Elements+of+Poetry

What elements are important in Poetry?
Click the **Edit** button (far right side of screen) and paste your content in the space below. Make sure to **Save** changes before exiting. Added by Tracy Landry There are several important elements present in children’s poetry. One of the most recognizable elements is rhyme and sound patterns. Sound plays an important role in reading and reciting poetry. It adds an interesting element that brings the poem to life. Children are attracted to the sing-song quality poems offer. Another easily recognizable element in children’s poetry is shape, which adds an interesting visual element which brings dimension to poem. Rhyming is a poetic element that most children would associate with poetry. The rhyming scheme in a poem can take on many different forms. An easily recognizable scheme is the last words of the lines rhyme. In addition, the rhyming words can occur within the lines. Jack Prelutsky’s “A Greedy and Ambitious Cow” is an example of every other line with the end word rhyming: A greedy and ambitious cow Determined she would graze On all the fields for miles around… She grazed for days and days. It’s Raining Pigs and Noodles by Jack Prelutsky (p. 46) An example of a poem where the words within the line rhymes is Shel Silverstein’s “The Dirtiest Man in the World”: // Oh I’m Dirty Dan, the world’s dirtiest man // //  I never have taken a shower. // //  I can’t see my shirt – it’s so covered in dirt,  // //  And my ears have enough to grow flowers. // Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein (p. 96-97) Alliteration is an example of another sound pattern often used in children’s poetry. The repetition of the sound of the first letter in words is a fun way to add life to a poem. Another way to add interest to poetry is the repetition of vowel sounds. Prelutsky’s “Percy’s Perfect Pies” is an excellent example of alliteration and assonance: Pumpkin Panda Coriander Cassowary curdled cream Salsa salmon salamander Skunk asparagus supreme Mango kangaroo vanilla Minnow marrow marzipan Chicken chickadee chinchilla Gnu meringue orangutan Gouda guppy gopher gristle Apple cappuccino rat It’s Raining Pigs and Noodles, Jack Prelutsky (p 48) A discussion of children’s poetry and rhyming schemes would not be complete without mentioning Dr. Seuss. Repetition of sound is the hallmark of his work. Often, Dr. Seuss repeats vowel sounds or uses similar words in his poems. From “One fish two fish red fish, blue fish”: Oh, dear! Oh, dear! I can not hear. Will you please Come over near? Will you please look in my ear? There must be something there I fear. Say, look! A bird was in your ear. But he is out. So have no fear. Again your ear can ear, my dear. One fish two fish red fish, blue fish, Dr. Seuss (p. 27) Finally, poets use figurative language such as onomatopoeias to add interesting sounds to their work. Children love to recite poems that use words that are the sound. Shel Silverstien and Jack Prelutsky offer examples of this interesting element. Jack Prelutsky wrote two poems that children love to recite: “Burp” and “Hiccup”, as the names imply, offer children the opportunity to belch or hiccup as they recite the lines of these amusing poems. “Burp” begins: I have ** BURP **  a certain habit That I BURP   admit appears To annoy BURP  many people, Some BURP  even hold their ears. It’s Raining Pigs and Noodles Jack Prelutsky (p. 199) The Fourth Oh    CRASH! my    BASH! it’s BANG! the ZANG! Fourth WHOOSH! of    BAROOOM! July WHEW! Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein (p 15) Shape in poetry can help convey the theme, meaning, or feeling of a poem. “I Am Winding Through a Maze” by Jack Prelutsky is a poem about being lost in a maze and trying to get out. The poem is written in a maze with the words inside. “Hello and Good-Bye” offers an additional visual interest to the poem that begins with regular font, but it gets lighter and lighter as the author wonders if he ‘perhaps is not anywhere’. Elements of sound and shape in a poem can help convey meaning and add interest to children’s poetry. Enjoyment, education and effect are all reasons that poets use these elements. They can help a child relate to a poem; or help the child extract meaning from the work.  Morgan, Mia. "Poetry." Salem State College LBS 803. 28Sept. 2009. Power point. Norton, Barbara E. //Through the Eyes of a Child An Introduction to Children's// //Literature//. 5th ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice-Hall, Inc, 1995. Print. Prelutsky, Jack. //It's Raining Pigs and Noodles//. Illus. James Stevenson. New York: HarperCollins, 2000. Print. Silverstein, Shel. //Where the Sidewalk Ends//. 1973. New York: HarberCollins Publishers, 2002. Print. Seuss, Dr. //One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish//. New York: Random House, 1962. Print.