This document discusses various elements of poetry including symbols, structure, and themes. It provides examples of symbolic objects, colors, and flowers and their meanings. Structure in poetry can include alphabetic sequence, haiku, and free verse forms. Poems are often organized into stanzas and different verse forms like couplets, tercets, and quatrains. A theme is the overall statement or meaning behind the poem. An example poem by Langston Hughes about Coney Island uses sensory details to convey the theme of life being like rotten or sick things.

1. Simpson (1972)
“a poem should be read
several times in order to
„hear‟ it and feel its
emotions”.

2. SYMBOL
 is something which stands for something else
 (in poetry) are said to be those words and group
of words, which have a range of reference
beyond their literal denotation
ELEMENTS OF POETRY

3. Example:
Ah Sunflower
-William Blake-
“Ah Sunflower, weary of time,
Who contests the steps of the sun;
Seeking after that sweet golden clime
Where the traveler‟s journey is done.”

4. Symbolism in Colors
 Black is used to represent death or evil.
 White stands for life and purity.
 Red can symbolize blood, passion, danger, or
immoral character.
 Purple is a royal color.
 Yellow stands for violence or decay.
 Blue represents peacefulness and calm.

5. Symbolic Objects
 A chain can symbolize the coming together of
two things.
 A ladder can represent the relationship between
heaven and earth.
 A mirror can denote the sun but when it is
broken, it can represent an unhappy union or a
separation.

6. Flowers as Symbols
o Roses stand for romance.
o Violets represent shyness.
o Lilies stand for beauty and temptation.
o Chrysanthemums represent perfection.

7. Structure
 How is the whole poem to be organized?
 What will come first and what will come last?
 How is some sort of structure to be created?
 How are words, sentences, images, ideas,
feelings to be put together into something that
holds together, seems complete, and will have a
certain effect on the readers?
ELEMENTS OF POETRY

8. Alphabetic Sequence- each word of the poem, in
sequence, must contain each letter of the alphabet
in consecutive running order
Transylvanian Extractions
-Paul McCann-
A Blood Counting Dentist Elasticized Frankenstein's Gums.
His Injections Just Kidnapped Loose Molars Never Offering
People Quick Replacements .
Some Transformations Used Vampires With X-tremely Yellow
Zombies

9. Haiku- is a three-lined poem, often about
nature
- The first line contains five syllables.
- The second line contains seven syllables.
- The third line contains five syllables.
Haiku
I am first with five
Then seven in the middle
Five again to end.

10. Free Verse- has no set structure and does not need
to follow a rhyme scheme
The City
Time draws on and the ground lays cold.
The streets lay dormant in a dark sea of black,
With lamp posts littered around the vast space,
Emitting an eerie light which creeps into all cracks.
A nearby bridge glistens with frost and due,
It's metal a bitter cold, so harsh and sharp.
I gaze down into the reaches of the curdling,
tumbling tide below as it cascades in symphony.

11. “Writing free verse is like playing
tennis with the net down.”
Robert Frost

12. STANZAS &VERSE FORMS
- groups of lines divided from other groups by white
space on the page
- has the effect of sectioning off the poem
mark breaks in thought in the poem
changes of scenery or imagery
shifts in the direction of the poem
ELEMENTS OF POETRY

13.  Couplet (2 lines)
 Tercet (3 lines)
 Quatrain (4 lines)
 Cinquain (5 lines)
 Sestet (6 lines)

14. I Love To Write Poems
I love to write
Day and night
What would my heart do
But cry, sigh and be blue
If I could not write
Writing feels good
And I know it should
Who could have knew
That what I do
Is write, write, write
- Unknown Author

15. Theme
 the statement the poem or the poet makes
about its subject
 usually may be expressed in several different
ways
 the meaning behind the poem
ELEMENTS OF POETRY

16. Sunset—Coney Island
-Langston Hughes-
The sun,
Like the red yolk of a rotten egg,
Falls behind the roller-coaster
And the horizon sticks
With a putrid odor of colors.
Down on the beach
A little Jewish tailor from the Bronx,
With a bad stomach,
Throws up the hot-dog sandwiches
He ate in the afternoon
While life to him
Is like a sick tomato
In a garbage can.

17. “A poet's autobiography is his
poetry.”
Yevgeny Yevtushenko