Presented by Mrs. S. Dianne Black

Basic Elements of Poetry

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Types of Poems Haiku—Japanese fixed-form poem

structured in 3 lines of 17 syllable; captures a moment in time or aspect of nature

Sestina—French form of six six-line stanzas followed by a tercet called an envoy to =39 lines; set of six words is repeated in varying patterns at the ends of the lines of each of the six-line stanzas; the six words also in the envoy, two in each line of the tercet

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…types of poems

• Sonnet—14 lines of iambic pentameter; can be Shakespearean/English (3 quatrains followed by a couplet) or Petrarchan/Italian (octave followed by 2 tercets)

• Villanelle—fixed-form of 19 lines composed of 5 tercets (rhyme scheme:aba) and a concluding quatrain (rhyme scheme:abaa); lines one & three of the 1st tercet serve as refrains

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…continued

• Ballad—short poem in song format that tells a story

• Elegy—subject is death of aperson• Epic—long, adventurous tale with a hero• Lyric—expresses love, inner emotions

tends to be personal; usually written in 1st person

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...continued• Narrative—the poet tells a story with

characters and a plot• Ode—originally a Greek form, odes are

serious lyric poems; English Romantic poets reinvigorated the form

• Prose poem—looks like a paragraph, even having a jagged right margin; may read like a paragraph, but retains poetic elements such as imagery, figurative language, and concise language.

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ThemePurpose of the poemWhat the poet needed to sayExpresses the unity of human

experienceSee that we are more alike as a human

race than differentTells us what is true about usExpresses the poet’s vision about the

truth of the world

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Imagery• Sight• Hearing • Touch • Smell • Taste

Effects: transports us to another place, time, and experience; allows us to understand the emotions in the poem; creates tone; allows poet to show us meaning by taking us into the environment of the poem

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DictionHow does a poet choose the exact

word?• Sound: how does the word sound? Does

it contribute to the meaning, to the overall sound scheme, or does it interrupt or interfere?

• Denotation: What is the exact meaning of the word?

• Connotation: What is the suggested meaning? What is the emotive quality?

Every word matters . Never skim over any word in a poem.

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Sound• Rhyme• Exact Rhyme• Slant Rhyme/Approximate

Rhyme• Internal Rhyme vs. End

Rhyme

• Alliteration• Assonance• Cacophony• Euphony• Meter

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…sound continued

Definitions and Examples:

Rhyme: words that sound either exactly alike or merely similar

Exact Rhyme: Cat, hat, flat, mat: masculine rhyme (one

syllable rhymesFalling, calling, stalling: feminine rhyme

(two or more syllables)

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…sound continued

Slant rhyme/approximate rhyme:The words sound close but are not exact

rhymesMirror, steer, dear or book, crack, stick

(consonance is used most often for slant rhymes)

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…sound continuedAssonance:Repetition of vowel sounds; some words

using assonance will rhyme exactly; others will simply mirror the vowel sounds

Cake, stake, break, fate, drank, ache, placate, etc.

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…sound continuedInternal rhyme vs. end rhyme: end rhyme occurs only at the end of the

line whereas internal rhyme happens within the lines

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…sound continuedAlliterationRepetition of beginning sounds in close

proximity“Susan sent sally some sunflowers,” or

“Loons lurk late in autumn lakes under lavender skies.

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…sound continued

CacophonyHarsh , discordant, or unpleasing sounds

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…sound continued

CONSONANCE

Repetition of consonant soundsExact rhymes use consonance—foot,

put, sootBut all words that repeat sounds are

using consonance—add, suit, unfitCan occur in the middle of words—river,

liver, cadaver, waver, save rave

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…sound continued

EuphonyPleasing, melodious, pleasant sounds

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…sound continuedMeter:A rhythm accomplished by using a certain

number of beats or syllables per lineIambic is the most common meter (a foot

consisting of one unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable (U /)

A foot is simply 2 syllables or in some cases 3

Iambic Pentameter means a 5-foot iambic line, or 10 syllables

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Final Points about SoundSound is not as important as the idea or

meaning of the poem. Sound simply extends the meaning of the

poem and enhances ideas.Sound not likely to be a significant factor in

meaning in older fixed form poems.Sound in free verse poems are more

experimental

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Figurative Language• Metaphors: comparison of 2 dissimilar

things to help us se something in a new or more meaningful way

• Direct metaphor: comparison using the word “is.” “Life is a river.”

• Indirect metaphor: “The river of life” all compares life to a river but does so indirectly

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…figurative lang. continued

• Personification: comparison by giving

something non-human, human characteristics• Oxymoron: juxtaposing 2 things apparently

contradictory that till reinforce one idea—jumbo shrimp, only choice, virtual reality

• Hyperbole: using exaggeration to extend reality; gets us to look more closely at what is actually true by giving us a sharp contrast.

• Understatement: opposite of hyperbole; used to say less than is appropriate for the situation or for meaning

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Helpful Terms• Apostrophe• Couplet• Epigram• Fixed form• Metonymy• Metaphysical conceit• Mood• Octave • Pun

• Quatrain• Sestet• Speaker• Stanza• Structure• Synecdoche• Tercet• Tone • Unity