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Contributor: Jennifer Blanchard. Lesson ID: 13619
Just like with fiction, nonfiction, and other subgenres of text, there are certain elements that classify writing as a poem. Learn how to recognize, understand, and apply these elements!
Would you rather...
A lot of people start out with negative feelings about poetry.
In this lesson, you will learn the elements, or characteristics, of poetry and discover what makes a poem a poem!
This is important because, by knowing the elements, you will know what to look for when reading poetry, and that will help you understand poems better. You will also know what to include when writing poetry.
Let's try one more question.
Write down whatever words come to your mind.
Maybe you have positive feelings about poetry. If so, this lesson is right up your alley!
If not, don't fret! You are similar to many other high schoolers in this way.
This lesson will help you to understand poetry better, which will help you to appreciate it and like it more! After all, the topics you typically like the best are the ones you understand the most!
First, think more deeply about what poetry actually is while watching the video below.
As you watched that video, you heard the speaker mention some parts, or elements, of poetry.
Learn (or be reminded of!) some of the main elements that characterize what a poem is. Not every poem will contain ALL of these, but you will recognize most in poems.
Form of a Poem
| Element | What It Is |
|
a group of words arranged into a row |
|
deliberate space where a line ends and the next one begins |
|
a part of a poem, made up of two or more lines (similar to what a paragraph is in other types of writing) |
Sound in a Poem
| Element | What It Is |
|
words, or endings of words, that sound the same |
|
the ordered patterns of rhymes at the ends of lines |
|
the beat and pace of a poem; the stressed and unstressed syllables in a line |
|
poem that has no rhythm or rhyme |
Type of Language
| Element | What It Is |
|
words used purposefully (with lots of details) to reach the reader's senses or to create an image in the reader's mind |
|
a comparison between two objects using like or as |
|
a comparison between two objects without the words like or as |
|
when words next to each other start with the same letter or sound |
|
giving human characteristics to something nonhuman |
|
a statement that shows something as being bigger or worse than it really is |
|
when a word describes a sound and actually mimics the sound of the object it is talking about |
|
something that stands for or represents something else |
Feelings
| Element | What It Is |
|
the attitude of the poet |
|
the feeling created by the poet for the reader |
That was a lot of information, so let's check in.
Let's look at a poem now to see examples of a few of these elements.
First, read "Mother to Son" by Langston Hughes. Keep in mind that sometimes you must read a poem more than once in order to understand it while also appreciating the elements that are used.
Now, check out some of the examples I found.
| Element | Example in the Poem |
|
Well, son, I'll tell you |
|
Well, son, I'll tell you (line break) Life for me ain't been no crystal stair (line break) |
|
There are no big spaces between lines, so the entire poem is one stanza. |
|
There were no rhyming words. |
|
This is a free verse poem because there is no rhyme or rhyme scheme. |
|
Crystal stair had tacks in it splinters boards torn up place with no carpet on the floor-Bare |
|
Life ain't no crystal stair |
|
Bare floor = empty and not beautiful parts of life |
|
no-nonsense |
|
motivating but realistic, honest |
Some of the other elements mentioned above that were not in this poem can be explored with the videos on the slides below. You don't need to watch these entire videos, but be sure to click around until you see an example of each term!
Great!
It's not just useful to know and recognize the elements of poetry. The next step is thinking about the purpose of that element in the poem or WHY it is used in the poem.
Move on to the Got It? section to practice working with these elements!
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