Poetry Notes

Characteristics,
Analysis, Key Terms
4 Characteristics of
Poems
 Poetry is...
1. Condensed language
- every word is important
- no unnecessary words are included
- focused
2. Imagery/ Figurative language
-language not to be taken literally
-conveys images-“pictures in the mind”
-figures of speech: simile, metaphor,
hyperbole, personification, oxymoron
 Poetry is...
3. Organized language
- lines and stanzas are shaped
intentionally
- some poems follow patterns (of rhyme,
rhythm,word pattern)
4. Rhythmic / Musical language
- the meter or “beat” of lines
- the sounds of words
- examples: alliteration, assonance, rhyme,
onomatopoeia
Analyzing Poetry
 When responding to a poem,
you may comment on:

1. the Subject of the poem

-what/who is the poem about?
-is a setting or pov significant?

2. the Mood and Tone of the poem

-what mood or feeling does it convey?
-what attitude does the narrator have
toward the subject of the poem? the
audience?
3. the Organization of the poem
-what patterns do you notice? (of
rhyme, rhythm, image, punctuation, sound,
etc)
-what effect do these patterns have?
4. the Imagery of the poem
-which images seem vivid? important?-what
do these images convey?
-what other figurative language is used?
5. the Meaning of the poem
-what is the experience conveyed?
-is there a message?
-what does the poem make you understand and/or
wonder?
Poetry terms
 imagery / figurative
language
1. imagery - concrete words or details
that provide vividness
2. simile - a direct comparison between
two things using like or as
3. metaphor - an indirect or implied
comparison between two things (does
not use like or as)
4. personification - the representation
of abstractions, ideas, animals, or
inanimate objects as if human
 patterns... of sound,
rhythm & words
5. rhyme scheme - any pattern of rhyme in a
poem; may be end rhyme or internal rhyme
6. alliteration - the repetition of consonant
sounds at the beginnings of words (or within
words)
7. assonance - the repetition of similar vowel
sounds followed by different consonant
sounds
8. consonance - the repetition of consonant
sounds that are preceded by different vowel
sounds
9. meter - the pattern of stressed and
unstressed syllables in poetry; rhythm;
it may be regular or it may vary
10. repetition - a poetic device in which
a sound, word, or phrase is repeated
for style and emphasis
11. stanza - a group of lines that are
set off and form a division in a poem
 devices that affect
meaning...
12. symbol - a person, place, event, or
object that has a meaning in itself but
suggests other meanings as well
13. tone - the author's attitude, either
stated or implied, toward his or her
subject matter and toward the
audience
14. allusion - a brief reference to a
person, event, or place, real or
fictitious
15. connotation - the emotional
associations surrounding a word, as
opposed to the word's literal meaning
16. denotation - the strict, literal
meaning of a word
17. diction - an author's choice of words
and phrases; may be casual or formal,
simple or complex, etc.