Poetry Structure Review

SELECT ALL of the words that describe the structure of a poem:

• Stanza

• Line break

• Capitalization and Punctuation

• Rhyme Scheme

SELECT ALL of the words that describe the structure of a poem:

• Bolded or italicized words

• Different font sizes being used

• Similes and metaphors

• Different spacing in between words

How many stanzas are in this poem?

Nature’s first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf’s a flower;

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf.

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay.

• 8

• 2

• 1

• 4

Select ALL of the reasons that poets use stanzas:

• Divide the poem on the page (like paragraphs)

• Separate ideas, moments, or images

• To force the reader to pause

• To show which words rhyme

Why is this poem divided into 2 stanzas?

Nature’s first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf’s a flower;

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf.

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay.

• The first stanza rhymes, but the second stanza does not.

• The first stanza is all about nature and the second stanza is all about people.

• The first stanza has a more hopeful tone, but the second stanza has a more depressing tone.

How many line breaks does this poem have?

Nature’s first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf’s a flower;

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf.

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay.

• 8

• 2

• 1

• 4

Select ALL of the reasons that a poet could use a line break:

• Divide the poem on the page (like sentences)

• To force the reader to pause

• To draw attention to specific words or phrases

• To make the poem shorter

What is one possible reason that the poet has chosen to put the line breaks where he did?

Nature’s first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf’s a flower;

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf.

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay.

• There is a line break at the end of each sentence

• The line break makes the rhyming words stick out more

• The line breaks are random and there is no reason why they are there

True or False? You must use grammatically correct capitalization and punctuation in a poem.

• True

• False

If a word is written using capital letters, it means... (SELECT 2)

• The poet wants us to pay attention to this word because it is important

• The poet does not want us to pay attention to this word

• The poet wants us to read the word in a louder tone of voice

• The poet wants us to read the word in a quieter tone of voice.