Elements of Poetry
Some elements of poetry are:
Rhythm: This is the music made by the statements of the poem, which includes the syllables in the lines. The best method of understanding this is to read the poem aloud. Listen for the sounds and the music made when we hear the lines spoken aloud. How do the words work with each other? How do the words flow when they are linked with one another? Do the words sound right? Do the words fit with each other? These are the things you consider while studying the rhythm of the poem.
Rhyme: A poem may or may not have a rhyme. When you write poetry that has rhyme, it might mean that the last words of the lines match with each other in some form. Either the last words of the first and second lines would rhyme with each other or the first and the third, second and the fourth and so on. Rhyme is basically similar sounding words like ‘cat’ and ‘hat’, ‘close’ and ‘shows’, ‘house’ and ‘mouse’ etc. Free verse poetry, though, does not follow this system. Rap also has more complex rhyming schemes where rhymes may occur in the middle of the line and at the end.
Alliteration: This is also used in several poems for sound effect. Several words in the sentence may begin with the same alphabet or syllable sound. For example, in the sentence "Many minute miniature moments," the sound of the alphabet ‘M’ is repeated in all the four words continuously. When you say those words aloud, the sound effect generated is called Alliteration.
Simile: A simile is a method of comparison using the words ‘like’ or ‘as’. When, in a poem, something is said to be ‘like’ another it means that the poet is using Simile to convey his feelings about what (s)he is describing. For example, in the statement ‘Her laughter was like a babbling brook’, the poet is comparing the laughter of the girl to the sound made by a babbling brook. Note that ‘babbling brook’ is an example of Alliteration.
Metaphor: A metaphor is a method of comparison where the words ‘like’ and ‘as’ are not used. To modify the earlier example, if the statement used had been something like ‘Her laughter, a babbling brook’, then it would be the use of Metaphor.
Theme: This is what the poem is all about. The theme of the poem is the central idea that the poet wants to convey. It can be a story, or a thought, or a description of something or someone – anything which is what the poem is all about.
Symbolism: Often poems will convey ideas and thoughts using symbols. A symbol can stand for many things at one time and requires the reader to think “outside the box”.
Exaggeration: Poets sometimes “go beyond the truth.” That’s what exaggeration means – to describe something as larger or wildly different than it actually is. In everyday conversation, people often exaggerate, or stretch the truth. This helps you to make a point forcefully. Exaggeration often creates mental pictures or sparks a reader’s imagination. We sometimes use the word hyperbole instead of
Idiom: The phrase “hinging in there” is an idiom. It doesn’t mean that somebody is physically hanging somewhere. It means “going on” or “not giving up”. An idiom is an everyday saying that doesn’t exactly mean what the words say. Another example, “my brain was cooking” doesn’t actually mean that the brain was cooking on a stove nor does “break a leg” mean that someone wants you to go and break another person, or even your own leg!
Imagery: Imagery is used to draw a picture for the reader. It is language that appeals to the five senses – sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. Poet’s images might describe feelings, scenes, or objects.
Mood: Poetry touched upon your emotions. The feeling that a poem creates in the reader is called mood. A poem’s mood may be dark and mysterious or bright and cheerful. A poem may be sad or happy. All the other elements used in the poem will create its mood.
Onomatopoeia: When a writer uses words that sound like the noises they describe, he is using onomatopoeia. Examples of onomatopoeia are the words “crash”, “bands”, “whoosh” and “whew”.
Rhythm: This is the music made by the statements of the poem, which includes the syllables in the lines. The best method of understanding this is to read the poem aloud. Listen for the sounds and the music made when we hear the lines spoken aloud. How do the words work with each other? How do the words flow when they are linked with one another? Do the words sound right? Do the words fit with each other? These are the things you consider while studying the rhythm of the poem.
Rhyme: A poem may or may not have a rhyme. When you write poetry that has rhyme, it might mean that the last words of the lines match with each other in some form. Either the last words of the first and second lines would rhyme with each other or the first and the third, second and the fourth and so on. Rhyme is basically similar sounding words like ‘cat’ and ‘hat’, ‘close’ and ‘shows’, ‘house’ and ‘mouse’ etc. Free verse poetry, though, does not follow this system. Rap also has more complex rhyming schemes where rhymes may occur in the middle of the line and at the end.
Alliteration: This is also used in several poems for sound effect. Several words in the sentence may begin with the same alphabet or syllable sound. For example, in the sentence "Many minute miniature moments," the sound of the alphabet ‘M’ is repeated in all the four words continuously. When you say those words aloud, the sound effect generated is called Alliteration.
Simile: A simile is a method of comparison using the words ‘like’ or ‘as’. When, in a poem, something is said to be ‘like’ another it means that the poet is using Simile to convey his feelings about what (s)he is describing. For example, in the statement ‘Her laughter was like a babbling brook’, the poet is comparing the laughter of the girl to the sound made by a babbling brook. Note that ‘babbling brook’ is an example of Alliteration.
Metaphor: A metaphor is a method of comparison where the words ‘like’ and ‘as’ are not used. To modify the earlier example, if the statement used had been something like ‘Her laughter, a babbling brook’, then it would be the use of Metaphor.
Theme: This is what the poem is all about. The theme of the poem is the central idea that the poet wants to convey. It can be a story, or a thought, or a description of something or someone – anything which is what the poem is all about.
Symbolism: Often poems will convey ideas and thoughts using symbols. A symbol can stand for many things at one time and requires the reader to think “outside the box”.
Exaggeration: Poets sometimes “go beyond the truth.” That’s what exaggeration means – to describe something as larger or wildly different than it actually is. In everyday conversation, people often exaggerate, or stretch the truth. This helps you to make a point forcefully. Exaggeration often creates mental pictures or sparks a reader’s imagination. We sometimes use the word hyperbole instead of
Idiom: The phrase “hinging in there” is an idiom. It doesn’t mean that somebody is physically hanging somewhere. It means “going on” or “not giving up”. An idiom is an everyday saying that doesn’t exactly mean what the words say. Another example, “my brain was cooking” doesn’t actually mean that the brain was cooking on a stove nor does “break a leg” mean that someone wants you to go and break another person, or even your own leg!
Imagery: Imagery is used to draw a picture for the reader. It is language that appeals to the five senses – sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. Poet’s images might describe feelings, scenes, or objects.
Mood: Poetry touched upon your emotions. The feeling that a poem creates in the reader is called mood. A poem’s mood may be dark and mysterious or bright and cheerful. A poem may be sad or happy. All the other elements used in the poem will create its mood.
Onomatopoeia: When a writer uses words that sound like the noises they describe, he is using onomatopoeia. Examples of onomatopoeia are the words “crash”, “bands”, “whoosh” and “whew”.
