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Poems are usually
divided into lines
and then grouped
into stanzas
Figurative language
states ideas in new,
creative ways
Sound devices
enhance mood
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Metaphor
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Personification
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Simile
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Symbol
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Describes one thing
saying it is something
else as in:
The house was a zoo
this morning!
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Gives human
qualities to
something that is not
human, as in:
The cars growled in the
traffic.
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To use the words like
or as to compare
two seemingly unlike
things, as in:
He stormed into the
meeting like a
tornado.
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A symbol is anything
that represents
something else, as in:
A dove is a common
symbol for peace.
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Alliteration is the
repetition of
consonant sounds in
the beginning of
words, as in:
Copying homework
begins the swift,
slippery slope to
academic
dishonesty.
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The use of any
element of
language—a sound,
a word, phrase,
clause, or
sentence—more
than once, as in:
Mary had a little lamb,
little lamb, little lamb.
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The repetition of
vowel sounds
followed by different
consonants in
stressed syllables, as
in:
Try to light the fire.
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The repetition of
similar consonant
sounds at the ends
of accented
syllables, as in:
I will stand on the
beach in the wind
and the sand.
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The use of words that
imitate sounds, as in:
There was a loud crash
as the baseball
shattered the
window.
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The repetition of
sounds at the ends
of words, as in:
Winning the crown
will eliminate your
frown!
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The rhythmic pattern
in a poem, as in:
Twinkle, twinkle little
star,
How I wonder what
you are.
Up above the world so
high,
Like a diamond in the
sky.
Narrative
 Haiku
 Free Verse
 Lyric
 Ballad
 Concrete
 Limerick
 Rhyming couplets
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Narrative poetry tells
a story. Narrative
poems often have
elements similar to
those in short stories,
such as plot and
character.
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Haiku is three line
Japanese verse
form. The first and
third lines have five
syllables, and the
second line has
seven syllables.
Usually naturethemed.
O, foolish ducklings,
you know my old
green pond is
watched by a
weasel!
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Free verse poetry is
defined by its lack of
strict structure.
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It has no regular meter,
rhyme, fixed line length,
or specific stanza
pattern.
once a snowflake fell
on my brow and i loved
it so much and i kissed
it and it was happy and
called its cousins
and brothers and a web
of snow engulfed me then
i reached to love them all
and i squeezed them and
they became
a spring rain and i stood
perfectly
still and was a flower
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Lyric poetry
expresses thoughts
and feelings
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Ballads are songlike
poems that tell a
story, often dealing
with romance and
adventure
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Concrete poems are
shaped to look like
their subjects. The
poet arranges the
lines of the poem to
create a picture on
the page

Limericks are
humorous, rhyming,
five-line poems with
a specific rhythm
pattern and rhyme
scheme.
There once was a girl
from Troy
She always tried to
annoy
She looked like a
moose
She laughed like a
goose
She’s the kid we all
should avoid!
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Pairs of rhyming lines,
usually of the same
meter and length
I cannot go to school
today
Said little Peggy Ann
McKay
I have the measles and
the mumps
A gash, a rash, and
purple bumps!