Poetic Devices

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Poetic Devices
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(No Transcript)
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What is Poetry?

• Any writing that uses words for their sound and
  rhythm as well as their meaning. It usually
  emphasizes artistic elements like rhythm, rhyme,
  and repetition.

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Rhythm

• The cadence or beat in a poem, made using the
  syllables in the words. It can be measured with
  meter.

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Rhythm
Harlem Hopscotch by Maya Angelou One foot down,
then hop! Its hot. Good things for the ones
thats got. Another jump, now to the
left. Everybody for hisself. In the air, now both
feet down. Since you black, dont stick
around. Food is gone, the rent is due, Curse and
cry and then jump two. All the people out of
work, Hold for three, then twist and jerk. Cross
the line, they count you out. Thats what
hoppings all about. Both feet flat, the game is
done. They think I lost. I think I won.

• My Papa's Waltz by Theodore Roethke
• The whiskey on your breathCould make a small boy
  dizzyBut I hung on like deathSuch waltzing
  was not easy.We romped until the pansSlid from
  the kitchen shelfMy mother's countenanceCould
  not unfrown itself.
• The hand that held my wristWas battered on one
  knuckleAt every step you missedMy right ear
  scraped a buckle.
• You beat time on my headWith a palm caked hard
  by dirt,Then waltzed me off to bedStill
  clinging to your shirt.

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Rhyme

• The repetition of similar sounds, usually at the
  end of lines of poetry.
• Heart, start
• Wear, tear
• List, mist
• Slant Rhyme words that nearly rhyme (while/hill,
  up/step)
• Rhyme Scheme pattern of rhyme

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Rhyme Scheme

• Dirty Clothes by Shel Silverstein
• Some put 'em in a washer,Some toss 'em in a
  tub,Some dump 'em in a laundry truckFor someone
  else to scrub.Some stick 'em in a hamper,Some
  stuff 'em in a sack.I never worry 'bout 'emI
  just keep 'em on my back

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Rhyme Scheme

• Hope is the thing with feathers by Emily
  Dickinson
• Hope is the thing with feathers -
• That perches in the soul -
• And sings the tune without the words -
• And never stops - at all -
• And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -
• And sore must be the storm -
• That could abash the little Bird
• That kept so many warm -
• Ive heard it in the chillest land -
• And on the strangest Sea -
• Yet - never - in Extremity,
• It asked a crumb - of me.

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Repetition

• The repeating of words, which creates rhythm.

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Repetition

• O Captain! My Captain! by Walt Whitman
• O CAPTAIN! my Captain! our fearful trip is
  doneThe ship has weather'd every rack, the
  prize we sought is wonThe port is near, the
  bells I hear, the people all exulting,While
  follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and
  daringBut O heart! heart! heart!O the bleeding
  drops of red,Where on the deck my Captain
  lies,Fallen cold and dead.

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Alliteration

• The repetition of consonant sounds at the
  beginning of words in poetry or any writing.
• Bobby broke his bat at Bart's house.
• Sugar makes the sauce sweet.
• The worm wiggled when we touched its wet skin.
• The pots and pans were Peter's prized
  possessions.

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Alliteration

• Sea Surprise
• The swimmers swam and searched the sea
• Special sea shells hid beneath the sand
• Children catch small creatures and set them free
• Screaming, splashing and skipping to the land

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Onomatopoeia

• Words that sound like the objects they name or
  the sounds those objects make
• Clang
• Shush
• Tweet
• Pitter patter
• Whoosh

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Onomatopoeia

• "The Bells" by Edgar Allan Poe
• How they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle,
• In the icy air of night! To the tintinnabulation
  that so musically wells
• From the bells, bells, bells, bells,
• Bells, bells, bells
• From the jingling and the tinkling of the bells.
• "The Highwayman" by Alfred Noyes
• Over the cobbles he clattered and clashed in the
  dark inn-yard,
• He tapped with his whip on the shutters, but all
  was locked and barred Tlot tlot, tlot tlot! Had
  they heard it? The horse-hooves, ringing clear
• Tlot tlot, tlot tlot, in the distance! Were they
  deaf that they did not hear?

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Imagery

• The use of vivid description and sensory words to
  communicate a specific feeling to the reader.
• Sweet, slow drops of deep purple juice drip from
  the corners of my mouth and flow in little
  blueberry rivers down to my chin.

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Imagery

• The Way I Play Soccer by Natasha Niemi
• Sweat streams down my face,And my skin turns red
  under the watchful eye of the sun.The sound of
  cleats pounding the earth is deafening As my
  enemies charge down the field towards me.I can
  sense the shooter is going to missAll at once,
  the ball collides into my chest.Screams of
  victory roar across the field.The grass stained,
  game ball restsRests lovingly between my two
  hands.

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Sources

• http//www.mywordwizard.com/imagery-poems.html
• http//www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/171619
• http//www.brighthubeducation.com/high-school-engl
  ish-lessons/49444-poems-for-teaching-meter-in-poet
  ry/
• http//www.brighthubeducation.com/english-homework
  -help/48906-rhythm-in-poetry/
• http//www.brighthubeducation.com/middle-school-en
  glish-lessons/2973-alliteration-lesson-and-poetry-
  assignment/
• http//www.poetryfoundation.org/downloads/BHM_Midd
  leSchool.pdf