POETRY
Prepared by: Ms. Shiela Mae C. Busia
ELEMENTS
OF POETRY
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An important method of analyzing a poem is
to look at the stanza structure or style of a
poem. Generally speaking, structure has to
do with the overall organization of lines and/or
the conventional patterns of sound. Again,
many modern poems may not have any
identifiable structure (i.e. they are free verse),
so don't panic if you can't find it!
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STANZAS
Stanzas are a series of lines grouped
together and separated by an empty
line from other stanzas. They are the
equivalent of a paragraph in an essay.
One way to identify a stanza is to
count the number of lines. Thus:
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•couplet (2 lines)
•tercet (3 lines)
•quatrain (4 lines)
•cinquain (5 lines)
•sestet (6 lines)
•(sometimes it's called a sexain)
•septet (7 lines)
•octave (8 lines)
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FORM
A poem may or may not have a
specific number of lines, rhyme
scheme and/or metrical pattern,
but it can still be labeled
according to its form or style.
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SOUND PATTERNS
Three other elements of poetry
are rhyme scheme, meter (ie. regular
rhythm) and word sounds (like
alliteration). These are sometimes
collectively called sound play because
they take advantage of the performative,
spoken nature of poetry.
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WORD SOUNDS
Common types of sound play
emphasize individual sounds
between and within words:
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Alliteration
>
the repetition of initial
sounds on the same
line or stanza Big bad Bob bounced
bravely.
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LET’S TRY THIS TONGUE TWISTER!
> Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. If Peter
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>
Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, where's the
peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?
How much wood would a woodchuck chuck; If a
woodchuck would chuck wood? A woodchuck would
chuck all the wood he could chuck; If a woodchuck
would chuck wood.
A good cook could cook as much cookies as a good
cook who could cook cookies.
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Assonance
> the repetition
of vowel sounds
(anywhere in the
middle or end of a line
or stanza) - Tilting at
windmills
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EXAMPLES
• "Hear the mellow wedding bells" by Edgar Allen
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•
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Poe.
"Try to light the fire"
"I lie down by the side for my bride"/"Fleet feet
sweep by sleeping geese"/"Hear the lark and
harken to the barking of the dark fox gone to
ground" by Pink Floyd.
"It's hot and it's monotonous." by Sondheim.
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Consonance
> the repetition of
consonant sounds
(anywhere in the
middle or end of a line
or stanza) - And all the
air a solemn stillness
holds. (T. Gray)
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EXAMPLES
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•
•
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•
Mike likes his new bike.
I will crawl away the ball.
He stood on the road and cried.
Toss the glass, boss.
It will creep and beep while you sleep.
He struck a streak of bad luck.
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Onomatopoeia
> words that sound like
that which they
describe - Boom!
Crash! Pow! Quack!
Moo! Caress...
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EXAMPLES
• The sheep went, “Baa.”
• The best part about music class is that you can
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•
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bang on the drum.
It is not unusual for a dog to bark when visitors
arrive.
Silence your cellphone so that it does not beep
during the movie.
Dad released a belch from the pit of his
stomach.
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Repetition
> the repetition of entire
lines or phrases to
emphasize key
thematic ideas.
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EXAMPLES
> Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.
> "Oh, woeful, oh woeful, woeful, woeful
day!
> --Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet
> "And miles to go before I sleep, and
miles to go before I sleep."
> --Robert Frost "Stopping by Woods on a
Snowy Evening"
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Parallel Stucture
> : a form of repetition
where the order of
verbs and nouns is
repeated; it may
involve exact words,
but it more importantly
repeats sentence
structure - "I came, I
saw, I conquered".
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RHYME
Rhyme is the repetition of similar
sounds. In poetry, the most
common kind of rhyme is
the end rhyme, which occurs at
the end of two or more lines. It is
usually identified with lower case
letters, and a new letter is used
to identify each new end sound.
Take a look at the rhyme
scheme for the following poem :
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EXAMPLES
I saw a fairy in the wood,
He was dressed all in green.
He drew his sword while I just stood,
And realized I'd been seen.
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A
B
A
B
LET’S TRY!
The fallen leaves are cornflakes
That fill the lawn’s wide fish
And night and noon
The wind’s a spoon
That stirs them with a swish
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A
B
C
C
B
Internal rhyme
> occurs in the middle of a line, as in
these lines from Coleridge, "In mist or
cloud, on mast or shroud" or "Whiles all
the night through fog-smoke white"
("The Ancient Mariner"). Remember
that most modern poems do not have
rhyme.
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EXAMPLES
• I went to town to buy a gown. / I took
the car and it wasn't far.
• Once upon a midnight dreary, while I
pondered, weak and weary - Edgar
Allen Poe (The Raven).
• I had a cat who wore a hat. / He looked
cool but felt the fool.
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MOOD
The feeling that a
poem creates in a
reader. It can be
positive or
negative.
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TONE
It is the attitude a
writer takes
towards the subject
or audience of the
pattern.
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IMAGERY
Language that appeals
to the 5 senses. It
helps the reader to
experience familiar
things in a fresh way
using the senses.
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THEME
The theme of a
poem is its
central or main
idea.
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LET’S TRY
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What is the rhyme scheme?
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>
>
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True friends are by your side
Through it all
True friends are there
To catch you when you fall
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A
B
C
B
What Element of Poetry?
What Element of Poetry?
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“Its okay not to be okay.”
What Element of Poetry?
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The flood water gushed through the
town.
What Element of Poetry?
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Let it go, let it go cant hold back
anymore.
What Element of Poetry?
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On scrolls of silver snowy sentences
What Element of Poetry?
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The corn went pop in the microwave.
What Element of Poetry?
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Dragging the lazy languid line along.
What Element of Poetry?
Fair is foul, and foul is fair
Hover through the fog and filthy air.
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What Element of Poetry?
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Round and round the rugged rocks
the ragged rascal ran.
Thanks!
Any questions?
Find me at busia.shielamae@spcc.edu.ph
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