Poetry Close Read

Poetry Close Read

by Erin McDonald

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​TYPES OF POETRY

Lyric poems are usually short and musical, and they achieve a single effect that communicates the thoughts and feelings of the speaker.

​

Narrative poems tell stories that have beginnings, middles, and ends.

Open Ended

Identify one of the poems you read and which type of poem it is, lyric or narrative.

​SOUND DEVICE: The way the poet uses sound

​RHYME

​the similarity of sound between words or the endings of words, especially when these are used at the ends of lines of poetry

​

​Ex:

​a hungry cat

​waited for a rat

​SOUND DEVICE: The way the poet uses sound

​REPETITION

​the repeating of the same words, phrases, or ideas a few times to make an idea clearer and more memorable.

​

​Ex:

big cat

​small cat

​young cat

​old cat

​SOUND DEVICE: The way the poet uses sound

​ALLITERATION

​the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words.

​

​Ex:

​the cunning cat caught the rat

Open Ended

Give one example of a sound device from one of the poems you read.

​SOUND DEVICE: The way the poet uses sound

​REFRAIN

​a line or stanza that is repeated at regular intervals to emphasize the most important ideas and structure rhythm.

​

When a poet changes the repeated line slightly, it is called incremental repetition.

Open Ended

Do the poems you read have incremental repetition?  Can you give an example?

​THEME: central ideas of messages the author wishes to convey

Theme is different from a subject. The subject of a poem might be named in a word or two, such as war, beauty, or time.

​

​A theme is best expressed in a complete sentence. For example, a poem might express this theme about war: The stress of war can provoke both a person’s best and worst qualities.

​DICTION: word choice

Diction helps establish the writer’s tone, or attitude, toward his or her subject or audience. Analyzing diction can help you identify the themes a writer wants to share.

Open Ended

Choose ONE of the poems you read and answer these three questions:

1.  What does the diction of the poem suggest?

2. What tone is established through word choice?

3. What is the theme of this poem?

​The RACES Strategy

​Restate

​Answer

​Cite

​Explain

​Summarize

​​Remember to use the RACES strategy to respond to prompts:

Open Ended

According to the poems, what contributes more to heroism—success or sacrifice?

​Evidence logs are helpful, but they are not required.

​EVIDENCE LOGS

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