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Poetry usually . . .
• is arranged in lines.
• uses compressed (shrunken)
language to make a point.
• has a regular pattern of
rhythm.
• uses literary devices to
appeal to our emotions and
imagination.
Poetry sometimes . . .
has a regular rhyme
scheme
1. Stanza – the division of
lines in a poem; a poem
“paragraph”.
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Stanza one
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Stanza two
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
2. Meter – the pattern and number
of stressed and unstressed
syllables in a line of poetry.
That time of year thou mayst in me behold
Tell me not in mournful numbers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dxSU3HYhBSs
Across the years he could recall
His father one way best of all.
In the stillest hour of night
The boy awakened to a light.
Half in dreams, he saw his sire
With his great hands full of fire.
A woman who once heard a mouse
ran screaming all throughout her house.
She sent in the cat
to dispose of the rat
to find it was only her spouse.
3. Refrain – the repeating of
words and/or phrases
throughout a poem.

For the moon never beams without bringing me
dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but I feel the bright
eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling, my darling, my life and my bride,
In the sepulcher there by the sea,
In her tomb by the sounding sea.
4. End Rhyme: words at
end of lines rhyme
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;
5. Slant Rhyme:
A partial or imperfect rhyme,
often using assonance or
consonance only, as in dry
and rise or grown and moon.
Also called half rhyme, near
rhyme.
6. Rhyme Scheme: the
pattern of rhyme (ex: aabb)
Life is but life, and death but death!
Bliss is but bliss, and breath but breath!
And if, indeed, I fail,
At least to know the worst is sweet.
Defeat means nothing but defeat,
No drearier can prevail!
7. Internal Rhyme: rhyme
within lines

For the moon never beams without bringing me
dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling, my darling, my life and my bride,
In the sepulchre there by the sea,
In her tomb by the sounding sea.
8. Enjambmentthe running on of the thought from
one line, couplet, or stanza to the
next without a break in thought.
NOT an enjambment:
Enjambment:
I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A glooming peace this morning with it brings.
The sun for sorrow will not show his head.
Go hence, to have more talk of these sad things.
Some shall be pardon’d, and some punished.
A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
9. Tone - is what the author
projects or the author’s
attitude.
There's a patch of old snow in a corner,
That I should have guessed
Was a blow-away paper the rain
Had brought to rest.
It is specked with grime as if
Small print overspread it.
The news of a day I've forgotten –
If I ever read it.
10. Mood-how you feel after
reading the poem. (excited,
joyous, somber, sad, etc..)


For the moon never beams without bringing me
dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling, my darling, my life and my bride,
In the sepulchre there by the sea,
In her tomb by the sounding sea.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=1tkzL8_BxOU
A “figure of speech” is a
word or phrase that
describes one thing in
terms of another and is not
meant to be understood as
literally true.
Literally: words function exactly as
defined
The car is blue.
He caught the football.
Figuratively: figure out what it means
I’ve got your back.
You’re a doll.
^Figures of Speech
He gives his harneSS bellS a Shake
To aSk if there i Some miStake.
The only other Sound’S the Sweep
Of easy Wind and doWny flake.
DO nOt gO gentle intO that gOOd
night,
Old Age should burn And rAve At close
of dAy;
RAge, rAge AgAinst the dYIng of the
lIght.
C. ALLITERATIONREPETITION OF BEGINNING
CONSONANT SOUNDS AT THE
BEGINNING OF A WORD IN
POETRY
Rain
Three grey geese in a
Rain races,
green field grazing,
Ripping like wind. Grey were the geese and
Its restless rage
green was the grazing.
Rattles like
Rocks ripping through
The air.
D. ONOMATOPOEIATHE USE OF A WORD
WHOSE SOUND IMITATES
ITS MEANING.
Hiss
Splash
Crackle
Bark
13. Allusion –
-a reference to a well-known
person, place, thing or event with
which the writer assumes the
reader will be familiar
-the use of allusions enables
writers or poets to simplify complex
ideas and emotions
-this can be in every day language,
or in literature
For example:
 The rise in poverty will unlock the
Pandora’s box of crimes. – This is an
allusion to one of Greek Mythology’s
origin myth, “Pandora’s box”.
 “This place is like a Garden of Eden.” –
This is a biblical allusion to the “garden
of God” in the Book of Genesis.
 “Hey! Guess who the new Newton of
our school is?” – “Newton”, means a
genius student, alludes to a famous
scientist Isaac Newton.
the cave's roof collapsed,
he was swallowed up in the dust
like Jonah, and only his frantic
scrabbling behind a wall of rock
indicated that there was anyone
still alive.”
 “As
 “Christy
didn't like to spend
money. She was no Scrooge, but
she seldom purchased anything
except the bare necessities.”
14. Simile –
a comparison between two things
using “like” or “as”.
Note: just using “like” or “as” does not
make a simile-a comparison must be
made.

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She swims like a fish.
Peter laughs like a hyena.
Mr. John is as wise as an owl.
Allow me, it's as easy as ABC.
Because I was embarrassed my face was as red as a ripe tomato.
My love is like a red, red rose.
The world is like a stage.
“As dry as a bone”
“As easy as shooting fish in a barrel”
“They fought like cats and dogs”
“Stand out like a sore thumb”
15. Metaphor –
a comparison between 2
things without using “like” or
“as.” These can be implicit or
explicit!

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He was a tornado, blasting his way through the
opposing team.
He was a lion in the fight.
The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy
seas.
Education is your passport to satisfying employment.
My love is a red, red rose.
16. Personification –
a figure of speech in which a
non-human thing
(an idea, object, or animal) is given
human characteristics.
 The
stars danced playfully in the moonlit sky.
 The run down house appeared depressed.
 The first rays of morning tiptoed through the meadow.
 She did not realize that opportunity was knocking at
her door.
 He did not realize that his last chance was walking out
the door.
17. Oxymoron –
a technique putting two
words with opposite
meanings together for a
special effect.
jumbo shrimp old news
bittersweet small fortune
Icy hot

http://www.oxymoronlist.com/#b
A blind man looks back
Into the future with the
Ear-splitting whispers of
Unconcealed ghosts
Thundering silently.
A wealthy peasant
marches
Weakly across a
blazing glacier
As the stars in the
cloudy sky
Glisten grimly.
18. Imagery –
vivid description that
appeals to the senses
(smell, touch, taste,
sight, sound)
They were flat round wafers, slightly browned on
the edges and butter-yellow in the center. With
cold lemonade they were sufficient for
childhood’s lifelong diet.
19. Symbol –
a concrete or real object
used to represent an idea
A bird, because it can fly, has
often been used as a symbol
of freedom.
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a dove for peace
the rose for purity
the stars and stripes for America
the lion for strength and courage
Red rose or red color stands for love or
romance.
Black is a symbol that represents evil or
death.
A ladder may stand as a symbol for a
connection between the heaven and the
earth.
A broken mirror may symbolize separation
 “In
the spring, I asked the daisies
If his words were true,
And the clever, clear-eyed daisies
Always knew.
 Now the fields are brown and barren,
Bitter autumn blows,
And of all the stupid asters
Not one knows.”
20. Hyperbole –
an extreme exaggeration or
overstatement that a writer
uses for emphasis.
He's got tons of money.
I will die if he asks me to dance.
I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.
He is older than the hills.
I told you a million times to stop.
Her brain is the size of a pea.
21. UnderstatementA statement used by writers
to intentionally make it seem
less important than it really
is, used for emphasis.
“Deserts are sometimes hot, dry and sandy” while
describing deserts of the world.
 “He is not too thin” while describing an obese person.
 “It rained a bit more than usual” while describing an
area being flooded after heavy rainfall.
 “It was O.K.” is an understatement if someone who
got the highest score in a test said this when asked
about his result.
 “It is a bit cold today,” when the temperature is 5
degrees below freezing.

22. Irony –
a technique that uses a word or
phrase to mean the exact
opposite of its normal meaning.
(verbal, dramatic, situational)
Verbal: Danielle laughs all the time, so we call her
“Grumpy.”
Dramatic: The audience watching the movie knows
that the girl’s boyfriend is going to ask her to marry
her, but she doesn’t know.
Situational: A fire station is on fire.
23. Idioma traditional way of saying
something that does not
seem to make sense if
taken literally
He’s
ready to kick the bucket.
She’s under the weather.
A
chip on your shoulder - means you
think you know a lot
 High as a kite - means you are drunk
or on drugs
 Sick as a dog - means you are very ill
 Rub someone the wrong way meaning to annoy or bother
 Jump the gun - would mean to be
doing something early
 Pay the piper - means you need to
face the consequences of your
actions