Introduction to
Poetry
TO BE REPORTED BY:
Mr L Mosimango

Definition
• A collection of words that express an
emotion or idea.
• Poems are literary attempts to share
personal experiences and feelings.
• Good poems show images which leave the
reader the sense of delight, awe and
wonder.

Definition of Poetry
• Poetry - A type of writing that uses
language to express imaginative
and emotional qualities instead of
or in addition to meaning.
• Poetry may be written as individual
poems or included in other written
forms as in dramatic poetry,
hymns, or song lyrics.

Which half do you use when
studying poetry?
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Poetry requires creativity
Poetry requires emotion
Poetry requires an artistic quality
Poetry requires logic.

Purpose of Poetry
• To express ideas, feelings and emotions.

Key Elements of Poetry
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Form
Speaker
Sound
Imagery
Figurative Language

Types of Poetry
Free Verse:
Poetry that doesn’t
follow any specific
patterns in rhythm,
rhyme scheme, or line
length; free verse may
contain rhymes, but
they are not used in a
prescribed manner

Types of Poetry
Haiku
A three-line Japanese
poetic form in the lines
follow the pattern of
five syllables in the
first line, seven
syllables in the second
line, and five syllables
in the third line.
Kochira muke
Ware mo sabishiki
Aki no kure
Will you turn
toward me?
I am lonely too,
This autumn
evening.

Types of Poetry

Types of Poetry
Narrative Poem:
A poem that tells the sequence of events of a story;
“The Song of Wandering Aengus” is a narrative poem

Types of Poetry
Sonnet:
A very structured fourteen-line poem that
follows a specific rhyme structure and rhythm.
The two most common sonnets are the Italian
sonnet and the English sonnet. William
Shakespeare wrote many English sonnets, which
are also referred to as hakespearean sonnets.

Rhyme
One of the most beautiful elements found in
poetry is rhyme.
Rhyme is the matching of sounds that are
similar.
Say, Pay, Tray, Spray, Day, May
Blue, True, zoo, do, too

Rhyme
When working with rhyme, you should
always remember that the most important
part of verse is the last word.
• The last word of each verse is what
establishes they rhyme.
Twinkle, twinkle little star!
How I wonder what you are
Up above the world so high.
Like a diamond in the sky.
A
A
B
B
Rhyme
Scheme

Rhythm
• It is a movement with uniform recurrence
of a beat or accent." In its crudest form
rhythm has a beat with little or no
meaning.

Alliteration
• The repetition of the initial letter or sound
in two or more words in a line.
To the lay-person, these are called
“tongue-twisters”.
• Example: How much dew would a
dewdrop drop if a dewdrop did drop
dew?

Repetition
• Using the same key word or phrase
throughout a poem.
This should be fairly
self-explanatory,
but . . .
at risk of sounding like
a broken record . . .

Figurative Language

Figurative Language
Figurative Language is the
use of words outside of their
literal or usual meaning to
add beauty or force.
It is characterized by the use
of similes and metaphors.

Figurative Language
Simile:
A direct, explicit comparison of one
thing to another in which the
words like or as are used.
Example:
She looks like an angel.
Her lips are as sweet as honey.

Figurative Language
Personification:
The strategy of giving
animate qualities to abstract
concepts, or inanimate
things.
Example:
This handless clock stares blindly from its
tower.

Figurative Language
Onomatopoeia:
The attempt to echo or
imitate sounds with words.
Example:
Bow-wow, oink-oink, tic-tac, howling

Figurative Language
Hyperbole:
An exaggeration
Example:
I have been waiting for a million years.

Quote of the Day

Credit to:
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ra744195
Brent Bloffwitch
Clairmcknnon
Neil Richard Lopez
Lois Hayna