Poetry

TechniquesBased on Eshuys and Guest

Poetic Techniques

• Poetic Nouns• Poetic Verbs• Poetic Adjectives• Poetic Adverbs• Emotive words• Rhyme• Rhyming pattern• Homonyms• Homophones

• Alliteration

• Figurative Language• Metaphors• Similes

• Contrast

• Personification

• Assonance• Onomatopoeia

• Rhythm

• Symbolism

Poetic Nouns• Nouns: The words we use to name things. They name

a person, place, thing, an event, a feeling or an idea.

• Poetic nouns: Give extra meaning to your poetry.

E.g. Nouns such as tree, fish, car, don’t tell us as much as eucalypt, barramundi, Porsche.

Activity: Alter the nouns in the following sentences to give more meaning.

a. The man broke the machine.

b. The boys rode their bicycles.

c. The woman wore a hat.

d. The cat chased the mouse in the house.

Poetic Verbs• Verbs: Action words.

• Poetic Verbs: Verbs that give extra meaning to poetry.

E.G. Instead of, The snake moved write The snake slithered.

Activity: Change the following verbs to add extra meaning.

a. The Sergeant spoke to the soldiers

b. The elephant walked through the grass

c. The duck swam in the river

d. The dog ate the food

e. The little boy cried.

Poetic AdjectivesAdjectives:• Describe how something looks: The small mouse. • Describe an action: The running mouse.

Game: Doctor Doris’s Dog

Poetic Adverbs

Adverbs: Add meaning to a verb. Tells you when, how or where an action takes place.

Poetic Adverbs: Add colour to a poem through repetition or creating strong mental images.

E.g. The elephant stomped through the grass.

Emotive Words

Choose interesting words that are ‘loaded’ or have extra meaning attached to them.

Example: Slim, thin, lean, slender, scrawny and bony all mean the same but some words are positive, neutral or negative.

Positive: SlimNeutral: ThinNegative: Scrawny

Rhyme

Rhyme: The repetition of sounds. We notice words that sound the same.

Poets and song writers use rhyme to help us ‘hear’ the poem or song.

E.g. In this book you will find,

Characters both mean and kind.

Rhyming Pattern

Rhyming Pattern:

Many poems adhere to a particular pattern of rhyme.

E.g. There was a young person of Smyrna, a

Whose grandmother threatened to burn her. a

But she seized on the cat, b

And said, ‘Granny, burn that, b

You incongruous old woman of Smyrna!’ a

This limerick has a rhyme pattern of aabba.

Homonyms and Homophones

Homonyms: Words that are spelt the same but have different meanings.

E.g. I enjoyed the game of cricket.

I stepped on a cricket.

Homophones: Words that have the same sound but a different spelling and meaning.

E.g. I ate a carrot.

My wedding ring is 24 caret gold.

Alliteration

Alliteration:

• The repetition of the same sound in different words.

• It usually occurs at the beginnings of words. • Alliteration adds humour or power to a poem.

E.g. The peculiar pixie picked a particular pansy.

Metaphors

Metaphors: • A method of creating an image.

• A metaphor states that one thing is another thing.

• A metaphor can be extended over several lines or the whole piece of writing.

All the world's a stage,

And all the men and women merely players:

They have their exits and their entrances;

– As You Like It by William Shakespeare

Similes

Similes: A method of creating an image using words such as, like or as.

E.g. Her beauty hangs upon the cheek of night,Like a rich jewel in an Ethiop's ear";

– Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare

NB: A simile says that one thing is like another. A metaphor says one thing is another.

Personification

• Giving life-like qualities to an item that is not alive.

‘Arise fare sun and kill the envious moon.’– Romeo and Juliet

Contrast

• Showing things which are opposites.– The antonym of a simile.

– Often used to create an image.

Example: Romeo and Juliet

‘It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.

Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,

Who is already sick and pale with grief’

Assonance

Assonance: The repetition of same or similar vowel sounds in words close to each other. Assonance can:

• Allow the poem to flow as the sounds are repeated.

• Slow the poem down as each word is emphasised.

• Add Humour.

• Create atmosphere – heavy or light, quick or slow.

E.g. In the silence of the night

How we shiver with afright.

Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia: Words that echo and imitate the sounds of objects, things, people and actions.

Appeals to the readers sense of hearing.

E.g. I heard the tinkling of the shop bell and then the thud of a man’s footsteps.

Rhythm

Rhythm: The flow and beat of the poem. It is used to help create mood. Rhythm is created by the stress you place on certain words or parts of words when you read.

E.g. The heavy beats are marked ‘/’.

u / u / u / u / u /

In fair Verona where we lay our scene

Rhythm Continued

• Iambic meter. Makes the rhythm skip along. It also resembles human speech.

u / u / x / u / u /

If music be the food of love, play on.- Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare

• Trochaic meter. Gives the feeling of a march, song or spell.

/ u / u / u / u

Double double toil and trouble- Macbeth by William Shakespeare

Dactylic meter. Creates the rhythm of a waltz.

/ u u / u u / u u / u

Just for a handful of silver he left us - The Lost Leader by Robert Browning

Symbolism

Symbolism: Double meanings given to words and phrases.

• A dark cloud could foreshadow bad events,

• a dying tree could signify decay,

• a fire could signify conflict.

E.g. The dark night strangled the travelling lamp.– Macbeth, by William Shakespeare.

Task• Divide all the poetic techniques you have studied so far

into sound techniques and imagery techniques.

• Create a table like the one below:

Sound Techniques Imagery Techniques

Answers

Sound Techniques Imagery Techniques

Poetic NounsPoetic VerbsPoetic AdjectivesPoetic AdverbsAlliterationRhymeRhyming patternHomonymsHomophonesAssonanceOnomatopoeiaRhythm

Poetic NounsPoetic VerbsPoetic AdjectivesPoetic AdverbsMetaphorSimileSymbolismEmotive words