Poetry Vocabulary

Poetry Form • FORM - the appearance of the

words on the page/ the layout

• LINE - a group of words together on one line of the poem

• STANZA - a group of lines arranged together

[a paragraph in a poem]

Martin Luther King, Jr.

He had a dream.He understood

the sturdy graceof brotherhood.

He had a dream–that simple joy

would gently blesseach girl and boy.

He shared his dream.His wise words

shone:“Join hands.”

“We cannot walk alone.”

He had a dreamall hearts can sing:“This is our hope…let freedom ring.”

~ Eileen Spinelli

Hyperbole

is when an exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect.

I Ate a Spicy Pepper

I ate a spicy pepperFrom my brother on a dare.

The pepper caught my head on fireAnd burned off all my hair.

My mouth erupted lavaAnd my tongue began to melt.

My ears were shooting jets of steam.At least that’s how they felt.

I ricocheted around the room.I ran across the ceiling.

I dove right in the freezerTo relieve the burning feeling.

I drank a thousand soda popsAnd chewed a ton of ice

To try to stop the scorchingOf that spicy pepper’s spice.

At last, the flames extinguished,I admitted to my brother,

“That pepper was the best one yet.May I please have another?”

Simile- a comparison of two things using the words like or as.

Bob is hungry as a wolf.• Bob and wolf are the two

things being compared, using “as”

Sue smells like a rose.• Sue & rose are the two

things being compared, using “like”

The Warm and the ColdFreezing dusk is closingLike a slow trap of steel On trees and roads and hills and all That can no longer feel. But the carp is in its depth Like a planet in its heaven. And the badger in its bedding Like a loaf in the oven. And the butterfly in its mummy Like a viol in its case. And the owl in its feathers Like a doll in its lace.

Snippet from “The Warm and the Cold”

-Ted Hughes

Sue is a rose, filling the room with her sweet scent.•Sue (or Sue’s scent) and rose are being compared.

Metaphor- a comparison between two objects without using words like or as

“Hope” is the thing with feathers - (314)

Emily Dickinson 1830–1886

“Hope” is the thing with feathers –

That perches in the soul –

And sings the tune without the words –

And never stops - at all -

And sweetest - in the Gale – is heard –

And sore must be the storm –

That could abash the little Bird

That kept so many warm -

I’ve heard it in the chilliest land –

And on the strangest Sea –

Yet - never - in Extremity,

It asked a crumb - of me.

““Hope” is a thing with feathers--,” which is a metaphor since it is referring to a thing with feathers being hope. Since the phrase or sentence doesn't stop there, but keeps going throughout the whole poem, it becomes an extended metaphor.

Onomatopoeia- the use of words whose sounds suggest their meanings.

Ex: crash, bang, whoosh, buzz

Examples: •The eagle whizzed past the buzzing bees.•“whizzed” and “buzzing”•“Rip-roar” and “stutters

The Rusty Spigot by Eve Merriam

The rusty spigotsputters,

uttersa splutter,

spatters a smattering of drops,gashes wider;

slash,splatters,scatters,spurts,

finally stops sputteringand plash!

gushes rushes splashesclear water dashes

Repetition- the repetition of a sound, words, phrase, line or stanza

Last Night I Dreamed of Chickens by Jack Prelutsky

Last night I dreamed of chickens,there were chickens everywhere,they were standing on my stomach,they were nesting in my hair,they were pecking at my pillow,they were hopping on my head,they were ruffling up their feathersas they raced about my bed.

they were on the chairs and tables,they were on the chandeliers,they were roosting in the corners,they were clucking in my ears,there were chickens, chickens, chickensfor as far as I could see...when I woke today, I noticedthere were eggs on top of me.

Rhyme- the repetition of similar sounding words

Internal RhymeIs the type of rhyme in which a word at the end of the verse rhymes with another word in the same line.

Examples of Internal Rhyme

• Bright night, a full moon above.• “bright” and “night” • We will stay today and then we must go.• “stay” and “today”

End Rhyme Is the most common type of rhyme that occurs in the final syllable of a verse or line.

A Poison Tree

By William Blake 1757–1827

I was angry with my friend;

I told my wrath, my wrath did end.

I was angry with my foe:

I told it not, my wrath did grow.

Rhyme Scheme

The pattern of rhyme in a poem

Use the letters of the alphabet to represent sounds to be able to visually “see” the pattern. (See next slide for an example.)

There once was a big brown cat a That liked to eat a lot of mice. b He got all round and fat a Because they tasted so nice. b

Whose woods these are I think I know. a 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

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost

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

Imagery Imagery- to use figurative language to represent objects, actions, and ideas in a way that appeals to our physical senses. Purpose is to create an IMAGE

in the reader’s mind.

Poets use imagery to create a picture in the reader’s mind or to remind the reader of a familiar sensation.

Personification- when a poet describes an animal or object as if it were human or had human qualities.

Example:The wind whispered her name.• Wind is being personified:

“wind whispered”, because “wind” can’t actually “whisper.”

A Thunderstorm by Emily Dickinson

The wind begun to rock the grassWith threatening tunes and low, - He flung a menace at the earth,A menace at the sky.

The leaves unhooked themselves from treesAnd started all abroad;The dust did scoop itself like handsAnd throw away the road.

The wagons quickened on the streets,The thunder hurried slow;The lightning showed a yellow beak,And then a livid claw.

The birds put up the bars to nests,The cattle fled to barns;There came one drop of giant rain,And then, as if the hands

That held the dams had parted hold,The waters wrecked the sky,But overlooked my father's house,Just quartering a tree.

Symbolism-object, animal, or person representing something other than itself.• The rose is a symbol of love.• Iron and steel are symbols of

strength and resolve.• The dove symbolizes peace, as do

the olive and the lamb.

Assonance- takes place when two or more words close to one another repeat the same vowel sound, but start with different consonant sounds.

Examples: We light fire on the mountain.I feel depressed and restless.Go and mow the lawn.Johnny went here and there and everywhere.The engineer held the steering to steer the vehicle.

The use of assonance in Robert Frosts poem “Fire and Ice”:

“He gives his harness bells a shakeTo ask if there is some mistake.The only other sound’s the sweepOf easy wind and downy flake.The woods are lovely, dar and deep.But I have promises to keep,And miles to go before I sleep,And miles to go before I sleep.”

William Wordsworth uses assonance to create an internal rhyme in his poem “Daffodils”:

“I wandered lonely as a cloudThat floats on high o‘er vales and hills,When all at once I saw a crowd,A host, of golden daffodils;Beside the lake, beneath the trees,Fluttering and dancing in the breeze…”

Consonance-refers to repetitive sounds produced by consonants within a sentence or phrase.

Rap rejects my tape deck, ejects projectileWhether Jew or gentile, I rank top percentileMany styles, more powerful than gamma raysMy grammar pays, like Carlos Santana plays.”(The lines have been taken from the song ‘Zealots ‘by Fugees.)

Mood- a literary element that evokes certain feelings or vibes in readers through words and descriptions.

Charles Dickens creates a calm and peaceful mood in “Pickwick Papers”:“The river, reflecting the clear blue of the sky, glistened and sparkled as it flowed noiselessly on.”

Tone- is an attitude of a writer toward a subject.

Tone is generally conveyed through the choice of words or the view point of a writer on a particular subject.

Robert Frost in the last stanza of his poem “The Road Not taken” gives us an insight into the effect of tone:

I shall be telling this with a sighSomewhere ages and ages hence:Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,I took the one less traveled by,And that has made all the difference.

Frost tells us about his past with a “sigh” the gives the above lines an unhappy tone. This tone convinces us into thinking that Frost is telling us resentfully of a choice in the past about which he was not happy or satisfied in the present.

Alliteration is the repetition of the same sounds or of the same kinds of sounds at the beginning of words.

Example: • The dark dance of death whisked her

away.• Repetition of the “d” sound in “dark

dance of death”

Allusion- a brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, literary or political significance.

It does not describe in detail the person or thing to which it refers.

Allusions in Everyday Speech• Don’t act like a Romeo in front of her.”• – “Romeo” is a reference to Shakespeare’s Romeo,

a passionate lover of Juliet, in “Romeo and Juliet”.• The rise in poverty will unlock the Pandora’s box of

crimes.• – This is an allusion to one of Greek Mythology’s

origin myth, “Pandora’s box”.• “Hey! Guess who the new Newton of our school

is?”• – “Newton”, means a genius student, alludes to a

famous scientist Isaac Newton.

Free Verse Poetry • Free verse is one of the simplest,

and yet most difficult, type of poetry to write.

• It is a free form of poetry- follows no specific form and does not have rhyme or meter

Thrill RideUp. Up.Click, click.Wind blowssharp in my ears.My heart jumps. Skips.It’s up. It’s up higher.It’s up, up the highest.Hands grasp at the clouds.Then a forever pause. Still. Waiting.Finally. Whoosh!Steep dropdown,down,down.

HaikuA Japanese poem composed of three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables. Haiku often reflect on some aspect of nature.

An old silent pond . . .A frog jumps into the pond.

Splash! Silence again.

Concrete Poem

Is known as a shape poem. The words take the shape of a picture that relates to the content of the poem.

Narrative Poem• A poem that tells a story.• Generally longer than the

other styles of poetry because the poet needs to establish characters and a plot.

“Out, Out”- by Robert FrostThe buzz-saw snarled and rattled in the yardAnd made dust and dropped stove-length sticks of wood,Sweet-scented stuff when the breeze drew across it.And from there those that lifted eyes could countFive mountain ranges one behind the otherUnder the sunset far into Vermont.And the saw snarled and rattled, snarled and rattled,As it ran light, or had to bear a load.And nothing happened: day was all but done.Call it a day, I wish they might have saidTo please the boy by giving him the half hourThat a boy counts so much when saved from work.His sister stood beside them in her apronTo tell them "Supper." At the word, the saw,As if to prove saws knew what supper meant,Leaped out at the boy's hand, or seemed to leap--He must have given the hand. However it was,Neither refused the meeting. But the hand!

The boy's first outcry was a rueful laugh,As he swung toward them holding up the handHalf in appeal, but half as if to keepThe life from spilling. Then the boy saw all--Since he was old enough to know, big boyDoing a man's work, though a child at heart--He saw all spoiled. "Don't let him cut my hand off--The doctor, when he comes. Don't let him, sister!"So. But the hand was gone already.The doctor put him in the dark of ether.He lay and puffed his lips out with his breath.And then--the watcher at his pulse took fright.No one believed. They listened at his heart.Little--less--nothing!--and that ended it.No more to build on there. And they, since theyWere not the one dead, turned to their affairs.

RefrainIs a verse or phrase that is repeated at intervals throughout a song or poem, usually after the chorus or stanza.

Example of a poem with a refrain: The cat so silentLay curled up on the rugThe fire a blazeThe room so snug.

Purring, purringQuiet and stillPurring, purringContent from his fill.Tatters the catBig, fat cat.

He had just eatenA dinner of fishWhat a treat to haveFilling up his dish.

Purring, purringQuiet and stillPurring, purringContent from his fill.

Tatters the catBig, fat cat.

No more cold for the dayHe was in for the nightFun he had hadWhen the day was light.

Purring, purringQuiet and stillPurring, purringContent from his fill.

Tatters the catBig, fat cat.