Language Arts: Poetry: Types, Structures, and Elements
Identifying forms, patterns, and poetic devices
Language Arts: Poetry: Types, Structures, and Elements
Identifying forms, patterns, and poetic devices
Language Arts - Grade 6-8
- 1
A poem has 3 lines in the first stanza and 4 lines in the second stanza. How many lines does the poem have in all?
Add the number of lines in both stanzas.
The poem has 7 lines in all because 3 + 4 = 7. - 2
Read this line: "The moon was a silver lamp in the sky." What figurative language is used, and what does it compare?
This line uses a metaphor. It compares the moon to a silver lamp without using the words like or as. - 3
Read these words: light, night, tree, sight. Which two pairs of words rhyme?
Look for words that end with the same sound.
The rhyming pairs are light and night, and light and sight. Night and sight also rhyme because they share the same ending sound. - 4
A haiku usually has 3 lines with a syllable pattern of 5, 7, and 5. How many syllables are in a haiku altogether?
A haiku has 17 syllables altogether because 5 + 7 + 5 = 17. - 5
Read this line: "The wind whispered through the trees." What poetic device is used, and why?
Think about whether something nonhuman is acting like a person.
This line uses personification because it gives the wind a human action, whispering. - 6
What is a stanza in poetry?
A stanza is a group of lines in a poem that are arranged together, often separated by spaces from other groups of lines. - 7
Read this short poem: "Soft snow settles / On silent city streets / Morning glows pale". What type of poem is this most likely to be, and why?
Think about poem forms with three lines.
This poem is most likely a haiku because it has 3 short lines and focuses on a simple image from nature or a moment in time. - 8
If each stanza in a poem has 4 lines and the poem has 5 stanzas, how many lines are in the poem?
The poem has 20 lines because 4 lines in each stanza multiplied by 5 stanzas equals 20 lines. - 9
Read this line: "Buzzing bees bounced by the bluebells." What sound device is used most clearly in this line?
Listen for repeated beginning consonant sounds.
This line uses alliteration because several words begin with the same b sound. - 10
What is the difference between rhyme and rhythm in poetry?
Rhyme is the repetition of similar ending sounds in words, while rhythm is the pattern of beats or stressed and unstressed sounds in a poem. - 11
Read this line: "Her smile was like sunshine after rain." What figurative language is used, and what does it suggest?
Look for a comparison that uses like or as.
This line uses a simile because it compares her smile to sunshine using the word like. It suggests that her smile feels warm, bright, and comforting. - 12
A student says, "Free verse poems do not have to follow a regular rhyme scheme or meter." Is the student correct? Explain your answer.
Yes, the student is correct. Free verse poetry does not have to follow a regular rhyme scheme or meter, although it can still use other poetic elements such as imagery, repetition, and rhythm.