ELEMENTS OF

POETRY
BY: KEITH PATRICK BUGAYONG
OVERVIEW
1. What is Poetry?
2. Difference between Poetry and Poem
3. Elements of Poetry
• “Concrete” Elements
• “Abstract” Elements

4. Types of Poetry
• Main Categories
• Sub-categories
WHAT IS POETRY?
• Literary work in which special intensity is given to the expression of feelings and ideas
by the use of distinctive style and rhythm; poems collectively or as a genre of literature
(Oxford Languages)

• Metrical and rhythmic composition

• Provokes or appeals to one’s emotion and imagination

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN POETRY AND
POEM
• Poetry – process

• Poem – end result of poetry

ELEMENTS OF POETRY
“Concrete” Elements
• Rhythm
• Meter
• Stanza
• Syntax
• Rhyme
• Rhyme Scheme
RHYTHM

• Refers to the sound produced by the statement of the poem, how

it is orchestrated through the syllables and which syllables are
stressed and unstressed
METER

• Defines most of a poems structure, such as the matching of

syllables, measuring how many are in a line or block (stanza),
and if they follow the rhythm
• Measures the poem
STANZA

• Is defined as a small group of block of lines

• A particular stanza can have a specific meter, rhyme, scheme, etc.
• Can be named based on the number of lines: couplet (2 lines), tercet (3),
quatrain (4), cinquain (5), sestet (oftentimes sexain, 6 lines), septet (7), and
octave (8)
SYNTAX

• Refers to arrangement of words or line structure

• Two lines can have the same meaning but different tone or emotion
• Ex: saying “You are the one I love.” instead of “I love you.”
RHYME

• May or may not exist in a poem

• When it does exist means that the last word of each line have similar
sounds
• An exception to this are free-verse poems
RHYME SCHEME

• Refers to the pattern of rhyming

• Patterns based on which lines match in a stanza (denoted by the alphabet)
• Ex: AABB, ABAB, ABBA
ELEMENTS OF POETRY
“Abstract” Elements
• Theme
• Figure of Speech
• Voice
THEME

• Central idea or main topic of the poem

• What you want to convey to the readers
FIGURE OF SPEECH
• Symbolism – stand-ins for concept or ideas presented in the poem, items
of representation
• Imagery – the picture that the composers wants to create (vivid
descriptions), what you want the readers to imagine
• Allegory – are metaphors that are historical, religious, or moral in nature,
have hidden meaning
VOICE
As DiYanni notes, tone refers to the poet's "implied attitude toward its subject. Tone is
an abstraction we make from the details of a poem's language: the use of meter and
rhyme; the inclusion of certain kinds of details and exclusion of other kinds; particular
choices of words and sentence pattern, of imagery and of figurative language" (479)
• Speaker – personality behind the narration
• Diction – refers to word choice, why choose one word over the other?
• Tone – how the words sound and its implications
TYPES OF POETRY
Main Types
• Lyric Poetry – focuses on the emotion of the poet
• Narrative Poetry – concerns with story-telling
• Descriptive Poetry – describes the world around the poet
TYPES OF POETRY
Sub-categories
• Sonnet – matters of the heart • Ode – praise towards a person,
thing, or event
• Haiku – nature and natural
phenomena • Epic – long narration involving
heroic events
• Elegy – death, loss, grief
• Limerick – humor, comedy
SOURCES
 https://www.slideshare.net/MaineSamson/basic-elements-of-poetry
 http://org.coloradomesa.edu/~blaga/Theory/poetry_elements.html#:~:text=Elements%
3A%20Poetry,rhythm%20and%20meter%2C%20and%20structure
.
 https://literacyideas.com/elements-of-poetry/