Literary Terms and Poem-A-Day

Alliteration

Definition: The repetition of beginning consonant sounds in words.

Example: Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers…

Poem-A-Day #1

Choose an emotion to write about, such as sadness, anger, loneliness, joy, despair, contentment, etc. Write a poem about a time that you felt this emotion. Use descriptive words in your poem. Use alliteration in at least one line of your poem. (At least 10 lines long)

Assonance

Definition: The repetition of vowel sounds.

Example: Dream sweet dreams in your deep sleep.

Poem-A-Day #2

Write a poem that begins with the line “If I were the teacher…” Use assonance in at least one line of your poem. (10+ lines)

Cinquain

Definition: A five line poem with two, four, six, eight, and two syllables, in that order.

Example:Popcorn (2)

Crunchy, crispy (4)Popping, jumping, bursting (6)

Covered with hot butter and salt (8)Perfect! (2)

Poem-A-Day #3

Write a cinquain about your favorite food or your favorite sport. (5 lines)

Connotation

Definition: All of the feelings and associations that have come to be attached to a word.

Example: Antique and old have the same meaning

(belonging to an earlier period), but antique has a positive connotation while old has a negative one.

Poem-A-Day #4

Write a poem describing a day at school. Make sure you choose words with connotations that match the mood of your poem. (10+ lines)

Consonance

Definition: Repetition of identical of similar consonants in neighboring words whose vowel sounds are different.

Example:Middle/Muddle; Wonder/Wander

Poem-A-Day #5

Write a creative acrostic poem using the name of an interesting object.

Example: (5+lines)Black Widow Spiders

Poison TheIr mates

anD they do not like humans Either

Run!

Couplet

Definition: Two rhymed lines of poetry that go together.

Example:

The old dog barks backwards without getting up.I can remember when he was a pup.

“The Span of Life” by Robert Frost

Poem-A-Day #6

Write a clerihew poem! It consists of two rhyming couplets. The name of a well-known person creates one the rhymes.

Example: Barack ObamaAlways dealing with dramaIt has been an educationTrying to lead our nation.

Denotation

Definition: The literal, dictionary definition of a word.

Example: Yell and Scream have the same basic dictionary definition (denotation) but have different feelings associated with them (connotation).

Poem-A-Day #7

A definition poem defines an idea or a word creatively. Write a definition poem about a word or idea of your choosing. (5+lines)

Example:StarsBright and beautiful balls of energyBurning, shining, winking Each one uniqueAnd completely unreachable.

Diamante

Definition: Poem where lines are placed on the page to form a diamond pattern. The subject goes through a change with the shift taking place in the middle lines.

Example:Jeans

Crisp, newClinging, hugging, appealingSchool, dance, beach, sportsFraying, tearing, shrinking

Old, wornCut-offs

Poem-A-Day #8

Write a diamante poem over the topic of your choice. (7+ lines)

End Rhyme

Definition: Rhyming that occurs at the ends of lines.

Example: Darkness settles of roofs and walls,but the sea in the darkness calls…

-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow , “The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls”

Poem-A-Day #9

Write a poem about being scared or nervous. Make sure you use end rhyme in your poem. (10+ lines)

Haiku

Definition: A three line poem about everyday experiences usually involving nature and appealing to at least one of the senses. Usually follows a 5-7-5 syllable pattern.

Example:The tree sleeps soundlyGrass breathes silently belowWhile the stars keep watch

Poem-A-Day #10

Write a haiku describing your favorite place or a place that you would like to visit. Or, you may follow the true nature of a haiku and write about nature. (3 lines)

Hyperbole

Definition: Exaggeration for the sake of emphasis, a figure of speech that is not meant to be taken literally.

Example:I have been waiting here for ages.I am hungry enough to eat a horse.

Poem-A-Day # 11

Write a poem about things that you wish to do with our life some day. Use exaggeration , or a hyperbole, in your poem. (10+ lines)

Imagery

Definition: Words and phrases that appeal to the reader’s senses (taste, touch, smell, sight, or hearing)

Example:Is not it nice to sniffThe perfume of a perfect rose?Does not the aroma of an orange Freshen up your nose?

Poem-A-Day # 12

Write a poem about being in the cafeteria for lunch. Use imagery in your poem. (10+ lines)

Internal Rhyme

Definition: rhyming that occurs within the same line.

Example:Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning.

-Edgar Allan Poe, “The Raven”

Poem-A-Day #13

Write a poem about your favorite season. Use internal rhyme in at least two lines of your poem. (10+ lines)

Limerick

Definition: A humorous five line poem that follows a specific form: three long lines (the first, second, and fifth) and two short lines (the third and forth) that rhyme.

Example:There was an old man of Peruwho dreamed he was eating a shoe.He awoke in the night with a terrible frightand found it was perfectly true!

Poem-A-Day #14

Write a funny limerick of your own. (5 lines)

Metaphor

Definition: A figure of speech that compares or equates two different things with out using the words like or as.

Example: He has a heart of gold.The stars were sparking diamonds.

Poem-A-Day #15

Write a poem about a friend or a famous person that uses at last one simile and one metaphor. DO NOT mention the person’s name until the end of the poem. (10+lines)

Onomatopoeia

Definition: The use of a word of phrase that imitates or suggest the sound of what it describes.

Examples:Buzz, Rustle, Boo, Tick-Tock, Tweet, Bark

Poem-A-Day #16

Write a poem about one of the following places or events: the zoo, a carnival, a sporting event, or a party. Use at least three onomatopoeia words in your poem. (10+lines)

Oxymoron

Definition: A figure of speech that combines two usually contradictory terms.

Examples:Bittersweet Jumbo ShrimpStudent Teacher

Poem-A-Day #17

Begin this poem with the words “I do not understand…” List things you do not understand about the world, things, or people. (5+ lines)

Example:I do not understandWhy people dislike each otherWhy dogs are colorblind and cats are notWhy there are wars

Personification

Definition: A figure of speech in which a nonhuman or nonliving thing or quality is talked about as if it were human or alive.

Example:The tree raised its arms to the sun.The clouds were watching us.

Poem-A-Day #18

Write a poem about an object (or objects) in this room using personification. (5+ lines)

Example:The clock watches on…The desks stand at attention…The books wait impatientlyThe floor enjoys a few more momentsbefore the students start their day.

Quatrain

Definition: a poem or stanza of four lines that go together and have their own rhyme scheme.

Example:Whose woods these are I think I know.His house is in the village though;He will not see me stopping hereTo watch his woods fill up with snow.

-Robert Frost, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”

Poem-A-Day #19

Write a quatrain about your favorite class. Follow the rhyme scheme ABAB in your quatrain. (4 lines)

Repetition

Definition: The repeating of a word of phrase to add rhythm or to focus on an idea.

Example:While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tappingAs of someone gently rapping, rapping, at my chamber door—-Edgar Allan Poe, “The Raven”

Poem-A-Day #20

Write a fictional poem that tells a story. Describe a setting, a character, and a problem or conflict. Use repetition in at least one line of your poem. (10+lines)

Shakespearean Sonnet

Definition: English sonnet created by William Shakespeare. It is made up of three quatrains and one couplet. Its rhyme scheme is…

abab cdcd efef ggExample:

The poem “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?” is a sonnet written by Shakespeare.

Poem-A-Day #21

Freewriting: You can write a poem about anything you want today! Have fun! (10+lines)

Simile

Definition: A comparison between two things that seem unlike but have one big thing in common. A simile uses the words like or as.

Example:

When the last bus leaves, moths stream toward lights like litter in wind.

-Roberta Hill, “Depot in Rapid City”

Poem-A-Day #22

Write a poem about one of the events that we have at Norwood (football, visits, lip sync contests, any assembly, hockey, dodgeball, dances, etc.). Use at last three similes in your poem. (10+lines)

Sonnet

Definition: Fourteen lines poem that can vary in rhyme scheme depending on the author. One of the most well-known of all verse forms.

Example: Famous sonnet writers include: Petrarch, Spenser, Shakespeare, Milton, and Wordsworth

Poem-A-Day #23

Today is your last Poem-A-Day! Write a poem about poetry! You could write about your thoughts/feelings abut poetry, what makes a good poem, elements of poetry, etc. Choose a rhyme scheme to stick to and have fun! (10+ lines)