Understanding
POETRY
■ In poetry the sound
and meaning of words
are combined to
express feelings,
thoughts, and ideas.
■ The poet chooses
words carefully.
■ Poetry is usually
written in lines.
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Poetry Elements
Writers use many elements to create their
poems. These elements include:
■ 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
A million billion bees had built The rhythm in this poem is
Their golden hives and honeycombs slow – to match the night
Above you in the air. gently falling and the
lights slowly coming on.
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
Snow makes whiteness where it falls.
The bushes look like popcorn balls.
And places where I always play,
Look like somewhere else today.
By Marie Louise Allen
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ABAB Rhyming Pattern
Oodles of Noodles
I love noodles. Give me oodles.
Make a mound up to the sun.
Noodles are my favorite foodles.
I eat noodles by the ton.
By Lucia and James L. Hymes, Jr.
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ABBA Rhyming Pattern
From “Bliss”
Let me fetch sticks,
Let me fetch stones,
Throw me your bones,
Teach me your tricks.
By Eleanor Farjeon
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ABCB Rhyming Pattern
The Alligator
The alligator chased his tail
Which hit him in the snout;
He nibbled, gobbled, swallowed it,
And turned right inside-out.
by Mary Macdonald
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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.
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Repetition Example
The Sun
Someone 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
along the sunny sidewalk.
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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.
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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.
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.
A diamond is a brilliant stone,
To catch the world’s desire;
An opal holds a fiery spark;
But a flint holds fire.
By Christina Rosetti
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Metaphor
■ A metaphor compares
two things without using
the words “like” or “as.”
■ Gives the qualities of one
thing to something that is
quite different.
The winter wind is a wolf
howling at the door.
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Metaphor Example
The Night is a Big Black Cat
The Night is a big black cat
The moon is her topaz eye,
The stars are the mice she hunts at night,
In the field of the sultry sky.
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.
The moon smiled down at me.
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Personification Example
From “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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Lines and Stanzas
■ Most poems are March
written in lines. A blue day
■ A group of lines in a A blue jay
poem is called a
And a good beginning.
stanza.
■ Stanzas separate One crow,
ideas in a poem.
They act like Melting snow –
paragraphs. Spring’s winning!
■ This poem has two By Eleanor Farjeon
stanzas.
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Hello!
Voice Hi!
“Voice” is the speaker in a poem. The speaker
can be the poet himself or a character he created
in the poem. There can be one speaker or many
speakers.
■ Poet as speaker
■ Human character in poem as speaker
■ Object or animal as speaker
■ More than one speaker
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Voice: Poet as Speaker
The Wind
Who has seen the wind?
Neither I nor you:
But when the leaves hang trembling
The wind is passing thro’.
Who has seen the wind?
Neither you nor I:
But when the trees bow down their heads, In this poem, the poet
The wind is passing by. speaks of her feelings
about the power of the
by Christina Rosetti
wind.
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Voice: Poet as Speaker
Clouds
White sheep, white sheep,
On a blue hill,
When the wind stops
You all stand still.
When the wind blows
You walk away slow. In this poem, the poet speaks to
White sheet, white sheep, clouds - something that cannot
answer back. She uses a metaphor
Where do you go? when she calls the clouds “white
sheep.”
by Christina Rosetti
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Voice: Human Character as Speaker
For Keeps
We had a tug of war today
Old March Wind and I.
He tried to steal my new red kite
That Daddy helped me fly.
He huffed and puffed.
I pulled so hard
And held that string so tight
In this poem, the voice is
Old March Wind gave up at last that of a child flying a kite
And let me keep my kite. on a windy day. The child
is the character in the
by Jean Conder Soule poem.
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Voice: Object as Speaker
Crayon Dance
The cardboard ceiling lifts
Pickmepickmepickme, I pray
The fingers do! They choose me,
Sky Blue!
Hurrah! Hooray!
In this poem, the voice is that
by April Halprin Wayland of a blue crayon, happy to be
picked by the artist. The
crayon is the character in the
poem.
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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
A turtle in July the poem.
by Marilyn Singer
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Voice: Two Speakers
I Talk With the Moon
I talk with the moon, said the owl
While she lingers over my tree
I talk with the moon, said the owl
And the night belongs to me.
There are two voices in this
I talk with the sun said the wren poem. In the first stanza the
As soon as he starts to shine voice is that of the night-time
owl. In the second stanza the
I talk with the sun, said the wren voice is that of the day-time
And the day is mine. wren.
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!”
“Mine is ugly.” “Mine breathes fire
“Mine is mean.” and smoke and such.”
“Mine is turning “Mine has skin
nice and green.” you’d hate to touch.”
In this poem, there are many voices. The speakers
are the monster mothers describing their babies.
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Author’s Purpose
The poet has an “author’s purpose” when he writes a poem.
The purpose can be to:
■ Share feelings (joy, sadness, anger, fear, loneliness)
■ Tell a story
■ Send a message (theme - something to think about)
■ Be humorous
■ Provide description* (e.g., person, object, concept)
*Although description is important in all poems, the focus of some poems is
the description itself rather than feelings, story-telling, message, or humor.
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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.
He watched till his eyes were frozen wide,
And his bottom grew into his chair.
And his chin turned into a tuning dial,
And antennae grew out of his hair.
The author’s purpose is to tell the story of a
boy who watched too much television.
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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
I’m very grateful to my skin
For keeping all my insides in –
I do so hate to think about
What I would look like inside-out.
By Colin West
The author’s purpose is to
write a humorous poem
about the purpose of skin.
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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.
I’m very, very, The author’s purpose is to
Very, very, describe a strange-looking
person.
Very, very
Lovely?”
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Author’s Purpose: Be Descriptive
Vacuum Cleaner
Roars over carpet
zig-zag-zips
sucking up fuzz
through metal lips.
By Dee Lillegard
The author’s purpose is to
describe an object – a vacuum
cleaner.
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Author’s Purpose: Be Descriptive
Beetles
Emerald, ruby, turquoise blue,
Beatles come in every hue:
Beetles that pinch or sting or bite,
Tiger beetles that claw and fight,
Beetles whose burnished armor gleams,
Whirligig beetles that dance on streams,
Antlered beetles in staglike poses,
Beetles that smell – and not like roses, The author’s purpose is
Others that click like castanets, to describe a variety of
That dig or swim or zoom like jets, beetles.
Hard as coffee beans, brown as leather,
Or shimmering bright as a peacock feather!
By Ethel Jacobson
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Author’s Purpose: Be Descriptive
Understanding
Sun
And rain
And wind
And storms
And thunder go together.
There has to be a bit of each The author’s purpose is to
To make the weather. describe a concept – weather.
By Myra Cohn Livingston
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Mood
■ Mood is the atmosphere, or
emotion, in the poem
created by the poet.
■ Can be happy, angry, silly,
sad, excited, fearful or
thoughtful.
■ Poet uses words and
images to create mood.
■ Author’s purpose helps
determine mood.
■ (See slides 47-51 for
examples.)
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Mood - Barefoot Days
Barefoot Days by Rachel Field
In the morning, very early,
That’s the time I love to go
Barefoot where the fern grows curly
And grass is cool between each toe,
On a summer morning-O!
On a summer morning!
That is when the birds go by
Up the sunny slopes of air,
And each rose has a butterfly
Or a golden bee to wear;
And I am glad in every toe – The mood in this poem is
Such a summer morning-O! happy. What clues in the
Such a summer morning! poem can you use to
determine the mood?
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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:
By Langston Hughes The mood in this poem is
sad. What clues in the
poem can you use to
determine the mood?
49
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?
50
Mood - Higglety, Pigglety, Pop
Higglety, Pigglety, Pop!
Higglety, Pigglety, Pop!
The dog has eaten the mop;
The pig’s in a hurry,
The cat’s in a flurry,
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:
Title – Provides clues about – topic, mood, speaker, author’s purpose?
Rhythm – Fast or slow? Why?
Sound Devices – What effects do they have?
Imagery – What pictures do we make in our minds?
Figures of Speech – What do they tell us about the subject?
Voice – Who is speaking - poet or character; one voice or more?
Author’s Purpose – Sending message, sharing feelings, telling story,
being funny, being descriptive?
Mood – Happy, sad, angry, thoughtful, silly, excited, frightened?
Plot – What is happening in the poem?
Remember, to make meaning, readers must make connections and tap
into their background knowledge and prior experiences as they read.
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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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