Poetry
and Literary Devices
POETRY
Form
~ how a poem looks – the arrangement on the page
Line:
Stanza:
Couplet:
a single line of words in a poem
A group of lines forming a section
within the larger poem.
Stanzas of only two lines that
usually rhyme
Predictable by Bruce Lansky
How many
stanza’s are
there?
How many lines
in each stanza?
Example of Couplet:
I found a starfish in the bay
When I was fishing yesterday.
Starfish, starfish in the ocean
Moving along in slow motion
Many arms and color bright
Sea stars a special sight.
Poor as a church mouse.
strong as an ox,
cute as a button,
smart as a fox.
thin as a toothpick,
white as a ghost,
fit as a fiddle,
dumb as a post.
bald as an eagle,
neat as a pin,
proud as a peacock,
ugly as sin.
When people are talking
you know what they'll say
as soon as they start to
use a cliché.
Rhyme:
- When two words
have the same
ending sound
(usually occurs at
the end of the line)
Daddy Fell into the Pond
a poem by Alfred Noyes
Everyone grumbled. The sky was grey.
We had nothing to do and nothing to say.
We were nearing the end of a dismal day,
And then there seemed to be nothing beyond,
Then
Daddy fell into the pond!
And everyone's face grew merry and bright,
And Timothy danced for sheer delight.
"Give me the camera, quick, oh quick!
He's crawling out of the duckweed!" Click!
Then the gardener suddenly slapped his
knee,
And doubled up, shaking silently,
And the ducks all quacked as if they were
daft,
And it sounded as if the old drake laughed.
Oh, there wasn't a thing that didn't respond
When
Daddy Fell into the pond!
What type literary device of is being used?
 Love makes the world
go round/ What a
wonderful sound.
 This is an example of a/an
______________.
 Rhyme-occurs when two
words have the same
ending sound (usually
occurs at the end of the
lines)
 Ex: round and sound
Repetition:
- when a poet
chooses to repeat
sounds, words,
phrases, or whole
lines in a poem.
What type of figurative language is being used?
 Love is like an
ocean rolling
over me.
 This is an example of
a/an ___________.
 Simile
 Compares 2 things
using the words
“like” or “as”
Simile
- Compares 2
things using
“like” or “as”
Berkley
Black as midnight,
Bad as the devil
With eyes like pieces of dark chocolate,
He thinks he’s king of the world,
My dog Berkley.
He’s very much like a pig
With his pudgy stomach and all.
Like a leech, he’s always attached
To his next meal.
Even though he’s as bad as the devil,
Berkley is my best fellow.
A Dream Deferred
By Langston Hughes
What happens to a dream
deferred?
Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore-And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over-like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
What type of figurative language is being used?
 Love is a tree with
many branches.
 This is an example of a/an
______________.
 Compares 2 unlike
things by saying
one thing is the
other
Metaphor
- Metaphor- a
comparison that
states something is
something else
Love Is
Love is a burning candle
It's not always easy to handle
It burns, but it's still beautiful
And it makes celebrations oh so
meaningful
It's a sunset
Burning with romance
A song...
That makes you want to dance...
My Family
My family lives inside a medicine
chest:
Dad is the super-size band aid,
strong and powerful
but not always effective in a crisis.
Mom is the middle-size tweezer,
which picks and pokes and pinches.
David is the single small aspirin on
the third shelf,
sometimes ignored.
Muffin, the sheep dog, is a round
cotton ball, stained and dirty,
that pops off the shelf and bounces in
my way as I open the door.
And I am the wood and glue which
hold us all together with my love.
What type of literary device is being used?
 Love whispered in my
ear.
 This is an example of a/an
______________.
 Personification- giving
inanimate objects or
things (love) human
characteristics
(whisper).
 What does inanimate mean?
not alive, non living
Personification
- Giving human characteristics to non human
things
My Town
The leaves on the ground danced in the wind
The brook sang merrily as it went on its way.
The fence posts gossiped and watched cars go
by which winked at each other just to say hi.
The traffic lights yelled, ”Stop, slow, go!”
The tires gripped the road as if clinging to life.
Stars in the sky blinked and winked out
While the hail was as sharp as a knife.
What type of literary device is being used?
 Love lightly leaps.
 This is an example of a/an
______________.
- words that
repeat the same
sound at the
beginning of 2
or more words
Alliteration
- words that
repeat the same
sound at the
Rain races onto the porch
beginning of 2 Hitting hard like
or more words Rockets rushing in a race to the glass.
Rattling rain, rattling the window panes.
The droplets dance daintily
Until they cleverly connect in
A pool of promise for a rainbow.
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked.
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,
How many pickled peppers did Peter Piper
pick?
What type of figurative language is being used?
 My heart murmured
and fluttered with
love.
 This is an example of a/an
______________.
 Onomatopoeia- words
that imitate sound
 Murmur- a
continuous low sound
 Flutter- to move
gently but with quick
changes of direction
Onomatopoeia
- words that imitate sounds
When The Lights Go Out
The door went creak
In the still of the night
The floor went bump
Oh what a fright
All of a sudden, we heard a chime
The grandfather clock was keeping good time
We turned down a hallway and heard a loud crash
It seems that someone had dropped all the trash
So many sounds when the lights go out
It’s enough to make you scream and shout!
Imagery
- words and phrases
that appeal to the five
senses. Poet uses
imagery to create a
picture in the
reader’s mind.
The Way I Play Soccer
Sweat streams down my face,
And my skin turns red under the
watchful eye of the sun.
The sound of cleats pounding the
earth is deafening
As my enemies charge down the field
towards me.
I can sense the shooter is going to
miss;
All at once, the ball collides into my
chest.
Screams of victory roar across the
field.
The grass stained, game ball rests
Rests lovingly between my two
hands.
Tone
~ the writer's
attitude toward
the subject or
audience
The Road Not Taken
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;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Mood
~ the feeling the
poem creates in
the reader
Spring Garden
Stunningly dressed flower stalks
Stand shimmering in the breeze.
The cheerful sun hides playfully
Behind white, fluffy, cotton-ball
clouds,
While trees whisper secrets
To their rustling leaves.
Carpets of grass greenly glow
Blending joyfully with the day.
Spring brings life to death.
Winter Garden
Stark naked flower stalks
Stand shivering in the wind.
The cheerless sun hides its
black light
Behind bleak, angry clouds,
While trees vainly try
To catch their escaping
leaves.
Carpets of grass turn brown,
Blending morosely with the
dreary day.
Winter seems the death of
life forever.
What is the mood of
the poem?
Theme
~ What the author
has to say about
the subject.
~The main
message
The Ostrich
There once lived an Ostrich who wished he could fly,
But Sadly Bob's wings would not reach the sky.
His brothers and sisters all laughed and made fun,
His mother would tell him - "God made us to run!"
Yet locked in a zoo, Bob felt like a dud,
He was tired of sticking his head in the mud.
So one day he thought - "I'll make a machine."
Determined he worked, completely unseen.
After days upon days, he appeared in the light,
With a great wooden plane that was ready for flight.
He stepped in the seat, and started the gas,
His dream coming true, he was leaving at last!
Away from the pack, he waved a goodbye,
Bob showed them all - an Ostrich could fly.
Author unknown
“Broken Heart” Poetry Assignment:
 Assignment directions:
 1) break your heart into 6







sections
2) in each section add a
different type of literary
device
A. simile
B. metaphor
C. personification
D. rhyme
E. alliteration
F. onomatopoeia
• 3) Write your own
example for each type. The
example you write has
revolve around a theme like
love, family, or friendship
etc.
•Each “broken heart”
section must have a/an:
• Literary device
•Original example
•Illustration or creative
element