Elements of Poetry
Elements of Poetry
◼ Rhythm
◼ Sound
◼ Imagery
◼ Form
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Rhythm
◼ Rhythm is the flow of the beat in
a poem.
◼ Gives poetry a musical feel.
◼ Can be fast or slow, depending
on mood and subject of poem.
◼ You can measure rhythm in
meter, by counting the beats in
each line.
◼ (See next two slides for
examples.)
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Rhythm Example
The Pickety Fence by David McCord
The pickety fence
The pickety fence
Give it a lick it's
The pickety fence
Give it a lick it's
A clickety fence
Give it a lick it's a lickety fence
Give it a lick
Give it a lick
Give it a lick
With a rickety stick
pickety The rhythm in this poem is fast –
pickety to match the speed of the stick
pickety striking the fence.
pick.
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Rhythm Example
Where Are You Now?
When the night begins to fall
And the sky begins to glow
You look up and see the tall
City of lights begin to grow –
In rows and little golden squares
The lights come out. First here, then there
Behind the windowpanes as though The rhythm in this poem is
A million billion bees had built slow – to match the night
Their golden hives and honeycombs gently falling and the
lights slowly coming on.
Above you in the air
.
By Mary Britton Miller
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Sound
Writers love to use interesting sounds in
their poems. After all, poems are meant to
be heard. These sound devices include:
◼ Rhyme
◼ Repetition
◼ Alliteration
◼ Onomatopoeia
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Rhyme
◼ Rhymes are words that end with
the same sound. (Hat, cat and bat
rhyme.)
◼ Rhyming sounds don’t have to be
spelled the same way. (Cloud and
allowed rhyme.)
◼ Rhyme is the most common sound
device in poetry.
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Rhyming Patterns
◼ Poets can choose from ◼ AABB – lines 1 & 2 rhyme
a variety of different and lines 3 & 4 rhyme
rhyming patterns. ◼ ABAB – lines 1 & 3 rhyme
◼ (See next four slides and lines 2 & 4 rhyme
for examples.) ◼ ABBA – lines 1 & 4 rhyme
and lines 2 & 3 rhyme
◼ ABCB – lines 2 & 4 rhyme
and lines 1 & 3 do not
rhyme
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AABB Rhyming Pattern
First Snow
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ABAB Rhyming Pattern
Oodles of Noodles
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ABBA Rhyming Pattern
From “Bliss”
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ABCB Rhyming Pattern
The Alligator
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Repetition
◼ Repetition occurs when
poets repeat words, phrases,
or lines in a poem.
◼ Creates a pattern.
◼ Increases rhythm.
◼ Strengthens feelings, ideas
and mood in a poem.
◼ (See next slide for example.)
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Repetition Example
The Sun
Some one tossed a pancake,
A buttery, buttery, pancake.
Someone tossed a pancake
And flipped it up so high,
That now I see the pancake,
The buttery, buttery pancake,
Now I see that pancake
Stuck against the sky.
by Sandra Liatsos
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Alliteration
◼ Alliteration is the
repetition of the first
consonant sound in
words, as in the
nursery rhyme “Peter
Piper picked a peck
of pickled peppers.”
The snake slithered silently
◼ (See next slide for along the sunny sidewalk.
example.)
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Alliteration Example
This Tooth
I jiggled it
jaggled it
jerked it.
I pushed
and pulled
and poked it.
But –
As soon as I stopped,
And left it alone
This tooth came out
On its very own!
by Lee Bennett Hopkins
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Onomatopoeia
◼ Words that represent the
actual sound of something
are words of onomatopoeia.
Dogs “bark,” cats “purr,”
thunder “booms,” rain
“drips,” and the clock “ticks.”
◼ Appeals to the sense of
sound.
◼ (See next slide for example.)
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Onomatopoeia Example
Listen
Scrunch, scrunch, scrunch.
Crunch, crunch, crunch.
Frozen snow and brittle ice
Make a winter sound that’s nice
Underneath my stamping feet
And the cars along the street.
Scrunch, scrunch, scrunch.
Crunch, crunch, crunch.
by Margaret Hillert
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Imagery
◼ Imagery is the use of words
to create pictures, or images,
in your mind.
◼ Appeals to the five senses:
smell, sight, hearing, taste
Five Senses
and touch.
◼ Details about smells, sounds,
colors, and taste create
strong images.
◼ To create vivid images
writers use figures of speech.
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Figures of Speech
◼ Figures of speech are tools that
writers use to create images, or
“paint pictures,” in your mind.
◼ Similes, metaphors, and
personification are three figures of
speech that create imagery.
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Simile
◼ A simile compares two
things using the words
“like” or “as.”
◼ Comparing one thing to
another creates a vivid
image.
◼ (See next slide for
example.) The runner streaked like a cheetah.
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Simile Example
Flint
An emerald is as green as grass,
A ruby red as blood;
A sapphire shines as blue as heaven;
A flint lies in the mud.
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Metaphor Example
The Night is a Big Black Cat
By G. Orr Clark
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Personification
◼ Personification gives human traits
and feelings to things that are not
human – like animals or objects.
◼ (See next slide for example.)
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Personification Example
Mister Sun”
Mister Sun
Wakes up at dawn,
Puts his golden
Slippers on,
Climbs the summer
Sky at noon,
Trading places
With the moon.
by J. Patrick Lewis
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Forms of Poetry
There are many forms of poetry including the:
◼ Couplet
◼ Tercet
◼ Acrostic
◼ Cinquain
◼ Haiku
◼ Senryu
◼ Concrete Poem
◼ Free Verse
◼ Limerick
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Lines and Stanzas
◼ Most poems are March
written in lines. A blue day
◼ A group of lines in A blue jay
a poem is called a
stanza. And a good beginning.
◼ Stanzas separate
ideas in a poem. One crow,
They act like Melting snow –
paragraphs.
Spring’s winning!
◼ This poem has two
By Eleanor Farjeon
stanzas.
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Couplet
◼ A couplet is a poem, or stanza
in a poem, written in two lines.
◼ Usually rhymes.
The Jellyfish
Who wants my jellyfish?
I’m not sellyfish!
By Ogden Nash
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Tercet
◼ A tercet is a poem, or
stanza, written in three
lines.
◼ Usually rhymes.
◼ Lines 1 and 2 can
rhyme; lines 1 and 3 can
rhyme; sometimes all 3
lines rhyme. Winter Moon
How thin and sharp is the moon tonight!
How thin and sharp and ghostly white
Is the slim curved crook of the moon tonight!
By Langston Hughes
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Quatrain
◼ A quatrain is a poem, or stanza,
written in four lines.
◼ The quatrain is the most common
form of stanza used in poetry.
◼ Usually rhymes.
◼ Can be written in variety of rhyming The Lizard
patterns.
The lizard is a timid thing
◼ (See slide 9 entitled “Rhyming
Patterns.”) That cannot dance or fly or sing;
He hunts for bugs beneath the floor
And longs to be a dinosaur.
By John Gardner
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Traditional Cinquain
◼ A cinquain is a poem
written in five lines that do
not rhyme.
◼ Traditional cinquain has
five lines containing 22
syllables in the following
pattern: Oh, cat
Line 1 – 2 syllables are you grinning
Line 2 – 4 syllables curled in the window seat
Line 3 – 6 syllables
as sun warms you this December
Line 4 – 8 syllables
Line 5 – 2 syllables morning?
By Paul B. Janezco
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Word-Count Cinquain
◼ Word-count cinquain for younger
students uses the following
pattern:
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Diamante
Diamante Pattern
◼ A diamante is a seven-line poem Line 1 – Your topic (noun)
written in the shape of a
Line 2 – Two adjectives about
diamond.
Line 3 – Three “ing” words about
◼ Does not rhyme.
Line 4 – Four nouns or short
◼ Follows pattern. phrase linking topic (or topics)
◼ Can use synonyms or antonyms. Line 5 – Three “ing” words about
◼ (See next two slides for Line 5 – Two adjectives about
examples.) Line 7 – Your ending topic (noun)
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Synonym Diamante
Monsters
Creepy, sinister,
Hiding, lurking, stalking,
Vampires, mummies, werewolves and more –
Chasing, pouncing eating,
Hungry, scary,
Creatures
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Antonym Diamante
Day
Bright, sunny,
Laughing, playing, doing,
Up in the east, down in the west –
Talking, resting, sleeping,
Quiet, dark,
Night
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Haiku
◼ A haiku is a Japanese poem with 3
lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables. (Total
of 17 syllables.)
◼ Does not rhyme.
◼ Is about an aspect of nature or the
seasons.
Little frog among
◼ Captures a moment in time.
rain-shaken leaves, are you, too,
splashed with fresh, green paint?
by Gaki
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Senryu
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Concrete Poem
◼ A concrete poem (also
called shape poem) is
written in the shape of
its subject.
◼ The way the words are
arranged is as important
what they mean.
◼ Does not have to rhyme.
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Free Verse
Revenge
◼ A free verse poem
When I find out
does not use rhyme or who took
patterns. the last cooky
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Acrostic
◼ In an acrostic poem the first
letter of each line, read down
the page, spells the subject of
the poem.
◼ Type of free verse poem.
Loose brown parachute
◼ Does not usually rhyme.
Escaping
And
Floating on puffs of air.
by Paul Paolilli
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Limerick
◼ A limerick is a funny
poem of 5 lines.
◼ Lines 1, 2 & 5 rhyme.
◼ Lines 3 & 4 are
shorter and rhyme. There Seems to Be a Problem
◼ Line 5 refers to line 1. I really don’t know about Jim.
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Nonsense Poems
◼ A nonsense poem is a
humorous poem with
silly characters and
actions. It is meant to
be fun.
◼ Can be written as a A Princess Laments
limerick or as another
I kissed a frog because I’d heard
form of poetry.
That it would turn into a prince.
That’s not exactly what occurred,
And I’ve been croaking ever since.
by Jack Prelutsky
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Word Play
◼ Some poets use a special kind
of word play by making up
words or misspelling them on
purpose.
The Walrus
The pounding spatter
Of salty sea
Makes the walrus
Walrusty.
By Douglas Florian
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Hello!
Voice Hi!
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Voice: Poet as Speaker
The Wind
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Voice: Poet as Speaker
The Sugar Lady
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Voice: Poet as Speaker
Clouds
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Voice: Object as Speaker
Crayon Dance
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Voice: Animal as Speaker
Turtle in July
Heavy
Heavy hot
Heavy hot hangs
Thick sticky
Icky
But I lie
Nose high In this poem, the voice is that of a
Cool pool turtle keeping cool on a hot July
No fool day. The turtle is the character in
the poem.
A turtle in July
by Marilyn Singer
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Voice: Two Speakers
I Talk With the Moon
By Beverly McLoughland
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Voice: Multiple Speakers
Monster Mothers
By Florence Parry Heide
“Mine’s as scaly
When monster mothers get together as a fish.”
They brag about their babies. “Mine is sort of
The other day I heard one say,
yellowish.”
“He’s got his very first fang today!”
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Author’s Purpose: Share Feelings
When I Was Lost
Underneath my belt
My stomach was a stone.
Sinking was the way I felt.
And hollow.
And alone.
The author’s purpose is to
By Dorothy Aldis share her feelings about
being lost and scared.
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Author’s Purpose: Tell Story
Jimmy Jet By Shel Silverstein
And his brains turned into TV tubes,
I'll tell you the story of Jimmy Jet – And his face to a TV screen.
And you know what I tell you is true. And two knobs saying “VERT.” and “HORIZ.”
He loved to watch his TV set Grew where his ears had been.
Almost as much as you.
And he grew a plug that looked like a tail
He watched all day,he watched all night So we plugged in little Jim.
Till he grew pale and lean, And now instead of him watching TV
From "The Early Show" to “The Late Late Show” We all sit around and watch him.
And all the shows between.
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Author’s Purpose: Send Message
Share the Adventure
Pages and pages
A seesaw of ideas –
Share the adventure
Fiction, nonfiction:
Door to our past and future
Swinging back and forth
The author’s purpose is to
WHAM! The book slams shut, send a serious message.
But we read it together The message, or theme, is
With our minds open that reading is an adventure
that can be shared.
by Patricia and Frederick McKissack
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Author’s Purpose: Be Humorous
Insides
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Author’s Purpose: Be Descriptive
Me by Karla Kuskin
“My nose is blue,
My teeth are green,
My face is like a soup tureen.
I look just like a lima bean.
I’m very, very lovely.
My feet are far too short
And long.
My hands are left and right
And wrong.
My voice is like the hippo’s song.
The author’s purpose is to
I’m very, very,
describe a strange-looking
Very, very, person.
Very, very
Lovely?”
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Author’s Purpose: Be Descriptive
Vacuum Cleaner
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Author’s Purpose: Be Descriptive
Beetles
Sun
And rain
And wind
And storms
And thunder go together.
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Mood - Mad Song
Mad Song
I shut my door
To keep you out
Won’t do no good
To stand and shout
Won’t listen to
A thing you say
Just time you took
Yourself away
I lock my door
The mood in this poem is
To keep me here angry. What clues in the
Until I’m sure poem can you use to
You disappear. determine the mood?
By Myra Cohn Livingston
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Mood - Poem
Poem
I loved my friend.
He went away from me.
There’s nothing more to say.
The poem ends,
Soft as it began –
I loved my friend:
The mood in this poem is
By Langston Hughes sad. What clues in the
poem can you use to
determine the mood?
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Mood - Something is There
Something is There
Something is there
there on the stair
coming down
coming down
stepping with care.
Coming down
coming down
slinkety-sly.
Something is coming and wants to get by. The mood in this poem
is fearful. What clues in
By Lilian Moore the poem can you use to
determine the mood?
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Mood - Joyful
Joyful
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Mood - Foghorns
Foghorns
The foghorns moaned
in the bay last night
so sad
so deep
I thought I heard the city
crying in its sleep.
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Mood - Magic Landscape
Magic Landscape
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Mood - Higglety, Pigglety, Pop
Higglety, Pigglety, Pop!
By Samuel Goodrich
The mood in this poem is
silly. What clues in the
poem can you use to
determine the mood?
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Reading for Meaning
◼ To find meaning in a poem, readers ask questions as they read. There
are many things to pay attention to when reading a poem:
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Poetry
What is poetry? Who knows?
Not a rose, but the scent of a rose;
Not the sky, but the light in the sky;
Not the fly, but the gleam of the fly;
Not the sea, but the sound of the sea;
Not myself, but what makes me
See, hear, and feel something that prose
Cannot: and what it is, who knows?
By Eleanor Farjeon
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Mass. Frameworks Poets
◼ Click on the following link to access
poems written by poets suggested in
the Massachusetts English
Language Arts Curriculum
Frameworks (Grades 3-5).
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Resources for Teaching Poetry
◼ Click on the following link to
find suggested resources for
teaching poetry.
Poetry Resources
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Acknowledgements
Books:
Cobwebs, Chatters, and Chills: A Collection of Scary Poems. Compiled and
annotated by Patricia M. Stockland. Minneapolis, MS: Compass Point Books, 2004.
Dirty Laundry Pile: Poems in Different Voices. Selected by Paul B. Janeczko. New
York: HarperCollins, 2001.
Easy Poetry Lessons that Dazzle and Delight. Harrison, David L. NY: Scholastic
Professional Books, 1999.
Favorite Poems: Old and New. Selected by Helen Ferris. NY: Doubleday. 1957.
A Kick in the Head: An Everyday Guide to Poetic Forms. Selected by Paul B.
Janeczko. Boston, MA: Candlewick Press, 2005.
Knock at a Star: A Child’s Introduction to Poetry. Kennedy, X. J. and Kennedy,
Dorothy M. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1999.
Pass the Poetry, Please. Hopkins, Lee Benett. New York: Harper Collins, 1998.
Poem Making: Ways to Begin Writing Poetry. Livingston, Myra Cohn. New York:
Harper Collins,1991.
Poetry from A to Z. Janeczko, Paul B. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994.
Poetry Place Anthology: More Than 600 Poems for All Occasions. NY: Scholastic
Professional Books, 1983.
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Acknowledgements
Books (Continued):
Random House Book of Poetry: A Treasury of 572 Poems for Today’s Child.
Selected by Jack Prelutsky. NY: Random House, 1983.
Recess, Rhyme, and Reason: A Collection of Poems About School. Compiled and
annotated by Patricia M. Stockland. Minneapolis, MS: Compass Point Books, 2004.
Teaching 10 Fabulous Forms of Poetry: Great Lessons, Brainstorming Sheets, and
Organizers for Writing Haiku, Limericks, Cinquains, and Other Kinds of Poetry
Kids Love. Janeczko, Paul B. NY: Scholastic Professional Books, 2000.
Tomie DePaola’s Book of Poems. Selected by Tomie DePaola. NY: G.P. Putnam’s
Sons, 1988.
The Twentieth Century Children’s Poetry Treasury. Selected by Jack Prelutsky. NY:
Alfred A. Knopf, 1999.
Weather: Poems. Selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins. NY: HarperCollins, 1994.
Writing Poetry with Children. Monterey, CA: Evan-Moor Corp., 1999.
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Acknowledgements
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