Rhythm

Definition:

The beat to which a poem is read.

Example:

Well you done done me and you bet I felt it

I tried to be chill but you're so hot that I melted

I fell right through the cracks, now I'm trying to get back

Significance:
The rhythm of a poem gives it a certain
flow that makes it much more pleasant
to listen to.

Meter

Definition:
A pattern of stressed and unstressed

syllables in poetry.

Example:

if THIS/be ER/ror AND/up ON/me PROVED
i NEV/er WRIT/nor NO/man EV/er LOVED

Significance:

Meter is the way in which the rhythm of
a poem can be measured.

Rhyme

Definition:

The use of two or more words that

sound similar, typically used in poetry.

Example:

Take my nice, new shiny nickel

Sell me that juicy, garlic pickle!

Significance:
Rhyming in poetry makes long
lines or stanzas more memorable
and fun to listen to.

Onomatopoeia

Definition:
To write out sounds as words.

Example:

POW!

Significance:
Onomatopoeia helps to put
sounds in stories in a fun
and creative way.

Personification

Definition:

A way of describing inanimate objects

or animals by assigning them human

characteristics.

Example:

The mountain angrily howled at the

adventurers.

Significance:

Personification makes it easier to
understand things that are not
human by describing them as human.

Imagery

Definition:

Writing that appeals to one of

the five senses.

Example:

The tree's golden leaves shook

back and forth in the wind.

Significance:
Imagery creates stories that
the reader can step into
and experience for themselves.

Simile

Definition:

Comparing two objects using

like or as.

Example:
The monk reacted like a rock.

Significance:
Similes give an aid to help people
understand more fantastical
objects or ideas.

Interpretation

Definition:
A certain way of seeing the message
and meaning in a piece of writing.

Example:
From "Ozymandias"

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

This poem says that nothing, not matter how

great, lasts forever.

Significance:
Having different ways of interpreting
messages makes poems a special and
personal experience for every reader.

Tone

Definition:
The way of writing or saying something
which illustrates a feeling, emotion, or
mood.

Example:

"Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds,

 which I should first break through, and pour
 a torrent of light into our dark world." This
statement is written in a dark tone.

Significance:
The tone of a piece of writing shows
readers what a story is really about
and how it is supposed to feel.

Repetition

Definition:
Usage of the same word or phrase
multiple times.

Example:

We listened to the gun fire beyond the walls.

We listened to the walls being hit by shrapnel,

ricochets, and blind fire, at least it's what I

thought it could of been. We listened to the

creaking the windows made when they opened

and shut due to the wind from the outside.

We listened to the cries of our men, and the

prayers they made to their gods. We listened,

but said nothing.

Significance:
Repetition allows poetry to show emphasis
for a certain idea.

Metaphor

Definition:

A way of describing something in writing

by comparing it to an unrelated thing.

Example:

Life is a journey, travel it well

Significance:

Metaphors are one of the main things that

separate poetry from prose and make poems
much more interesting and special.

Speaker

Definition:
The point of view from which
the poem is being told

Example:
Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.      
In this poem, the speaker is "I"

Significance:
The speaker of a poem is important
because they can create a sort of
narrative and also changes the mood
by the way they tell the story.

Symbol

Definition:
Something in a poem representing
another thing, often an idea, although
the symbol is not literally the thing it
represents.

Sunrises are a symbol of hope
and new beginnings.

Example:

The dove and olive branch give

a feeling of peace even though

they are only a bird and a part of a
tree, respectively.

Significance:
Symbols are the main method in
which poems show their ideas
and themes. Without them, there
would be little separating poems
from other forms of writing.

Couplet

Definition:
Two lines of poetry that

are often rhyming.

Example:

True wit is nature to advantage dress'd;

What oft was thought, but ne'er so well express'd.

Significance:

Couplets allow poetry to be
organized by rhyming lines
which could make poems
that much more interesting.

Stanza




The poem "Invictus" has four stanzas.

Definition:

A stanza is a group of words forming one
idea in a poem. Stanzas could be called
"paragraphs" of poetry and like

paragraphs, can be very long, or very short.

Example:

All in a hot and copper sky!

The bloody Sun, at noon,

Right up above the mast did stand,

No bigger than the Moon.

Significance:
Every kind of writing needs some sort
of organization and stanzas are one of
the basic units of poetry. Without them,
poems would just be in blocks of
writing.