Poetry

Unit Review Sheet

Facts and Definitions

Lesson 1: What Is Poetry?

• Syllable — a part of a word that contains a vowel sound
• Line — words grouped together in a horizontal row of a poem
• Stanza — lines of poetry grouped together
• Couplet — a two-line stanza
• Quatrain — a stanza that contains four lines
• Meter — the pattern of rhythm or beats in a line of poetry
• Rhyming pattern — the way that the end of different lines rhyme in a poem
• Weak rhyme — words that almost rhyme
• Onomatopoeia — a word that sounds like the noise the word makes
• Alliteration — the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words
• Metaphor — a figure of speech that compares two unlike things
• Simile — a metaphor that uses the word "like" or "as" in the comparison
• Visual imagery — words that show you a picture in your mind
• Synonyms — words that have the same or similar meaning

Lesson 2: Parts of Speech and Rhymes in Poetry

• Strong verbs and interesting adjectives make a poem stronger and more effective.
• A noun is a person, place, or thing.
• An action verb is a word that shows action.
• An adjective is a word that describes a noun.

Lesson 3: Geography and Poetry

• In an acrostic poem, each line begins with a letter in the word that is the subject of the poem.
• Poets often select themes from nature as the subject of their poems.

Lesson 4: Haiku and Onomatopoeia

• Haiku poems have a 5-7-5 syllable pattern within three lines.

Lesson 5: Figurative Language and Voice

• First person writing uses the word "I," second person uses "you," and third person uses "he" or "she."
• Personification is a tool used by writers to give inanimate objects or ideas human traits.

Lesson 6: Art and Poetry

• Songs and poems follow many of the same patterns.
• Art can include visual art, drama, music, and writing.
• The titles of poems, songs, and short stories are enclosed in quotation marks.
• In the title of a poem, song, or work of art, the first and last words are capitalized as are most other words. Articles ("a," "an," "the") as well as short conjunctions (like "and," "or," "but"), and prepositions (like "in," "to," "for") are lowercased.
• A couplet is a two-line stanza.

Lesson 7: Robert Frost

• Robert Frost was a famous American poet. Nature was the subject of many of his poems.
• To analyze a poem means to read it very closely and think about its meaning. In an analysis, you try to understand what the poet is trying to communicate through the poem and what literary techniques he or she used.
• An action verb shows action.
• A linking verb links the subject of the sentence to words about the subject.

Lesson 8: You Come Too

• When words show you a picture, a writer is using visual imagery.
• A picture or shape poem is written in the shape of the subject of the poem.

Lesson 9: Write About What You Know

• Most authors advise aspiring writers to write about experiences and ideas with which they are familiar.
• You should never copy another author's writing word for word, but you can incorporate his or her ideas into your own writing.

Lesson 10: Inspired

• Inspired means that someone has encouraged or influenced you to do something on your own.
• When you recite poetry, pay attention to the enunciation, speed, tone, and volume of your voice.

Final Project: Coffee House Poetry Reading

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