ELEMENTS OF

POETRY
READING- GRADE 4&5
Poetry Defined
■ Poetry is literature in verse form, a controlled arrangement of lines and stanzas. Poems
use concise, musical, and emotionally charged language to express multiple layers of
meaning. The word poetry is derived from the Greek poiesis, meaning a “making” or
“creating.” It is a form of art in which language is used.
How Do I Love Thee? (Sonnet 43)
An excerpt by Elizabeth Barrett Browning - 1806-1861

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
1. Speaker and Addressee

-It could be the poet or the writer of the poem or the character created by the poet.
- The addressee is the person to whom the poem is written for.
 How Do I Love Thee? (Sonnet 43)
An excerpt by Elizabeth Barrett Browning - 1806-1861

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.

The speaker is the author herself expressing how much she loves her beloved one. The
person “thee” is the addressee in the poem. This person is the beloved one of the author or
poet herself.
2. Meaning

-Answers the question “What is the poem all about?”. It also tells things or events that
happen in the poem.
-Most of the times, you have to read between the lines when reading a poem.
 How Do I Love Thee? (Sonnet 43)
An excerpt by Elizabeth Barrett Browning - 1806-1861

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.

The poet expresses the extent of her love through the length and height that her soul can
reach.
3. Theme

-It is the central idea of the poem.

Themes can be about love, family, , friends, nature, and many more.
 4. Structure
-There are two kinds of structure for poems- structured and free verse.

-Structured poems have

rhyming words usually
found at the end of every
line and are written in
stanzas.
4. Structure
-There are two kinds of structure for poems- structured and free verse.

-Free verse poetry may still use rhyming words and write in
stanzas but not consistently. It does not follow the rules or
observe particular structure. The poet just makes use of
figurative language in writing free verse poems.
 5. Mood

Refers to the feelings of the poet throughout the poem. The mood of the poem can be sensed by
the reader with the choice of words and the message of the poem itself.
It can vary from happy, sad, solemn to angry.

What do you think is the mood of

this poem?