Have you ever looked at a tree, a cloud, or even a puddle and thought, “That looks like a story waiting to be told”?
Poetry is like a magic magnifying glass. It helps us look closely at the world and turn everyday moments into something beautiful and meaningful. Poets do not just write! They feel, observe, and imagine. So where do their ideas come from? Let us find out how poems grow from tiny thoughts into powerful pieces of art!
Poetry is a genre of writing in which language is used to express thoughts, ideas, and feelings using specific stylistic elements1.
Some explain poetry as a language of pictures and music. A good poet paints pictures with words through figurative language, while the musical quality is conveyed through rhyme and rhythm2.
Let us identify the elements of poetry in the poem below.
Poets use stanzas to organise their thoughts, ideas, and feelings.
Rhyming words in this poem are: near–hear; higher–choir; sing–bring; park–bark. It is important to note that not all poems rhyme.
Rhythm in a poem is like the beat in music. The rhythm enhances the overall reading experience and can give the poem a distinct sound and feel.
The theme of this poem is the beauty and liveliness of nature, specifically focusing on the sounds that trees create.
The mood of this poem is joyful and whimsical. The poem conveys a sense of delight and wonder as it describes the exciting sounds that trees make.
To gain a deeper understanding about the characteristics of poetry, watch the video given below.
Vid 1.1: Characteristics of Poetry
Poets gather their ideas from various sources, including5,7:
Life Experiences: Personal encounters, events, and emotions from their own lives
Passions: What they feel strongly about, such as hobbies, interests, and causes
Favourite People and Places: Special people and places that inspire them.
Observations: Things happening around them, like societal changes or cultural shifts
Nature: The beauty and complexity of the natural world
Poets find inspiration all around them! Sometimes a tree blowing in the wind, the sound of rain, or the feeling of being happy or sad can spark a poem. They often write about nature, memories, emotions, people they love, or things they wonder about.
A poet might get an idea from a quiet moment, a question they cannot stop thinking about, or even something they see or hear in everyday life. Poets use their imagination and their senses to turn small moments into big ideas.
figurative: using words in a creative way to express deeper meanings or images
verse: a single line or a group of lines in a poem
rhyming: words having similar sounds at the end, such as ‘book’ and ‘look’
narrative poem: a poem that tells a story with characters, plot, and events
free verse: a poem without a strict rhyme or rhythm pattern
haiku: a short poem with three lines and a specific syllable pattern
limerick: a humorous poem with five lines and a rhyming pattern
symphony: a musical composition
scampering: running or moving quickly with light steps
sources: places or things where information is found
Poetry is a genre of writing in which language is used to express thoughts, ideas, and feelings using specific stylistic elements such as stanza, line, verse, rhyme, rhythm, metre, theme and figurative language.
The following are some characteristics of poetry:
Musical Language
Condensed Language
Intense Emotions
Structure
Descriptive Language
Specific Forms
Poets get their ideas from their life experiences, passions, favourite people and places, everyday events, nature, food, and common sayings.
To explore examples of poems and find your favourite, click on the following links:
Watch this video to understand how poetry and prose are different from each other.
References
1 What is Poetry? Poetry.org (2005) (link)
2 Grammar of Poetry. Poetry.org (2015) (link)
3 Why Do People Write Poetry? Enlightio (2023) (link)
4 Why Do We Read Poetry? Enlightio (2023) (link)
5 6 Places to Find Poetry Writing Inspiration. Think Written (2021) (link)
610 Important Elements of Poetry. Poem Analysis (n.d.) (link)
7Introduction to Poetry Lessons. The Teacher Studio (n.d.) (link)