Unit 5: Introduction to Poetry

The language of poetry is musical and the word choices are precise.

One of the major distinctions between poetry and prose is the use of the line. A line of poetry is a single row of words. In prose, sentences are the basic units of a piece of writing. Poets, however, work with both the sentence and the line.

Stanzas are made up of lines in the same way that paragraphs are made up of sentences. The number of lines in a stanza helps to determine the kind of stanza it is. Some common kinds of stanzas include the couplet, which is a two-line stanza, and the quatrain, which is a four-line stanza. Some short poems are written in one continuous stanza.

A lyric poem expresses the emotions of the poem’s speaker, or narrator. Lyric poetry often focuses on a single image or idea.

A lyric poem expresses the emotions of the poem’s speaker, or narrator.

Narrative poetry tells a story and is frequently longer than lyric poetry. Narrative poems often include many of the same literary elements as fiction, such as characters and plot.

A sonnet is a fourteen-line poem that usually explores the theme of romantic love. Sonnets are rhymed and use a regular rhythm.

Originating in Japan, haikus are short three-line poems that describe a single image or scene, usually from nature. Traditionally, the first and third lines of a haiku have five syllables, while the second line has seven.

Free verse does not use consistent rhymes or rhythms. Free verse can take any shape and address any subject.

Figurative language is anything written or spoken that is not meant to be taken literally.

A metaphor is a figure of speech in which one thing is spoken or written about as if it were another.

A simile also compares one thing to another, but uses the words like or as.

Hyperbole is an exaggeration used to create an effect or to make a point.

Personification is a figure of speech in which something not human is described as if it were human.

An image is a concrete representation of an object or an experience. It is the vivid mental picture created in the reader’s mind by a poem’s language. When considered together, the images in a literary work are referred to as imagery.

An image is a concrete representation of an object or an experience. It is the vivid mental picture created in the reader’s mind by a poem’s language. When considered together, the images in a literary work are referred to as imagery.

Rhyme is the repetition of sounds at the ends of words. For example, the word soon rhymes with moon. Sometimes a rhyme is not exact, like step and stop. This is called a slant rhyme.

Rhythm is the pattern of beats, or stressed syllables, in a line of poetry.

If the rhythm follows a regular pattern, it is called meter.

Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginnings of words.

A symbol is a thing that stands for itself and something else. Some traditional symbols include doves for peace and owls for wisdom. Symbols can also be unique to a particular piece of literature or author, and will often provide clues about the poet’s intended meaning.