What is Poetry?

Poetry is a type of literature wherein words are placed together to form sounds and images
and follows strictly the rules of meter and rhyme. Poetry is believed as the oldest form of literature.
The oldest written manuscripts we have are poems, mostly epic poems telling the stories of ancient
mythology such as the sacred texts of Hinduism - Epic of Gilgamesh and the Vedas.
Poems convey thoughts and tell stories in a lyrical arrangement of words. These are indulged
with lots of imagery and metaphors that are made up of fragments rather than grammatically correct
sentences.

Six Most Important Elements of Poetry

1. Form – the way a poem looks, its physical structure or its arrangement on the page. A poem
may have any number of lines or verse, rhyme scheme, stanza (lines that are grouped
together), and/or metrical pattern (which imposes specific length and emphasis on a given
line of poetry), but it can still be classified according to its form or style. A poem may be free
verse (lacks a consistent rhyme scheme, metrical pattern, or musical form), blank verse
(written with a precise meter—almost always iambic pentameter—that does not rhyme), and
rhymed poetry (rhymes by definition but the scheme varies)

Here are the three most common types of poems according to form:

o Lyric Poetry: This is the usual type of the modern poems. It is any poem with a speaker
who expresses strong thoughts and feelings.

Examples:
 Ode - is a tribute to its subject, although the subject need not be dead, and has
elaborated stanza pattern
 Elegy - has no set metric pattern and is written to mourn and reminisce the dead
 Sonnet - is a 14-line poem which focuses on the topic of love. Its two types are
the Italian or Petrarchan which consists of an octave (eight lines) and a sestet
(six lines) and Shakespearean/ Elizabethan which consists of three quatrains
(four lines each) and a concluding couplet (two lines).

o Narrative Poem: It is a poem that tells or narrates a story; its structure resembles the
plot line of a story [i.e. the introduction of conflict and characters, rising action, climax
and the denouement].

Examples:
 Ballad - is a poem that is either poetic or musical which tells the tales of ordinary
people. It usually follows a rhymed quatrains or cinquains.
 Epic - is lengthy and deals with the founding of a nation or any heroic themes by
a certain figure or character from a distant past.

o Descriptive Poem: It is a poem that describes the world that surrounds the speaker

which uses elaborate imagery and adjectives and more personal and introspective than
the lyric poetry.

Example:
 Pastoral Poetry – concerns the relationship between human and the natural
world.
2. Imagery – is believed to be the only thing that will make your poetry powerful and enticing.
These are mental pictures the poet creates through language.

3. Rhyme – is the repetition of similar sounds; the most common kind of rhyme is the end rhyme
which occurs at the end of two or more lines.

Example:
The mountain is high
But you can’t take me higher.
The leaves are dry
And your hands are colder.

The rhyme scheme of the poem is abab.

4. Sound – reinforces the meaning of the poem and the rhythm goes along with it.
o Two Sound Patterns
 Euphony - words are chosen for their soft consonant sounds and melodious
quality (L, O, S, SH, M, N, Y, W, U, PH, A)

She loves swimming and snorkeling.

 Cacophony - words are chosen for their hard sounds and general
obnoxiousness (K, J, T, Q, V, C, X, G, Z, CH)

The King and Queen are chill.

Common types of sound play emphasize individual sounds between and within words:

Alliteration: the repetition of initial sounds on the same line or stanza

Example: Catherine’s cute colorful collar

Assonance: the repetition of vowel sounds (anywhere in the middle or end of a line or

stanza)
Example: Chilling while having chitchats

Consonance: the repetition of consonant sounds (anywhere in the middle or end of a

line or stanza)
Example: She is prettier and better with Peter

Onomatopoeia: words that sound like that which they describe

Example: Boom! Clap! Hiss! Roar!

Repetition: the repetition of entire lines or phrases to emphasize key thematic ideas

and feelings.

Parallel Structure: a form of repetition where the order of verbs and nouns is repeated;
it may involve exact words, but it more importantly repeats sentence structure
Example: I can, I do, I will.
 5. Line – is a very important part of poetry for it is like one sentence. It is not necessary to put a
period at the end of each line since poetry does not conform to grammar rules.

Examples of poems classified in the number of lines:

1. Sonnet – 14 lines
2. Haiku – 3 line
3. Limerick – 5 lines

 Verse - A name for a line of poetry written in meter. Named according to the number
of “Feet” per line.
Example:
Monometer – one foot
Dimeter – two feet
Trimester – three feet
Tetrameter – four feet
Pentameter – five feet
Hexameter – six feet
Heptameter – seven meter
Octometer – eight meter

6. Stanzas – are a series of lines grouped together and separated by an empty line from other
stanzas. It is a division in a poem named for the number of lines it contains and are the
equivalent of a paragraph in an essay. 
Examples:
Couplet – two - line stanza
Triplet – three - line stanza
Quatrain – four - line stanza
Sestet – six - line stanza
Septet – seven - line stanza
Octave – eight - line stanza

Literary Devices Used in Poetry

As published by Ruchika Gupta in Success CDs website (https://www.successcds.net/learn-

english/literary-devices-in-poems.html), the following are some of the literary
devices/techniques/figurative languages used by the poet to add unique style in writing:

 Simile. Comparison of two things using the words “like” or “as.”

Example:
Friends are like sunflowers in the garden.

 Anaphora: The repeated use of word at the start of two or more consecutive lines.
Example:
Class 10 poem- The Frog and the nightingale

Said the frog: I tried to teach her, But she was a stupid creature
Far too nervous, far too tense.
Far too prone to influence.
 Antithesis: Use of opposite words in close placement
Example:
Class 10 poem- The Frog and the nightingale

“Every night from dusk to dawn”

 Hyperbole: It is a Greek word meaning “overcasting”. The use of exaggeration to lay
emphasis.
Example:

Class 10 poem- Ozymandias

“My name is Ozymandias, King of kings”

 Metaphor: It is indirect comparison by highlighting a particular quality of two things.
Example:
Poem- The Frog and the nightingale
“You are Mozart in disguise”

Here the nightingale compares frog’s singing ability with that of great musician
Mozart
 Onomatopoeia: It is the usage of sound words to create a dramatic effect.
Example:
Poem- The frog and the nightingale
“Once upon a time a frog
Croaked away in Bingle bog”
So, here the poet used the word ‘croaked’ which is a sound made by the frog

 Personification: It means to give human quality to an object or a non-living thing.

Example:

Poem- Mirror
“I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions.
Whatever I see I swallow immediately”
Here the poet has personified a mirror because the mirror is describing itself.
 Synecdoche: It is a word or phrase in which a part of something is used to refer to the whole
of it.
Example:
Poem- Ozymandias
“The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed”
Here the word hand is used to refer to the sculptor who made the statue of
Ozymandias and heart is used to refer to King Ozymandias who gave the right
expression for the statue.
 Transferred epithet: It is an adjective used with a noun refers to another noun.
Example:
Poem- The snake trying
“Pursuing stick”
Here it is not the stick that pursues, rather the person who carries it is pursuing
 Oxymoron: Two words together that are opposites but together mean something.

Examples:
 Mud bath
 Awfully pretty
  Cold sweat

CREATIVE WRITING 11
Name: ____________________ Date: ________________

On the space provided below, write one (1) stanza of your favorite song and answer the questions
that follow.

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Questions:
1. Why did you choose this stanza from your favorite song?
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2. What is the message of the song?

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3. How does the song relate to your life?

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4. How did you know that a song is a poem?

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5. In your own idea, what is a poem?

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CREATIVE WRITING 11

Name: ______________________ Date: ______________

Activity 1: Determine the (a) elements and the (b) language devices, based on what were discussed above,
that are found in the poem below.

Examples:
(a) Elements
1. Form of the poetry – Ode

(b) Language Devices

1. Anaphora – i was just being true
i was just being honest
but i still lost both of you

To the friends I lost

by: Rheza Mae M. Pacut (@missterious)
(Published at Poetizer on April 22, 2019)

gone are the days when all we

could think of is to laugh

gone are the hours we could spend just for talking about
our lives as we catch up

gone are the minutes when we could stare at each other's

eyes when something out of the blue happens and when
someone attractive shows up

those days, hours and minutes are all gone,

along with it is the friendship we've built since we were young

drifted nowhere, swiftly hushing with the waves we could bare

I lost both of you

because

gone are the times when we could freely express

what we feel

when being true is not prohibited

and when being childish is promulgated

I was just being true

I was just being honest
but I still lost both of you

to the friends I lost,

you lost me too.
Activity 2. Read again the poem above and answer the questions below:

1. What is the message of the poem?

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2. How can you relate from the message of the poem?

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3. Why is it important to know the elements and language used in poetry?

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