Poetic Elements

The Basic Parts of Poetry

Poetry

Rhythmic, compressed language that uses figures of speech and imagery to appeal to our emotions

• The most common form of poetry in our daily lives is the music we listen to! As we study poetry, pay attention to the lyrics of the music you listen to. What poetic elements can you find?

Stanza

A group of lines in a poem that form a unit

• Twinkle, twinkle, little star,How I wonder what you are!Up above the world so high,Like a diamond in the sky!

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,How I wonder what you are!*

When the blazing sun is gone,When he nothing shines upon,Then you show your little light,Twinkle, twinkle, all the night.

Denotation

Dictionary definition of a word; the exact meaning

• Skinny (adj.)-- Having little flesh or fat on the body

• Thin (adj.)-- Lean or slender in form, build, or stature

• The denotations of these words are the same. They are even considered synonyms of each other.

Connotation

Emotions or associations attached to certain words

• The connotations of these words are different. The way we feel and what we picture are different.

• Skinny

• Thin

End Rhyme

The words at the end of the line rhyme

• Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow. My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farmhouse near Between the woods and frozen lake The darkest evening of the year. He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if there is some mistake. The only other sound's the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake. The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.

Alliteration

When words near each other have the same beginning sound

• Sally sells seashells by the seashore.

• Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

Onomatopoeia

The definition of the word is the sound of the word

• Snap, Crackle, Pop

Repetition

When a few words or phrases are repeated

• Some examples from Rihanna:

• "Umbrella, ella, ella, eh, eh.."

"Shut up and drive, drive, drive.."

"Please don't stop the music, please don't stop the music.."

Figures of Speech

A word or phrase that describes one thing in terms of something else not literally true

• Figures of Speech is an umbrella under which fall the following:

• Similes• Metaphors• Personification• Idioms

• Hyperboles

Simile

Comparing two things using like or as

• "My love is LIKE a red, red rose."

• “My love is AS pure AS the day is long."

Metaphor

A comparison between two unlike things in which one thing becomes the other

• "Juliet IS the sun."

• "Her eyes ARE homes of silent prayer."

Personification

A special kind of metaphor in which a nonhuman thing or quality has human characteristics

• The warm wind gently kissed my cheek.

• The trees danced merrily.

Idiom

• A phrase or expression with a meaning different from the meanings of the individual words.

• Like a Bump on a Log• Live High off the Hog• Let Your Hair Down• On Cloud Nine• On Pins and Needles• Pot Calling the Kettle Black• Poor as a Church Mouse• Put Your Foot Down• Rain or Shine• Rub Elbows with Someone• Run off at the Mouth• Rotten Apple Spoils the Barrel

Hyperbole

• A figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect

• My dog is so ugly…

• "We had to pay the fleas to live on him!"

• "he has to sneak up on his dish to eat".

• "I have to tie a $100 bill on it so people will pet it!"

• "you can't tell if she's coming or going"

• "he saw himself in a mirror and ran away!".