POETRY
Poetry is writing in a language chosen and arranged to create a specific emotional effect. There are many
kinds of poetry, but the basic ones are:
a. Narrative Poem – a lengthy poem that tells a story with the element of narration
b. Lyric Poem – a short verse with musical qualities that conveys feelings and emotions
c. Dramatic Poem – written in verse and meant to be recited and performed in front of an audience
ELEMENTS OF POETRY
1. Voice – the speaker in a poem is often referred to as the persona of the poem
2. Diction – the choice of words
3. Imagery – evokes mental images that appeal to the readers' senses
4. Figures of Speech – using words in a nonliteral sense to express in a creative and artistic way
5. Symbolism – any object or action that means more than itself in the poem (ex. heart – love, dove – freedom)
6. Syntax – the arrangement of words
7. Sound – meant to be read aloud to hear the sound such as rhyme and rhythm
8. Rhythm – pattern of sounds arranged in a particular way
9. Meter – the number of stressed and unstressed syllables within a line
FIGURES OF SPEECH
A figure of speech is a rhetorical device that achieves a special effect by distinctively using words. Figurative language is
often associated with literature and with poetry in particular. Whether we're conscious of it or not, we use figures of
speech every day in our writing and conversations.
1. Simile – a comparison of two persons or things 3. Personification – the transfer of human
that are unlike in most respects; uses like or as characteristics to inanimate objects or abstract
to signal the comparison qualities
✓ My love is like a red rose. ✓ The moon winks at me every night.
✓ Iniyan is always as busy as a bee. ✓ The sun was playing hide and seek with the
✓ My cousin chatters like a monkey. clouds.
✓ Kitty is as proud as a peacock. ✓ The camera loves me.
✓ She’s as white as the clouds. ✓ The computer refused to start.
✓ The city doesn’t sleep at night.
2. Metaphor – an implied comparison between
two persons or things which are unlike in most 4. Metonymy – the use of one word for another
respects; does not use like or as. of which it is an attribute or associated with
✓ Life is a rollercoaster. ✓ We will swear loyalty to the crown. (royal
✓ You are my sunshine. person)
✓ The world is a stage. ✓ The White House will be making an
✓ My heart is gold. important announcement tomorrow.
✓ Cielo is a walking dictionary. (President)
✓ I couldn’t understand them, they spoke in 9. Onomatopoeia – the blending of sounds of
their mother tongue. (language) words with their sense
✓ Tell me about your first date. I’m all ears! ✓ Ticktock, ticktock… I could hear the sound
(listening) of the clock.
✓ Quack, quack went the ducks as we threw
✓ Can you give me a hand carrying this box up
them their food.
the stairs? (help)
✓ I ran towards the room when the doorbell
rang dingdong.
✓ The sack fell into the river with a splash.
5. Synecdoche – the use of part to suggest the ✓ The angry man vroomed his motorcycles
whole, or whole to suggest a part across many people.
✓ I need twenty heads to help me with the
company. (persons) 10. Litotes – affirms something by denying its
✓ Nice wheels! (cars) opposite
✓ He’s the brain of the operation. ✓ You’re not wrong.
(mastermind) ✓ He is not a bad singer.
✓ She was not unhappy with her new car.
✓ I love you with all my heart. (whole being)
✓ The result of the test is not negative.
✓ I meet new faces today.
✓ This is no ordinary performance.
6. Hyperbole – a statement greatly exaggerated
for aesthetic purposes 11. Apostrophe – addressing absent persons or
✓ My parents are going to kill me when they abstract ideas directly as if they were present
find out. ✓ Love, who needs you?
✓ She cries a river when her favorite dog dies. ✓ Come on, Phone, give me a ring!
✓ It took forever me forever to find my cell ✓ Alarm clock, please don’t fail me.
phone. ✓ Seven, you are my lucky number!
✓ I can’t live without you. ✓ Thank you, my guardian angel, for this
✓ I have told you a million times not to lie! parking space!
7. Alliteration – the repetition of initial letters 12. Antithesis – a studied contrast of ideas in
✓ Ben borrowed a book from Bea before parallel sentence structure
breakfast. ✓ Keep your friends close; keep your enemies
✓ The cat chased the car carrying a lot of corn. closer.
✓ She feels freedom when she finally forgets ✓ Hope for the best; prepare for the worst.
her fake friend. ✓ Easy come easy go.
✓ A big bug bites the belly button of a ✓ Love is an ideal thing; marriage is a real
beautiful baby. thing.
✓ The grass grows greener in the garden near ✓ Many were called, but few were chosen.
the graveyard.
13. Oxymoron – a combination of contrast to show
8. Assonance – repetition of vowel sounds within a particular image with a striking effect
the word ✓ My sister and I had a friendly fight over the
✓ She tries to spice the ice but to my surprise, lipstick.
she cries. ✓ I think the professor stated his unbiased
✓ We see a bee near the tree. opinion regarding the student’s response.
✓ The good boy sold his toy for food on their ✓ They couldn’t wait to get out alone
tables. together.
✓ The cat runs after the rat under the mat. ✓ She is clearly confused with the results of
✓ It means the cheap meat needs to be the competition.
cleaned before being heated. ✓ The carpenters left the bench completely
unfinished.
virtual reality, original copies, pretty ugly, open
secret, silent scream, living dead
14. Allusion – a reference to something outside
the poem (biblical, literary, mythological or
historical)
✓ Is there an Einstein in your physics class?
(Albert Einstein- genius)
✓ Chocolate cake is my Achilles heel. (Greek
myth- weakness)
✓ I’ll be your Romeo if you’ll be my Juliet.
(myth-lovers)
✓ He seems to be a Cupid of his two friends’
love affair. (God of love)
✓ She's a good swimmer, but she's no Ariel.
(natural swimmer)
Snake (serpent, Satan), flood (Noah’s Ark),
apple/fruit (tree of knowledge, temptation)
Cross (Christ, crucifixion)
15. Meiosis – (or understatement) consciously
underrating something or portraying it as
lesser than it usually thought to be
✓ It isn’t very serious. I have this tiny little
tumor on the brain.
✓ "The Pond", for the Atlantic Ocean ("across the
pond")
✓ The car was wrecked in an accident. The owner
said, “ay, just a scratch”.
✓ Carrying a heavy object. “It’s just a piece of
cotton.”
16. Irony – means expressing which suggests
(humorously or angrily) a different meaning of
the words used.
✓ Going out during a thunderstorm, “what a
beautiful day!”. (verbal)
✓ Entering a child’s messy room and saying “nice
place you have here” (verbal)
✓ The fire station burns down. (situational)
✓ Marriage counselor filing a divorce. (situational)
✓ A pilot with a fear of heights. (situational)
