Poetry Terminology for grade 11

1. PoetryTerminology
1. Analysis of Poetry
2. Poetry Devices

2. What do these
people have in
common?

3. What is
Poetry?
– A poem is a composition in verse. It paints a picture by means of
poetic devices like:
1. Figurative language
2. Sound Devices
3. Rhyme
– Poets often reflect the events and ideas of their times through
poetry.
Eg,William ButlerYates with his poem “Second Coming”
Eg, Kendrick Lamar’s Alright

4. Analysis of
Poetry:
– Main points of analyzing a poem are:
1. Form/Structure
2. Diction (Word Choice)
3. Tone
4. Imagery

5. 1. Form and
Structure
– Poetry comes in a variety of forms and each form follows a specific
structure
– Structural elements found in Poetry are:
1. Stanza: is a group of lines in a poem set off from others by a blank line
or indentation
2. Sonnet: a fourteen line poem with a set rhyme scheme. There are two
categories of sonnets: Italian Sonnet and English Sonnet.
3. Ode: is a formal lyric poem written in celebration or dedication of
something with specific intent.

6. 2. Diction
– What does diction mean?
– It is the word choice/speaking style of the poet.
– The poet’s word choice often sets the intention of the poem.
– Diction plays a very important role in setting the tone and the
imagery for the poem.

7. 3.Tone
– The tone of a poem is the poet’s attitude towards the poem’s
speaker, reader and subject matter as interpreted by the reader.
– The tone of a poem reveals the poet’s subjective views and
attitudes to the subject matter of the poem.
– Tone might be suggested as: friendly, warning, happy,
condescending, sad, depressing etc.

8. 4.Imagery
– Imagery is the ability for a poem to conjure up a set of mental
images with the use of diction and tone.
– This means that the poets makes use of figurative and literal
language to create images in the reader’s head.
– The poet’s use of Diction (figurative and literal language) + tone
(poet’s attitude towards the poem’s subject matter) creates
Imagery.
-The poet’s use of the diction and the tone help the reader create
an picture in their mind of what the poet is trying to say to them.

9. POETRY DEVICES
1. Figurative Language
2. Sound Devices

10. 1. Figurative Language

11. 1.Simile
– A simile is an direct comparison of one thing to another that
always contains the words as or like.
– Eg, Her smile is as bright as the sun.

12. 2. Metaphor
– A metaphor is a direct comparison of one thing to another without
the use of as or like.
– Eg, School is a life sentence.
– Melanie is a couch potato.

13. Metaphor or
Simile?
Why?
– Connie was as large as an elephant.
– Craig is such a saint.
– Emily was as loud as a fire alarm.
– Your room is a pigsty!

14. 3.
Personification
– Personification gives human qualities to inanimate objects or
abstract ideas.
– Eg,The chair moaned under Paul’s weight.
– The kettle began to whistle.
– The trees danced as the wind blew.
– The moon hid behind the horizon as the sun began to stretch
across the sky.

15. 4.Allusion
– This is either a direct or an indirect referral to a particular aspect
from a specific time.
– Eg, “Nothing Gold Can Stay” (1923) Robert Frost
“Then leaf subsides to leaf
So Eden sank to grief
So dawn goes down to day
Nothing gold can stay”
What place does this poem refer to?

16. 2.Sound Devices

17. 1.Alliteration
– Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning
of words.
– Often highlights the expression of movement.
– Eg, Football fever fuels fans
– Sally sang a sad song
– Lilly likes to light lanterns.

18. 2.Assonance
– Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds.
– Short vowels sounds may create a mood of speed, vitality, joy or
suspense.
– Eg, Clap your hands and stamp your feet.
– Long vowel sounds sounds slow down the pace and temper the
mood.
– Eg, He slowly mowed the overgrown lawn.

19. 3.Onomatopoeia
– Onomatopoeia uses words that imitate and reproduce real-life
sounds and actions.
– The sound effect heightens the visual imagery within the poem.
– Eg,The water splashed when Nick jumped in.
– The snake hissed as it passed by the hiker.

20. Rhyme
– This is the repetition of similar sounds in two or more words
– Most rhyme occurs at the end of the line in poetry- end rhymes
– But some poems have rhymes that occur in the middle of the line.
– Rhyme Scheme is when end rhymes repeat in a pattern.
– Eg, ABAB or ABBA
“Bid me to weep, and I will weep
While I have eye to see
And having none, yet I will keep
A heart to weep for thee”
– What Rhyme Scheme is this poem?

21. Thank you!
– End of the lesson.
– Homework!!