Poetry Rocks
a perfect pupil’s precise program to
picture perfect poetry
Objective: I can identify the
characteristics and structural
elements of poetry.
Key Vocabulary
stanza
verse
rhyme scheme
line break
alliteration
assonance
consonance
rhythm
repetition
figurative language
Essential Questions
1. List the characteristics of
poetry.
2. List the structural elements
of poetry.
3. How do poets use the
characteristics and elements to
convey a message?
Verse
• Verse is a single line of poetry.
• Think of it as a “poetic sentence”, often without
punctuation.
Verse
Suzanna Socked Me
Sunday
BY JACK PRELUTSKY
Suzanna socked me Sunday,
she socked me Monday, too,
she also socked me Tuesday,
I was turning black and blue.
• How many verses
are in this poem?
She socked me double Wednesday,
and Thursday even more,
but when she socked me Friday,
she began to get me sore.
“Enough’s enough,” I yelled at her,
“
I hate it when you hit me!”
“Well, then I won’t” Suzanna said—
that Saturday, she bit me.
2. Stanzas
• Stanzas are groupings of verses in a
poem
• Think of them as “poetic paragraphs”
• Stanzas can have different numbers of
verses
• Poem type is determined by the number
of verses in a stanza
3. Stanzas
• a 2-line stanza is called a couplet
• a 3-line stanza is called a triplet
• a 4-line stanza is called a quatrain
• a five-line stanza is called a cinquain
• a 6-line stanza is called a sestex
• a 7-line stanza is called a septtex
• an 8-line stanza is called an octave
4. Stanzas
Suzanna Socked Me
Sunday
BY JACK PRELUTSKY
• How many stanzas
does this poem
have?
• What type of
stanzas are they?
Suzanna socked me Sunday,
she socked me Monday, too,
she also socked me Tuesday,
I was turning black and blue.
She socked me double Wednesday,
and Thursday even more,
but when she socked me Friday,
she began to get me sore.
“Enough’s enough,” I yelled at her,
“
I hate it when you hit me!”
“Well, then I won’t” Suzanna said—
that Saturday, she bit me.
5. Line Breaks
• A line break is where the poet decides
to end/break the line
• Line breaks are used for:
• rhyme schemes
• emphasize an idea or word
• shape
6. Rhyme Scheme
• A poem’s rhyme scheme refers to how
the verses end.
• It is end rhyme pattern
• The letter “A” is assigned to the last word
on the first line.
Example:
Roses are red, (A)
Violets are blue,
Sugar is sweet,
and so are you.
7. Rhyme Scheme
•
Then compare it to the last word at the end
of line 2
•
If it rhymes with the line above, then it
gets the same letter, if it does not rhyme,
then it gets the next letter in the alphabet
Roses are red, (A)
Violets are blue, (B)
Sugar is sweet,
and so are you.
8. Rhyme Scheme
• What is the rhyme scheme of this
stanza from “Last Night I dreamed of
Chickens” by Jack Prelutsky?
Last night I dreamed of chickens,
there were chickens everywhere,
they were standing on my stomach,
they were nesting in my hair,
they were pecking at my pillow,
they were hopping on my head,
they were ruffling up their feathers
as they raced about my bed.
9. Rhythm
• Rhythm is the “beat” of the poem
• Think about how music makes you want
to move or tap your feet
15. Assonance
• Assonance is middle and end vowel
sounds repetition.
• Example:
• peanut pumpkin bubble gum
14. Consonance
• What is a consonant?
• Any letter that is not a vowel
• examples: ___________________
• Consonance is the repetition of
consonant sounds in the middle or end
of a word or phrase
• Example
• cocoa mocha macaroni
13. Alliteration
• Alliteration is the repetition of beginning
word sounds.
• Which line of poetry has alliteration?
• 1. there were chickens everywhere
• 2. they were hopping on my head
• circle the right answer on your paper
11. Repetition
• Repetition is the repeating of a word or
phrase within a poem
• Why does the poet choose to repeat
certain words or phrases?
• To make a rhythm
• To add emphasis
• To make the poem rhyme
12. Repetition
• What words or
phrases are
repeated in this
poem?
___________
• Why are they
repeated?
____________
Suzanna Socked Me
Sunday
BY JACK PRELUTSKY
Suzanna socked me Sunday,
she socked me Monday, too,
she also socked me Tuesday,
I was turning black and blue.
She socked me double Wednesday,
and Thursday even more,
but when she socked me Friday,
she began to get me sore.
“Enough’s enough,” I yelled at her,
“
I hate it when you hit me!”
“Well, then I won’t” Suzanna said—
that Saturday, she bit me.
16. Don’t Forget
Figurative Language!
• Simile--an indirect comparison between
two UNLIKE things, using like or as
• The racehorse ran as fast as the
wind. Or• The racehorse ran like the wind.
17. Figurative Language
• Metaphor--a direct comparison between
two UNLIKE things, stating that one
thing IS the other thing
• Careful! Watch for past tense of “is”
• was, were, are, etc.
• My brothers were couch potatoes
after they ate their Thanksgiving
turkey.
18. Figurative Language
• Idioms--an expression, a group of
words that when put together mean
something completely different.
• Don’t count your chickens before they
hatch.
19. Figurative Language
• Personification--giving human
characteristics to a nonhuman object
• The stars winked at me from the night
sky.
• The cool breeze caressed my cheek
on the hot summer day.
• Think: what are the objects and
actions of the personifications
above?
Quiz Time!!
• Stanzas
• 1. A stanza is a _________________ .
• 2. A 4-line stanza is called a
__________ .
• True/False All the stanzas in a poem
must have the same number of lines.
Quiz
• Line Breaks
• 1. A line break is where the poet
decides to
• a. tear the poem in half
• b. end the line of poetry
• c. draw an arrow, indicating where the
next line should begin
Quiz
• Rhyme Scheme---True/False
• 1. Rhyme scheme is the beat of the
poem. T/F
• 2. Not all poems have a rhyme
scheme. T/F
• 3. Rhyme scheme is decided by
comparing the last word on a line of
poetry to the last word on the line
(above/below) it. T/F
Quiz
• Alliteration
• 1. Which phrase below contains
alliteration?
• a. It's possible a pencil points,
• b. but does a lemon drop?
• c. Does coffee break or chocolate kiss,
Quiz
• Consonance
• 1. Which phrase below contains
consonance?
•a. ALMOND HAM MERINGUE SALAMI
•b. Suzanna socked me Sunday
•c. I pick up half a dozen
Quiz
• Assonance
• 1. Which phrase below contains
assonance?
•a. he tried to swipe my pie
•b. for I have strength to spare
•c. My hip hurts when I move my chin
Your Turn!
1. Give example of a simile
2. Give example of a metaphor
3. Give example of idiom
4. Give example of personification