Reviewing Poetry

All the world's a stage,And all the men and

women merely players;They have their exits and

their entrances;And one man in his time

plays many parts

As You Like It

Poetry is an emotional response to life using figurative language.

An hour before the worshipp’d sunPeered forth the golden window of the eastRomeo and Juliet ACT I Scene 1.

Personification is a type of figurative language that gives life to inanimate objects.

Other types of Figurative Other types of Figurative LanguageLanguage

Simile-Two things are compared Simile-Two things are compared

using “like” or “as.”using “like” or “as.”

““I am constant as the northern starI am constant as the northern star,, Of whose true-fix'd and resting quality Of whose true-fix'd and resting quality There is no fellow in the firmament." There is no fellow in the firmament."

--From --From Julius Caesar Julius Caesar (III, i, 60 – 62)(III, i, 60 – 62)

Metaphor—Direct comparison of unlikes

Alliteration—Repetition of initial consonant sounds in successive word.

Done to death by slanderous tongue Was the Hero that here lies" --From Much Ado About Nothing (V, iii, 3-4)

But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks;

It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.

Romeo and Juliet

The The moan of dovesmoan of doves in immemorial elms, in immemorial elms,And murmuring of innumerable beesAnd murmuring of innumerable bees..

Tennyson Tennyson

Apostrophe—Words that are spoken to a person who is absent or imaginary, or to an

object or abstract idea.

O flesh, flesh, how art thou fishified!

Romeo and Juliet. ACT II Scene 4.

Onomatopoeia—The use of words to suggest sounds.

Poetry DevicesPoetry Devices

Rhyme—The occurrence of the same Rhyme—The occurrence of the same or similar sounds in two or more or similar sounds in two or more wordswords

Rhyme scheme—The pattern of end Rhyme scheme—The pattern of end rhyme in a poemrhyme in a poem

O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright! A

It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night A

Like a rich jewel in an Ethiope’s ear; B

Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear! B

Organizational Devices in PoetryVerse—A line of poetry

Couplet—Two lines of rhymed poetry.

Shakespeare often used the “capping couplet” to end a scene, to show the exit of an important character, to end an important speech.

Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind; ("a" rhyme)

And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.

Stanza—An organizational pattern of verse.

Quatrain—A four line stanza or poem.

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? A

Thou art more lovely and more temperate. B

Rough winds do shake the daring buds of May A

And summer’s lease hath all to short a stay. B