Poems are organised into lines and verses (also called stanzas). Some poems rhyme in a pattern; others do not rhyme at all. Rhythm is the beat you hear when you read aloud.
Every poem has a speaker: the voice talking in the poem. Sometimes it is the poet, but it can be a character, an animal or even an object, like a snail giving advice.
Poets repeat words or lines to emphasise an idea. Ask what changes between the first and last verse: this often reveals the poem's message.
Worked example
In a poem, “rush” appears four times in one verse. Why might the poet do this?
- Repetition makes us notice a word.
- Repeating rush makes life sound hurried and busy.
Answer:To emphasise how busy and hurried the person's life is.
Key words
- stanza
- a group of lines in a poem (a verse)
- speaker
- the voice in a poem
- repetition
- using a word or phrase again
Practise this
New questions every time.
Common Core-referenced: RL.4.5