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What Is Poetry?

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The word poetry is an ancient Greek word ποιεω (poieo), which means “I create”. In other words poetry is the sound and meaning of words combined to express feelings, thoughts, and ideas. Poetry is usually written in lines. There are many elements of poetry, these includes: Rhythm, Sound, Imagery, Form.

RHYTHM

 Rhythm is the flow of the beat in a poem.
 Gives poetry a musical feel.
 Can be fast or slow, depending on mood and subject of poem.
 You can measure rhythm in meter, by counting the beats in each line.

SOUND

Writers love to use interesting sounds in their poems. After all, poems are meant to be heard. These sound devices include:

 Rhyme
 Repetition
 Alliteration
 Onomatopoeia

“In a poem the words should be as pleasing to the ear as the meaning is to the mind.” -- Marianne Moore

RHYME

 Rhymes are words that end with the same sound. (Hat, cat and bat rhyme.)
 Rhyming sounds don’t have to be spelled the same way. (Cloud and allowed rhyme.)
 Rhyme is the most common sound device in poetry.
RHYMING PATTERNS
Poets can choose from a variety of different rhyming patterns:

 AABB – lines 1 & 2 rhyme and lines 3 & 4 rhyme
 ABAB – lines 1 & 3 rhyme and lines 2 & 4 rhyme
 ABBA – lines 1 & 4 rhyme and lines 2 & 3 rhyme
 ABCB – lines 2 & 4 rhyme and lines 1 & 3 do not rhyme

REPETETION

 Repetition occurs when poets repeat words, phrases, or lines in a poem.
 Creates a pattern.
 Increases rhythm.
 Strengthens feelings, ideas and mood in a poem.

ALLITERATION

 Alliteration is the repetition of the first consonant sound in words, as in the nursery rhyme “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.”

ONOMATOPOEIA

 Words that represent the actual sound of something are words of onomatopoeia. Dogs “bark,” cats “purr,” thunder “booms,” rain “drips,” and the clock “ticks.”
 Appeals to the sense

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