Poetry Basics
What word means “clear and easy to picture”?
Vivid
What is theme?
The central idea or message of a poem or story.
What is a simile?
A comparison using like or as.
What is a prefix?
A word part added to the beginning of a word to change its meaning.
What genre uses dialogue and scenes?
Drama (Plays)
What is a stanza?
A group of lines in a poem, like a paragraph in a story.
Who is the speaker in a poem?
The voice or narrator telling the poem (not always the author).
What is a metaphor?
A comparison that does not use like or as.
What is a suffix?
A word part added to the end of a word to change its meaning.
What is dialogue?
The words spoken by characters.
Name one type of poetry.
Lyric poetry, narrative poetry, free verse
What clues help identify theme?
Details, repeated ideas, and important events in the text.
What is personification?
Giving human qualities to animals or things.
What does the root port mean?
Carry
What is a scene?
A part of a play that happens in one place at one time.
What is meter?
The rhythm or beat of a poem.
How is perspective different from speaker?
The speaker is who is talking, while perspective is how the speaker feels or thinks about the topic.
What is onomatopoeia?
A word that imitates a sound, like buzz or bang.
What does the prefix tri- mean?
Three
How do scenes build structure?
Scenes show events in order and help develop the plot and theme.
How does structure help a poem’s meaning?
Structure helps organize ideas and shows how the parts of a poem work together to support the poem’s message or theme.
Explain a theme using text evidence.
Answers will vary, but should state a theme and use details from the poem to support it.
Identify and explain figurative language in a line.
Answers will vary but must name the figurative language and explain its meaning.
Break down a word using prefix/root/suffix.
Example: transport = trans (across) + port (carry)
Compare drama to poetry or prose.
Drama uses dialogue and scenes, poetry uses lines and stanzas, and prose uses paragraphs.