The tools of poetry
Poetry has 3 most important elements which make the poem different from other kind of writing:
- its sound (given by assonances, alliterations and rhymes)
- its visual layout (given by the rhyme scheme)
- the special way it uses languages
Poems are typical identified by rhymes.
Verse (or line)
The verse (or line) is the basic unit of poetry. It’s usually 8 to 12 syllables long.
Rhyme
We say that a verse rhyme when two or more lines have the same ending sound. Rhymes are identified by the letters of alphabet.
Rhyme scheme
The rhyme scheme is the pattern rhymes create.
Basic structural units in poetry
The structural units of poetry are:
- the line (also called as verse and it’s the basic units)
- the stanza (it’s a group of two or more verses)
- the canto or book
Stanza
A stanza consists of a grouping of lines, set off by a space, that usually has a set pattern of meter and rhyme.
Kind of stanza
There are more types of stanza, they are:
- the couplet (two verses)
- the tercet (three verses)
- the quatrain (four verses)
- the sestet (six verses)
- the octave (octave verses)
Verses are generally 8 to 12 syllables long and stanzas 2 to 12 lines long.