Elements of a

Poetry
Poetry – is a form of written
or spoken composition created to
express emotions, experiences,
and ideas in a vivid and
imaginative way.
A poem’s form is its appearance.
Poems re divide into lines. Many
poems, especially the longer
ones, may also be divided into
groups of lines called stanzas.
Stanzas function like paragraphs
in the story. Each one contains a
single idea or takes the idea one
step further
The wind was a torrent of darkness,
among the gusty trees.
The moon was a ghostly galleon,
tossed upon cloudy seas.
The road was a ribbon of moonlight
over the purple moor,
And the highwayman came riding – What is the purpose of
Riding – riding – the first stanza of the
The highwayman came riding up to “Highway Man”?
the old inn door
1. Sound Devices
a. Onomatopoeia as in the buzzing
of bees, the whistling kettle with
boiling water.
Words are used to represent particular
sounds.
crash boom
b. Alliteration – is the repetition of consonant
sound at the beginning of words.
Ex.
Seven silver swans swam silently seaward
Peter Piper pick a peck of pickled peppers.
c. Assonance – the use of words that have the
same or very similar vowel sounds near one
another.
Ex. breezes free
cool shade and tender rain
2. Rhyme and Rhythm
Rhyme – the repetition of the same or similar
sound, usually in the stressed syllables at the
ends of lines, but sometimes with in a line.
There are strange things done
in the midnight sun
Hush my dear, lie still and
slumber;
Holy angels guard thy bed;
Heavenly blessings without
number
Rhythm
the pattern beats or stresses in a poem.
Poets use patterns of stressed on unstressed
syllables to create a regular rhythm.
Try beating out the rhythm with
a finger as you read these lines.

She was a child and I was a child.

In the kingdom by the sea;
But we loved with a love that was
more than love –
I and my Annabel Lee
3. Imagery
- poets use words that appeal to the
reader’s senses of sight (seeing),
sound/auditory (hearing), touch (tactile),
gustatory (taste), and olfactory (smell )
Back, he spurred like a madman,
shouting curses to the sky.
With the white road smoking behind
him
and his rapier brandished high.
Trees of the fragrant forest
With leaves of green unfurled
Through summer’s heat through winter’s
cold
What do you do for our world?
5. Figures of Speech
refers to the figures of speech used to
creatively express feelings and ideas.
a. Simile- a comparison using like or as.
Talk of your cold! Through the parka’s
fold it stabbed like a driven nail.
b. Metaphor
describe one thing as if it were another.
Ex.
The moon was a ghostly galleon
tossed upon cloudy seas.
c. Personification
gives human characteristics to something
nonhuman.
Ex.
…and the stars o’erhead
were dancing heel and toe….
c. Personification
gives human characteristics to something
nonhuman.
Ex.
…and the stars o’erhead
were dancing heel and toe….