Meter

Definition: A pattern of rhythm - stressed and unstressed syllables.

Example:

- - / - - /

Hickory, dickory, dock,

- / - / - /

The mice ran up the clock.

- / - /

The clock struck one,

- / - /

The mice ran down.

/ - - / - - /

Hickory, dickory , dock.

Significance: We use meter to help the reader enjoy the poem better. When they read it out loud, it will sound like a song.

A Boy Named Sue

Stanza

Definition: Number of lines that form a group of a poem.

Example:

I Am Fast and Fun

I am fast and fun.
I can dream, dreams that nobody has dreamt before.
I would go on adventures all over the world.
I want to write out my imagination.
I enjoy seeing peace.

I am fast and fun.
I want to fly and taste the air.
I am not afraid to say what I want.
I feel such smooth things that touch my fingers.
I find such pretty things in nature.

I am fast and fun.
I want to be a soccer star.
I think hard about things.
I wonder where we go when we fade.
I feel so great when I help someone.

Tasha (Age 9)

Significance: We use stanza to separate each part of the poem. It make the reader understand easier, and also, maybe each stanza, it has it's own meaning.

Symbol

Definition: Something that represent something else in a deeper meaning.

Example:

Storm me

I already tasted my one piece
of a crazy love that took away
my sanity as if a spider inside of me
you devoured me and attack me
in an inverted way, you’re creeping’ here
inside of me where I’m more fragile
oh how clever you are, your simple
you made me sleepless and raise my breathe
and turn it to a tornado, I now whirls
in my own little world now my beds
looks like a thousand storms has passed by
oh that made me tired.

Significance: We use symbol to represent something that we want to talk about. Maybe we want the poem to have both meaning of the symbol, and the meaning of the thing it symbolize for. It can make the reader think more, and also understand it in their own way.

Extended Metaphor

Definition: when two things are compare to each other and the things that relate to that two things are also connect to each other.

Example:

Painting
Painting is an untamed bird.
You're free to show how you feel
without consequence.
There's nothing holding you back.
Your emotions fly wildly.
Megan Sutter, Laura Young, and Sarah Peterson

Signification: We use extended metaphor to make the reader think more about our poem and it will make the poem sounds more interesting. It will attract more readers to think and want to read the poem to see what's next.

Tone

Definition: The pitch of the voice that we use when we read a poem aloud. The up and down of our voices create mood for the poems.

Example:

Funny...but not
it's funny how hello is always accompanied with goodbye
it's funny how good memories can start to make you cry
it's funny how forever never seems to last
it's funny how much you'd lose if you forgot about your past
it's funny how “friends” can just leave when you are down
it's funny how when you need someone they never are around
it's funny how people change and think they're so much better
it's funny how many lies are packed into one “love letter”
it's funny how one night can contain so much regret
it's funny how you can forgive but not forget
it's funny how ironic life turns out to be
but the funniest part of all, is none of thats funny to me
Arianna Loshnowsky

Signification: We read with tones help the reader feel the mood of the poems better. We can express the feelings, emotions of the poems better when we go up or down our voice.

Speaker

Definition: The narrator of the poem or the first person of the poem

Example:

Oh Susana

I came from Alabama
wid my banjo on my knee,
I'm g'wan to Louisiana,
My true love for to see,
It raind all night the day I left
The weather it was dry,
The sun so hot I frose to death
Susana dont you cry.
[Chorus] Oh! Susana Oh! dont you cry for me
I've come from Alabama wid mi ban jo on my knee.
[Solo] I jumped aboard de telegraph,
And trabbelled down de riber,
De Lectric fluid magnified,
And Killed five Hundred Nigger
De bullgine buste, de horse run off,
I realy thought I'd die;
I shut my eyes to hold my breath,
Susana, dont you cry.
Stephen Foster

Significance: When we use first person perspective for our poem, we can express more feelings of the characters and the thoughts that the characters are thinking.