Borrowed and Modified from Ms. Effie
POETRY is words arranged in a rhythmic pattern with regular accents (like beats in music), words which are
carefully selected for sound, accent and meaning to express imaginatively ideas and emotions. Each poem has rhythm,
melody, imagery, and form.
RHYTHM is produced by a recurring pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables and pauses. Each poem has a
metric
pattern (except in “free verse” which has no metrical pattern since it is based on the natural cadences of speech). That is,
the accents of the syllables in the words fall at regular intervals, like the beat of music. This pattern is described by
indicating the kind and number of feet in a regular verse line.
THE FOUR M05T-USED KIND OF FEET
No. of
Technical Name
Syllables
of Kind of Foot
2
iamb, iambic
Accented = ( / ) “DUMM”
Unaccented = (~ ) “de”
~
/
de DUMM
2
trochee, trochaic
/
~
DUMM de
/ ~
/ ~
COM ing, DO it
3
anapest, anapestic
~ ~
/
de de DUMM
~ ~ /
can non ADE,
3
dactyl, dactylic
/
~ ~
DUMM de de
/ ~ ~
/ ~ ~
VIC to ries, TWO of them
Such as
~ /
~ /
a WAY, i WILL
~ ~ /
let us IN
The beat of poetry feet in called meter. Marking lines as the following
are marked to show feet or meter is called scansion:
This line is iambic tetrameter. If meter should vary within a line, it is called inversion.
The number of
 1 foot
 2 feet
 3 feet
feet in a line is expressed as follows:
monometer
 4 feet
dimeter
 5 feet
trimeter
 6 feet
tetrameter
pentameter
hexameter



7 feet
8 feet
9 feet
heptameter
octameter
nonameter
Pauses do not usually figure significantly in scansion, but they do affect the rhythm of a line, just as they affect the rhythm
of music. There are three types of pauses:
 End-stopped which is a pause
 Caesura which is a pause that
 Enjambement which is a line that “runs
at the end of a line.
occurs within a line.
over” to the next line without a pause.
MELODY is like music, each poem has melody (i.e., sound devices). A poet chooses words for their sound, as well
as for their meaning. Rhythm, of course, is a kind of sound device based upon pattern. Euphony (literally “good
sound”) and cacophony (literally “bad sound”) contribute to producing melody, or a musical quality in verse.
One of the principle tools of melody is rhyme — that is where
two words have the same sound on their last accented vowel
preceded by different consonants, such as:

Single (Masculine) Rhyme - dame, same / love, dove

Double (Feminine) Rhyme - napping, tapping / weather, heather

Triple Rhyme - mournfully, scornfully victorious, glorious
Sight (Eye) Rhyme in which two words look alike but don’t sound
alike, such as “LOVE” and “JOVE” or “DAUGHTER” and
“LAUGHTER.”
Slant (Imperfect) Rhyme in which two words are nearly rhymed
but have a slight variation in vowel sound, such as “LAKE” and
“FATE.” NOTE: Sometimes what is now a sight rhyme was once a
true rhyme, but pronunciation changes have occurred, such as
“AGAIN” and “RAIN.”
Besides rhyme, poets also use other sound effects:
Alliteration is the repetition of similar speech sounds
in closely associated words or syllables. There are
three kinds of alliteration:

Consonantal Alliteration - Peter Piper picked a peck of
pickled peppers.

Vowel Alliteration - Apt alliteration’s artful aid is often
an occasional ornament in prose.

Internal Alliteration - The moan of doves in
immemorial elms, And murmuring of innumerable bees.
Assonance is the repetition of identical vowel sounds
in syllables that have different consonant sounds, such
as “LAKE” and “FAKE” or “In Xanadu did Kubla Khan”
(which repeats only vowel sounds).
Identical Rhyme (Rime Riche) in which two words are spelled
differently but have the same pronunciation (also called
homonyms), such as “TWO” and “TOO” or “RITE” and “RIGHT.”
Consonance is the repetition of identical consonant
sounds in syllables that have different vowel sounds,
such as “BILL” and “BALL” or “BORN” and “BURN.”
End Rhyme in which the rhyming words occur at the ends of lines
of poetry.
Onomatopoeia is the use of words which sound like
their meanings, such as “HISS,” “MURMUR” and so on.
A really skillful poet may merely use S-sounds in a
poem about a snake, rather than the word “HISS.”
Internal Rhyme in which the rhyme occurs inside a line, such as –
“Let’s BEAT the HEAT.”
Borrowed and Modified from Ms. Effie
IMAGERY is the use of figures of speech which are concrete (refers to a sensory experience). The sun perceived by
the senses is concrete; the enlightenment associated with it is abstract (perceived by the intellect, not the senses).
Thus, we have the image of a peacock which serves as the vehicle of the comparison. Its theme or meaning may be
something abstract like vanity or beauty, but the image must be concrete.
Generally speaking, there are three kinds of figures of speech: comparisons, substitutions, and ambiguities.
Comparisons

Analogy: A comparison of two things, alike in certain aspects – a simile is an expressed analogy; a metaphor is an implied one.

Metaphor: Two unlike things compared directly, implying several similar qualities, such as “The river is a snake which coils on itself .”

Simile: Two unlike things compared using “like” or “as,” implying only one similar quality, such as “The man paced like a hungry lion.”

Personification: Giving human qualities to inanimate objects or non-human creatures, such as “The trees danced in the breeze.”

Apostrophe: Addressing some abstract object as if it were animate, such as “O world! Tell me thy pain!” Thus, it is a kind of personification.

Allusion: Referring metaphorically to persons, places or things from history or previous literature, with which the reader is expected to have
enough familiarity to make extended associations, such as “The new kid is as mean as Grendel and twice as ugly” or “He must think he’s some
kind of Superman.”

Allegory: A form of extended metaphor in which objects, persons, and actions in a narrative are equated with meanings that lie outside the
narrative itself, such as Everyman. Special kinds of allegories include the fable and the parable.

Conceit: An extended or elaborate metaphor which forms the framework of an entire poem with all comparisons being interrelated in some way,
such as “What Is Our Life?” by Raleigh.

Symbolism: The use of one object to represent or suggest another object or an idea. Thus, a rose might be used to symbolize the loved one or
love in general, depending on the context.
Substitutions

Epithet - an adjective or phrase that is used to express the characteristic of a person or thing; as in "Fallen cherub" or "myriads of immortal
spirits"

Metonymy: Substitution of one word for another closely related word, such as “The pot’s boiling” or “The White House announced.”

Synechdoche: Substitution of part for the whole, such as “All hands on deck.”

Synaesthesia: Substitution of one sensory response for another (or the concurrent stimulation of several senses), such as “a blue note” or “cool
green” or “The blind man turned his face to feel the sun.”
Ambiguities

Hyperbole: Saying more than is true, an over-exaggeration, such as “He wore his fingers to the bone.”

Meiosis: Saying less than is true, an under-exaggeration, such as “The reports of my death have been exaggerated.”

Irony: Saying the opposite to what is true, such as “War is kind.”

Antithesis: Using contrasts for an accumulative effect, such as “Man proposes; God disposes.”

Oxymoron: An antithesis which brings together two sharply contradictory terms, such as “wise fool,” “little big man,” “eloquent silence,” and
“loving hate.”

Litotes: A form of understatement in which a thing is affirmed by stating the negative of its opposite, such as “He was not unmindful” which
actually means he was mindful.

Paradox: A statement which while seemingly contradictory or absurd may actually be well- founded or true; a “logic twist,” such as “Everything I
say is a lie.”

Pun: A play on words based on the similarity of sound between two words with different meanings, such as “She offered her honor; he honored
her offer; and all night long he was on her and off her.”

Neologism: A word concocted for deliberate effect, such as “slithy” from “lithe” and “slimy,” “frumious” from “fuming” and “furious.” Some such
words actually become a part of the language, such as “smog,” “brunch,” or “motel.” Sometimes called a coined word or a portmanteau word.

Sarcasm: A type of irony in which a person appears to be praising something while he is actually insulting the thing. Its purpose is to injure or hurt:
POETIC LICENSE means that a poet is allowed to break rules in order to improve his poem in some way. For
example, he may break a spelling rule to make his rhyme or his meter more perfect, such as using “‘oft” instead of “often.”
The whole point of “poetic license” is dependent upon the poet’s knowledge of the very rules he is breaking.
Irregularities should be deliberately planned by the poet to establish a desired poetic effect; they should not be
unintentional errors.
Borrowed and Modified from Ms. Effie
SYNTAX
is the arrangement of words in meaningful patterns. The arrangements normally follow the accepted rules of
grammar usage (the patterns of grammar). We generally don't need to pay much attention to syntax in conversations and writing
because following the rules is so basic to the use of language that we have a breakdown in communication if the patterns of
grammar are not observed correctly, thus resulting in a "what did you say?" response. However, knowledge of how syntax works
can help us understand how it affects communication
Analyzing syntax in literature
When we examine an author's use of syntax in order to achieve a particular effect in his/her writing, we are evaluating tangi ble
devices, which the author may have manipulated to create an emotional or intellectual effect. How the author organi zes the
words creates meaning and effect. Examining the author's choices in his/her arrangement of words allows us to better
understand the author's message. Sentence length and patterns, dashes, rhythm, parallelism, word order --all contribute to the
emotional effects of a literary passage. They create connections between the words, which creates meaning.
The following are common techniques for manipulating syntax:

Unusual (inverted) or unexpected word order. Poets in particular are fond of inverting word order to make it sound
"poetic", rather than just ordinary speech. Look at the opening line of Robert Frost's poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy
Evening": "Whose woods these are I think I know." Frost has avoided conventional word order by reversing the two units of
four words (I think I know whose woods these are).

Sentence length (especially variations in the length of sentences)
 telegraphic - shorter than 5 words in length
 short - approximately 5 words in length
 medium - approximately 18 words in length
 long - long and involved – 30 words or more length
Are sentences simple, compound, or complex?
 A simple sentence contains one subject and one verb [the singer bowed to her adoring audience.]
 A compound sentence contains two independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or) or by a
semicolon [The singer bowed to the audience, but she sang no encores.]
 A complex sentence contains an independent clause and one or more subordinate clauses [You said that you would tell the
truth.]
 A compound-complex sentence contains two or more principal clauses and one or more subordinate clauses [The singer
bowed while the audience applauded, but she sang no encores.]

Sentence Types
 Declarative: A sentence that makes a statement and ends with a period.
 Imperative: A sentence that issues a command and ends with a period or exclamation mark.
 Exclamatory: A sentence that shows strong emotion and ends with an exclamation point
 Interrogatory: A sentence that asks a question and ends with a question mark.
 Rhetorical question – a special type of interrogative sentence is the rhetorical question. A rhetorical question is one that
requires no answer because the answer is obvious and does not need to be stated. The speaker (of the rhetorical question) is not
looking for an answer but is making some kind of a point, as in an argument.

Punctuation. Where do commas, semi-colons, and periods fall within the sentence? What is the relationship between
punctuation and stanzas in a poem?

Parallel structure creates balance and emphasis by using the same pattern of words to show that two or more words
or ideas are of equal importance; ("I came, I saw, I conquered.")

Use of similar words (for example, a series of sentences or lines of poetry beginning with the same type of word.
Running, jumping, and sliding give a sense of continuous motion)

Word order that imitates the action the words describe (mimetic syntax) or a shift in word order (generally signals an
important idea)
DICTION is primarily the poet’s choice of words.










Concrete - words that stimulate some kind of sensory response in the reader (dog, cat, classroom, candy bar)
Abstract - words that do not appeal imaginatively to the reader's senses (love, hate, feelings, emotions)
Formal - Language that is lofty, dignified, and impersonal. (Warrior or Apparel)
Standard - Language that is not as lofty or impersonal as formal diction; similar to everyday speech. (Soldier or Clothes)
Low – language that is used to represent a lower economic status or connotation. Includes slang and vulgarity (Grunt or duds)
Colloquial - A level of language in a work that approximates the speech of ordinary people. Informal and/or slang.
Connotation - What a word suggests beyond its basic definition; a word's overtones of meaning.
Denotation - The basic definition or dictionary meaning of a word.
Monosyllabic – one syllable in length
Polysyllabic – more than one syllable in length
Borrowed and Modified from Ms. Effie
FORM: Every poem has form. A poet can arrange his poem so that you will read it as he wants you to read it to get its
sound, rhythm, and emphasis. The length of lines and the location of pauses affect the speed at which you read his poem. In
modern free verse the very typographical arrangement of words in lines produces emphasis, just as regular rhythm and rhyme
produce emphasis in regular verse.
The appearance of the poem is often a clue to its form, since form is usually
determined by the number of lines, the length of the lines, the rhythmic pattern,
and/or the rhyming scheme. The rhyming scheme (rhyme pattern) can be
determined only by looking at the form of the whole poem. Rhyme schemes
are indicated by the use of letters to designate rhyming combinations:
KINDS OF POETRY ACCORDING TO FORM: Regular Verse, Blank Verse, Free Verse
2
2
3
4
4
What It’s Called
rhymed couplet
heroic couplet
tercet, triplet
quatrain
ballad quatrain
REGULAR VERSE: Rhyme and Rhythm
What It Is
2 lines with identical rhymes
2 lines with identical rhymes
3 lines – any rhyme scheme, any meter
4 lines – any rhyme scheme, any meter
4 lines rhyming a b c b; 1st & 3rd lines iambic tetrameter, 2nd & 4th lines iambic trimeter
5
5
quintet
cinquain
5 lines – any rhyme scheme, any meter
5 lines – no rhyme, no meter BUT consisting respectively of 2, 4, 6. 8 and, 2 syllables a line
6
sestet
6 lines (often 3 sets of couplets) any rhyme scheme, any meter
7
8
8
rhyme/rime royal
octave
ottava rima
7 lines rhyming a b a b b c c iambic pentameter
8 lines – any rhyme scheme, any meter
8 lines rhyming a b a b a b c c iambic pentameter
No. of
Lines
9
Spenserian stanza
9 lines rhyming a b a b b c b c c lines 1 - 8 iambic pentameter line 9 iambic hexameter
14
sonnet
14 lines iambic pentameter
English (Shakespearian) - 3 quatrains + 1 couplet abab cdcd efef gg
Italian (Petrarchan) - 1 octave + 1 sestet abbaabba cdecde OR cdcdee OR cdccdc OR…
19
villanelle
19 lines – 5 tercets + 1 quatrain
39
sestina
39 lines divide into six sestets and a three-line envoy. The same words that end the lines in
the first sestet will end the lines in all the others in a different but prescribed order.
BLANK VERSE
FREE VERSE
Any number of lines No rhyme - Usually iambic pentameter
Any number of lines No rhyme - No meter
POETRY CLASSIFIED BY CONTENT
Narrative  A nondramatic poem which presents a narrative (story), whether simple or complex, long or short.
Poetry
 Specific Forms: ballad, epic
Dramatic
Poetry
 Poetry which employs dramatic form or dramatic techniques as a means of achieving poetic ends.
 Specific Forms: dramatic monologue
Lyric
Poetry
 A comparatively short, non-narrative poem in which a single speaker presents a state of mind or an emotional
state. Specific Forms






An EPITHALAMION is a poem written for a wedding
An EPITAPH is a short poem using written for a tombstone
A DIRGE is a lament for the dead, usually shorter than an elegy. An ELEGY is a formal lament that mourns the death of a
particular person or idea.
An ODE tends to be a longer lyric poem with a serious subject written in an elevated style. The Ode is very emotional and
pays respect to a person/thing. The speaker directly addresses the subject.
The SONNET was originally a love poem which dealt with the lover’s sufferings and hopes. It originated in Italy and became
popular in England in the Renaissance. The sonnet uses a single stanza of (usually) fourteen lines and an intricate rhyme
pattern (see stanza forms).
A PASTORAL deals with the love and lives of shepherds (a rustic country life)
Quoting from a Poem
RULE 1: Whenever you mention the title of a poem, put quotation marks around it.
RULE 2: Whenever you quote a word or phrase that appears in the poem, put quotation marks around it and INTEGRATE the
quoted material within your own sentence.
RULE 3: Whenever you quote a phrase that begins on one line but ends on the next, indicate where the first line stops by using A
SLASH MARK. Example: The speaker “indulged/a forward feeling, a tremble” as he is torn between mounting the motorcycle and
riding away, or dutifully looking for its owner.
Borrowed and Modified from Ms. Effie
Miscellaneous Poetry Terminology
 invocation -- calling on a Muse or God for inspiration, usually occurs at the beginning of the poem (Milton, Paradise Lost)
 carpe diem -- seize the day; generally, a genre of poetry encouraging sex while one is still young and beautiful
 homily – an inspirational saying or platitude
 juxtaposition is a poetic and rhetorical device in which normally unassociated ideas, words, or phrases are placed next to one another,
creating an effect of surprise and wit: The apparition of these faces in the crowd:/Petals on a wet, black bought (“In a Station of the
Metro” by Ezra Pound).
Poetry Time Periods and Movements








From Homer: Narrative Poetry. Epic Adventures
English Renaissance: 1500-1650
o Renewal; Promotion of Arts; Sonnet is very popular; Also lyrical and pastoral; Themes= love, religion
o William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, Ben Johnson, Sir Walter Raleigh, Francis Bacon
Metaphysical Poets: 1630-1700
o Philosophy dealing with nature of existence, truth, and knowledge; Introspective; Human soul and God; Romantic
love; Irony, paradox, conceits, and wit
o John Donne, Andrew Marvell, John Milton, George Herbet
Romantic Period: 1750-1850
o Romantic Period (Europe): Poetry= language of the people; direct, informal language; subject= beauty of nature
and world, emotion; lyrical, odes, ballads, pastoral

Wordsworth, Keats, Percy Shelley, George Gordon, Byron, Samuel Coleridge, William Blake
Later: Elizabeth Browning, Robert Browning Alfred, Lord Tennyson
o Romantic Period (US); Transcendentalism; Realism/ Naturalism: similar to England; human spirituality and soul;
objects had universal dimension to them

Ralph Emerson, Poe, Henry Longfellow, Walt Whitman, Henry Thoreau, Dickinson
Modern Period: 1900-1945
o Chaotic world; rejection of tradition; individual's relationship to society; psychological exploration. dominated by free
verse
o William Williams, Cummings, Marianne Moore, Elliot, Frost, Carl Sanburg, Pound, Wallace Stevens
Harlem Renaissance: 1900-1945
o 1920s; New York; African Americans
o Hughes, Paul Dunbar, Dubois
Post Modernism: 1945- 4/2/2014
o allusions to popular culture
o Robert Lowell, Brooks, Plath, Sexton, Rich, Baraka, Levertov, Ted Hughes, Creeley, Wilbur, Collins
The Beats: 1950-1960
o
Improv style; Free flowing; experimental; jazz-like
o Ginsberg, Snyder, Ferlinghetti
Poetry: Essay Format
Introduction
Conclusion
Body




Make sure your body paragraphs address all parts of the
prompt
Offer insigth into how the work makes a greater statement
about the human experience
Do not make judgemental statements about the text, even if
complimentary – your task is to analyze the literature based on
the prompt
Write your essay using formal language and present tense
Borrowed and Modified from Ms. Effie
Essay Style Guide
Diction
Concrete
Abstract
Formal (high)
Low
Colloquial
Connotation
Third Person
Limited
Consonance
Personification
Standard
(middle)
Third Person
Omniscient
Onomatopoeia
Understatement
Point of
View
Sound
Imagery
First Person
Central
Alliteration
Simile
First Person
Peripheral
Assonance
Metaphor
Third Person
Objective
Pun
Overstatement
Stream of
Consciousness
Euphony
Apostrophe
Cacophony
Hyperbole
Irony
Syntax
Verbal
Word Order
Dramatic
Punctuation
Cosmic
Perspective
Oxymoron
Interruptions
Somber
serious
Irony
Situational
Sentence
Length
Forbidding
Humorous
Satire
Jovial
Ironic
Exageration
Mysterious
Angry
Caricature
Angry
Didactic
Ribald
Paradox
Parallel
Structure
Threatening
Questioning
Tongue and
cheek
Mood
Tone
Humor
Purpose
Entertain
Convince
Explain
Inform
Describe
Denotation
Synecdoche /
Metonymy
Similar Words
Shifts
Anticipatory
Sarcastic
Dark/evil
mocking