The

Wonderful
World of
Poetry …
What is
Poetry is an imaginative awareness of
experience expressed through
meaning, sound, and rhythmic
language choices so as to evoke an
emotional response.
Poetry is the chiseled marble of
language; it's a paint-spattered
canvas - but the poet uses words
instead of paint, and the canvas is
you.
Elements
of
Poetry
Elements of poetry can be
defined as a set of
instruments used to create a
poem. Many of these were
created thousands of years
ago and have been linked to
ancient story tellings. They
help bring
imagery and emotion to
poetry, stories, and dramas.
Stanza
•A unit of lines
grouped together
• Similar to a
paragraph in prose
A Stanza consists of two or more lines of
poetry that together form one of the
divisions of a poem. The stanzas of a
poem are usually of the same length and
follow the same pattern of meter and
rhyme and are used l ike paragraphs in a
story. Some different types of stanzas
are as follows:

Couplets - Couplets are stanzas of only two lines which

usually rhyme
Tercets - Tercets are stanzas of
three lines. The three lines may or
may not have the same end rhyme.
If all three lines rhyme, this type
of tercet is called a triplet.

Quatrains - Quatrains are stanzas

of four lines which can be
written in any rhyme scheme.
 From Second Satire
Sir Thomas Wyatt (1503-42)

My mother’s maids, when they did sew and spin,

They sang sometimes a song of the field mouse,
That for because their livelihood was but so thin

Would needs go seek her townish sister’s house.

She thought herself endured to much pain:
The stormy blasts her cave so sore did souse...
Couplet
•A stanza consisting of
two lines that rhyme

Whether or not we find what we

are seeking
is idle, biologically speaking.
— Edna St. Vincent Millay (at the
end of a sonnet)
Quatrain
•A stanza consisting of
four lines
Come, fill the Cup, and in the fire of
Spring
Your Winter garment of Repentance
fling:
The Bird of Time has but a little
way
To flutter--and the Bird is on the
Wing.
 Alternating Quatrain- a four line stanza
rhyming "abab." From W.H. Auden's "Leap Before
You Look"

The sense of danger must not disappear: a

The way is certainly both short and steep, b
However gradual it looks from here; a
Look if you like, but you will have to leap. b
Envelope Stanza - a quatrain with the rhyme
scheme "abba", such that lines 2 and 3 are
enclosed between the rhymes of lines 1 and 4.
Two of these stanzas make up the Italian Octave
used in the Italian sonnet. This is from Auden's
"Look Before You Leap"

The worried efforts of the busy heap, a

The dirt, the imprecision, and the beer b
Produce a few smart wisecracks every year ; b
Laugh if you can, but you will have to leap . a
Tone/Mood
The attitude a poet takes
toward his/her subject
* refers to the writer's attitude towards
the subject of a literary work as indicated
in the work itself. One way to think about
tone in poetry is to consider the speaker's
literal "tone of voice": just as with tone of
voice, a poem's tone may
indicate an attitude of joy, sadness,
solemnity, silliness, frustration, anger,
puzzlement, etc.
 Imagery

•Representation of the five senses:

sight, taste, touch, sound, and smell
• Creates mental images
about a poem’s subject
Visual imagery: visual descriptions so vivid they
seem to come to life in the reader's mind's when
they are read, as in the description of a very old
fish in Elizabeth Bishop's poem titled "The Fish":
Here and there
his brown skin hung in strips
like ancient wall-paper,
and its pattern of darker
brown
was like wall-paper:
shapes like full-blown roses
strained and lost through age
Auditory imagery: descriptions of sound so
vivid the reader seems almost to hear them
while reading the poem. For example,
Alexander Pope contrasts the gentle
sounds of a whispering wind and a soft-
running stream with the harsher sound of
waves crashing on the shore in "Sound and S
ense":
The sound must seem an echo to the
sense: Soft is the strain when Zephyr
gently bows, And the smooth stream in
smoother
numbers flow;
But when the loud surges lash the sounding
shore,
The hoarse, rough verse should like the
torrent roar. (365-69)
Images of smell (olfactory imagery):
descriptions of smells so vivid they seem almost to
stimulate the reader's own sense of smell while
reading, as in the poem, "Root Cellar," by
Theodore Roethke:
And what a congress of
stinks!—
Roots ripe as old bait,
Pulpy stems, rank, silo-rich,
Leaf-mold, manure, lime,
piled against slippery planks.
Nothing would give up life:
Even the dirt kept breathing
a small breath. (5-11)
Tactile or "physical" imagery: descriptions
conveying a strong, vivid sense of touch or
physical sensation that the reader can almost feel
himself or herself while reading, as in Robert
Frost's description of standing on a ladder in
"After Apple Picking": "My instep arch not only
keeps the ache, / It keeps the pressure of a ladder-
round. / I feel the ladder sway as the boughs bend"
(21-23). Or in the sensation of touch (and possibly
taste) in the fourth stanza of Helen Chasin's
poem, "The Word Plum":
The word plum is delicious
pout and push, luxury of
self-love, and savoring
murmur

full in the mouth and falling

like fruit

taut skin
pierced, bitten, provoked
into
juice, and tart flesh. (1-8).
Refrain
•The repetition of one or
more phrases or lines at
certain intervals, usually at
the end of each stanza
• Similar
to the chorus in a song
 *The word 'Refrain' derives from
the Old French word refraindre
meaning to repeat.
*Refrain Poetry Term is a phrase,
line, or group of lines that is repeated
throughout a poem, usually after each
stanza.
*A famous example of a refrain
are the words " Nothing More" and
“Nevermore” which are repeated in
“The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe.
 The Raven
by
Edgar Allan Poe
And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting,
still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my
chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a
demon's that is dreaming,
And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws
his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies
floating on the floor
Shall be lifted nevermore.
Repetition
•A word or phrase
repeated within a line or
sStoamentizmaes, repetition reinforces or
even
substitutes for meter (the beat), the other
chief controlling factor of poetry.

Example: “gazed and gazed”

 Humpty Dumpty
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall;
All the King's horses and all the King's
men
Couldn't put Humpty together again

The repetition of a phrase in poetry may have an incantatory

effect as in the opening lines of T. S. Eliot's "Ash-
Wednesday":
Because I do not hope to turn again
Because I do not hope
Because I do not hope to turn....
Sometimes the effect of a repeated phrase in a
poem will be to emphasize a development or
change by means of the contrast in the words
following the identical phrases. For example, the
shift from the distant to the near, from the less
personal to the more personal is emphasized in
Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by such
a repetition of phrases:

I looked upon the rotting sea,

And drew my eyes away;
I looked upon the rotting deck,
And there the dead men lay.
Rhyme Scheme
The pattern in which
end rhyme occurs
Rhymes are types of poems which have the
the repetition of the same or similar
sounds at the end of two or more words
most often at the ends of lines. This
technique makes the poem easy to
remember and is therefore often used in
Nursery Rhymes. There are several
derivatives of the term rhyme which
include Double rhyme, Triple rhyme,
Rising rhyme, Falling rhyme, Perfect and
Humpty Dumpty sat on a
wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a
great fall.
All the King's horses, And
all the King's men
Couldn't put Humpty
together again!
Theme
The theme of the poem talks
about the central idea, the
thought behind what the poet
wants to convey. A theme can
be anything from a description
about a person or thing, a
thought or even a story. In
short a theme stands for
whatever the poem is about.
Symbolism
A poem often conveys feelings,
thoughts and ideas using symbols,
this technique is known as
symbolism. A symbol in poetry can
stand for anything and makes the
reader take a systematic approach
which helps him/her look at things
in a different light. A symbol is a
poetry style that is usually
thought of in the beginning.
 *poetry has developed over hundreds
of years, certain symbolic meanings have
attached themselves to such things as
colors, places, times, and animals.
*A list of these
common symbols and their meanings
follows. The list does not exhaust
thepossible
meanings and associations of a symbol or
metaphor in any particular poem. You
cannot merely plug these meanings into a
poem and expect to understand the poem
completely. Your own knowledge,
associations, and experience are what will
lead you to a deep and personal connection
to any poem .
Sleep is often related to death. Dreams
are linked to the future or fate.
Seasons often represent ages: spring--
youth, summer--prime of life, autumn--
middle age, winter--old age or death.
Water is sometimes linked to the idea of
birth or purification.
Colors are often linked to emotions: red--
anger, blue--happiness, green--jealousy. They
are also used to represent states of being:
black--death or evil, white--purity or
innocence, green--growth.
Snakes and guns are often phallic; caves and
underwater images often womb-like; nature imagery , in
general, is often associated with the mother or the female.
The cycle of natural growth --birth, degeneration,
death--often suggests the cycle of love. For example, a poem
may trace a rose from bud to bloom to withered vine.
Animals have various associations: horse--phallic sexuality;
doves, lambs, sleeping animals--peace; felines, birds of prey--
dissension, war, danger; snakes, serpents--evil, phallic
sexuality, fall from virtue, magic.
Forests are often places of testing or challenge.
Light --as the sun, the moon, stars, candles--often
symbolizes good, hope, freedom.
Darkness is associated with evil, magic or the unknown.
The moon has several associations. It is sometimes a
feminine symbol, sometimes associated with madness,
sometimes with resurrection.
 Lyrical
Poetry
Dramat ic N a r r a t ive
Poetry Expresses
Poetry
Dramatizes Personal Poetry - Tells a
action though thoughts and story

dialogue or emotions.
monologue
 Dramatic Poetry
A poem where the speaker
is someone other than the
poet themselves. A
Dramatic poem often
includes characters and
dialogue. A Dramatic
Monologue is often from a
fictional character’s point
of view.
*an emotional piece of literature
which includes a story which is
recited or sung.
DREAM it was in which I
found myself.
And you that hail me now,
then hailed me king,
In a brave palace that was all
my own,
Within, and all without it,
mine; until,
Drunk with excess of
majesty and pride,
“Be Still my
Beating Heart”
- Sting

Expresses
emotions, appeals “Winter”
to your senses,
and often could -Shakespeare

be set to music.
 *Lyric Poetry consists of a
poem, such as a sonnet or an ode,
that expresses the thoughts and
feelings of the poet. *The
term lyric is now commonly referred
to as the words to a song.
*Lyric poetry does not tell a story
which portrays characters and
actions. *The lyric poet addresses
the reader directly, portraying his or
her own feeling, state of mind, and
perceptions.
Many lyric poems are about love, but they can be about
anything which stirs the emotions. The last of the examples
of lyric poetry is a poem by Emily Dickinson named “I Felt
a Funeral in my Brain”. It describes a person who is going
insane, or thinks they are.
 A Poem that tells a
“The Raven” story, and has the
-Edgar Allen
Poe elements of a
story. Often
Narrative poems
have a rhyme
ACROSTIC POETRY
AN ACROSTIC POEM IS
ONE WHERE YOU
CHOOSE A WORD OR
NAME AND UE EACH
LETTER IN THE NAME
AS THE BEGINNING OF
A WORD OR LINE THAT
• There is a classic example of acrostic poem in
English written by Edgar Allan Poe is entitled
simply "An Acrostic"

• Elizabeth it is in vain you say

"L ove not" — thou sayest it in so sweet a way:
I n vain those words from thee or L.E.L.
Zantippe's talents had enforced so well:
Ah! if that language from thy heart arise,
Breath it less gently forth — and veil thine eyes.
Endymion, recollect, when Luna tried
T o cure his love — was cured of all beside —
H is follie — pride — and passion — for he died.
 HAIKU
A poem where “You”
there are
I Love you so
5 syllables in the much,
1st line; I long to see
your beauty,
7 in the second
Love the way
line; you shine,
5 in the 3rd line.
 Tanka
A form of Japanese poetry that
depends on the number of lines and
syllables instead of rhyme. The
pattern is: (31 syllables)
Line 1 = 5 syllables
Line 2 = 7 syllables
Line 3 = 5 syllables
Line 4 = 7 syllables
Line 5 = 7 syllables
 Saying Goodbye
Carefully I walk
Trying so hard to be brave
They all see my fear
Dark glasses cover their eyes
As mine flow over with tears
The list poem is a
very old form of
poetry. It itemizes
things or events.
List poems can be
of any length,
• 1) The writer is telling you
something--pointing something
out--saying, "Look at this," or,
"Think about this."
2)There's a beginning and end
to it, like in a story.
3) The list is arranged with
stylistic consistency and the
words are arranged to
create a parallel structure.
If I Were a Pirate
If I were a pirate
I'd swagger and
I'd wear a patch and
I'd attack treasure
boats.
I'd be fearsome!
 What Bugs Me

When my teacher tells me to write a poem

tonight.
When my mother tells me to clean up my room.
When my sister practices her violin while I'm
watching TV.
When my father tells me to turn off the TV and
do my homework.
When my brother picks a fight with me and I
have to go to bed early.
When my teacher asks me to get up in front of
the class and read the poem I
wrote on the school bus this morning.
Another Concrete Poem
A limerick is a humorous poem consisting of five
lines. The first, second, and fifth lines must
have seven to ten syllables while rhyming and
having the same verbal rhythm. The third and
fourth lines only have to have five to seven
syllables, and have to rhyme with each other
and have the same rhythm.
The form of poetry referred to as Limerick
poems have received incredibly bad press and
dismissed as not having a rightful place amongst
what is seen as 'cultivated poetry'. The reason
for this is three-fold:
*The content of many limericks is often of a
bawdy and humorous nature.
*A Limerick as a poetry form is by nature simple
and short - limericks only have five lines.
*And finally the somewhat dubious history of
limericks have contributed to the critics
attitudes.
• There was an Old Man with a beard,
Who said, 'It is just as I feared!
Two Owls and a Hen,
Four Larks and a Wren,
Have all built their nests in my beard!'
Diamante is a seven-line, diamond-shaped poem
which contrasts two opposites. It is more a visual
poem than one to be read aloud
It follows this format:

First Line and seventh line - Name the opposites.

Second and sixth lines - Two adjectives describing
the opposite nearest it.
Third and fifth lines - Three participles (ing words)
describing the nearest opposite.
Fourth line - two nouns (if possible) for each of the
opposites. (This is the transition point where the poem
changes from one of the opposites to the other.)
 Peaks,
Snowcapped, windswept,
Reaching, waiting,
challenging
mountain ranges, ocean
trenches,
Obscuring, waiting, daunting
Dark, black
Depths.
by Mrs. Sinclair
 Dogs
Happy, Friendly
Running, Jumping,
Barking
Paws, Tails, Claws,
Teeth
Hiding, Avoiding,
Demanding
Snobby, Skittish
Cats
Ballads are poems that tell a story.
They are considered to be a form of
narrative poetry. They are often
used in songs and have a very
musical quality to them.
I'll tell a tale, a thrilling tale of love beyond compare
I knew a lad not long ago more gorgeous than any I've seen.
And in his eyes I found my self a 'falling in love with the swain.
Oh, the glorious fellow I met by the ocean with eyes of deep-sea
green!

He was a rugged sailor man with eyes of deep-sea green,

And I a maid, a tavern maid! Whose living was serving beer.
So with a kiss and with a wave, off on his boat he sailed
And left me on the dock, the thief! Without my heart, oh dear!

And with a heart that's lost at sea, I go on living still.

I still am now still serving beer in that tavern by the sea.
And though the pay check's still the same, the money won't go
as far
For now I feed not just myself, but my little one and me!

So let that be a lesson, dear, and keep your heart safely hid.
I gave mine to a sailing thief with gorgeous eyes of green.
Save yours for a sweeter lad who makes the land his home.
Ah me! If only I'd never met that sailor by the sea!
-- Lonnie Adrift
A sonnet is simply a poem written in a certain
format. You can identify a sonnet if the poem
has the following characteristics:
14 lines. All sonnets have 14 lines which can
be broken down into four sections called
quatrains.