Poetry

Elements
of
Poetry
Is a form of writing that
is closely related to
music.
Poets choose words for
their sounds as well as
their meanings.
Sense
Is revealed through the
meaning of words,
images, and symbol.
Diction
Denotative (Literal
meaning) and
Connotative ( Add
Meaning) meanings,
symbols.
Images and Sense
impressions
Author uses 5 Senses in
order to help the reader
imagine exactly what is
being described.
Figures of Speech
is a word or phrase that
possesses a separate
meaning from its literal
definition.
Simile
is a figure of speech that
makes a comparison,
showing similarities between
two different things with the
help of the words “like” or
“as.”
The student moved as fast as
lightning after getting
permission from the teacher
for an early release.

The glow of the tube-light

was as bright as the sunshine.
Metaphor
it makes an implicit,
implied, or hidden
comparison between two
things that are unrelated,
but which share some
common characteristics.
My brother was boiling mad.
(This implies he was too
angry.)

The assignment was a

breeze. (This implies that the
assignment was not difficult.)
Personification
is a figure of speech in
which a thing – an idea
or an animal – is given
human attributes.
The shadow of the moon
danced on the lake.

The wind whispered

through dry grass.
Apostrophe
it speaks directly to
someone who is not
present or is dead, or
speaks to an inanimate
object.
"Twinkle,twinkle,little star,
How I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.”
The Star (By Jane Taylor)
Metonymy
it replaces the name of a
thing with the name of
something else with
which it is closely
associated.
“The pen is mightier than the
sword.” (Pen refers to written
words, and sword to military
force.)

“Let me give you a hand.”

(Hand means help.)
Synecdoche
is a literary device in
which a part of something
represents the whole, or it
may use a whole to
represent a part.
The word "head" can refer to
counting cattle or people.
The word "bread" can be
used to represent food in
general or money
The word "wheels" refers to a
vehicle.
Hyperbole
it involves an
exaggeration of ideas
for the sake of emphasis.
The weather was so hot
that literally everything
was on fire.

The boy was dying to

get a new school bag.
Irony
it is a words used in such a
way that their intended
meaning is different from
the actual meaning of the
words.
The student was given
‘excellent’ on getting
zero in the exam.

My friend’s kids get

along like cats and dogs.
Allusion
is a brief and indirect
reference to a person,
place, thing or idea of
historical, cultural, literary
or political significance.
“Don’t act like a Romeo
in front of her.”
“Hey! Guess who the
new Newton of our
school is?”
Antithesis
is a rhetorical device in
which two opposite
ideas are put together in
a sentence to achieve a
contrasting effect.
Patience is bitter, but
it has a sweet fruit.
You are easy on the
eyes, but hard on the
heart.
Paradox
It is a statement that
appears to be self-
contradictory or silly,
but which may include a
latent truth.
“I must be cruel to be
kind.” (William
Shakespear)Hamlet
Truth is honey, which is
bitter.
Litotes
it employs an understatement
by using double negatives or,
in other words, a positive
statement expressed by
negating its opposite
expressions.
The ice cream was not
too bad.

She is not unlike her

mother.
Oxymoron
is a figure of speech in
which two opposite
ideas are joined to create
an effect.
Paid volunteers were
working for the
company.

All the politicians

agreed to disagree.
Onomatopoeia
is defined as a word
which imitates the
natural sounds of a
thing.
The buzzing bee flew
away.

The sack fell into the

river with a splash.
Sound
Is the result of a
combination of
elements.
Tone color
Alliteration
it is a stylistic device in
which a number of words,
having the same first
consonant sound, occur
close together in a series.
But a better butter
makes a batter better.

A big bully beats a

baby boy.
Assonance
When two or more words,
close to one another repeat
the same vowel sound, but
start with different
consonant sounds.
“Men sell the wedding bells.”

“I must confess that in my

quest I felt depressed and
restless.”
—With Love, by Thin Lizzy
Consonance
refers to repetitive
sounds produced by
consonants within a
sentence or phrase.
She ate seven
sandwiches on a sunny
Sunday last year.
Shelley sells shells by
the seash
Rhythm
Ordered recurrent
alternation of strong and
weak elements in the flow
of sound and silence,
double, triple, running or
common rhyme.
Meter
is a unit of rhythm in
poetry, the pattern of the
beats. It is also called a
foot.
Rhyme scheme
Formal arrangement
of rhymes in a stanza
or the whole poem.
Structure
Arrangement of words,
and lines to fit together
The organization of the
parts to form a whole

Word order
Natural and unnatural
arrangement of word

Syntax
In poetry, it refers the
length of the lines in a
stanza, if long or short,
simple or complex.

Ellipsis
Omitting some words
for economy and effect
Usually changing the
word into dots
Punctuation
Abundance or lack
of punctuation
marks

Shape
Contextual and visual
designs, jumps,
omission of spaces,
capitalization, lower
case