1. Elements of Poetry Modified and used for English 11
Poets have many tools they use to add to the poem’s sound, meaning, and emotional effect on the reader.
Modified and used for English 11
Mr. W. Garcia, 2010
(based on .PPT made by T. Travis for AuthorStream.com)

2. Poetry is the art of expressing one’s thoughts in verse.
It uses few words to convey its message.
It is meant to be read aloud.
Poetry arouses our emotions.
Poems use imagery or figures of speech to explain feelings or to create a mental picture or idea.
These suggest action or mood.
Many poems have a specific rhyme scheme.
Poems can rhyme or not rhyme.

3. SIMILE
METAPHOR
ONOMATOPOEIA
REDUCTIONS
EUFEMISMS
POETIC LICENSE
SYMBOL
TONE / MOOD
STANZAS
RYHME AND RHYME SCHEME
RHYTHM
FREE VERSE
ALLITERATION
IMAGERY
EXAGGERATION
LINES

4. “To a Snowflake” - C.J. Heck
Lines
“To a Snowflake” - C.J. Heck
1 Hello little snowflake!
2 Where are all your friends?
3 Should I expect a lot of them
4 before the morning ends?
5 I love it when you come to me
6 and you all fall down together,
7 and I get dressed to visit you,
8 toasty warm in cold, cold weather.
A single line in a poem.
Often organized into stanzas.
2 lines is a couplet.
3 lines is a triplet.
4 lines is a quatrain.
5 lines is a cinquain.
6 lines is a sestet.
7 lines is a septet.
8 lines is a octave.
14 lines is a sonnet.
The poem above has 8 lines.
The lines are organized into quatrains.

5. “First and Last” by David McCord
Stanza
“First and Last” by David McCord
A tadpole hasn’t a pole at all,
And he doesn’t live in a hole in the wall.
You’ve got it wrong: a polecat’s not
A cat on a pole. And I’ll tell you what:
A bullfrog’s never a bull; and how
Could a cowbird possibly be a cow?
A kingbird, though, is a kind of king,
And he chases a crow like anything. 1
A group of lines.
Often have 4, 5, or 6 lines.
2 line stanzas are called couplets.
Usually develops one idea.
Give poems structure.
Emphasize different ideas.
Beginning a new stanzas often signals the beginning of a new image, thought, or idea. 2 3 4
Four Stanzas in Couplets
Each Stanza Signals
a New Image

6. A A B B A A Rhyme and Rhyme Scheme
“Ten Minutes Till the Bus” by David L. Harrison Ten whole minutes Till the bus, Scads of time, What’s the fuss? Two to dress, One to flush, Two to eat, One to brush, That leaves four To catch the bus,
Words rhyme when they have the same sound.
Poems often use rhyme at the end of lines.
Rhyme scheme is a pattern of rhymes in a poem.
Poets use rhyme to add a musical sound to their poems. A A B B A A

7. Rhythm Whenever the wind is high. Stressed = Unstressed =
from “Windy Nights” By Robert Louis Stevenson Whenever the moon and stars are set, Whenever the wind is high, All night long in the dark and wet, A man goes riding by. Late in the night when the fires are out, Why does he gallop and gallop about?
Pattern of beats or a series of stressed and unstressed syllables in poem.
Poets create rhythm by using words in which parts are emphasized or not emphasized.
The yellow highlighted parts of the poem show what’s stressed.
Whenever the wind is high.
Stressed = Unstressed =

8. Free Verse No rhyme or regular rhythm
“Blossoms” by Walter Dean Myers I never dreamt that tender blossoms would be brown Or precious angels could come down to live in the garden of my giving heart But here you are brown angel.
Poetry written without a regular rhyme, rhythm, and form.
Sounds natural, just like everyday conversation.
Poets use free verse because it allows them to experiment with the shapes and sounds in their poetry.
No rhyme or
regular rhythm

9. Alliteration
“Surf” by Lillian Morrison Waves want to be wheels, They jump for it and fail fall flat like pole vaulters and sprawl arms outstretched foam fingers reaching.
Repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of several words or sentences or a line of poetry.
Poets use alliteration to make their poetry musical and more interesting.
Same Beginning
Sounds

10. Imagery “There is a Thing” by Jack Prelutsky There is a thing
beneath the stair
with slimy face
and oily hair
that does not move
or speak or sing
or do another
single thing
but sit and wait
and oily hair.
Language that appeals to the 5 senses.
Are “word pictures”.
Helps the reader to experience familiar things in a fresh way using the senses.
Strong Image
Sensory Words
Uses Senses
Sound
Smell
Taste
Touch
Sight

11. Exaggeration
“Beetles” by Monica Shannon Beetles must use polish, They look so new and shiny! Just like a freshly painted car, Except for being tiny.
Describe something as larger or wildly different than it actually is.
Poets use exaggeration to create a mental picture and spark a reader’s imagination.
Poet stretches the truth about how beetles
become shiny to make readers smile and to
create greater interest in these insects.

12. Simile
“The World” by Noel Berry The trees are like the hair of the world. The city is like the heart of the world. The wind is a flute player playing in the night. The cars beeping horns are like buttons beeping inside the earth. Each bird is like a single piccolo singing away and the grass, just like me, being buried under the snow.
Comparison between 2 things, using the words like or as.
Poets use comparisons between things to make you think about them in a new way.
Used to surprise the reader and to create strong images.
metaphor
Comparisons
trees to hair, a city to a heart, car horns beeping to buttons, grass to a person, bird to a piccolo

13. Metaphor
“Dreams” by Langston Hughes Hold fast to dreams For if dreams die Life is a broken-winged bird That cannot fly. For when dreams go Life is a barren field Frozen with snow.
Direct comparison between 2 things.
Does NOT use the words like or as.
Poet describes a thing or person as if it actually were the other thing or person.
Creates a clear, memorable picture and tries to get you to see the original subject in a new way.
Comparison of
life to a bird
Comparison of
life to a field

14. Onomatopoeia “The Fourth” by Shel Silverstein Oh CRASH! my
BASH!
it’s
BANG!
the
ZANG!
Fourth
WHOOSH! Of
BAROOM!
July
WHEW!
Use of words that sound like the noises they describe.
Poets choose words not just for what they mean, but what they sound like.
Poets use onomatopoeia to liven up their writing and add fun sounds to it.
On the
Fourth of July
you hear:
Crashes
Bashes
Bangs
Zangs
Whooshs
Barooms
Whews

15. “Snowy Benches” by Aileen Fisher Do parks get lonely in winter, perhaps, when benches have only snow on their laps?
Personification
Type of figure of speech that gives human qualities to animals, objects, or ideas.
Adds life to a poem and helps the reader view a familiar thing in a new way.
Parks have feelings and benches have laps.
The poet asks whether the parks feel lonely
in winter, like people sometimes do.

16. Idiom
“Last Night” by David L. Harrison Last night I knew the answers. Last night I had them pat. Last night I could have told you Every answer, just like that! Last night my brain was cooking. Last night I got them right. Last night I was a genius. So where were you last night!
A popular everyday expression that doesn’t exactly mean what the words say.
Poet’s use idioms because that’s the way people talk to each other.
Example: “easy as pie” means you are able to do something without difficulty
“I had them pat” - knowing something well.
“My brain is cooking” - it was working fast
and bubbling over with ideas.

17. “Haunted House” - by Jack Prelutsky
Symbol
“Haunted House” - by Jack Prelutsky
There's a house upon the hilltop We will not go inside For that is where the witches live, Where ghosts and goblins hide. Tonight they have their party, All the lights are burning bright, But oh we will not go inside The haunted house tonight. The demons there are whirling And the spirits swirl about. They sing their songs to Halloween. "Come join the fun," they shout. But we do not want to go there So we run with all our might And oh we will not go inside The haunted house tonight.
Something that stands for something more than just itself.
Suggests another larger meaning.
Examples: the Puerto Rican flag is a symbol of patriotism. A red heart is a symbol of love.
The witches, ghost and goblins are symbols traditionally associated to the celebration of Halloween.

18. Mood “Poor” by Myra Livingston Words create a feeling of sadness.
I heard of poor.
It means hungry, no food.
No shoes, no place to live,
Nothing good.
It means winter nights
And being cold,
It is lonely, alone.
Feeling old.
Poor is a tired face.
Poor is thin.
Poor is standing outside
Looking in.
Feeling that a poem creates in the reader.
Can be positive or negative.
Poet creates the mood with the length of sentences, the words chosen, punctuation, and the sounds of the words.
Short words
and lines
create a
serious mood.
Words create
a feeling of sadness.

19. Tone
“The Crocodile” How doth the little crocodile Improve his shining tail, And pour the water of the Nile On every golden scale! How cheerfully he seems to grin, How neatly spreads his claws, And welcomes little fishes in With gently smiling jaws!
Attitude a writer takes toward the subject or audience of a poem.
The subject of the poem is crocodiles. The author’s attitude towards crocodiles is that they are dangerous.

20. Identify the Elements of Poetry
TASK #1 (DAILY WORK SECTION)
1. Use the poem “A Work of Artifice” to find as many examples of each element of poetry presented so far.
2. Be prepared to share your examples with your classmates in the next class.
3. Make sure you can explain why each example fits an element of poetry.