Poetry 411
A closer look at poetic devices and types of poems.
Poetic Devices
Repetetition
The repeating of certain words to draw the reader's attention.
Example 1:
I’m nobody! Who are you?
Are you nobody too?
Then there’s a pair of us-don’t tell!
They’d banish us you know.
Example 2:
Because I do not hope to turn again
Because I do not hope
Because I do not hope to turn…
Rhyme
The repetition of similar sounds at the end of lines in a poem.
Alliteration
The repetition of beginning consonant sounds. Used to get the reader's attention by adding rhythm to a poem.
Rhyme Scheme
The consistent rhyming pattern at the end of lines in a poem using the alphabet.
Types of Poems
Sonnet
A 14 lined poem with a fixed rhyme scheme.
Narrative
A poem that tells a story with a plot, characters, setting, etc. It can but doesn't have to rhyme.
The Lady of Shalott (for children)
Ballad
A poem that tells a story but is written like a song with simple stanzas. It can rhyme but doesn't have to.
Limerick
A humorous poem that has 5 lines and a fixed rhyme scheme of A A B B A. Lines 1, 2, and 5 have 8 syllables each. Lines 3 and 4 have 6 syllables each.
Cinquain
Free Verse
Poems that are free from limitations of rhythms and rhyme schemes.
Concrete
Poem where the meaning is shown by a visual picture using patterns of words or letters.
Acrostic
A poem in which certain letters in each line form a word or words.
Ekphrasis
A poem that is written about a work of art.