Intro To Poetry
● poetry is the most misunderstood form of writing.
● the purest form of writing.
● characterized by a love of beauty and expressing this through words
● difficult to define because it is an expression of what the poet thinks and feels
and may take any form the poet chooses for this expression
● not easily defined
● takes the form of verse, not all poetry has this structure
● a creative use of words which is intended to stir an emotion in the audience
● poetry generally has some structure that separates it from prose
Poetry Terms
End rhyme
● most common form of rhyme in poetry; the rhyme comes at the end of the lines
It runs through the reeds A
And away it proceeds, A
Through meadow and glade, B
In sun and in shade B
Imagery
● an appeal to the senses. The poet describes something to help you to see, hear,
touch, taste, or smell the topic of the poem
Fog
The fog comes on little cat feet.
It sits looking over harbor and city
on silent haunches
Carl Sandburg
Epic
● a long narrative poem, told in a formal, elevated style, that focuses on a serious
subject and chronicles heroic deeds and events important to a culture or nation.
Example: The Odyssey
