ENGLISH 9 QUARTER 2 MODULE 7

What I Need to Know

This module was designed and written for the learners. After going
through this module, the learner is expected to:
1. identify the distinguishing features of poetry;
2. read and analyze literary devices and technique used in poetry; and
3. express appreciation of literary texts

What I Know
Studying the distinguishing features and elements of poetry is essential
in understanding the meaning of poems. The next phase necessary for
appreciating poems is getting the message and feeling conveyed in the
selections.
How much knowledge do you have when it comes to analyzing a poem?

Let us start by doing this activity. Write the letter of your answer on a separate
sheet.

1. What is poetry?
a. manages to say a lot with just a few words
b. intended to be read aloud
c. personal and about anything
d. all of these

2. Which one refers to the speaker of a poem?

a. author b. actor c. persona d. character

3. Which of the following is NOT found in poetry?

a. rhyme scheme b. stanza c. rhythm d. paragraphs

4. Poems are arranged in lines. How are the lines written?

a. single word b. part of sentence c. sentence d. all of these

5. What do you call the writer of the poem?

a. author b. poet c. playwright d. artist
 Lesson
Analyzing the Features and
1 Elements of Poetry

Poetry is language of the heart where it captures emotions, experiences,

or images using descriptive words. It composes distinct features and elements
that need to be understood and appreciated.

What’s In
How much do you know about poetry? Rate yourself with 1,2 or 3 on the
blank provided. Write your answers on a separate sheet.

Knowledge Rating Chart

1 - I’ve never heard of this before
2 - I’ve heard about it but I am not sure how it works
3 – I know about this and how it works
Meaning of Poem
Features and Elements of Poetry
Ways to Analyze Poetry
What’s New
Give the title of any poem or song of your choice. Summarize its message or
main idea in six words only. Write your answers on a separate sheet of paper.

This is your ticket to the world of poetry analysis and appreciation

TITLE
Message:

Example: Dance With My Father

Title
Message: It is a tribute to fathers. (six- word sentence) or
so n g a bo u t lo ve fo r o n e’ s fa t h er (six-word
phrase/incomplete sentence)
What is It
Poetry is a genre of literature which involves composing oral and
written works in lines and stanzas instead of sentences and paragraphs. It
is typically written in verses, rather than paragraphs. However, it still uses
punctuation. It may include complete sentences or incomplete sentences.

There are many examples of poetry but the most common

are ballad, epic, sonnet, elegy, spoken poetry and the like.
FEATURES AND ELEMENTS OF POETRY
All Poems Contain Some Poems Contain
words rhyme
line breaks rhythm
white space meter

verses repetition
at least one stanza imagery
theme
Stanzas are group of lines that Theme states the universal truth,
have spaces in between. They are poem’s message, - NOT the same as
sometimes called a ‘verse’. MORAL/LESSON.
Stanzas are often used to
Sample Theme: Love conquers all.
organize ideas in a poem.
The following are classifications of Mood refers to the reader’s general
stanzas: feeling and atmosphere.
Couplet -a stanza of 2 lines Samples of Mood: cheerful, gloomy,
Tercet – a stanza of 3 lines
eerie, bleak, tense, calm, ominous,
Quatrain –a stanza of 4 lines
Quintain – a stanza of 5 lines uncertain, miserable etc.
Sestet – a stanza of (6) lines
Octave – a stanza of (8) lines Tone is the writer’s or speaker’s
attitude toward the subject or topic.
Samples of Tone: enraged or angry,
Rhythm is the pattern of beats and ecstatic, melancholic or sad, hilarious
stresses in a poem which creates or humorous, sarcastic, ironic, bitter,
musicality. apologetic, critical, proud etc.

Writers use stressed and unstressed syllables in repeated patterns called

FEET within a line. This makes a regular rhythm.
Try beating this with a finger as you go through the lines.
She was a child and I was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea;
But we loved with a love that was
more than love –
I and my Annabel Lee;
 SOUND DEVICES
Imagery refers to creating mental picture
that appeals to one or more of the reader’s
Sound devices are techniques used to
five senses. It makes use of descriptive
create musical effect.
language or sensory words.
1. Alliteration - repetition of initial
There are five types of imagery. sounds on the same line. e.g. Can a
firefly set forest on fire?
1. Visual imagery is the use of figurative
language to address our sense of sight. 2. Assonance - repetition of vowel
Through this, the reader can imagine sounds. e.g. Fleet feet sweep by
what the image is all about in her or his sleeping geese.
own mind.
3. Consonance - repetition of
2. Auditory imagery makes use of sense consonant sounds. e.g. And all the
of hearing. The writer incorporates air a solemn stillness holds
imaginary sounds to create a complete
mental picture in the minds of the reader. 4. Onomatopoeia - words that sound
like that which they describe. e.g.
3. Olfactory addresses sense of smell The clock tick tacks.
which provides made- believe odor,
aroma or scent. 5. Repetition - repeating the entire
4. Gustatory imagery makes use made- up lines or phrases to emphasize
taste buds in the mind. The writer uses thematic ideas.
vivid description of imaginary taste of the e.g.
food. The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
5. Tactile imagery addresses our sense of But I have promises to keep, And
touch which gives the feeling of touch miles to go before I sleep, And miles
using ones’ skin
to go before I sleep.
Symbolism is the use of symbol, such as
an object, a person, a place, or an FIGURATIVE DEVICES use the
experience, to represent something else. connotative meaning of words. They
The thing represented is often abstract, allow writers to paint a detailed
but it can be concrete as well. A symbol picture for the readers.
may have more than one meaning to
convey a larger point or message. Moreover, writers employ figurative
language to bring life to their writing
Concrete vs Abstract (refer to
concepts or feelings) and make it interesting to the
Samples readers.
Figures speech also help to convey
White dove Peace
Falling leaves Circle of life effect and meaning.
Bird in flight Freedom 1. Simile – is comparing two things
Raven. Crow Death using like or as
Money Wealth/Riches
e.g. Life is like a journey.
2. Metaphor – is comparing two
unlike things without the use of like
or as.
e. g. Time flies.
 SOUND PATTERNS
Rhyme is the repetition of similar sounds.
The different types of Rhymes are:
a. End Rhyme - rhyme that occurs in the last syllables of verses.
e.g. Whose woods these are I think I know, His house is in the village though
b. Internal Rhyme -a word inside a line rhymes with another word on the
same line.

e.g. Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary (this
is one line only)

Rhyme Scheme is the pattern of rhyming words at the end of the line of the
poem. It uses the letters of the alphabet for rhyming words. The letter A
represents the first group of sounds, the letter B represents the second
group, continuing until the end of the poem

Sample Rhyme Pattern:

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall (A)
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall (A)
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men (B)
Could not put Humpty Dumpty together again (B)
The Rhyme Scheme is A-A-B-B

ANALYZING POETRY
Analysis of poetry means literally breaking down a poem apart – looking
at elements and see how they are used together to come up with the message
of the poem.

The following steps will help you uncover the meaning of the poem.

Reading the Poem

Go over the poem through 1-3 times and see how much meaning you can
immediately get. Ask yourself:
1. Who tells the poem and who is the audience?
2. What is the subject or topic of the poem?
3. Is there any time and place element? What is it?
4. Do you understand all the basic words and ideas found in the poem?
If not, consider rereading it a few times. Now, look up the meaning of the
difficult words.
Interpreting the Poem
1. Look at the title—it’s as important as any verse in a poem. Think how it
relates to the poem. You are going to go back to the title later after analyzing
all the other elements of poem.

2. What is the purpose of the writer: to describe, amuse, entertain, narrate,

inform, express grief, celebrate or commemorate? Does the poem suggest a story
of some sort, or an account of an event, say a love story, or is it a reply to nature
or some other human experiences? If it tells a story, which is the beginning,
middle, and end?
3. Study the form of a poem which also serves as the physical structure that
includes the rhyme, length of lines, number of lines/stanzas, etc. and look for
recurring words, ideas, sounds. What images do you see, hear, taste, smell, or
feel instantly? What are the effects of these images in conveying the message of
the poem?

While imagery is for the visual purposes, sound is for the hearing. Are there any
rhyming words found in the poem? Does the rhyme scheme have any
significance? Is the poem in free verse (without a rhyming scheme)? In general,
what role does sound play in the poem?

4. Define all the images and symbols. The poet creates images that suggest ideas
like love, youth, and death. What meaning do these images contribute, and how
effective are they? Identify symbols and explain how and why the author uses
those symbols. Keep in mind that colors are also used in symbolism, allusions
and other clues to meaning.

5. What figures of speech are employed and their effects to the overall meaning
of the poem?

6. Identify the tone (based on diction) and mood. How effective are they?

7. Pay close attention to the closing lines.

Paraphrase
After analyzing the elements, you will restate the poem in such a way that you
relay to someone the information. Translate the words into simpler words and
eventually translating each line into prose. Summarize personal responses
before reaching a conclusion about the meaning of the poem.

Try to figure out the meaning of the poem. Ask yourself questions like:
What happens in the poem? What is the poet trying to say? How forcefully does
he/she say it?
Interpret the title
The title of a work often contains symbols that hint at theme. Re-examine the
title and state the overall message of the poem.

What’s More
As a literature student, expose yourself to the forms of poetry, be
familiarized with different literary devices and techniques and use these devices
for better understanding and appreciation of literary piece.

Read the poem below and do the activities that follow. Remember the steps in
analyzing poetry. Write your answers on a separate sheet of paper.

“Mother to Son”
by: Langston Hughes

Well, son, I'll tell you:

Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
It's had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor—
Bare.
But all the time
I'se been a-climbin' on,
And reachin' landin's,
And turnin' corners,
And sometimes goin' in the dark
Where there ain't been no light.
So, boy, don't you turn back.
Don't you set down on the steps.
'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.
Don't you fall now—
For I'se still goin', honey,
I'se still climbin',
And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
Activity 1

List down all the words that you find difficult to understand.
Use a dictionary to find the meaning of the words as well as the antonyms
and synonyms.

Activity 2
This time, you are going to follow the steps in poem analysis through filling out
the sheet.

1. Based on the title, what do you think is the poem about?

2. Go over the poem two or three times. List some of the key words (nouns,
verbs, phrases) that are important to understanding the poem.

3. What do you think the poem means?

Now think about the meaning of the poem, not just the obvious meaning of
each word but what they mean beyond literal. Do these words suggest
something else?

Answer these questions:

• Who is the subject of the poem?

• What are they talking about?

• Why do you think the author wrote the poem?

• When is the poem happening?

• Where is the poem happening?

• What is the poet’s attitude?

4. Poetic devices: Tools of the poet
Identify different poetic devices and how they convey the poem’s message.

• Simile – comparison using like or as

• Metaphor – a direct comparison

• Personification – giving human qualities to nonhuman things

• Tone – what emotion does the speaker use as he talks

• Point of view – who is the telling the poem

• Imagery – creating pictures with words

• Alliteration – repeating the same letter

Activity 3

5. Theme
Identify the theme (central idea) of the poem. How does the theme convey the
poem’s message?

6. Look at the title again

Now look at the title again. Do you now have a different interpretation of the
title? Explain.

Source: http://www.read writethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson1160/poetry_analysis.pdf

What I Have Learned

In this task, you are going to write your realizations about the topic by writing
on a separate sheet the key points of the lesson summed up in one sentence.

EXIT PASS
This ticket serves as your evidence of learning

What I Can Do
TREE OF KNOWLDEGE

Grow your tree of knowledge by putting on the branches the features and
elements of poetry you have learned. Make it sturdier by writing lines from your
favorite poems on the leaves of the tree. Your tree is waiting! Ready, set, go!

Do this on a separate sheet.

 Assessment

Read the test items and answer carefully. Choose the correct answer by
writing the letter of your choice on a separate sheet of paper.

1. What is poetry?
a. Written in ordinary language and basic structure of sentences
b. Writing that uses sound pattern, colorful language and unique
structure
c. Organized in sentences and paragraphs which are properly
punctuated
d. Arranged in sequential order

2. Which of the following is NOT a distinctive feature of poetry?

a. It gives connotative meaning.
b. It uses rhythm.
c. It is written in verse.
d. It provides harmony.

3. What comprise the structure of a poem?

a. Lines and stanzas
b. Lines and paragraphs
c. Sentences and stanzas
d. Sentences and paragraphs

4. In what way is theme essential in conveying the message?

a. It allows readers to view the world from a different point of view.
b. It promotes empathy and understanding of others.
c. It allows learners to explore the central idea of the literary piece.
d. All of these

5. Which is NOT a sample of poetry?

a. ballas
b. rap
c. legend
d. epic
 Additional Activities

This module allows you to appreciate the beauty, rhyme, and style
of a poem, to instill love for literature and to develop imagination in you.

Express your appreciation of the topic through choosing one task

to accomplish.

Think – Tack - Toe Board

Draw a poster, Compose a vlog Make a collage or

cartoon or any sharing the highlights album about the
illustration to of the topic. topic. Use any kind of
summarize learning. available materials in

Make a word map or Compose a video Write a simple poem

any graphic organizer (either dance, song or about the topic
to illustrate learning dramatic creation) discussed. Delete
about the key that summarizes the some words and
concepts of the lesson. learning.
replace
them with illustration/
Create a foldable that Write a summary of Take a picture or
captures the key the key learning in text collate a photo
concepts of the message form. related to the key
lesson. Examples: LOL.BTW concept of learning.