Poetic Devices and Forms
COLLECTION 7
POETRY UNIT
Free Verse
 Free verse is poetry that does not use rhyme
or structure to create its poetic effects, but
relies solely on its words to create its
emotional and aesthetic effect.
Formal Verse
 Formal verse is poetry that incorporates a
pattern of some kind into its word choice
and/or structure.
 The most common feature of formal verse is
rhyme.
Blank Verse
 Blank Verse is unrhymed iambic pentameter.
Rhyme Scheme
 A rhyme scheme is a regular pattern of rhyme, one
that is consistent throughout the extent of the poem.
 Poems that rhyme without any regular pattern can
be called rhyming poems, but only those poems with
an unvarying pattern to their rhymes can be said to
have a rhyme scheme.
Rhyme Scheme
 Rhyme schemes are labeled according to their rhyme
sounds. Every rhyme sound is given its own letter of
the alphabet to distinguish it from the other rhyme
sounds that may appear in the poem. For example,
the first rhyme sound of a poem is designated as
A. Every time that rhyme sound appears in the
poem, no matter where it is found, it is called A.
Rhyme Scheme
In the long, sleepless watches of the night,
A gentle face – the face of one long dead –
Looks at me from the wall, where round its head
The night lamp casts a halo of pale light.
Here in this room she died; and soul more white
Never through martyrdom of fire was led
To its repose; nor can in books be read
The legend of a life more benedight.
A
B
B
A
A
B
B
A
Types of Rhyme
 Exact Rhyme - refers to the immediately
recognizable norm: true/blue
 Approximate Rhyme - refers to rhymes that are
close but not exact: lap/shape

Also known as half rhyme, slant rhyme, or near rhyme
 End Rhyme - all rhymes occur at line ends--the
standard procedure
 Internal Rhyme - rhyme that occurs within a line
or passage
Types of Poems
 Lyric Poem – a poem that expresses the thoughts and
feelings of the poet and is often set to music
 Ballad – a type of lyric poem in the form of a narrative
 Ode –an elaborately structured lyric poem praising or
glorifying an event or individual, describing nature
intellectually as well as emotionally
 Sonnet – a fourteen line poem in iambic pentameter
Structure
 Stanza - two or more lines of poetry that together
form one of the divisions of a poem. The stanzas of a
poem are usually of the same length and follow the
same pattern of meter and rhyme.
 Quatrain - a stanza or poem of four lines
Structure
 Rhythm - Rhythm is significant in poetry because
poetry is so emotionally charged and intense.
Rhythm can be measured in terms of heavily stressed
to less stressed syllables. Rhythm is measured in
feet, units usually consisting of one heavily accented
syllable and one or more lightly accented syllable.
Structure
 Meter - meters are regularized rhythms. An
arrangement of language in which the accents occur
at apparently equal intervals in time. Each repeated
unit of meter is called a foot.
Structure
 Iamb - a metrical foot of two syllables, one
unstressed followed by one stressed syllable

da DAH
 Trochee - metrical foot of two syllables, one
stressed followed by one unstressed syllable

DAH da
Structure
 Anapest – metrical foot of three syllables, two
unstressed followed by one stressed syllable

da da DAH
 Dactyl – metrical foot of three syllables, one
stressed followed by two unstressed syllables

DAH da da
 Spondee – metrical foot of two stressed syllables
 DAH DAH
Structure
 Trimeter – a line of poetry that has three metrical
feet

da dum da dum da dum
 Tetrameter – a line of poetry that has four metrical
feet

da dum da dum da dum da dum
 Pentameter - a line of poetry that has five metrical
feet

da dum da dum da dum da dum da dum
Structure
 Iambic Pentameter - a line of poetry that contains
five iambs

da DAH da DAH da DAH da DAH da DAH
 What would trochaic trimeter look like?
 DAH da DAH da DAH da
 What would dactylic tetrameter look like?
 DAH da da DAH da da DAH da da DAH da da
 What would anapestic trimeter look like?
 da da DAH da da DAH da da DAH
Sound Devices
 Consonance – the repetition of the same
consonant sound
 Alliteration – a phrase with a string of words all
beginning with the same consonant sound
 Assonance - the repetition of the same vowel
sounds two or more times in short succession
Sound Devices
 Onomatopoeia– the use of words to imitate the
sounds they describe
 Repetition– the simple repeating of a word or
phrase, within a sentence or a poetical line, for
emphasis
Other Devices
 Tone – a writer’s attitude toward the subject of a work
 Mood – the overall emotion created by a work
 Symbol– a person, a place, a thing, or an event that has meaning in
itself and also stands for something beyond itself
 Irony – what is said or what happens is the opposite of what is true or
expected
 Apostrophe - a figure of speech in which some absent or nonexistent
person or thing is addressed as if present and capable of understanding
Reading Poetry
Lines of poetry are either end-stopped or run-on
 An end-stopped line has some punctuation at its
end
 In a run-on line the meaning is always completed
in the line or lines that follow
Reading Poetry
 Do not pause at the end of a line unless there is a
punctuation mark
Short pause - comma
 Long pause – period, colon, semicolon, dash, or question
mark

 Read from punctuation mark to punctuation mark
for meaning
Punctuation marks define units of thought
 Periods, colons, semicolons, and question marks mark
the end of a thought

Reading Poetry
 Read the poem aloud. The sound of a poem is very
important to its meaning. Then, read the poem a
second or a third time. Each time you read a poem,
you’ll get more meaning—and probably more
pleasure—from it.
 If lines of a poem are difficult to understand, look for
the subject, verb, and object (if there is one) of each
sentence. Try to decide what words the clauses and
phrases modify.
Poetry Project
1. Meet with group to analyze poem
2. Create a PowerPoint
3. Answer Focus Questions
4. Present
A sample will be provided
Plagiarism Reminders
Reminders
Intentional Misconduct
Unintentional Misconduct
 This includes any of the
 This includes any of the
following actions:
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Cheating off another student
Cutting and pasting from a
website
Claiming another’s words are
yours
Submitting the same work in
two classes
Having someone else do your
work (this includes a family
member)
following actions:
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Incorrectly citing a source
Misquoting a source
A paraphrase that is too
close to the original source
with a citation
Why Does This Matter to You?
 Intentional plagiarism
results in an 0% for the
assignment.
 It can also result in
disciplinary action.
 If the misconduct is
serious enough, you can
fail the course, especially
if there is more than one
episode.
For the Poetry Project
 Avoid going on the internet to get your information.
I am more interested in what you think something
means, not what Sparknotes says.
 Its ok to be wrong as long as you are thinking about
the work and you are thorough.
 If you use a source, cite it – this includes pictures!
PowerPoint Pointers
Helpful Hints
 Use a theme or color for all slides (make sure the text
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size and color are readable)
Avoid an abundance of text, you want to present not
orate the PowerPoint
Avoid using a picture as the background of the slide,
but feel free to use one as content
Limit to one font that is readable
Make sure every group member has a copy of the
PowerPoint in front of them so you can present
facing the class and not the board