Name: ____________________________ Date: ______________ Period: _____ #: _____ 1

POETRY: EXPLORING A GENRE

A poet's work is to name the unnamable, to point at frauds, to take sides,
start arguments, shape the world,
and stop it going to sleep.
~Salman Rushdie

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POETRY: TH E BA SI CS

Knowing a little something about the way different types of poems are organized and about
common elements of poetry can help you

know what to look at when you are

reading. There is no simple formula for what

a poem should or should not look

like. In some poems, the sound and rhyme

are important; in others, the imagery

or figurative language is striking. The

following outlines some of the basics

you will need to know when trying to read poetry. As we explore different types of poems, we will dig
deeper into each of these elements.
POETIC TERM
LINE
STANZA

DEFINITION/EXAMPLE
A line in poetry is like a _______________ in prose.
A stanza in poetry is like a ______________ in prose. They are a
group of lines set off by blank lines. Stanzas are important in poetry
because they give a poem shape and help create meaning.

FREE VERSE

This type of poetry is written without ____________. It typically is

used to mimic ordinary conversation.
An idiom is a common phrase made up of words that cannot be
understood by their literal or ordinary meaning. Look at the
following examples:

IDIOM

Its raining cats and dogs.

Literal Meaning-______________________________
Implied Meaning-_____________________________
Do not pass the buck.
Literal Meaning-______________________________
Implied Meaning-_____________________________

Name: ____________________________ Date: ______________ Period: _____ #: _____ 2

Imagery is language that appeals to the five _____________:
IMAGERY

touch, taste, smell, hearing, and sight. It helps to create a picture in

your mind.
Example:
But the slowly wrought words of love
And the thunderous words of heartbreak
These we hoard.
The poet wants you to imagine hearing the soft, deliberate words of love
exchanged between two people and then the BOOMING thunder of heartbreak.
An allusion is a reference to something with which the reader is
likely to be ____________, such as a person, place, or thing from

ALLUSION

___________ or literature.
Example: She hath Dians wit (from Romeo and Juliet).
This is an allusion to Roman mythology and the goddess Diana.
The three most common types of allusion refer to mythology, the Bible, and
Shakespeares writings.
Figurative language is made up of all the tools that a poet uses to

FIGURATIVE
LANGUAGE

create a special effect or feeling. It includes _____________, simile,

alliteration, personification, and ______________________.
Example: Shy words tiptoeing from mouth to ear.
(PERSONIFICATION)
This means _______ _______________ something. It is the use

REPETITION

of any element (sound, word, phrase, or sentence) more than once.

End rhyme is the repetition of similar sounds at the ends of lines of

END RHYME

poetry.
Internal rhyme occurs within a line when two words have similar

INTERNAL RHYME

sounds.
A repeated regular pattern of rhymes usually found at the ends of
the lines of poems.

RHYME SCHEME

Isabel met an enormous bear,

Isabel, Isabel, didnt care;
The bear was hungry, the bear was ravenous,
The bears big mouth was cruel and cavernous.
The bear said, Isabel, glad to meet you,
How do, Isabel, now Ill eat you!

a
a
b
b
c
c

Name: ____________________________ Date: ______________ Period: _____ #: _____ 3

A symbol is something that stands for something else.
SYMBOL

TONE

Examples:
Dark or black images in poems are often used to
symbolize death.
Light or white images are often used to symbolize life.
Tone is the ___________________ the writer takes toward the
audience, the subject, or a character.
The voice, or _______________, is the character or perspective

VOICE

that is taken on by a writer or poet. Often, the voice is not

identified by name.
The connotation of a word is the _______________ response or
suggestions that a word triggers within you. Often, words can have
positive or negative feelings associated with them.

CONNOTATION

Example: squander
If a person is described as squandering money, there is a
feeling that the person is not being wise about money. Thus,
there is a negative feeling associated with it.
A

DENOTATION

words

denotation

is

the

definition

found

in

the

_________________.
Example: squander
1: to spend extravagantly or foolishly : dissipate, waste <squandered a fortune>
2: to cause to disperse : scatter
3: to lose (as an advantage or opportunity) through negligence or inaction

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STRATEGIES FOR READING POETRY

Reading poetry is like solving a mystery. The poet provides you with clues in the form of words and
phrases. Studying the clues carefully helps you put pieces together to form a complete picture. Use
these strategies to help you in your poetic detective work (Prentice Hall, 705).
1. _________________________________________________________
2. _________________________________________________________
Keep reading when a line has no _______________ at the end.
_______________ at commas, dashes, and semicolons.
Stop at _______________, like periods, question marks, or exclamation points.

Name: ____________________________ Date: ______________ Period: _____ #: _____ 4

3. _________________________________________________________
Look up any words that you do not know and replace them with familiar
_______________.
Use the language you use in _______________ speech in place of formal language.
_______________ the passage to see if your new interpretation makes sense when read
with surrounding text.

4. _________________________________________________________
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A READING PLAN FOR POETRY

You may sometimes wonder what a certain poem means, why people like poetry so much, or why
you should bother with poetry at all. Reading poetry is different from reading prose (i.e. traditional
sentences and paragraphs). Good readers of poetry are always looking for meaning, listening for
sounds, and picturing images from poems in their heads.
Even if you read a poem several times, you will still need a reading strategy. Probably the best
strategy for reading poems is called close reading. That means going word for word and line by line
through a poem. It works especially well with short poems. The plan below, where you read and reread
a poem four times, is a type of close reading.
1. On a first reading, read for ___________________.
Get a feeling for the poems words.
2. On a second reading, read for __________________.
Look for clues that help you understand what the poem is saying.
3. On the third reading, study the _________________ and the _____________ of the poem.
What kind of poem is it? Does it have a rhyme scheme? How many stanzas are in
it?
Examine the images, organizations, and sounds. Think about how they add to the
poems message.
4. On a fourth reading, read for __________________.
What are the mood and tone of the poem? How does the poem make you feel as
you read it?
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Name: ____________________________ Date: ______________ Period: _____ #: _____ 5

PART I: NARRATI VE A ND L YRIC POETR Y

DEFINE: TWO TYPES OF POETRY
Narrative Poetry:
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Lyric Poetry:
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
DESCRIBE: COMMON FIGURES OF SPEECH:
Simile:
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

Example: The old man walked as slowly as a turtle creeping uphill.

Example: She sang like an angel.

Metaphor:
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

Example: The horses coat was a sheet of velvet.

Example: Life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.

Hyperbole:
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Example: I tried a thousand times.
Example: The guard was twelve feet tall with muscles of steel.

Name: ____________________________ Date: ______________ Period: _____ #: _____ 6

Personification:
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

Example: The tree waved happily at us as we walked along the road.

Example: The washing machine danced across the floor.

COMPARING LITERARY WORKS

After reading The Cremation of Sam McGee, Washed in Silver, and Winter, find at least one example of each of
the figures of speech in each poem. Explain each example.
The Cremation of Sam
Washed in Silver
McGee
Simile
Explanation

Metaphor
Explanation

Hyperbole
Explanation

Personification
Explanation

Name: ____________________________ Date: ______________ Period: _____ #: _____ 7

LITERARY ANALYSIS
1. Like a short story, a narrative poem includes a plot, characters, and a setting. Write a brief
explanation of each of these elements from the poem, The Cremation of Sam McGee, in the
boxes below:
Plot

Characters

Setting

2. What is the central conflict that drives the plot of The Cremation of Sam McGee?
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
3. In what ways is The Cremation of Sam McGee different from a short story?
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
4. What is similar about the topics explored and the feelings expressed in Winter and Washed in
Silver?
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
5. Explain which of these poems, Winter and Washed in Silver, would be effective if set to music.
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
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PART II : CONCR ETE P OETR Y AND HAI KU S

Name: ____________________________ Date: ______________ Period: _____ #: _____ 8

DEFINE
Form in Poetry
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
DESCRIBE: DIFFERENT FORMS OF POETRY:
Stanza
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Concrete Poem
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Haiku
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
COMPARING LITERARY WORKS
Use the chart below to compare the attitude toward nature that each poem, Seal, The Pasture, and Three Haiku,
conveys.
Attitude
Words from the Poem that Convey the
Attitude
Seal

The Pasture

Three Haiku

Name: ____________________________ Date: ______________ Period: _____ #: _____ 9

LITERARY ANALYSIS
1. Who do you think is being addressed as you in Seal and The Pasture? Name at least two
details from each poem to support your answer.
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
2. What do you think Bashos favorite season was? Support your answer.
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
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PART III : RH YTH M A ND R HYME IN P OETR Y

DEFINE
Rhythm
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
u

u `

He came/upon/an age
de dumm de dumm de dumm
Meter
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
A poems meter is made up of what kind of feet are used and how many feet are in each line.
u `
u
`
u `

Beset/ by grief,/ by rage

This line of poetry has three feet.
Each foot has two syllables: an unstressed followed by a stressed

Rhyme
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
TYPES OF RHYME:
SINGLE RHYME- love/dove
DOUBLE RHYME- napping/tapping
TRIPLE RHYME- mournfully/scornfully

Name: ____________________________ Date: ______________ Period: _____ #: _____ 10

COMPARING LITERARY WORKS
1. Why can both poems be described as having a regular rhyme scheme?
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
2. How do the rhyme schemes differ? How do the rhythms of the two poems differ?
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
3. Both "Annabel Lee" and "Martin Luther King" pay tribute to a person. In what ways are the poems
different?
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
LITERARY ANALYSIS
1. In your own words, describe the love between the speaker and Annabel Lee. What words and images
in the poem support your description?
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
2. How does the last stanza make the sense of sadness in the poem seem immediate and never-ending?
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
3. What two personal qualities did King bring to this age?
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________

Name: ____________________________ Date: ______________ Period: _____ #: _____ 11

4. What kinds of actions resulted from these personal qualities?
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
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PART I V: SOU ND DEVICES I N POETR Y

SOUND DEVICES
Why are sound devices used in poetry?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
DEFINE: COMMON SOUND DEVICES
Onomatopoeia
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Example: sputter, drip, whisper, hiss, hoot, meow, murmur
Alliteration
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
EXAMPLES

Full fathom five thy father lies

In a summer season, where soft was sun
Assonance
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
EXAMPLES:

would blend again and again

O harp and alter, of the fury fused

Name: ____________________________ Date: ______________ Period: _____ #: _____ 12

Consonance
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
EXAMPLES:
splatters, scatters, spurts
COMPARING LITERARY WORKS
After reading Full Fathom Five, Onomatopoeia, and Maestro, find at least one example of each of the sound devices
in each poem.
Full Fathom Five
Onomatopoeia
Maestro
Onomatopoeia
Alliteration
Assonance

Consonance

LITERARY ANALYSIS
1. How does each of the two poems, Full Fathom Five and Onomatopoeia, involve water?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
2. What happens in each of the two poems, Full Fathom Five and Onomatopoeia?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
3. Which Spanish words are used in Maestro? What do they add to the poem?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

Name: ____________________________ Date: ______________ Period: _____ #: _____ 13

Some Shell Silverstein Favorites.