Colada, Symba Lei O.

BEED – 2A1

Elements of Poem
1) Poetic Lines
Stanzas area series of lines grouped together and separated by an empty line fromother
stanzas. They are the equivalent of a paragraph in an essay. Oneway to identify a stanza is to
count the number of lines. Thus:
•couplet(2 lines)
•tercet(3 lines)
•quatrain(4 lines)
•cinquain(5 lines)
•sestet(6 lines) (sometimes it's called a sexain)
•septet(7 lines)
•octave (8 lines)
2) The Sound of Words
a) Rhyme
a. The repetition of sounds within different words, either end sound, middle
or beginning. Rhyme example: loose goose
b) Rhythm
a. The flow of words within each meter and stanza. Rhythm example: Iambic
pentameter.
c) Alliteration
a. Two or more words which have the same initial sound. The alliteration may
be separated by prepositions. Alliteration example: Pretty princess. Busy as
a bee.
d) Assonance
a. A partial rhyme which has the same internal vowel sounds amongst
different words. Assonance example: The tundra left the man hungry for
buns
e) Onomatopoeia
a. Words that sound like their meaning. Onomatopoeia examples: buzz, moo,
pow, bang.
3) Meter
a. Iamb (Iambic) - weak syllable followed by strong syllable. [Note that the pattern
is sometimes fairly hard to maintain, as in the third foot.]
 b. Trochee (Trochaic): strong syllable followed by a weak syllable.

c. Anapest (Anapestic): two weak syllables followed by a strong syllable.

d. Dactyl (Dactylic): a strong syllable followed by two weak syllables.

4) Imagery
The use of sensory details or descriptions that appeal to one or more of the five senses when
one comes across with such words. Imagery means to use figurative language to represent
objects, actions and ideas in such a way that it appeals to our physical senses. Usually it is
thought that imagery makes use of particular words that create visual representation of ideas
in our minds. The word imagery is associated with mental pictures.
5) Tone
The tone of a poem is the style, or manner or expression, of its writing. Though tone may be
conveyed and expressed in a variety of ways, it is generally either through the attitude of the
narrator or writer, subject matter, characters or events. The tone comes through from the
poem’s syntax and vocabulary and helps evoke the mood or establish the atmosphere of the
poem.