♥ Line ♥

DEFINITION: 

A single line of words in a poem.

EXAMPLE:

To be, or not to be: that is the question: (A line = A sentence)

SIGNIFICANCE:

A line and line breaks allow the reader to stop and think about what the sentence has talked about. The length of a line can affect the reader’s mind because it takes time to shift to a new line, therefore the last word of a line will often be emphasized and internalized – making the reader contemplate about the meaning.

♥ Symbol ♥

DEFINITION:

Something that has meaning in itself and also stands for something else

EXAMPLE:

                                        Symbol

The winter apples have been picked, the garden turned. Rain and wind have picked the maple leaves and gone. The last of them now bank the house or have been burned. None are left upon the trees or on the lawn. Green and tall as ever it grew in spring the grass Grows not too tall, will not be cut again this year. Geraniums in bloom behind the windowglass Are safe. Fall has fallen yet winter is not yet here. How warm the late November sun although how wan. The white house stands a symbol of fulfillment there, Housing one old woman, a cat, and one old man After abundance but before the earth is bare. [In my opinion, this might represent family. The first few sentences represent the children being born young and innocent, and in the next stanza is how the grow. After they become grownups, the leave their home and all left are their parents - an old woman and an old man. Also, the seasons represent different periods of a life time in this poem; ex: winter - death]

SIGNIFICANCE:

Symbol derives from the Greek verb symballein – meaning to throw together. Symbol can be straight forward, such as winter represents aging, decay, and death; spring is often used to represent energy, birth, and hope; summer is symbolic of childhood, fun, and laughter; autumn stands for maturity, wisdom, and fulfillment. However, they could get more complicated when the poet creates the symbols himself, and therefore symbols are rich and complex and have many layers of meaning. For that reason, rather than using the words "stands for" or "points to" when we discuss them, we should try to use words like "suggests" or "expresses" or "represents."

♥ Onomatopoeia ♥

DEFINITION:

The use of words with sounds that imitate or suggest their meaning

EXAMPLE:

Crack an Egg
Crack an egg.
Stir the butter.
Break the yolk.
Make it flutter.
Stoke the heat.
Hear it sizzle.
Shake the salt,
just a drizzle.
Flip it over,
just like that.
Press it down.
Squeeze it flat.
Pop the toast.
Spread jam thin.
Say the word.
Breakfast's in .

SIGNIFICANCE:

Onomatopoeia makes up words when no other existing words will do to describe that word. It has Latin roots, meaning “to make names”. Onomatopoeia exists in everyday language, and in poetry, it helps us form mental pictures about the things, people, or places that are described. Additionally, onomatopoeia makes the poem more lively and realistic – in which it attracts the reader more.

♥ Assonance ♥

DEFINITION:

Repetition of vowel sounds.

EXAMPLE:

Bells

From the second stanza:

Hear the mellow wedding bells,

Golden bells!

What a world of happiness their harmony foretells!

Through the balmy air of night

How they ring out their delight!

From the molten-golden notes,

And an in tune,

What a liquid ditty floats

To the turtle-dove that listens, while she gloats

From the fourth stanza:

What a world of solemn thought their monody compels!

In the silence of the night,

How we shiver with affright

At the melancholy menace of their tone!

For every sound that floats

From the rust within their throats

Is a groan.

SIGNIFICANCE:

Assonance sets the mood or adds to the meaning of the writing, yet it is hard to spot because it is very subtle. In using assonance, the long vowel sounds will decrease the energy at the point in the poem and make the mood more serious. Meanwhile, higher vowel sounds will increase the energy and lighten the mood.

♥ Alliteration ♥

DEFINITION:

Repetition of consonant sounds in several words that are close together

EXAMPLE: 

Betty Botter by Mother Goose

Betty Botter bought some butter, but, she said, the butter’s bitter; if I put it in my batter it will make my batter bitter, but a bit of better butter will make my batter better.

So she bought a bit of butter better than her bitter butter, and she put it in her batter and the batter was not bitter. So ’twas better Betty Botter bought a bit of better butter.

SIGNIFICANCE:

Alliteration is a very creative and useful device because it creates witty and memorable catchphrases. It’s a fun play of words that brings out the imagination of the writer and the reader, making the reader more interested and attracted in the poem, especially when recited.