1. Elements of Poetry
• Poetry is the most compact form of
literature. A poem packs all kinds
of ideas, feelings, and sounds into
a few carefully chosen words. The
LOOK, SOUND, and
LANGUAGE of poetry all work
together to create a total effect.

2. Form: The way a poem looks
• Poetry is written in lines, which
may or may not be sentences.
Sometimes the lines are separated
into groups called stanzas.
Remember that poets choose the
arrangements of words and lines
deliberately. The form of a poem
can add to its meaning.

3. Sound: Poems are meant to be
read aloud
• Poets choose and arrange
words to create the sounds
they want the listener to hear.
There are many techniques
that poets can use to achieve
different sounds.

4. Rhyme
• When words end with the same
sounds, the words rhyme. Poems often
contain rhyming words at the ends of
the lines.
• Shadows on the wall
Noises down the hall
Life doesn’t frighten me at all

5. Rhythm
• The rhythm is sometimes called the
“beat” of the poem.
• It is the pattern of stressed and
unstressed syllables, or those word parts
that are read with more or less emphasis
The sea/ was wet/ as wet/ could be/
The sands/ were dry/ as dry

6. Repetition
• Poets often choose to repeat
sounds, words, phrases, or
whole lines in a poem.
Repetition helps the poet
emphasize an idea or create a
certain feeling.

7. alliteration
the occurrence of the same
letter or sound at the beginning
of adjacent or closely
connected words.
Alice’s aunt ate apples and
acorns around August.

8. Onomatopoeia
•the formation of a word
from a sound associated
with what is named
(e.g., cuckoo,sizzle ).

9. •Free Verse
• Free verse are poems that do not have a
regular rhythm and sound more like a
conversation.

10. Imagery: words and phrases that
appeal to the five senses
• Poets use imagery to create a picture in
the reader’s mind, or to remind the
reader of a familiar sensation
From this side……..
of their concrete barrio
two small boys hold
fat white pigeons
trapped in their trembling hands

11. Figurative Language
• Poets use figurative language
when they choose words and
phrases that help the reader to
see ordinary things in a new
way. These special descriptions
are called figures of speech.

12. Simile
• a comparison that uses the words
like, as, than, or resembles
• When she comes sweet-talking
in the room,
she warms us
like grits and gravy,
and we rise up shining.

13. Metaphor
• A comparison that does not use the
words like, as, than, or resembles
is called a metaphor.
• The title “Mama is a sunrise” is a
metaphor. The poem compares
Mama’s warmth and sparkle to a
sunrise.

14. Personification
• When a poet describes an animal or an
object as if it were human or had human
qualities, he or she is using
personification.
• In “Southbound on the Freeway” cars are
described as if they were live creatures.
They have four eyes.
The two in back are red.

15. Theme
• All the poetic elements we have
just covered help the poet establish
the theme.
• Just as in fiction, the message
about life that the poem conveys is
the poem’s theme.

16. Elements of Poetry
• Are there any
questions?