Poetry
Form- the structure of the writing (what it looks
like on the page)
Innocent
If love were a crime,
And you were jailed because you claimed that you
loved me,
And evidence was sought of your guilt or innocence,
You’d get away scott free.
All poems are broken up into lines. The length of each line
and where it breaks, or ends, contributes to the poem’s
meaning and sounds.
Lunchroom
I was so hungry
I could have eaten my algebra book.
I smelled what we were having
before I even saw it.
Mystery Meat, green mushy peas,
instant potatoes with lumpy gravy,
bread pudding, and milk.
It’s a good thing I like milk.
A stanza is a group of lines. Stanzas work together to
convey the overall message of the poem.
Fog
The fog comes
on little cat feet.
It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.
A couplet is a rhymed pair of lines that may be
written in any rhythmic pattern.
When the bright lamp is carried in,
The sunless hours again begin;
O’er all without, in field and lane,
The haunted night begins again.
Just as a story has a narrator, a poem has a voice that
“talks” to readers. This voice, or speaker, is sometimes a
fictional character rather than the poet.
Mother to Son
Well, son, I’ll tell you:
Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.
It’s had tacks in it.
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floorBare.
-Langston Hughes
Rhythm is the pattern of stressed and unstressed
syllables in each line.
A regular pattern of rhythm is called meter.
The sun did not shine;
It was too wet to play,
So we sat in the house
All that cold, cold, wet day.
-Dr. Seuss
 Rhyme is the repetition of sounds at the ends of
words, as in sun and one.
 Rhyme scheme is the pattern that the end-rhyming
words follow. To identify rhyme scheme, assign a
letter to each sound.
‘Twas the night before Christmas, A
When all through the house B
Not a creature was stirring, C
Not even a mouse; B
 Repetition is a technique in which a sound, word, phrase, or line is
repeated for emphasis or unity. Repetition often helps to reinforce
meaning or create an appealing rhythm.
Mi Madre
I say feed me.
She serves red prickly pear on a spike cactus.
I say tease me.
She sprinkles raindrops in my face on a sunny day.
I say frighten me.
She shouts thunder, flashes lightning.
I say comfort me,
She invites me to lay on her firm body.
Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds at the
beginning of words.
“Over a Bunsen burner bubbled a big earthenware
dish of stew” -A Wrinkle in Time
The repetition of the “b” sound reproduces the motion of
the stew simmering in its pot.
Say to them,
Say to the down-keepers.
The sun-slappers,
The self-spoilers, -Gwendolyn Brooks
 Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in a
series of words: e.g., the words “cry” and “side”
have the same vowel sound so they are said to be in
assonance.
“It’s had tacks in it,”
“True, I do like Sue.”
-Langston Hughes
“Afternoon on a Hill”
I will be the gladdest thing-a
Under the sun!-b
I will touch a hundred flowers-c
And not pick one.-b
I will look at cliffs and clouds-d
With quiet eyes,-e
Watch the wind bow down the grass,-f
And the grass rise.-e
And when lights begin to show-g
Up from the town,-h
I will mark which must be mine, -i
And then start down!-h
Imagery is defined as language that appeals to one or more
of your senses-sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch.
Vivid images help readers more clearly understand what
a poet does.
“They were standing in a sunlit field, and the air about
them was moving with the delicious air that comes only
on the rarest of spring days when the sun’s touch is
gentle and the apple blossoms are just beginning to
unfold.” (sight and smell)
“’Oh, my dears,’ came the new voice, a rich voice with the
warmth of a woodwind, the clarity of a trumpet, the
mystery of an English horn.” (sound)
A simile is a comparison of two things using the word
like or as.
The sun spun like
A tossed coin.
It whirled on the azure blue sky,
It clattered into the horizon,
It clicked in the slot,
And neon-lights popped
And blinked “Time expired,”
As on a parking meter.
-Oswald Mbuyiseni Mtshali
Metaphors are comparisons of two things that does
not use the word like or as.
In the pond in the park
all things are doubled:
Long buildings hang and
wriggle gentle. Chimneys
are bent legs bouncing
on clouds below.”
-May Swensen
Extended metaphor refers to a metaphor that extends
over several lines, stanzas, or an entire poem.
But all they want to do
is tie the poem to a chair with rope
and torture a confession out of it.
They begin beating it with a hose
to find out what it really means.
-Billy Collins
The poem is compared to a person being tortured.
Onomatopoeia is the use of words whose
sounds echo their meanings
 Skilled writers choose words whose sounds intensify
images and suggest meanings.
 Example:
Stilled his fretful wail by saying,
“Hush! the Naked Bear will hear thee!”
Lulled him into slumber, singing,
“Ewa-yea! my little owlet!”
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Song of Hiawatha
Personification is a description of an object, animal, or
idea as if it has human qualities and emotions.
Directly ahead of her was the circular building, its
walls glowing with violet flame, its silvery roof
pulsing with a light that seemed to Meg to be
insane.”
“The little waves with their soft, white hands.”
Ballad—a type of narrative poem that
tells a story and was originally meant to
be sung or recited.
 tells a story
 has a setting, plot, & characters
 usually written in 4-line stanzas with regular
rhythm & rhyme
 focuses on ordinary people who have unusual
adventures or perform daring deeds
 Example: “Boots of Spanish Leather”
Blank verse - unrhymed poetry written in
iambic pentameter
 Each line contains 5 pairs of syllables in which a
stressed syllable is followed by an unstressed
syllable.
 Imitates the natural rhythms of English speech
 Many of Shakespeare’s poems were written in blank
verse.
Elegy--an extended meditative poem in
which the speaker reflects on death
 Often a tribute to someone who has recently died
 Written in formal, dignified language
 Serious in tone
 Example: “O Captain! My Captain” by Walt Whitman
Epic--a long narrative poem on a serious
subject
 Presented in an elevated or formal style
 Traces the adventures of a great hero whose actions
reflect the ideals & values of a nation or race
 Addresses universal concerns
 good & evil
 life & death
 sin & redemption
 Example: The Song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow
Free verse--poetry that does not contain
regular patterns of rhythm or rhyme
 lines flow more naturally & have a rhythm similar
to everyday speech
 may contain rhythmic & sound effects such as
repetitions of syllables or words
 Example: “Introduction to Poetry” by Billy Collins
Haiku--a 3-line poem with 17 syllables
 Lines 1 & 3 contain 5 syllables each
 Line 2 contains 7 syllables
 originated in Japan
 Example:
On sweet plum blossoms
The sun rises suddenly.
Look, a mountain path!
Limerick--a short, humorous poem
composed of 5 lines
 usually has a rhyme scheme of aabba
 consists of 2 rhyming couplets followed by a 5th line
that rhymes with the first couplet
 typically has a sing-song rhythm
 Example:
There was an old man with a light,
Who was dressed in garment of white;
He held a small candle,
With never a handle,
And danced all the merry long night.
Lyric--a short poem in which a single speaker
expresses personal thoughts & feelings
 characterized by strong melodic rhythms
 has a variety of forms
 covers many subjects, from love & death to everyday
experiences
 Example: “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes
Narrative--poetry that tells a story
 contains elements of fiction such as characters,
setting, & plot
 contains poetic elements such as rhyme, rhythm,
imagery, & figurative language
 Example: “Paul Revere’s Ride” by Henry
Wadsworth Longfellow
Ode--a lyric poem that deals with a
serious subject
 Themes include justice, truth, beauty, etc.
 appeal to the imagination & intellect
 Many odes commemorate events or praise people or
elements of nature.
 Example: “Ode on Solitude” by Alexander Pope
Sonnet--a poem with formal structure
 contains 14 lines & a specific rhyme scheme & meter
 often consists of 3 quatrains (4-line stanzas), & a final
couplet
 Example: “On the Grasshopper and Cricket” by
John Keats