you are very ill
 Rub someone the wrong way - meaning
to annoy or bother
 Jump the gun - would mean to be doing
something early
 Pay the piper - means you need to face
the consequences of your actions