Poetry terms

Seven silvery seals slide over the slippery slopes Symbols Alliteration A Heart stands for – LOVE Do you recognize These symbols? Seven silvery seals slide over the slippery slopes

Assonance Consonance Repetition the rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain Dead in the middle of little Italy little did we know That we riddled a middle man who didn't do diddly. --"Twinz (Deep Cover '98)," Capital Punishment, 1998 " Do not go gentle into that good night " - Dylan Thomas "The fair breeze blew the white  foam flew" – The Rime of the Ancient Mariner "Rage, rage against the dying of the light" –  Dylan Thomas I looked upon the rotting sea, And drew my eyes away; I looked upon the rotting deck, And there the dead men lay. “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by S.T. Coleridge “My conscience hath a thousand several tongues, And every tongue brings in a several tale, And every tale condemns me for a villain.” “Richard III” by William Shakespeare

Cliché Personification They all lived happily ever after. Read between the lines in the nick of time at the speed of light lasted an eternity lost track of time all is fair in love and war – to go to any extent to claim somebody’s love every cloud has a silver lining – problems also have something good in them the writing on the wall – something clear and already understood time heals all wounds – pain and miseries get will with the passage of time The wind whispered through dry grass. The flowers danced in the gentle breeze. Time and tide waits for none. The fire swallowed the entire forest. “Have you got a brook in your little heart, Where bashful flowers blow, And blushing birds go down to drink, And shadows tremble so?”-Emily Dickinson Taken from Act I, Scene II of “Romeo and Juliet”, “When well-appareled April on the heel Of limping winter treads.”

Figurative language Free verse While line and stanza counts, syllables, and rhyme schemes may seem random, the beat of the poem is not; it’s a variation of natural speech patterns Introduction to Poetry I ask them to take a poem and hold it up to the light like a color slide or press an ear against its hive. I say drop a mouse into a poem and watch him probe his way out, or walk inside the poem's room and feel the walls for a light switch. I want them to waterski across the surface of a poem waving at the author's name on the shore. But all they want to do is tie the poem to a chair with rope and torture a confession out of it. They begin beating it with a hose to find out what it really means. —Billy Collins language in which figures of speech are used to make it effective, persuasive and impactful. But a BIRD that stalks down his narrow cage Can seldom see through his bars of rage His wings are clipped and his feet are tied The caged bird sings with a fearful trill… And his tune is heard on the distant hill for The caged bird sings of freedom. (I Know Why the Cage Bird Sings by Maya Angelou)

Hyperbole Examples: My grandmother is as old as the hills. Your suitcase weighs a ton! She is as heavy as an elephant! I am dying of shame. I am trying to do a million things these days. From W.H Auden’s poem “As I Walked One Evening”, I’ll love you, dear, I’ll love you Till China and Africa meet, And the river jumps over the mountain And the salmon sing in the street, I’ll love you till the ocean Is folded and hung up to dry….. Joseph Conrad’s novel “The Heart of Darkness”, “I had to wait in the station for ten days-an eternity.” In our daily conversation, we use hyperbole to emphasize for an amusing effect. However, in literature it has very serious implications. By using hyperbole, a writer or a poet makes common human feelings remarkable and intense to such an extent that they do not remain ordinary. In literature, usage of hyperbole develops contrasts. When one thing is described with an over-statement and the other thing is presented normally, a striking contrast is developed. This technique is employed to catch the reader’s attention.

Oxymoron Defined: the same difference Kill with kindness Old news Small giant Original copy Even odds Elevated subway Beautiful tyrant “Nothing was stolen. I had an honest thief.” – Donald Trump “We must believe in free will. We have no choice.” – Isaac B. Singer “I am a deeply superficial person.” – Andy Warhol

For instance, saying, “The gushing stream flows in the forest” is a more meaningful description than just saying, “The stream flows in the forest.” The reader is drawn to hear the sound of a “gushing stream” which makes the expression more effective. In addition to the sound they represent, many onomatopoeic words have developed meanings of their own. For example, “whisper” not only represents the sound of people talking quietly, but also describes the action of people talking quietly. onomatopoeia Examples: Woof (and more animal sounds) What about the joke…..?: Knock-knock Who's there? Boo Boo who? Don't cry, I was only joking He looked at the roaring sky. The rustling leaves kept me awake.

The use of onomatopoeic words helps create emphasis. The beauty of onomatopoeic words lies in the fact that they are bound to have an effect on the readers’ senses whether they are understood or not. Moreover, a simple plain expression does not have the same emphatic effect that conveys an idea powerfully to the readers. The use of onomatopoeic words helps create emphasis.

“Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.” –Gandhi “It’s weird not to be weird.” -John Lennon “Life is a preparation for the future; and the best preparation for the future is to live as if there were none.” -Albert Einstein “I know one thing: that I know nothing.” -Socrates (via Plato) paradox

A pun is a play on words. It hinges on a word with more than one meaning. or the substitution of a homonym- to make it funny For example: “Corduroy pillows are making headlines.” The word “headlines” usually refers to something that is in the news, but this pun changes the meaning in that after having slept on a corduroy pillow, a person would wake up with lines on their heads. Another example: “When a vulture flies he takes carrion luggage.” the words “carrion” and “carry on” are homonyms; humans take “carry on” luggage on planes, while vultures eat “carrion” and may take it with them when they fly.

More PUns “Denial is not just a river in Egypt.” “make like a tree and leave.” “Put that down, it’s nacho cheese.” Some businesses have puns in their names. For example: Hairdressing salon: Curl Up and Dye Lawyers office: Dewey, Cheatum, and Howe Ophthalmologist: For Eyes

Blank verse or iambic pentameter 5 strong beats (like in music) 10 syllables 1. unstressed/stressed (2) 2. unstressed/stressed (4) 3. unstressed/stressed (6) 4. unstressed/stressed (8) unstressed/stressed (10) da DUM, da DUM, da DUM, da DUM, da DUM

Shakespearean Sonnet in iambic pentameter: When I / do COUNT / the CLOCK / that TELLS / the TIME (Sonnet 12) When IN / dis GRACE / with FOR / tune AND / men’s EYES I ALL / a LONE / be WEEP / my OUT/ cast STATE (Sonnet 29) Shall I / com PARE/ thee TO / a SUM / mer's DAY? Thou ART / more LOVE / ly AND / more TEM / per ATE (Sonnet 18)

When you are old by William butler Yeats In iambic pentameter When you are old and grey and full of sleep,  And nodding by the fire, take down this book,  And slowly read, and dream of the soft look  Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;  How man y loved your moments of glad grace,  And loved your beau ty with love false or true,  But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,  And loved the sorrows of your changing face;  And bending down beside the glowing bars,  Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled  And paced upon the mountains overhead  And hid his face amid a crowd of stars Finish accenting the stress on your handout When you are old and grey and full of sleep, And nodding by the fire, take down this book, And slowly read, and dream of the soft look Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep; How many loved your moments of glad grace, And loved your beauty with love false or true, But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you, And loved the sorrows of your changing face; And bending down beside the glowing bars, Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled And paced upon the mountains overhead And hid his face amid a crowd of stars

Dramatic Monologue/soliloquy (A solo speech…  like: “To be or not to be…”- Hamlet)   Spoken by Romeo, Romeo & Juliet, Act 1 Scene 5 O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright! It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night Like a rich jewel in an Ethiope’s ear; Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear! So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows, As yonder lady o’er her fellows shows. The measure done, I’ll watch her place of stand, And, touching hers, make blessed my rude hand. Did my heart love till now? forswear it, sight! For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night.

“O, She Doth Teach The Torches To Burn Bright” Soliloquy Translation Romeo stared. She was so beautiful that she made the torches around the hall appear to grow dim. She was a dazzling jewel illuminating the dark night sky. She stood out from the other girls like a snowy dove in a field of crows. She … Oh. he could never find the words to describe her. She couldn’t be real: such beauty wasn’t possible. ‘I don’t believe what I’m seeing.’ he said aloud and pushed his mask right up to the top of his head to see better.

Simile - A Red red rose by Robert burns Metaphor- Love is a battlefield by pat benatar Simile - A Red red rose by Robert burns O my Luve is like a red, red rose That’s newly sprung in June; O my Luve is like the melody That’s sweetly played in tune. So fair art thou, my bonnie lass, So deep in luve am I; And I will luve thee still, my dear, Till a’ the seas gang dry. Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear, And the rocks melt wi’ the sun; I will love thee still, my dear, While the sands o’ life shall run. And fare thee weel, my only luve! And fare thee weel awhile! And I will come again, my luve, Though it were ten thousand mile.

Rhyme: is a repetition of similar sounds (or the same sound) in two or more words, most often in the final syllables of lines in poems and songs. Rhyme Scheme: Is a poet's deliberate pattern of lines that rhyme with other lines in a poem or a stanza. The pattern, can be identified by giving end words that rhyme with each other the same letter.

Example of Rhyme Scheme: 'Twinkle, twinkle, little star, A How I wonder what you are. A Up above the world so high, B Like a diamond in the sky. B Twinkle, twinkle, little star, A How I wonder what you are!‘ A

Rhyme scheme In sonnets In Shakespearean Sonnets, there is a deliberate rhyme scheme that must be used: ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, GG. Here is an example of a Shakespearean sonnet, number 18: 'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? (A) Thou art more lovely and more temperate. (B) Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, (A) And summer's lease hath all too short a date. (B) Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, (C) And often is his gold complexion dimmed; (D) And every fair from fair sometime declines, (C) By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimmed; (D) But thy eternal summer shall not fade, (E) Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st; (F) Nor Shall Death Brag Thou Wander’st in his shade, (E) When in Eternal Lines to time thou grow’st; (f) So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, (g) So Long lives this, and this gives life to thee. (G)

Couplets: I do not like green eggs and ham I do not like them Sam I am I do not like them in a boat I do not like them with a goat I do not like them in a house I do not like them with a mouse This works for (Stanza/rhyme scheme too)