Meter

Meter

Definition: A pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry. Lengths of meters can vary; the name of a meter depends on how many feet it consists of. (Monometer-one foot, dimeter-two feet, etc.)

Example:

 

Iambic Pentameter
From "On His Blindness," by John Milton

      1.............2............. 3...............4..............5
When I..|..con SID..|..er HOW..|..my LIFE..|..is SPENT
       1.................2.............. 3..................4...................4
Ere HALF..|..my DAYS..|..in THIS..|..dark WORLD..|..and WIDE

Significance: Meters provide a poem with rhythm. Therefore, as stated before, a poem can flow and have a nice beat when you read or recite it.

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"A poem's meter is its heartbeat."

 

Rhyme

Rhyme

Definition: The repetition of certain sounds in the same position of a poem, usually at the end of a line.

Example:

Time

The question that is asked the most; we hear it everyday,
“What time Is it?” they want to know, and then they go away.
It's time for bed, it's time for work, or time to feed the fishes,

It's time to take your medicine, or wash and dry the dishes.
Time in seconds, time in hours, so many freckles past a hair,
depending on the zone, or whether daylights savings there.
Time is measured many ways from minutes to months,
Time is what keeps everything from happening at once!

A time to live, a time to die, a time for having fun,
Clocks and calenders alike, all scheduled by the sun.
Intervals that cant be hurried, will not be denied,
a season that we know that's coming, as surely as the tide.

If there ever comes a time when time will be no more,
I wonder how we'll know to quit, or when it was before.
Do we hurry? Do we loaf? It depends upon the time...
Had we started earlier, we'd be finished with this rhyme.

 

by: Erin Friedrichs

 

Significance: Like rhythm, rhymes give poems a flowing, controlled feel. It is also a form of repetition; the repetition of sounds. Rhymes can give poems rhythm.

 

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Rhythm

Rhythm

Definition: The patterns of sounds or way of reciting a poem created by stressed and unstressed syllables in lines and stanzas of poetry.

  

Example: This is Christopher Marlowe's line from Dr. Faustus, including the stressed and unstressed syllables.

"Was this the face that launched a thousand ships"

Duh-DUH-duh-DUH-duh-DUH-duh-DUH-duh-DUH

Significance: When writing and reading poetry, it is supposed to flow and have patterns. Rhythm helps to create those patterns and can give a nice beat to the poem. It can be thought of as a form of repetition, which can emphasize important parts of the poem.

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Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia

Definition: Words incorporated into a literary piece by imitating the sounds they are supposed to describe.

Example: In comic books, the authors will use BAM! and POW! in their story to emphasize fights.

Significance: Using sounds can also you feel like your're part of a story because you can hear it and sometimes see it. I think of it as a form of imagery.

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Imagery

Imagery

Definition: Parts of a literary piece that use the senses to help the reader make the poem feel more real; they can feel like they're a part of it. The types are: Auditory (hearing), Visual (signt), Tactile (ouch), Gustatory (aste), Olfactory (smell), Organic (internal feelings such as anger and joy), and kinesthetic (movement that you can sense).

Example: In the poem, "Alabanza," it created visual imagery because I could see the workplace, but also organic because I felt the mourning feeling for the lost lives.

Significance: Imagery helps you create a scene in your head while you're reading so you can better understand the author's meaning. It can help you feel like you're part of whatever is described.

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Personification

Personification

Definition: Giving a non-human human abilities and qualities. It does not necessarily have to be an inanimate object; personification can be applied to animals.

Example: In most childrens' cartoons, there will be animals that can talk and do other things usually only capable by humans. For example, Spongebob and Toy Story.

Significance: Personification is important because it can be applied to any literary piece in various ways. It is easy to use and can make a boring story an exciting fantasy.

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Simile

Simile

Definition: Comparing two unlike things using the words like or as.

Example: Yesterday I was as busy as a bee.

Significance: Similes can make reading things more excitable and easier to understand. Similies can be fun, even though it may sometimes be hard to find the exact meaning. Simpler similes can be put into childrens' writing to make it humorous to write or illustrate.

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