Poetry: Elements and Devices

• Poetry uses sounds, rhythms, and word meanings to describe the world in striking and imaginative ways.

Basic Elements of a Poem

• A line in poetry is similar to a sentence but doesn't require periods.
• Stanzas are the poetic equivalent of paragraphs, grouping lines together and separating them with a skipped line.
• Rhyme is the repetition of similar sounds, included in many but not all poems.
• Rhyming scheme refers to the rhyming pattern within a poem.
• Rhyme schemes can include words that rhyme in every line or alternating lines.
• Rhyme schemes are signified using an arrangement of letters.

Commonly Used Poetic Devices

• Simile: comparing two things using "like" or "as".
• Metaphor: comparing two things without using "like" or "as".
• Personification: giving human qualities to non-human objects or things.
• Alliteration: repetition of two or more of the same sounds at the beginning of words in a line.
• Anaphora: repeating words at the start of two or more consecutive lines.
• Assonance: repetition of vowel sounds within lines.
• Asyndeton: a style omitting conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses.
• Oxymoron: a figure of speech pairing two contradictory terms or ideas to reveal a deeper truth.
• Onomatopoeia: creating sounds in a poem.
• Repetition: using a phrase or line multiple times within a poem.

Making Inferences

• The process of making a conclusion based on prior knowledge, evidence, and experience.
• It goes beyond the text to make a judgement about what is not explicitly stated.

Elements of a Stage Play

• Theme: The central idea or underlying message of the play.
• Characters: The entities portrayed in the play, brought to life by actors.
• Plot: The sequence of events and actions that happen in a play, including exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.
• Dialogue: Spoken word exchange between characters, including monologues
• Stage directions: Instructions for actors, directors, and stage crew describing actions, movements, emotions, and setting.
• Soliloquy: A special monologue where a character alone on stage speaks their thoughts aloud.
• Stage Play: Live storytelling combining dialogue, acting, movement, and sometimes music or dance.

Playwrights

• William Shakespeare (England): known for Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and A Midsummer Night's Dream.
• Sophocles (Ancient Greece): known for Oedipus Rex and Antigone.

Romeo and Juliet

• The Montagues and Capulets have a long-standing feud.
• The feud affects Romeo and Juliet's love and contributes to their tragic end.
• The prologue calls Romeo and Juliet "star-crossed lovers," indicating their doomed fate.
• A series of unlucky events and miscommunications lead to their deaths.
• Romeo matures from a lovesick boy to someone willing to die for Juliet.
• Juliet transforms from obedient to independent, choosing love over family.
• Mercutio's death in a fight with Tybalt leads to Romeo's revenge.
• Tybalt fuels the conflict between the families.
• The Nurse initially helps Juliet but later advises her to marry Paris, causing confusion.
• Light symbolizes love and hope, with Juliet compared to the sun.
• Darkness represents secrecy and danger, as night is their only time to meet.
• Romeo doesn't receive the message about Juliet's faked death, resulting in his taking poison.
• Their deaths ultimately end the family feud.
• The Prince declares that their love should serve as a lesson.
• Shakespeare uses metaphors, similes, and poetry to express deep emotions.
• Famous quote: "O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?"

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

• Concerns Captain Nemo's leadership and views on the surface world.
• Describes the Nautilus's structure, technology, and its significance.
• Includes perspectives of Professor Aronnax, Conseil, and Ned Land.
• Emphasizes isolation, scientific exploration, and freedom as key themes.
• The ocean is used as a metaphor for escape and detachment from society.
• Deals with the conflicts between Captain Nemo and the main characters.
• Covers significant underwater discoveries and their impact on the characters.