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.
The Fourth
Graphical Elements- elements that make up
the form and affect the meaning of a poem.
Some examples are: CAPITAL LETTERS, line
length, and word position.
Oh
CRASH!
my
BASH!
it’s
BANG!
the
ZANG!
fourth
WHOOSH!
Of
BAROOOM
!
July
WHEW!
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.
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
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
Imagery is defined as language that appeals to one or
more of our 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 was
moving about them 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)
 Simile is a comparison of two things using the words
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 do not
use the words like or as.
In the pond in the park
all things are doubled:
Long buildings hang and
wriggle gently. Chimneys
are bent legs bouncing
on clouds below.”
-May Swensen
Hyperbole is an exaggeration used to create an image
or to show emotion.
A hundred years should go to praise
Thine eyes and on thy forehead gaze
-Andrew Marvell
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.”