Elements of Poetry

This poetry“web quest”will allow you to explore the following elements of poetry: mood, tone, imagery, metaphor, personification, simile, alliteration, onomatopoeia and refrain. By looking at a variety of poems, you will learn about and be able to identify these poetic elements.

Follow the instructions below to explore the Elements of Poetry.Write your responses on your own sheet of paper.

PART 1:

Questions 1 - 4 deal with the elements ofmood,metaphorandtone. Review the definitions of each in thetable below:

Mood / Metaphor / Tone
The feeling a poem creates for the reader / An implied comparison between two objects or ideas / The attitude a poet takes toward his/her subject

To complete questions 1 - 4, go toPoem Hunterto read the poemDemocracy, by Langston Hughes.

1.  What is an example of ametaphorin this poem?

Mood and tone are similar, but according to the table above, they differ in a crucial way. With that in mind, answer questions2 & 3:

2.  How would you describe themoodof the poem? Be sure to provide some text evidence to go along with your answer.

3.  How would you describe the author'stone? Be sure to provide some text evidence to go along with your answer.

4.  Independent work: Go here to learn more about the life of Langston Hughes. Write down 5 facts you learned about this great American poet. (Your facts should NOT include when he was born or when he died.) This is a video so you will need to use headphones/ear buds as not to bother other students.

PART 2

Questions5 - 7deal with the elements ofalliteration,refrainandrhyme scheme. Review the definitions of each in the table below:

Alliteration / Refrain / Rhyme Scheme
The repetition of an initial (beginning) sound or consonant in two or more words near one another in a line of a poem / The repetition of one or more phrases or lines at certain intervals, usually at the end of each stanza Similar to the chorus in a song. / The pattern in which the end rhyme occurs
Example:
Continuous as the stars that shine(A)
And twinkle on the milky way, (B)
They stretched in never-ending line(A)
Along the margin of a bay: (B)
Ten thousand saw I at a glance, (C)
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance(C)

To complete question 5 - 7, go here to readOne Inch Tall, by Shel Silverstein.

5.What line would be considered therefrain? What effect does this have on the reader of the poem?

6.There are several examples ofalliterationin the poem. Please list two.

7. What is the rhyme scheme for this poem?

PART 3

Questions 8 & 9 deal with the concept ofsimile. Review the definition below.

Simile
A direct comparison between two objects or ideas that uses the words “like” or “as”

Then follow the linkBaseball Almanacto read Robert Francis' poem,The Base Stealer, and answer questions 8 & 9.

8.Whatisan example of asimileas it's written in the poem?

9. What two things is the poemcomparing through the use ofsimile?

PART 4

Question 10 asks you to explorepersonification.

Personification
Giving human traits or characteristics to animals or inanimate objects.

Visitthe site My Word Wizardto read five examples of poems with personification andcomplete question 10.

10. List an example (on your answer sheet) ofpersonificationfrom each of the FIVE poems given.Be sure to provide the titles along with the examples, so I know to which poem you are referring.

PART 5

Imagery

Imageryis a concept that is sometimes more difficult to explain or identify.A simple definition is as follows:

Representation of the five senses: sight, taste, touch, sound, and smell •Creates mental images about a poem’s subject

Read the poem,White Eyes, by Mary Oliver by visitingThe Poetry Foundation.

11. Think about the imagery in this poem and describe how this poem uses imagery.

PART 6

When a word imitates a noise or action (example: "flutter"), we call it anonomatopoeia.The poems found atMy Word Wizardcontain several examples. Read these poems and complete the following:

12.Challenge: List 8 words in the poems that are an example of onomatopoeia.

13. Think of three additionalexamples.