Doing over and over again.


A river in Southwest Asia, flowing from Eastern Turkey through Syria and Iraq.


A container for holding liquids, usually has a handle, a spout, and a cover.


A color of pale reddish purple.


To put to sleep or rest by doing something soothing.


Radiating or reflecting bright and shining light.


Someone or something that is very young and is still growing.  


Hidden, concealed and obscured.


To take great pleasure or delight in doing or saying something.


A work or movement, often the last movement of a sonata, having one principal subject that is stated at least three times in the same key and to which return is made after the introduction of each subordinate theme.


A stout single-edged cavalry sword, having a curved blade.


A bright-red color almost kind of orange.


Witty and brilliantly clever.


A unit of length corresponding to a distance, commonly taken as 9 inches (23 cm).




Cause to appear unimportant, trifling, etc.

Elements of poetry


The character, or voice, who tells the poem.


Writing or speech that appeals to one or more of the five senses- sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch.

figurative language

Writing that is innovative, imaginative, and not meant to be taken literally. Writers may use these figures of speech:

  • Metaphors: Describe one this as if it were something else. Her eyes were saucers, wide with expectation  
  • Personification: Gives human qualities to something nonhuman. The clarinets sing
  • Similes: Use like or as to compare two unlike things. The icy water was like stinging bees.   

Sound devices

Add a musical quality to poetry. Here are a few examples:

  • Alliteration: The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginnings of words, as in feathered friend  
  • Repetition: Is the repeated use of a sound, word, or phrase.
  • Assonance: The repetition of vowel sounds in stressed syllables that end with different consonant sounds, as in fade and hay  
  • Consonance: The repetition of final consonant sounds in stressed syllables with different vowel sounds, as in end and hand  
  • Onomatopoeia: The use of words that imitate sounds, like pow
  • Rhyme: The repetition of sounds at the ends of words - thin skin

Structure of poetry

The structure of a poem is what distinguishes it from prose writing, such as short stories and essays. This list describes the building blocks of a poem's structure.


Help poets add natural pauses by breaking up a poem into many individual parts. Each line may be punctuated differently, or not at all. A capital letter usually introduces of a line.   


Are the arrangement of groups of groups of lines to create an appearance on the page or to organize thoughts. Each stanza is set off from the next stanza by a blank line below it. Certain forms of poetry have a set number of lines and a rhythmical pattern that each stanza must follow. Others, like free verse, have no such restrictions.


Is the rhythmical pattern, or the arrangement and number of stressed and unstressed syllables. Strong and weak beats can be indicated, as follows: whose WOODS these ARE i THINK i KNOW.   

Rhyme Scheme

Is the pattern of rhyme in a poem. It is written in letters; aabb is a stanza whose first two and last two lines rhyme. Here are a few:

  • End Rhyme: Occurs when the ends of lines share the same sound.
  • Internal Rhyme: Is when a rhyme occurs within a single line, as in the Samuel Coleridge line: "In mist or cloud, on mast or should."
  • Rhyming Couplets: Are a pair of rhyming lines that usually have the same meter and length.

Forms OF Poetry  

A form of poetry is usually defined by purpose and characteristics:

Lyric Poetry



Are fourteen-line poems with a formal tone that follow a specific rhyme scheme. Sonnets' subjects often vary, but the purpose of a sonnet is to praise. Here are a few:

  • Rhyme: There are two main categories of sonnet, Petrarchan and Shakespearean. Petrarchan sonnets have a rhyme scheme of abbaabbacdecde and Shakespearean sonnets have a rhyme scheme of ababcdcdefefgg.
  • Meter: The lines in sonnets have a regular meter with an unstressed beat followed by a stressed beat.
  • Line and Stanzas: Petrarchan sonnets have two stanzas: an eight-line stanza followed by a six-line stanza. Shakespearean sonnets have four stanzas: three four-line stanza followed by a couplet (a pair of lines that acts as a stana).   


Are poems with a formal tone, written for the single purpose of celebrating or honoring a person, object, or idea. Here are a few:

  • Rhyme and Rhythm: Varies; an ode many have end rhyme or regular rhyme or regular rhythm.
  • Lines and Stanzas: Number and length can vary. Odes are usually long with varying line lengths.  


Are formal poems that reflect on death or other solemn, serious themes. The structure of elegies varies considerable.

Narrative Poetry



Are long narrative poems that tell an exciting or inspiring story, usually about a hero. As fits its subject, a regular meter. Epics often begin with an appeal to a muse- the beings that the ancient Greeks believed controlled inspiration in the arts.  


Are songlike poems that tell a story, often dealing with adventure, tragedy, or romance.

  • Line and Stanzas: Ballads are structural like songs, with verses that move the action forward and repeated refrains that drive home the main message.  

Free Verse Poetry

Is defined by its lack of strict structure. It has no regular meter, no intentional rhyme, no fixed line length, and no specific stanza pattern. Instead , the poet chooses a loose structure that fits the poem.  


Are humorous five-line poems with a specific rhythmic pattern and an aabba rhyme scheme.  

Concrete Poem

In a concrete poem, like the one shown here, the words are arranged on the page to form a shape that suggests the topic or ideas in the poem. Concrete poems often have a light hearted or humorous tone. Their structures is loose, without regular meter, though they may rhyme.  


Are short, unrhymed poems, often about nature. The form original in Japan, but its simplicity and power has made it popular worldwide. Its tone is often thoughtful, but it can be playful as well.