Elements of Poetry in English

1. The Amazing
World of
Poetry

2. What isWhat is

3. Poetry is an imaginative awareness
of experience expressed through
meaning, sound, and rhythmic
language choices so as to evoke an
emotional response.
Poetry is the chiseled marble of
language; it's a paint-spattered
canvas - but the poet uses words
instead of paint, and the canvas is
you.
Poetry is the chiseled marble of
language; it's a paint-spattered
canvas - but the poet uses words
instead of paint, and the canvas is
you.

4. Elements
of
Poetry
Elements
of
Poetry

5. Elements of poetry can be
defined as a set of
instruments used to create a
poem. Many of these were
created thousands of years
ago and have been linked to
ancient story tellings. They
help bring
imagery and emotion to
poetry, stories, and dramas.

6. Stanza /Poetic Line
•A unit of lines
grouped together
•Similar to a
paragraph in prose

7. A Stanza consists of two or more lines
of poetry that together form one of the
divisions of a poem. The stanzas of a
poem are usually of the same length and
follow the same pattern of meter and
rhyme and are used like paragraphs in a
story. Some different types of stanzas
are as follows:
Couplets - Couplets are stanzas of only two lines which
usually rhyme

8. Tercets - Tercets are stanzas of
three lines. The three lines may or
may not have the same end rhyme.
If all three lines rhyme, this type
of tercet is called a triplet.
Quatrains - Quatrains are stanzas
of four lines which can be
written in any rhyme scheme.
Tercets - Tercets are stanzas of
three lines. The three lines may or
may not have the same end rhyme.
If all three lines rhyme, this type
of tercet is called a triplet.
Quatrains - Quatrains are stanzas
of four lines which can be
written in any rhyme scheme.

9. From Second Satire
Sir Thomas Wyatt (1503-42)
My mother’s maids, when they did sew and spin,
They sang sometimes a song of the field mouse,
That for because their livelihood was but so thin
Would needs go seek her townish sister’s house.
She thought herself endured to much pain:
The stormy blasts her cave so sore did souse...
From Second Satire
Sir Thomas Wyatt (1503-42)
My mother’s maids, when they did sew and spin,
They sang sometimes a song of the field mouse,
That for because their livelihood was but so thin
Would needs go seek her townish sister’s house.
She thought herself endured to much pain:
The stormy blasts her cave so sore did souse...

10. Couplet
•A stanza consisting of
two lines that rhyme
Whether or not we find what we
are seeking
is idle, biologically speaking.
— Edna St. Vincent Millay (at the
end of a sonnet)
Whether or not we find what we
are seeking
is idle, biologically speaking.
— Edna St. Vincent Millay (at the
end of a sonnet)

11. Quatrain
•A stanza consisting of
four lines
Come, fill the Cup, and in the fire of
Spring
Your Winter garment of Repentance
fling:
The Bird of Time has but a little
way
To flutter--and the Bird is on the
Wing.
Come, fill the Cup, and in the fire of
Spring
Your Winter garment of Repentance
fling:
The Bird of Time has but a little
way
To flutter--and the Bird is on the
Wing.

12. Alternating Quatrain- a four line stanza
rhyming "abab." From W.H. Auden's "Leap Before
You Look"
The sense of danger must not disappear: a
The way is certainly both short and steep, b
However gradual it looks from here; a
Look if you like, but you will have to leap. b
Alternating Quatrain- a four line stanza
rhyming "abab." From W.H. Auden's "Leap Before
You Look"
The sense of danger must not disappear: a
The way is certainly both short and steep, b
However gradual it looks from here; a
Look if you like, but you will have to leap. b

13. Envelope Stanza- a quatrain with the rhyme
scheme "abba", such that lines 2 and 3 are
enclosed between the rhymes of lines 1 and 4.
Two of these stanzas make up the Italian Octave
used in the Italian sonnet. This is from Auden's
"Look Before You Leap"
The worried efforts of the busy heap, a
The dirt, the imprecision, and the beer b
Produce a few smart wisecracks every year; b
Laugh if you can, but you will have to leap. a
Envelope Stanza- a quatrain with the rhyme
scheme "abba", such that lines 2 and 3 are
enclosed between the rhymes of lines 1 and 4.
Two of these stanzas make up the Italian Octave
used in the Italian sonnet. This is from Auden's
"Look Before You Leap"
The worried efforts of the busy heap, a
The dirt, the imprecision, and the beer b
Produce a few smart wisecracks every year; b
Laugh if you can, but you will have to leap. a

14. Tone
The attitude a poet takes
toward his/her subject
*refers to the writer's attitude towards
the subject of a literary work as
indicated in the work itself. One way to
think about tone in poetry is to consider
the speaker's literal "tone of voice": just
as with tone of voice, a poem's tone may
indicate an attitude of joy, sadness,
solemnity, silliness, frustration, anger,
puzzlement, etc.

15. Mood
The attitude a reader takes
toward his/her subject.
*is one element in the narrative structure
of a piece of literature. It can also be
referred to as atmosphere because it
creates an emotional setting enveloping
the reader. Mood is established in order
to affect the reader emotionally and
psychologically and to provide a feeling
for the narrative. It is a complex reading
strategy.

16. Imagery
•Representation of the five senses:
sight, taste, touch, sound, and smell
•Creates mental images
about a poem’s subject

17. Visual imagery: visual descriptions so vivid they
seem to come to life in the reader's mind's when
they are read, as in the description of a very old
fish in Elizabeth Bishop's poem titled "The Fish":
Here and there
his brown skin hung in strips
like ancient wall-paper,
and its pattern of darker
brown
was like wall-paper:
shapes like full-blown roses
strained and lost through age
Here and there
his brown skin hung in strips
like ancient wall-paper,
and its pattern of darker
brown
was like wall-paper:
shapes like full-blown roses
strained and lost through age

18. Auditory imagery: descriptions of sound so
vivid the reader seems almost to hear them
while reading the poem. For example,
Alexander Pope contrasts the gentle
sounds of a whispering wind and a soft-
running stream with the harsher sound of
waves crashing on the shore in "Sound and
Sense":The sound must seem an echo to the sense:
Soft is the strain when Zephyr gently bows,
And the smooth stream in smoother
numbers flow;
But when the loud surges lash the sounding
shore,
The hoarse, rough verse should like the
torrent roar. (365-69)
The sound must seem an echo to the sense:
Soft is the strain when Zephyr gently bows,
And the smooth stream in smoother
numbers flow;
But when the loud surges lash the sounding
shore,
The hoarse, rough verse should like the
torrent roar. (365-69)

19. Images of smell (olfactory imagery):
descriptions of smells so vivid they seem almost to
stimulate the reader's own sense of smell while
reading, as in the poem, "Root Cellar," by
Theodore Roethke:
And what a congress of
stinks!—
Roots ripe as old bait,
Pulpy stems, rank, silo-rich,
Leaf-mold, manure, lime,
piled against slippery planks.
Nothing would give up life:
Even the dirt kept breathing
a small breath. (5-11)
And what a congress of
stinks!—
Roots ripe as old bait,
Pulpy stems, rank, silo-rich,
Leaf-mold, manure, lime,
piled against slippery planks.
Nothing would give up life:
Even the dirt kept breathing
a small breath. (5-11)

20. Tactile or "physical" imagery: descriptions
conveying a strong, vivid sense of touch or
physical sensation that the reader can almost feel
himself or herself while reading, as in Robert
Frost's description of standing on a ladder in
"After Apple Picking": "My instep arch not only
keeps the ache, / It keeps the pressure of a ladder-
round. / I feel the ladder sway as the boughs bend"
(21-23). Or in the sensation of touch (and possibly
taste) in the fourth stanza of Helen Chasin's
poem, "The Word Plum":

21. The word plum is delicious
pout and push, luxury of
self-love, and savoring
murmur
full in the mouth and falling
like fruit
taut skin
pierced, bitten, provoked
into
juice, and tart flesh. (1-8).
The word plum is delicious
pout and push, luxury of
self-love, and savoring
murmur
full in the mouth and falling
like fruit
taut skin
pierced, bitten, provoked
into
juice, and tart flesh. (1-8).

22. Diction
• The Choice of words.
Connotative:figurative/metap
horical meaning.
Denotative: literal /dictionary-
based

23. Persona/Voice
• The speaker of the poem.
It is the way you present yourself
to the world, the character traits that
you let show and the way that people
will see you. If you are true to
yourself, then your persona should
reflect who you actually are.

24. Refrain
•The repetition of one or
more phrases or lines at
certain intervals, usually at
the end of each stanza
•Similar
to the chorus in a song

25. *The word 'Refrain' derives from
the Old French word refraindre
meaning to repeat.
*Refrain Poetry Term is a phrase,
line, or group of lines that is repeated
throughout a poem, usually after each
stanza.
*A famous example of a refrain
are the words " Nothing More" and
“Nevermore” which are repeated in
“The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe.
*The word 'Refrain' derives from
the Old French word refraindre
meaning to repeat.
*Refrain Poetry Term is a phrase,
line, or group of lines that is repeated
throughout a poem, usually after each
stanza.
*A famous example of a refrain
are the words " Nothing More" and
“Nevermore” which are repeated in
“The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe.

26. The Raven
by
Edgar Allan Poe
And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting,
still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my
chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a
demon's that is dreaming,
And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws
his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies
floating on the floor
Shall be lifted nevermore.

27. Repetition
•A word or phrase
repeated within a line or
stanza
Example: “gazed and gazed”
Sometimes, repetition reinforces or even
substitutes for meter (the beat), the other
chief controlling factor of poetry.

28. Humpty Dumpty
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall;
All the King's horses and all the King's
men
Couldn't put Humpty together again
The repetition of a phrase in poetry may have an incantatory
effect as in the opening lines of T. S. Eliot's "Ash-
Wednesday":
Because I do not hope to turn again
Because I do not hope
Because I do not hope to turn....
The repetition of a phrase in poetry may have an incantatory
effect as in the opening lines of T. S. Eliot's "Ash-
Wednesday":
Because I do not hope to turn again
Because I do not hope
Because I do not hope to turn....

29. Sometimes the effect of a repeated phrase in a
poem will be to emphasize a development or
change by means of the contrast in the words
following the identical phrases. For example, the
shift from the distant to the near, from the less
personal to the more personal is emphasized in
Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by such
a repetition of phrases:
I looked upon the rotting sea,
And drew my eyes away;
I looked upon the rotting deck,
And there the dead men lay.
Sometimes the effect of a repeated phrase in a
poem will be to emphasize a development or
change by means of the contrast in the words
following the identical phrases. For example, the
shift from the distant to the near, from the less
personal to the more personal is emphasized in
Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by such
a repetition of phrases:
I looked upon the rotting sea,
And drew my eyes away;
I looked upon the rotting deck,
And there the dead men lay.

30. Rhyme Scheme
The pattern in which
end rhyme occurs
Rhymes are types of poems which have
the the repetition of the same or similar
sounds at the end of two or more words
most often at the ends of lines. This
technique makes the poem easy to
remember and is therefore often used in
Nursery Rhymes. There are several
derivatives of the term rhyme which
include Double rhyme, Triple rhyme,
Rising rhyme, Falling rhyme, Perfect and
Rhymes are types of poems which have
the the repetition of the same or similar
sounds at the end of two or more words
most often at the ends of lines. This
technique makes the poem easy to
remember and is therefore often used in
Nursery Rhymes. There are several
derivatives of the term rhyme which
include Double rhyme, Triple rhyme,
Rising rhyme, Falling rhyme, Perfect and

31. Humpty Dumpty sat on a
wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a
great fall.
All the King's horses, And
all the King's men
Couldn't put Humpty
together again!

32. Theme
The theme of the poem talks
about the central idea, the
thought behind what the poet
wants to convey. A theme can
be anything from a
description about a person or
thing, a thought or even a
story. In short a theme stands
for whatever the poem is
about.

33. Symbolism
A poem often conveys feelings,
thoughts and ideas using symbols,
this technique is known as
symbolism. A symbol in poetry can
stand for anything and makes the
reader take a systematic
approach which helps him/her
look at things in a different light.
A symbol is a poetry style that is
usually thought of in the
beginning.

35. When the
Author of a
poem writes
something,
but doesn’t
really mean it
Metaphor
Simile
Analogy
Imagery
Personification

36. A comparison
NOT using like
or as.
“”It is
the
East,
and
Juliet
is the
sun!”
The
world
is a
stage! Romeo, “Romeo and Juliet”, William Shakespeare

37. Similes
Assignment:
Find the similes in
“Be Still My Beating Heart”

38. When the
author
provides
visual
pictures as
you read.
In a poem,
you can
often see
the images
the author
writes
about
The spring flowers,
vibrant, electrified with
the newness of spring

39. • A COMPARISON BETWEEN TWO
APPARRENTLY DISSIMILAR THINGS
MADE TO CLARIFY A CERTAIN
POINT ABOUT ONE OF THEM.
EXAMPLES:
Glove is to hand as paint is to wall
Citizens are to president as solar system is to galaxy
Horses are to past societies as computers are to future societies

40. When human like qualities are
given to an animal or object.
Example: An overly gregarious
puppy.
A decrepit old car.

41. Irony When something
that wasn’t
expected happens.
Or when the
opposite of what is
expected happens.
For example:
In
“Incident in a Rose Garden
The devil wasn’t
coming for the
gardener, he was
coming for the
farmer!

42. Diction

43. Connotation:
The way a word
makes us feel.
Words can give us
different feelings
when we hear
them…some
positive, some
negative, and
everything in
between!
Denotation:
The actual
dictionary
definition of the
word.
Word
Choice/Diction
Find some examples in
the poem…
“Meeting at Night,”

44. • RHYME
• RHYTHM
• REPETITION
• REFRAIN
• ALLITERATION
• ASSONANCE
• ONOMATOPOEIA

45. • RHYME – REPETITON OF
SIMILAR SOUNDS.
• RHYTHM – PATTERN OF
STRESSED AND UNSTRESSED
SYLLABLES IN EACH LINE. THE
POEM HAS A REGULAR BEAT.
• RHYME SCHEME – A PATTERN
OF RHYMES IN A POEM.

46. Musical Devices
• Alliteration
When the same
consonant sound is
used throughout a
piece of writing.
candy covered coconuts.
• Assonance
When the same vowel
sound is used in words
throughout a piece of
writing
That is the way we will
pray today, okay?

47. Onomatopoeia
word that expresses
sound…
Zip,
zoom,
bang,
boom