This poetry webquest will allow you to explore the following elements of poetry: mood, tone, imagery, metaphor,

personification, simile, alliteration, onomatopoeia, assonance, and refrain By looking at a variety of poems, you will learn about and be able to identify these poetic elements.
Follow the instructions below to explore the Elements of Poetry. Write your responses on your answer sheet.
QUESTIONS 1 - 4
Questions 1 - 4 deal with the elements of mood, metaphor and tone. Review the definitions of each in the table below:

Elements of Poetry

Mood The feeling a poem creates for the reader

Metaphor An implied comparison between two objects or ideas

Tone The attitude a poet takes toward his/her subject

To complete Questions 1 - 4, go to Poem Hunter to read the poem Democracy, by Langston Hughes.

1.

What is an example of a metaphor in this poem?

Mood and tone are similar, but according to the table above, they differ in a crucial way. With that in mind, answer questions 2 & 3:

2. How would you describe the mood of the poem? 3. How would you describe the author's tone? 4. Independent work: using your research abilities, find out when the poem was
published. Based on what you know of American history, explain why this poem was timely.

QUESTIONS 5 - 7
Questions 5 - 7 deal with the elements of alliteration, refrain and rhyme scheme. Review the definitions of each in the table below:

Alliteration
The repetition of an initial (beginning) sound or consonant in two or more words near one another in a line of a poem

Refrain
The repetition of one or more phrases or lines at certain intervals, usually at the end of each stanza Similar to the chorus in a song.

Rhyme Scheme
The pattern in which the end rhyme occurs. Example: Continuous as the stars that shine (A) And twinkle on the milky way, (B) They stretched in never-ending line (A) Along the margin of a bay: (B) Ten thousand saw I at a glance, (C) Tossing their heads in sprightly dance(C)

To complete Question 5 - 7, go to Visualize Poetry and read One Inch Tall, by Shel Silverstein.

5. What line would be considered the refrain? What effect does this have on the
reader of the poem?

6. There are several examples of alliteration in the poem. Please list two. 7. Independent work: This poem follows the rhyme scheme of A,A, B, B, B, C
(C=the refrain). Write an original stanza for this poem adhering to the same rhyme scheme.

QUESTIONS 8 & 9
Questions 8 & 9 deal with the concept of simile. Review the definition below to review the meaning of simile.

Simile

A direct comparison between two objects or ideas that uses the words like or as

Then follow the link Baseball Almanac to read Robert Francis' poem, The Base Stealer, and answer Questions 8 & 9.

8. What is an example of a simile as it's written in the poem? 9. What two things is the poem comparing through the use of simile?
QUESTION 10
Question 10 asks you to explore personification.

Personification
Giving human traits or characteristics to animals or inanimate objects.
Visit the site Thinkquest to read three examples of personification and complete Question 10.

10. List an example (on your answer sheet) of personification from each of the three poems given.
QUESTION 11
Imagery is a concept that is sometimes more difficult to explain or identify. A simple definition is as follows:

Imagery
Representation of the five senses: sight, taste, touch, sound, and smell Creates mental images about a poems subject
Read the poem, White Eyes, by Mary Oliver by visiting The Poetry Foundation.

11. Think about the imagery in this poem and describe how this poem uses
imagery.

QUESTION 12
Question 12 discusses the element of assonance.This element aids in the fluidity of the poem when read, but is often more difficult to craft when writing a poem than using just rhyme.

Assonance
The repetition of a vowel sound in two or more words in the line of a poem Example:
Which is the bliss of solitude

In the poem We Real Cool, by Gwendolyn Brooks, many examples of assonance are used. Read her poem at The Poetry Foundation and complete the task.

12. Give three examples of assonance from this poem.

QUESTIONS 13 & 14
When a word imitates a noise or action (example: "flutter"), we call it an onomatopoeia. The poems found at Funny Poems contain several examples. Read these poems and complete the following:

13. Challenge: List 8 words in the poems that are an onomatopoeia. 14. Think of three additional examples.