What Makes a Poem a Poem? Educational Resources K12 Learning, Literary Studies, Writing, English / Language Arts Lesson Plans, Activities, Experiments, Homeschool Help

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

Would you rather...

only read poetry or only read fiction novels for the rest of your life?
be stuck on a very long car ride with a book collection of poems or no book at all?
become famous for writing poems or for writing and illustrating graphic novels?

A lot of people start out with negative feelings about poetry.

What do you think your impression of poetry is?

In this lesson, you will learn the elements, or characteristics, of poetry and discover what makes a poem a poem!

This is important because, by knowing the elements, you will know what to look for when reading poetry, and that will help you understand poems better. You will also know what to include when writing poetry.

poetry elements

So, what did you discover from your answers to the questions above?
Would you choose anything else over reading and writing poems?
What did your responses show you about your overall feeling of poetry?

Let's try one more question.

If someone says the word poetry to you, what do you immediately think and feel?

Write down whatever words come to your mind.

Maybe you have positive feelings about poetry. If so, this lesson is right up your alley!

If not, don't fret! You are similar to many other high schoolers in this way.

This lesson will help you to understand poetry better, which will help you to appreciate it and like it more! After all, the topics you typically like the best are the ones you understand the most!

First, think more deeply about what poetry actually is while watching the video below.

How would you sum up poetry?

As you watched that video, you heard the speaker mention some parts, or elements, of poetry.

Learn (or be reminded of!) some of the main elements that characterize what a poem is. Not every poem will contain ALL of these, but you will recognize most in poems.

Form of a Poem

Element	What It Is
line	a group of words arranged into a row
line break	deliberate space where a line ends and the next one begins
stanza	a part of a poem, made up of two or more lines (similar to what a paragraph is in other types of writing)

Sound in a Poem

Element	What It Is
rhyme	words, or endings of words, that sound the same
rhyme scheme	the ordered patterns of rhymes at the ends of lines
rhythm	the beat and pace of a poem; the stressed and unstressed syllables in a line
free verse	poem that has no rhythm or rhyme

Type of Language

Element	What It Is
imagery figurative language	words used purposefully (with lots of details) to reach the reader's senses or to create an image in the reader's mind
simile	a comparison between two objects using like or as
metaphor	a comparison between two objects without the words like or as
alliteration	when words next to each other start with the same letter or sound
personification	giving human characteristics to something nonhuman
hyperbole	a statement that shows something as being bigger or worse than it really is
onomatopoeia	when a word describes a sound and actually mimics the sound of the object it is talking about
symbol	something that stands for or represents something else

Feelings

Element	What It Is
tone	the attitude of the poet
mood	the feeling created by the poet for the reader

That was a lot of information, so let's check in.

With which one of those were you already familiar?
Which element(s) stood out as being new to you or different from what you rememembered?

Let's look at a poem now to see examples of a few of these elements.

First, read "Mother to Son" by Langston Hughes. Keep in mind that sometimes you must read a poem more than once in order to understand it while also appreciating the elements that are used.

Did you notice any of the elements discussed above?

Now, check out some of the examples I found.

Element	Example in the Poem
line	Well, son, I'll tell you
line break	Well, son, I'll tell you (line break) Life for me ain't been no crystal stair (line break)
stanza	There are no big spaces between lines, so the entire poem is one stanza.
rhyme rhyme scheme	There were no rhyming words.
free verse	This is a free verse poem because there is no rhyme or rhyme scheme.
imagery figurative language	Crystal stair had tacks in it splinters boards torn up place with no carpet on the floor-Bare
metaphor	Life ain't no crystal stair
symbol	Bare floor = empty and not beautiful parts of life
tone	no-nonsense
mood	motivating but realistic, honest

Some of the other elements mentioned above that were not in this poem can be explored with the videos on the slides below. You don't need to watch these entire videos, but be sure to click around until you see an example of each term!

Do you think you've got this down?

Great!

It's not just useful to know and recognize the elements of poetry. The next step is thinking about the purpose of that element in the poem or WHY it is used in the poem.

Move on to the Got It? section to practice working with these elements!