POETRY

 Poetry is the most compact form of

literature. A poem packs all kinds of
ideas, feelings, and sounds into a
few carefully chosen words. The
LOOK, SOUND, and LANGUAGE
of poetry all work together to create
a total effect.
ELEMENTS
OF POETRY
ELEMENTS OF POETRY
 Subject
 Form
 Symbolism
 Sound Devices
 Imagery
 Figures of Speech
 Tone
 Theme
SUBJECT
 Is the object/ thing/ idea/ person/
situation that the poem presents.
FORM
 A poem’s form is its appearance.
 Poems are divided into lines.
 Many poems, especially longer ones,
may also be divided into groups of lines
called stanzas.
 Stanzas function like paragraphs in a
story.
SYMBOLISM
 The use of symbols to express or represent
ideas or qualities.

Always open like a rosebud ( a young girl)

A white dove (peace)
two diverged roads ( choices)
 SOUND DEVICES
 RHYME:
The repetition of the same or similar sounds, usually in stressed
syllables at the ends of lines, but sometimes within a line.
Shadows on the wall
Noises down the hall
Life doesn’t frighten me at all

 RHYME SCHEME
The rhyming pattern that is created at the end of lines of poetry.

Mary had a little lamb, A

Its fleece as white as snow. B
And everywhere that Mary went, C
The lamb was sure to go. B

 If the poem does not have a rhyme scheme it is considered to be a free verse
poem.
REPETITION
Poets often choose to repeat sounds, words, phrases, or
whole lines in a poem. Repetition helps the poet emphasize an idea
or create a certain feeling.

ALLITERATION
The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginnings of
words.
Seven silver swans swam silently seaward.
Peter Piper pick a peck of pickled peppers.

CONSONANCE
repetition of consonant sound but not vowel sound
gloomy woman climbing lamely

ONOMATOPOEIA
Words that are used to represent particular sounds.
Crash Boom
Bang Zip
IMAGERY
 The use of colourful and moving words that appeal to the senses
and evoke feelings

 drip of ruby teardrops (aural/sound)

 to wake up where the green grass grows

(visual/sight)

 lips like cool sweet tea (oral/taste)

 streaming through a velvet sky (tactile/touch)

 the stench of the underworld (olfactory/smell)

FIGURES OF SPEECH
 Simile
 Metaphor
 Personification
 Extended Metaphor
A metaphor that extends throughout the
entire poem instead of just a few lines of the poem.
 Mother to Son
By: Langston Hughes
Well, son, I’ll tell you: Where there ain’t been no light.
Life for me ain’t been no So, boy, don’t you turn back.
crystalstair. Don’t you set down on the stops
It’s had tacks in it, ‘Cause you finds it kinder hard.
And splinters, don’t you fall now –
And boards torn up, For I’se still goin’, honey,
And places with no carpet on the I’se still climbin’, and life for me
floor – ain’t been no crystal stair.
Bare.
But all the time
I’se been a-climbin on,
And reachin’ landin’s,
And turnin’ corners,
And sometimes goin’ in the dark
TONE
 Is the poet’s attitude toward the subject

serious sad
light happy
bored worried
inspired self-satisfied
sarcastic wishful
excited optimistic
THEME/MEANING
 The theme of a poem is its central or
main idea. To identify a poem’s theme,
ask yourself what ideas or insights about
life or human nature you have found in
the poem.