Elements and Structure of Poetry

Any object, person, place, or experience on a literal level representing something else, usually something abstract.

• Imagery

• Symbolism

• Figurative language

• Sensory language

The author's choice of words.

• Diction

• Mood

• Tone

• Imagery

The repetition of sounds at the beginning of words, usually close together in a line of poetry. It's not always the same letter, but use the same sound.

• Assonance

• Symbolism

• Alliteration

• Diction

The author's use of words that appeal to the senses (sight, smell, sound, touch, taste).

• Sensory language

• Imagery

• Symbolism

• Tone

The repetition of vowel sounds within the words of a line of poetry, often to form an internal rhyme.

• Sensory language

• Alliteration

• Theme

• Assonance

Images created by the author's use of descriptive words that reveal character, reinforce theme, reinforce tone, or other reasons.

• Figurative language

• Imagery

• Sensory language

• Symbolism

The use of metaphors, similes, idioms, personification, hyperbole, onomatopoeia, etc. to modify the denotative meaning of words with connotation.

• Alliteration

• Symbolism

• Theme

• Figurative language

The author's attitude or feeling about the subject. It is influenced by the author's diction, or choice of words.

• Tone

• Diction

• Imagery

• Assonance

A main idea or an underlying meaning of a poem that may be stated directly or indirectly.

• Tone

• Diction

• Figurative language

• Theme

The similar or identical sounds at the ends of words that appear close to each other.

• Stanza

• Meter

• Rhyme

• Line