POETRY TERMSEnglish II

POETRY

A type of literature that expresses ideas, feelings, or tells a story in a specific form (usually using lines and stanzas)

POINT OF VIEW IN POETRY

POET

The poet is the author of the poem.

SPEAKER

The speaker of the poem is the “narrator” of the poem.

POETRY FORM

FORM - the appearance of the words on the page

LINE - a group of words together on one line of the poem

STANZA - a group of lines arranged together

A word is dead When it is said,

Some say.

I say it just Begins to live

That day.

SOUND EFFECTS

ALLITERATION

Consonant sounds repeated at the beginnings of words

If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, how many pickled peppers did Peter Piper pick?

“And from there those that lifted eyes could count . . .” (“Out, Out-” by Robert Frost)

ASSONANCE

Repeated VOWEL sounds in a line or lines of poetry in NON-RHYMING WORDS.

(Often creates near rhyme.)

Lake Fate Base Fade (All share the long “a” sound.)

ASSONANCE cont.

Examples of ASSONANCE:

“A knight rides into the noon,/and only his eye is living . . .” (“The Knight” by

Adrienne Rich)

“Shall ever medicine thee to that sweet sleep.”

- William Shakespeare

FIGURATIVELANGUAGE

SIMILE

A comparison of two things using “like” or “as.”

“She is as beautiful as a sunrise.” “My clouded reflection eyes me / like a bird

of prey . . .” (“Facing It” by Yusef Komunyakaa)

METAPHOR

A direct comparison of two unlike things “All the world [is] a stage, and we are

merely players.”- William Shakespeare

“…a thousand splintered suns / are the gaiety of his [chain] mail.” “The Knight” by Adrienne Rich

PERSONIFICATION

An animal given human-like qualities, or an object or thing given life-like qualities.

“ . . .One seal particularly / I had seen here evening after evening. / . . . He was interested in music . . . /Then he would disappear, then suddenly emerge / almost in the same spot, with a sort of shrug . . .”

“At the Fishhouses,” Elizabeth Bishop

PERSONIFICATION

Kanye Westmoved to Chicagowhen he was threeyears old. Thefollowing excerpt fromhis song “Homecoming”(2007) shows how Westpersonifies the city, also known by the nickname“The Windy City.”

I met this girl when I was three years oldAnd what I love most, she had so much soul

She said "Excuse me little homie, I know you don't know me

But uh, my name is Windy” . . . And when I grew up, she taught me how to

go downtownAnd in the nighttime, her face lit up, so

astoundingI told her, in my heart is where she'll always

beShe never mess with entertainers cuz they

always leaveShe said it feels like they walk and go from

me. . .

OTHERPOETIC DEVICES

SYMBOLISM

When a person, place, thing, or event that has meaning in itself also represents, or stands for, something else.

= Innocence

= America

= Peace

Allusion

Allusion comes from the verb “allude” which means “to refer to”

An allusion is a reference to something famous: another literary work, an historical event, a person, place or thing, etc.

If the reader doesn’t “get it,” meaning is lost.

“And by his side a girl who looked like Heidi / in my storybook waded in colored plastic.”

from “Exile” by

Julia Alvarez

(Heidi is the Swiss heroine of a series of books from the late 1800’s, who was orphaned and had to move away to her grandfather’s.)

Allusion

What people, places, or events does Kanye West refer to in these lyrics? What does he mean by using these allusions?

Feelin’ like Katrina with no FEMA . . . “Flashing Lights” (2007)

..and you can live through anything if Magic made it . . .

So if the Devil wear Prada and Adam Eve wear nadaI’m in between, but way more fresher. “Can’t Tell Me Nothin’” (2007)

IMAGERY

Language that appeals to the senses. “Painting a picture with words.” Most imagery is visual, but they can also

appeal to the senses of sound, touch, taste, or smell.

“. . . then with cracked hands that ached

from labor in the weekday weather . . .”

---from “Those Winter Sundays” (sense of touch)