The Language of Poetry

What I Learned Last Year

What I Didn’t Understand

What I Learned

Elements of Poetry

Directions: Using the Reader’s Handbook, find the definitions and examples and write them on the chart

Element	Definition	Example
Stanza	a group of lines in a poem set off by blank lines. Usually develops one idea.
Sound Devices	Make poetry interesting to hear read out loud	******************
Alliteration	The repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginnings of several words of a line of poetry -creates music	Soft rains and the smell of the ground, and swallows calling with the shimmering sound.
Onomatopoeia	The use of words that sound like the noises they describe -adds fun and power to words	Splishes, sploshes, sloshes,
Repetition	The use of any element of language-a sound, word, phrase, or sentence-more than once. -Emphasizes meaning	As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
Rhyme	Repetition of similar sounds either at the end of line (End Rhyme) or within a line (Internal Rhyme) -Adds musical quality	But somewhere when some owls do not-t Perhaps they cry Which-h, Why-y or What-t
Rhyme Scheme	A repeated regular pattern of rhymes usually found at the ends of lines in a poem.	Bear a Care a Ravenous b Cavernous b You c You c
Figurative Language	Tools that a poet uses to create a special effect or feeling	XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Symbol	Something that stands for something else	Eagle-freedom Heart-love Crown-power
Exaggeration	The obvious stretching of the truth	Small as a peanut Big as a giant
Idiom	A common phrase made up of words that can’t be understood by their literal, or ordinary, meanings	-Swallow your pride -Do you need a hand -Ants in your pants
Metaphor	A direct comparison between two unlike things. See something in a new way	The fog comes on little cat feet.
Simile	A comparison between two unlike things using the words like or as	The willow is LIKE an etching Fine-lined against the sky
Personification	Poets give an animal, object, or idea human qualities	Summer grass aches and whispers
Imagery	Language that appeals to the five senses	Sight, sound, smell, taste, touch examples
Allusion	A reference to something with which the reader is likely to be familiar, such as a person place, or event from history.	“Alice” makes references to the character Alice from Alice in Wonderland
Mood	The feeling created in the reader by a poem or story.	Dreary, weak, weary-scary mysterious feeling
Tone	The attitude the writer takes toward the audience, subject, or character VOICE-speaker in the poem
Free Verse	Poetry without regular rhyme scheme, meter, or form.	“April Rain Song” by Langston Hughes has no rhymes or regular rhythm
Lyric Poem	A short poem that directly expresses the poet’s thoughts and emotions in a musical way	“So deep in luve an I, And I will luve thee still, my dear.”
Narrative Poem	A poem that tells a story; includes a plot	“Lucinda Matlock” is a story of a woman’s life, from childhood to death.

Elements of Poetry Search

Directions: Using the poetry books located at the front of the room, locate examples of the following poetry elements:

Alliteration	Symbol
Onomatopoeia	Exaggeration
Repetition	Idiom
Rhyme	Metaphor
Rhyme Scheme	Simile
Imagery	Personification

Complete the following sheet by writing your examples on it:

Poetry Book Title:
Group Members:
Poetry Element	Example
Alliteration
Onomatopoeia
Repetition
Rhyme
Rhyme Scheme
Imagery
Symbol
Exaggeration/ Hyperbole
Idiom
Metaphor
Simile
Personification

Figurative Language

Example 1:

Her hair stood straight up like spikes. Her eyes were saucers, rimmed in black liner and blue eye shadow. Large headphones covered her ears. All the while I watched from across the waiting room, her head bobbed up and down as an ocean liner on waves. The extra-large T-shirt swallowed her, and those shoes were boats.

Example 2:

He watches from his mountain walls,

And like a thunderbolt he falls.

From “The Eagle” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Example 3:

All the world’s a stage

And all the men and women merely players;

They have their exits and their entraces;

And one man in his time plays many parts…

From “As You Like It” by William Shakespeare

Example 4:

Where the cold breezes come not, blooms alone

The little wind-flower, whose just opened eye

Is blue as the spring heaven it gazes at…

From “A Winter Piece” by William Cullen Bryant

Example 5:

According to legend, Paul Bunyan arrived on the banks of the Red River and put together a very large logging crew. The bunkhouse was said to have 137 bunks piled one on top of the other. The crew used parachutes to get down in the morning.

The above selections contain various examples of Figurative Language such as similes, metaphors, personification, exaggeration/hyperbole. Let’s see if you can find them all by completing the chart below.

Type of F.L.	Example #	Text Line or Explanation
simile	1	Her hair stood up like spikes Head bobbed like an ocean liner on waves
Personification	1	T-shirt swallowed her
Metaphor	1	Her eyes were saucers Her shoes were boats
Simile	2	Like a thunderbolt he falls
Metaphor	3	All the world’s a stage Men and women merely players
Simile	4	The little wind-flower is as blue as the spring heaven
exaggeration	5	137 bunks piled one on top of the other crew used parachutes to get down in the morning

Complete on your own Literary Response and Analysis Practice 22 and Identifying the Words and Meanings of Metaphors and Similes below.

Directions: Circle the metaphor or simile in each sentence. In the chart provided, write the meaning of the simile or metaphor based on the context of the sentence.

1. The baby was like an octopus, grabbing at all the wrapped presents from under the tree.