GNED 15 (There are no easy ways to dispel these
biases. Poetry is difficult because very
Poetry
 Poetry can be defined as “literature in
a metrical form” or “a composition
forming rhythmic lines”.
 A poem is something that follows a
particular flow of rhythm and meter.
 Poems can be structured, with
rhyming lines and meter, the rhythm
and emphasis of a line based on
syllabic beats.
(Poetry’s purpose is essentially to help us
understand the world around us. It
endeavors to show us things anew that we
may have previously taken for granted. It
offers us new perspectives on the familiar.
Poetry’s purpose is to enable us to see the
world with fresh eyes again, like those of a
child. In doing this, it helps us understand
our world in a deeper way.
Poetry is a concentrated thought.
2. Poetry is a kind of word-music.
3. Poetry expresses all the senses.
4. Poetry answers our demand for rhythm.
5. Poetry is observation plus imagination)
POETRY ASSUMPTIONS
 That a poem is to be read for its
"message”
 That this message is "hidden" in the
poem.
 The message is to be found by treating
the words as symbols which naturally
do not mean what they say but stand
for something else.
 You have to decipher every single
word to appreciate and enjoy the
poem.
often its language is indirect. But so is
experience - those things we think, feel,
and do. The lazy reader wants to be told
things and usually avoids poetry because it
demands commitment and energy.
Moreover, much of what poetry has to
offer is not in the form of hidden
meanings. Many poets like to "play" with
the sound of language or offer an
emotional insight by describing what they
see in highly descriptive language. In fact,
there can many different ways to enjoy
poetry; this reflects the many different
styles and objectives of poets themselves.
Finally, if you are the type to give up
when something is unclear, just relax!
Like we just said, there can be many
different approaches to examining poetry)
STRUCTURE and POETRY
STANZAS: Stanzas are a series of
lines grouped together and separated
by an empty line from other stanzas.
One way to identify a stanza is to
count the number of lines. Thus:
 couplet
 tercet
 quatrain
 cinquain
 sestet
 Septet
 octave 
(An important method of analyzing a poem is
to look at the stanza structure or style of a
poem. Generally speaking, structure has to do
with the overall organization of lines and/or
the conventional patterns of sound. Again,
many modern poems may not have any
identifiable structure (i.e. they are free verse),
so don't panic if you can't find it!
They are the equivalent of a paragraph in an  Assonance:  the repetition
essay. of vowel sounds (anywhere in the
middle or end of a line or stanza) -
couplet (2 lines)
Tilting at windmills
tercet (3 lines)
 Consonance: the repetition of
quatrain (4 lines) consonant sounds (anywhere in the
middle or end of a line or stanza) -
cinquain (5 lines) And all the air a solemn stillness
sestet (6 lines) (sometimes it's called a sexain) holds. (T. Gray)

septet (7 lines)  Onomatopoeia:  words that sound like

that which they describe - Boom!
octave (8 lines)  Crash! Pow! Quack! Moo! Caress...
 Repetition: This pertains to the
repetition of entire lines or phrases to
ELEMENTS OF POETRY
emphasize key thematic ideas.
FORM: A poem may or may not have Parallel Stucture: a form of
a specific number of lines, rhyme repetition where the order of verbs and
scheme and/or metrical pattern, but it nouns is repeated; it may involve exact
can still be labeled according to its words, but it more importantly repeats
form or style. sentence structure - "I came, I saw, I
Here are the three most common conquered".
types of poems according to form:
1. Lyric Poetry -  It is any poem with one The repetition of certain sounds
speaker (not necessarily the poet) who creates a rhythmic pattern that, in turn,
expresses strong thoughts and feelings. Most gives lines of words a certain musical
poems, especially modern ones, are lyric or song-like quality. No band is
poems. needed!

2. Narrative Poetry - As its name implies,

narrative poetry is concerned with storytelling. RHYME
It is a poem that tells a story; its structure
It is the correspondence of two or
resembles the plot line of a story [i.e. the
more words with similar-sounding
introduction of conflict and characters, rising
sounds.
action, climax and the denouement].
(Rhyme is the repetition of similar
3. Descriptive Poetry - It is a poem
sounds. In poetry, the most common
that describes the world that surrounds the
kind of rhyme is the end rhyme, which
speaker. It uses elaborate imagery and
occurs at the end of two or more lines.
adjectives. While emotional, it is more
It is usually identified with lower case
"outward-focused" than lyric poetry, which is
letters, and a new letter is used to
more personal and introspective.
identify each new end sound. Take a
SOUND PATTERNS look at the rhyme scheme for the
following poem :
 Alliteration: the repetition of initial
sounds on the same line or stanza
- Big bad Bob bounced bravely.
Internal rhyme occurs in the middle
of a line, as in these lines from
 Coleridge, "In mist or cloud, on mast
or shroud" or "Whiles all the
night through fog-smoke white" ("The
Ancient Mariner"). Remember that
most modern poems do not have
rhyme.)
RHYME (example)
I saw a fairy in the wood,
He was dressed all in green.
He drew his sword while I just stood,
And realized I'd been seen.
RHYTHM AND METER
 RHYTHM is the overall pacing and
tempo of a poem as it is read.
 METER refers to the measured beat
established by patterns of stressed and
unstressed syllables.
(Meter is the rhythm of syllables in a line
of verse or in a stanza of a poem.
Depending on the language, this pattern
may have to do with stressed and
unstressed syllables, syllable weight, or
number of syllables. Many older and more
formal poems contain strict meter, which
either continues throughout the entire
poem or alternates in a specified rhythm.
The study of meter forms as well as the
use of meter in one’s own poetry is called
prosody.
4. Blank Verse: Any poetry
that does have a set metrical pattern
(usually iambic pentameter),
but does not have rhyme, is blank verse.
Shakespeare frequently used unrhymed
iambic pentameter in his plays; his works
are an early example of blank verse.
5. Free Verse: Most modern poetry no
longer follows strict rules of
meter or rhyme, especially throughout an
entire poem. Free verse, frankly, has no
rules about meter or rhyme whatsoever!
[In other words, blank verse has rhythm,
but no rhyme, while free verse
has neither rhythm nor rhyme.] So, you
may find it difficult to find regular iambic
pentameter in a modern poem, though you
might find it in particular lines. Modern
poets do like to throw in the occasional
line or phrase of metered poetry,
particularly if they’re trying to create a
certain effect. Free verse can also apply to
a lack of a formal verse structure.)
FIVE RHYTHMS IN POETRY
 Iamb: unstressed/stressed
 duh-DUH, as in today
 Trochee: stressed/unstressed
 DUH-duh, as in data
 Spondee: stressed/stressed
 DUH-DUH, as in Hip hop
 Anapest:
unstressed/unstressed/stressed
 duh-duh-DUH, as in metaphor
 Dactyl: stressed/unstressed/unstressed
 DUH-duh-duh, as in honestly
MEANING and POETRY
 A poem is most often concrete and
particular; the "message," if there is
any, is general and abstract; it's
implied by the images.
 Poetry "plays" with meaning when it
identifies resemblances or makes
comparisons between things; common
examples of this "figurative"
comparison include:
ticking of clock = mortality
hardness of steel = determination 
white = peace or purity
(In general, poetry deals with
particular things in concrete language,
since our emotions most readily
respond to these things. From the
poem's particular situation, the reader
may then generalize; the generalities
arise by implication from the
particular. In other words, a poem is
most often concrete and particular; the
"message," if there is any, is general
and abstract; it's implied by the
images.
Images, in turn, suggest meanings
beyond the mere identity of the
specific object. 
DENOTATION AND
CONNOTATION
Word meanings are not only restricted
to dictionary meanings. The full
meaning of a word includes both the
dictionary definition and the special
meanings and associations a word
takes in a given phrase or expression.
For example, a tiger is a carnivorous
animal of the cat family. This is the
literal or denotative meaning. But we
have certain associations with the
word: sinuous movement, jungle
violence, and aggression. These are
the suggestive, figurative
or connotative meanings.)
Denotation and Connotation in
Poetry
DENOTATION is the literal
definition of a word. It is the meaning
that’s most commonly found in
dictionaries and other academic
sources.
CONNOTATION is the implied
meaning of a word, which goes
beyond its dictionary definition.
Mom, can I audition for the school
play?
Mother, may I audition for the school
play?
Examples of Denotation
 She spent the night in a
venerable hut in the woods.
(Old cabin)
 They were in a rush to get back
to their home. (Family)
 Our couch is very comfortable.
(Soft)
 Their dog is rambunctious.
(High energy)
Types of Connotations
 Positive
 Negative
 Neutral
Examples of Connotation in
Literature
The boy’s first outcry was a rueful
laugh,
As he swung toward them holding up
the hand
Half in appeal, but half as if to keep
The life from spilling. Then the boy
saw all—
Since he was old enough to know, big
boy
Doing a man’s work, though a child at
heart
-Out, Out– by Robert Frost
FIGURES OF SPEECH
SIMILE
 A comparison between two
unlike things using words
“like” or “as”
Examples:
Your face is as a big as a seed.
He eats like a pig.
METHAPHOR
 Makes a comparison between
two unlike things or ideas.
Examples:
Time is money
The world is a stage
PERSONIFICATION
 Gives human qualities to non-
living things or ideas
Examples:
The flowers nodded.
The snowflakes danced.
HYPERBOLE
 Uses exaggeration for
emphasis or effect
Examples:
That must have cost a billion dollars.
She is older than dirt.
IRONY
 occurs when there is a
marked contrast between what
is said and what is meant, or
between appearance and
reality
Examples:
The Titanic was said to be unsinkable
but sank on its first voyage.
“How nice!” she said, when I told her
I had to work all weekend.
SYNECDOCHE
 Occurs when a part is
represented by the whole or,
conversely, the whole is
represented by the part.
Examples:
Wheels– a car
Hired hands—workers
(Verbal irony is a statement in which
the meaning that a speaker employs is
sharply different from the meaning
that is ostensibly expressed. An ironic
statement usually involves the explicit
expression of one attitude or
evaluation, but with indications in the
overall speech-situation that the
speaker intends a very different, and
often opposite, attitude or evaluation.
Dramatic irony exploits the device of
giving the spectator an item of
information that at least one of the
characters in the narrative is unaware
of (at least consciously), 
Situational irony is a relatively
modern use of the term, and describes
a sharp discrepancy between the
expected result and actual results in a
certain situation.
SYNECDOCHE
They saw a fleet of fifty.
At this time, he owns nine head of
cattle.
The new generation is addicted to the
use of plastic money.)
OXYMORON
 an oxymoron is two
contradictory terms used
together
Examples:
Silent scream
Living dead
PARADOX
 uses a phrase or statement
that on surface seems
 contradictory, but makes some
king of emotional sense.
Example:
He loves being in the public eye but
also deeply values and protects his
privacy.
(Paradox
Kindly cruel treatment made him
flabbergasted.
Please, watch with closed eyes and
you will see the heaven.
Creatively dull person cannot do
anything in his life.)
APOSTROPHE
 it is a direct address to
someone absent, dead, or
inanimate
Example:
“Death be not proud, though some
have called thee”
ANTITHESIS
 it involves a contrast of words or
ideas
Examples:
“Love is so short… Forgetting is so
long.”
“ You may be through with the past
but the past isn’t through with you.”
(Antithesis, which literally means
“opposite,” is a rhetorical device in
which two opposite ideas are put
together in a sentence to achieve a
contrasting effect.
Love is an ideal thing, marriage a real
thing.
Speech is silver, but silence is gold.
LITOTES
You are easy on the eyes, but hard on
the heart.)
ONOMATOPOEIA
 a term for a word that sounds
like what is describing
Examples:
buzz, oink
ANAPHORA
 is a technique where several
phrases or verses begin with
the same word or words
Examples:
I came, I saw, I conquered.
Mad world! Mad kings! Mad
composition!
METONYMY
 It is a figure of speech in
which one object or idea takes
the place of another with
which it has a close
association.
Examples:
Hollywood (represents associations
with the movie industry)
Management (represents associations
with administration, leadership, or
person in charge of something)
• This class is more intelligent and
engaged than the last one. (Class is
metonymy for a group of students)
• I met him at the reception when he
took me for a spin during a slow song.
(Spin is metonymy for dance)
It is a figure of speech featuring a phrase that
utilizes negative wording or terms to express a
positive assertion or statement.
Examples:

I can’t disagree with your logic.

My feelings are not unhurt.

He is hardly unattractive.

• Sometimes the right path is not the

easiest one. (Disney’s Pocahontas)
• Success doesn’t come for free.
(Disney’s Coco)