Poetry Place
QueSPER Research Plan Poetry Work Plan Note-taking Worksheets
Poetic Language
Rhyme - Two words that sound alike. make and take, hot and pot, care and bear
Meter - The rhythm established by the poem -- Rhythm comes through the number of syllables in the line and the accents on the syllables.
Example:
| Christopher Robin goes |
| hoppity, hoppity, |
| hoppity, hoppity, hop. |
| Whenever I tell him |
| politely to stop it, |
| he says he can't |
| possibly stop. |
From "Hoppity" by A. A. Milne
Iambic Pentameter - One type of meter is iambic pentameter. Shakespeare often uses iambic pentameter. "Iambic means the stress is on the second syllable, i.e. good-bye. Pentameter shows us that a line has five "feet" or clusters of two syllables adding up to ten syllables in a line. These "feet" are marked like this
ta DUM │ta DUM │ ta DUM │ ta DUM │ ta DUM
"It hurts│ to do │a sim │ple thing │like cry . "
"Shall I│ compare │thee to │a sum │mer's day . "
Allusion - An allusion is a reference to a person, place, thing or idea. The reference usually is not explained. The mention of the allusion will add detail to the poem for the reader if he or she is familiar with the person, place, thing or idea alluded to by the poet. An "allusion" is not the same an "illusion"
He was in a "Catch-22" situation, if he help Mary with the breadmaking, he would make Aunt Sarah feel unwanted. If he did not, he was sure to have Mary's liquefying temper rain down upon him.
Simile - A simile is a comparison using the words "like" or "as."
- The rabbit was as white as snow.
- Rumpelstiltskin raged and stomped his way around the campfire like a cyclone in a crock pot.
Metaphor - A metaphor is a comparison that does not use the words like or as. The comparison is a direct comparison.
- "The moon's the North Wind's cookie"
- "The South Wind is a baker"
From: "The Moon is the North Wind's Cookie" by Vachel Lindsay
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