Poetry Toolbox
Poets use several types of tools to write poems that speak to us. All of the tools in a poet’s toolbox are used to create meaning and feeling in a poem. Here are a few of the most common tools in a poet’s toolbox.
Tools for meaning help the poet (you!) express feelings and experiences through descriptive words and phrases.
An image is a word or phrase that appeals to one or more of the five senses. Poets use concrete details to create images that describe how their subjects look, sound, feel, taste, and smell. By using imagery, poets and authors establish mood and connect with the emotions of their readers.
Figurative language is any language that goes beyond the literal meaning of words in order to state ideas in new and imaginative ways. The many types of figurative language are known as figures of speech. The most common figures of speech are simile, metaphor, personification, and hyperbole.
A simile is a figure of speech that uses like or as to make a direct comparison between two unlike things. (forexample: “My heart was like a yo-yo.”)
A metaphor is a figure of speech in which something is described as though it were something else. A metaphor, like a simile, points out a similarity between two unlike things. (for example: “Life is a bowl of cherries.”)
Personification is a type of figurative language in which a nonhuman subject is given human characteristics. (for example: “The angry sun glared at the sunbathers.”)
Hyperbole is an exaggerated statement used to heighten effect. (for example: “I am so hungry I could eat an elephant.”)
A symbol is a person, place, event, or object that stands for or represents something else. (For example, a dove with an olive branch in its beak is a symbol of peace.)
The denotation of a word is its strict dictionary meaning—the literal meaning of a word without any emotional associations. The connotation of a word is the feeling associated with a word--emotional, cultural, or traditional associations surrounding it aside from its literal meaning. For example, thrifty and penny-pinching have the same basic meaning, but thrifty has a more positive connotation.
Tools for music help the poet express feelings and experiences through the use of sound in the words, syllables, and lines of the poem.
Rhyme is the repetition of syllable sounds at the ends of words. Poets use rhyme to lend a songlike quality to their verses and to emphasize certain words and ideas. Poets can use endrhymes(rhyming words at the end of a line of poetry) or internalrhymes (rhyming words within a line of poetry). “Like a flower,/For its hour….” is an example of end rhyme. “For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams/….” is an example of internal rhyme.)
Rhythm is the pattern of beats, or stresses, on the syllables of words in spoken or written language. There are many different rhythmical patterns a poet can use. “I never saw a purple cow/I never hope to see one….”is an example of a rhythm common to children’s verses. Poetry that does not have a regular, rhythmical pattern is called free verse.
Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds, especially at the beginning of words. Writers use alliteration to draw attention to certain words, point out similarities and contrasts, create mood, and create musical effects in their writing. Tongue twisters are great examples of alliteration.
Onomatopoeiais the use of words that imitate sounds. Crash, buzz, hiss, slither, cluck, and zing are all examples of onomatopoeia.
Repetition is the use, more than once, of any element of language—a sound, word, phrase, clause, or sentence. Repetition is used in both prose and poetry. In poetry, repetition often involves the recurring use of certain words, images, structures, and devices. Rhyme, alliteration, and rhythm are all repetitions of sounds or sound patterns. A refrain is a repeated line or group of lines (like the chorus of a song).
Other important terms you need to know:
A stanza is a formal division of lines in a poem. Many poems are divided into stanzas that are separated by spaces. Stanzas often function just like paragraphs in prose. Each stanza states and develops a single main idea. Couplets are two-line, rhyming stanzas. Quatrainsare stanzas containing four lines.
The theme of a poem (like the theme of a piece of prose) is its central message or purpose. A theme may be stated directly or implied. When the theme is implied, the reader must figure it out by looking carefully at what the poem reveals about people or about life.
The mood of a piece of writing is the feeling it creates in the reader. Writers use many devices to create mood, including images, dialogue, repetition, figurative language, and sound elements.
Tone is the author’s attitude toward a subject. There are many possible tones an author can use, including serious, sarcastic, solemn, objective, enthusiastic, humorous, hostile, disapproving, personal, and impersonal. Tone should not be confused with mood, which is the climate of feeling in a literary work. For example, an author may create a mood of mystery around a character or setting but may treat that character or setting in a sarcastic, serious, or humorous tone.
A ballad is a songlike poem that tells a story, often one dealing with adventure and romance. Most ballads are written in four- to six-line stanzas and have regular rhythms and rhyme schemes. A ballad often features a refrain—a regularly repeated line or group of lines (like the chorus of a song).
A concrete poem is one in which the poet arranges the letters, punctuation, and lines to create an image, or picture on the page. The shape of the poem usually illustrates the subject of the poem.
Free verseis poetry not written in a regular rhythmical pattern, or meter.
The haiku is a three-line Japanese verse form. The first and third lines of a haiku each have five syllables, while the second line has seven. A writer of haiku uses images to create a single, vivid picture, generally of a scene from nature.
A limerick is a five-lined rhyming poem with a set rhythm pattern. Limericks are usually humorous.
A lyric poem is a short, highly musical poem that expresses the observations and feelings of a single speaker.
A narrative poem is a story told in verse. Narrative poems often have all the elements of short stories, including characters, conflict, and plot. Ballads are a type of narrative poem.