Poetry

Form The physical arrangement of words on

the page Some poetry is written in strict formal

patterns Some poetry is written in free verse

Stanza Lines of poetry are commonly grouped

into stanzas, or groups of lines

Free Verse Poetry that does not contain lines of

regular rhyme or meter

Is this this segment of poetry written in a structured form or free verse?

Love can not fill the thickened lung with breath,Nor clean the blood, not set the fractured bone;Yet many a man is making friends with deathEven as I speak, for lack of love alone.

-Edna St. Vincent Millay, “Sonnet 30”

Is this this segment of poetry written in a structured form or free verse?

she spun herself into a weband looking for a place to restturned to himbut he stood straightdeclining to be her corner

-Nikki Giovanni, “Woman”

Alliteration A repetition of initial consonant sounds “To jiggle and jump for joy”

Assonance A repetition of vowel sounds within

words as in “a greed is as deep as the sea”

Consonance A repetition of consonant sounds As in “of fleet foot and sound mind”

Rhyme A repetition of final sounds in two or

more words As in “a stray gray tray”

Onomatopoeia The use of words that refer to sounds Such as “snort, clank, and whir

Rhythm The pattern, or beat in unstressed

syllables in a line of poetry

Meter The rhythm that is repeated throughout

a poem

Love is not all: it is not meat nor drinkNor slumber nor a roof against the rain;Now yet a floating spar to men that sinkAnd rise and sink and rise and sink again

-Edna St. Vincent Millay, “Sonnet 30”

Figurative Language Language authors use to convey

meaning meaning beyond the literal meanings of words

Examples of these are: simile, metaphor, and personification

Simile A comparison between two things using

“like,” “as,” or “than” Such as “My life is like an open book”

Metaphor A comparison between two things that

does not use “like,” “as,” or “than” Such as “Jealousy is a green-eyed

monster”

Personification Giving human qualities to something

that is not human such as “The teakettle ordered us back

to the kitchen”