POETRY UNIT NOTES
3 FORMS OF LITERATURE: Poetry, Prose and Drama
POETRY – LANGUAGE USED IN SPECIAL WAYS, MAKING USE OF
FORMAL STRUCTURAL DEVICES SUCH AS RHYME, METER, AND
STANZAS.
TYPES OF POETRY:
 NARRATIVE POETRY: A STORY TOLD IN VERSE. IT OFTEN
POSSESSES THE ELEMENTS OF FICTION, SUCH AS
CHARACTERS, CONFLICT, AND PLOT. THE EVENTS ARE USUALLY
TOLD IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER. OFTEN IT IS BASED ON
HISTORICAL EVENTS.


EPIC POETRY: A LONG NARRATIVE POEM ABOUT A HERO.
DRAMATIC POETRY: (MONOLOGUE OR DIALOGUE) WRITTEN IN
THE VOICE OF A CHARACTER ASSUMED BY THE POET.

LYRIC POETRY: A SONG PERFORMED IN ANCIENT GREECE TO
THE ACCOMPANIMENT OF A SMALL HARP-LIKE INSTRUMENT
CALLED A LYRE. A HIGHLY MUSICAL VERSE THAT EXPRESSED
OBSERVATIONS AND FEELINGS OF A SINGLE SPEAKER.

HAIKU: A THREE-LINE JAPANESE VERSE FORM.
THE FIRST AND THIRD LINES HAVE 5 SYLLABLES;
THE SECOND LINE HAS 7. SYLLABLES.
IT USUALLY PRESENTS A SINGLE, VIVID IMAGE DRAWN
FROM NATURE.

FREE VERSE: POETRY NOT WRITTEN IN A REGULAR
RHYTHMICAL PATTERN, OR METER.

CONCRETE POETRY: A POEM WITH A SHAPE THAT SUGGESTS
ITS SUBJECT.

BALLAD/FOLK BALLAD: A SONG-LIKE POEM THAT TELLS A
STORY, OFTEN DEALING WITH ADVENTURE AND ROMANCE. IT
HAS 4 TO 6 LINE STANZAS WITH REGULAR RHYME SCHEME,
AND MANY HAVE A REFRAIN.

BLANK VERSE: POETRY WRITTEN IN UNRHYMED IAMBIC
PENTAMETER LINES.
POETRY TERMS AND CONCEPTS:
SYLLABLES: UNITS OF PRONUNCIATION. (VOWEL SOUND OR VOWEL +
CONSONANT)
SCANSION MARKS: SHOW UNSTRESSED AND STRESSED SYLLABLES.
RHYTHM: PATTERN OF STRESSES OR BEATS IN SPOKEN OR WRITTEN
LANGUAGE.
RHYME: THE REPETITION OF SOUNDS USED TO CREATE MUSICAL
EFFECTS AND TO EMPHASIZE AND LINK CERTAIN WORDS AND
IDEAS.

END RHYME: RHYMING WORDS AT THE END OF LINES.

INTERNAL RHYME: RHYME OCCURS WITHIN LINES.

OFF RHYME: A NEAR RHYME. (EX. GONE/ALONE, ROOM/STORM)

EYE RHYME: WHEN THE WORDS LOOK LIKE THEY RHYME. (EX.:
PROVE/LOVE, DAUGHTER/LAUGHTER)

VOWEL RHYME: WHEN THE VOWELS RHYME. (EX.:
GREEN/LEAVES, CLIMB/EYES)
REFRAINS: A LINE OR A GROUP OF LINES REPEATED AT THE END OF
EACH STANZA.
STANZA: A GROUP OF LINES IN A POEM, CONSIDERED AS A UNIT.
(PARAGRAPH)
METER: A POEM’S RHYTHMICAL PATTERN. IT IS DETERMINED BY THE
NUMBER AND TYPES OF STRESSES OR BEATS IN EACH LINE.
FOOT: EACH GROUP OF STRESSES WITHIN A LINE.
LITERARY DEVICES:
Writing tools that help to make your writing more interesting.
Examples include:
 Imagery: When the author appeals to the 5 senses
through a description.
 Allusion: a reference to a well-known person, place,
event, literary work, or work of art.
 Figurative Language: writing or speech that is not
meant to be taken literally. (usually a comparison)
Simile: a direct comparison using like or as.
Metaphor: a figure of speech in which something is
described as though it were something else.
Hyperbole: an exaggeration for effect.
Personification: a non-human subject is given human
characteristics.
 SOUND DEVICES: A literary device that appeals to the
sense of sound.
Alliteration: the repetition of initial consonant sounds. In
poetry it is used to create a musical effect, to emphasize
key words, or to imitate sounds.
Repetition: the use of recurring words, images,
structures, and devices in a poem. (ex. Rhyme
scheme)
Onomatopoeia: The use of words that imitate
sounds.
Symbol: Anything that stands for or represents
something else. (Usually concrete objects or images
represent abstract ideas.)
Tone: the mood, atmosphere, feeling created by a piece of
writing. The attitude toward the subject and audience conveyed
by the language and rhythm of the speaker in a literary work.
Theme: The central message, concern or purpose of a literary
work.
Paraphrasing – to put into your own words.
Explicating – to explain in detail.