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Elements of Poetry

Imagery
- the poets use of words to create mental images that appeal to one or more of the 5 senses - allows the imagination to see, hear, taste, or smell certain things - always found in poems

Rhyme
- repetition of sounds at the ends of words

Rhythm
- pattern of stressed and unstressed syllable sounds

Symbol
- important words or phrases that carry 2 or more meanings within a poem > literal meaning > symbolic meaning - always found in poems

Theme
- underlying message that the poem reveals - may be stated directly, or implied - always found in poems

Tone
- mood that the poem has which is created by the choice of words

Figures of Speech
- simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, and allusion - used in everyday speech, and also in poetry

Simile
- compares 2 unlike things that share a common quality - used like or as Example: She is as gentle as a breeze.

Metaphor
- also compares 2 unlike things that share a common quality - direct comparison Example: He is a wolf in sheeps clothing.

Personification
- gives a non-living object a lifelike quality or.. - gives a non-human object a human quality Example: The tree dances with the wind.

Hyperbole
- exaggerates a quality of the object so as to highlight that quality

Allusion
- makes the comparison by making references to another, but related from different categories - assumes that the reader knows what the poets talking about - has 5 kinds: 1 Biblical, 2 Literary, 3 Mythological, 4 Historical, 5 Modern Example: Despite his efforts , he is still no Alexander the Great. *Tips in finding Figures of Speeches* Re-state the sentence. Find out what the author means.

Appositives
Appositive
- used to develop the meanings of nouns and certain pronouns - a word in apposition is placed next to another word An appositive is a noun or pronoun placed next to another noun or pronoun to identify, rename, or explain it. Appositives Tonys car, a sedan, ran out of gas on the bridge. He, a friend, should understand my feelings. Her hobby, graphology, is the study of handwriting. Notice also that the appositives in the chart above are set off by commas. The commas indicate that these appositives are not essential to the basic meaning of the sentences. The appositives could be dropped without changing the meaning of the sentences. In the following examples, however, the appositives are not set off by commas because they are needed to define the nouns that come before them. The appositives could not be dropped from the sentences without taking away a very important part of the sentences meaning. Example: The famous baseball player Lou Gehrig played for the New York Yankees from 1923 to 1939. I heard the famous violinist Itzhak Perlman play.

Appositive Phrases
- appositive with its own modifiers (adjectives, adjective phrases, or other groups of words) An appositive phrase is a noun or pronoun with modifiers, placed next to a noun or pronoun to add information and details. Appositive Phrases The dog, a large Saint Bernard, crushed the flowers in the garden. The horrible smoke, a blend of burnt rubber and industrial flames , made her choke. Sean handed in his report, a ten-page paper on the Russian Revolution.

Both appositives and appositive phrases can accompany almost any noun or pronoun used in a sentence. Following are some of the many possibilities. With a Subject: An aviator, the pilot of a World War II Spitfire, explained the structure of the plane to us. With a Direct Object: The disc jockey introduced her special guest, a popular guitarist. With an Indirect Object: Bob gave Julia, his favorite aunt, a ticket to the concert. With an Object Complement: At the meeting, they named her treasurer, an important position. With a Predicate Nominative: Franklins Fortune is a deserted mining camp, a ghost town. With the Object of a Preposition: The closets of the house, an old mansion, were empty. In addition to identifying, renaming, and explaining other words, appositives and appositive phrases also make it possible for a writer to put more information into one sentences. Two sentences: The road was the scene of many accidents. It was a congested highway. Combined: The road, a congested expressway, was the scene of many accidents. Two sentences: Yosemite National Park is a natural wonder. It attracts thousands of tourists each year. Combined: Yosemite National Park, a natural wonder, attracts thousands of tourists each year.

Compound Appositives
- two appositives or two compound appositives together A compound appositive is two or more appositives or appositive phrases connected by a conjunction and used to identify the same noun or pronoun. Examples: His vacation, a weekend in California and a week in Mexico, thoroughly relaxed him. Their horses, Thoroughbreds, Arabians, and two Tennessee walking horses, were all champions.

Prepositions
- used to relate words A preposition is a word that relates a noun or pronoun that appears with it, to another word in the sentence.

Words used as Prepositions


Different prepositions can affect the entire meaning of a sentence by changing the way the words relate to each other.The choice of preposition affects the way the other words in a sentence relate to each other. Examples: The model airplane flew (toward, above, in back of, around, into) the tree. Dont touch the flowers (by, opposite, in front of, for, inside) the garden. Although most prepositions are single words, a few prepositions are made up of two or three words. These prepositions are called compound prepositions. According to Ahead of Apart from Aside from As of Because of By means of In addition to In back of In front of In place of In regard to In spite of Instead of In view of Next to On account of Out of Owing to Prior to

Prepositional Phrases
A prepositional phrase is a group of words that includes a preposition and a noun or pronoun. The noun or pronoun generally found after a preposition is called the object of the preposition. Prepositions near before according to Objects of the Prepositions me the storm her

Most prepositional phrases contain two or three words. However, they may be much longer, depending on the number of words modifying the object, and the length of the preposition. Example: .. near the tall, gently swaying trees on account of the rain.

Sources: Ms. Almagros Powerpoints Grammar and Compositon

Infinitives
- a form of a verb that generally appears with the word "to" and acts as a noun, adjective, or adverb
Examples:

Subject: To apologize takes courage and humility. Direct Object: Alone and frightened, she wanted to survive. Object of a Preposition: He had no choice except to relent. Appositive: His goal, to travel, was never realized. Adjective: The director of the camp is the person to notify. Adverbs: She worked to improve. Afraid to speak, he looked at his shoes.

Infinitive Phrases
- an infinitive phrase with modifiers, complements, or a subject, all acting together as a single part of speech
Examples:

Professional dancers need to practice daily. (modified by an adverb) To stroll along the boardwalk at sunset is relaxing. (modified by two adverb phrases) Jill uses her microscope to magnify blood cells. (has a direct object) I need Donna to show me the way. (Has a subject and 2 complements, a direct object and an indirect object)

Gerunds
- a form of a verb that acts as a noun - always end in -ing - always act as nouns

Subject Direct Object Indirect Object Predicate Noun/Predicate Nominative Object of a Preposition Appositive

Dancing helps a person lose weight. On their vacation, the Rezendes discovered snorkeling. His performance gives acting a bad name. One relaxing exercise is swimming. After three hours, Steve was tired of studying. I have a new hobby, cooking.

Gerund Phrases

- a gerund with modifiers or a complement, all acting together as a noun - may be part of a phrase The loud, irregular snoring annoyed him. (Modified by adjectives) Waiting for the bus exhausted her patience. (Modified by an adjective phrase) Vicky's morning routine includes showering leisurely. (Modified by an adverb) Their parents forbade shouting in the house. (Modified by an adverb phrase) His favorite pastime is leaving her mysterious notes. (Have complements) Denise's greatest accomplishment was becoming president. (Have complements) They ran into the house without removing their muddy shoes. (Have complements)

Participles
- form of a verb that can act as an adjective - fall into two groups: present participles and past participles Present Participles - end in ing - examples: dancing, ending, waiting Past Participles - generally end in ing - may also have irregular endings such as t or en - examples: danced, played waited, burnt, spoken Present Participles A whining sound came from the engine of the car. Smiling, the official shook my hand. Past Participles The cracked ice looked like slivers of glass. Disgusted, Len walked away without saying goodbye.

Participles answer the questions for adjectives, What kind? or Which one? Example: A whining sound came from the engine of the car. (What kind of sound? A whining sound) The frozen pipe needs to be repaired. (Which pipe? The frozen pipe)

Participial Phrases
- participle modified by an adverb or adverb phrase or accompanied by a complement. - entire phrase acts as an adjective

Examples: Swimming leisurely, we didnt notice the dolphin approach. Frightened by its sudden appearance, I yelled, Shark! The lifeguard, using her megaphone, told us not to panic. Placement - a participial phrase can usually be placed either before or after the word it modifies. - example: Munching hay, the elephant looked content. The elephant, munching hay, looked content. Punctuation - when a participial phrase distinguishes one person, place, or thing from others, it is not set off by commas. - example: The boy wearing the blue sweater is my brother. Used to Combine Sentences - participial phrases can often be used to combine information from 2 sentences into 1 sentence - example: We picked up the injured bird. We could see it had a broken wing. Picking up the injured bird, we saw it had a broken wing.

Source: Prentice Hall Grammar and Composition

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