ELEMENTS OF POETRY
WHAT ARE THE SOU NDS OF P OETRY?
Rhythm: is a musical quality produced by repeated sound patterns.
All language has rhythm, but it’s especially important in poetry.
Rhyme: when they end in the same vowel or vowel/consonant
sound
• End rhyme
• Internal rhyme
The rumbling, tumbling stones,
And “Bones, bones, bones!”
• Rhyme scheme
WHAT ARE THE SOUNDS OF POETRY?
Free Verse: using a loose grouping of words and phrases
Repetition: the recurrence or repeating of something
Refrain: repetition of a word, phrase, line or group of lines
• Like a songs chorus, may be the part that sticks out in our minds
Alliteration: repetition of consonant sounds that are close
together
Onomatopoeia: the use of a word whose sound suggests its
meaning
HOW DOES P OETRY M AKE YOU SEE?
Poetry comes alive through the power of strong imagery.
Figures of speech/figurative language
1. Metaphor
2. Simile
3. Personification
Imagery/sensory details
Structure & word choice (haiku & sonnets)
Tone (feeling that is expressed by the speaker)
THE SEA B Y J A M E S R E E V E S
The sea is a hungry dog,Giant and gray.He rolls on the beach all day. With his clashing teeth and shaggy jawsHour upon hour he gnawsThe rumbling, tumbling stones,And “Bones, bones, bones!”The giant sea dog moans,Licking his greasy paws.
And when the night wind roarsAnd the moon rocks in the stormy cloud,He bounds to his feet and snuffs and sniffs, Shaking his wet sides over the cliffs, And howls and hollos long and loud.
But on quiet days in May or June,When even the grasses on the dune Play no more their reedy tune,With his head between his pawsHe lies on the sandy shores,So quiet, so quiet, he scarcely snores.
THE SEA
1. Discuss: how could you extend the metaphor in “The Sea” even
further? What might happen when the napping dog wakes up? Or
what if it sees a ship or something that interests him?
2. Which visual images in the poem did you most appreciate, and
why?
3. How many examples of onomatopoeia did you detect in the
poem? List all the words you found.
4. Which poetic device did you feel most contributed to the poem’s
meaning: onomatopoeia, extended metaphor, or rhyme?