Literary Elements of Children's Literature

As I learned literary elements of Children's Literature, I realized that I had learned them some time in my past. And...I
refreshed my prior knowledge ^^. The notes are taken and adapted from Mrs. Storey's Resource Guide.

Literary Elements:

Characters: In children’s literature, character is used to mean a person or personified animal or object.
·         Character Development: collection of features that bring the character to life, inner and outer qualities
·         Revelation of Character occurs through the character’s thoughts, conversations, actions and behaviors; the author’s
narration; or the thoughts of other characters
·         Types of Characters:
o   Round Characters: Fully developed in the story—central characters and protagonists
o   Flat Characters: Less important characters, but essential to the action
o   Dynamic Characters: Changes in the course of the action
o   Static Characters: No change in the course of the story—flat characters, stereotypes and foils (a minor character whose
traits are in direct contrast to the main character)
·         Analysis of characterization:
o   Physical traits
o   Inner qualities
o   Revelation of the character
o   Relationship to other characters
o   Types of characters
·         Good Picture Books for Character Study:
o   Amazing Grace—Hoffman
o   My Great Aunt Arizona—Gloria Huston
·         Classroom Connection:
o   Character Cinquainography
o   Adjectives and Character Traits
o   Character Development Story Map
o   Character Diary Entries

Setting: the time and place where the story occurs.

·         Characteristics of setting:
o   Time identified as past, present or future
o   Setting is developed through text or illustrations
o   Setting provides details which reinforce the plot and characterization
·         Author’s use of setting to enhance story:
o   When the story depends upon reader understanding, envisioning, feeling and/or sensing a particular scene, an author often
goes to great lengths to describe clearly the setting.
o   An author may sometimes choose not to clearly describe a setting, or make it too specific because to do so might limit the
universality of the conflict
·         Types of Settings:
o   Backdrop Setting: setting is of secondary importance; story focus is likely to be on characters, character confrontation,
dialogue, action and the development of conflict
o   Time and place influence action, character and/or theme. Characters behave in a given way because of time and place
·         Good Picture Books for Setting:
o   Gleam and Glow—Eve Bunting
o   Grandfather’s Journey—Allen Say
o   The Relatives Came—Cynthia Rylant
·         Classroom Connection:
o   Setting Comparison: Where I live vs. Story setting

Plot: Sequence of events showing characters in action. Sequence is chosen by the author as the best way of telling the
story.
·         Three Elements of Plot
o   Narrative Order: the way or the order in which the writer chooses to unfold the story to the reader
§  Chronological: Events are related in the order of their happening
§  Flashbacks: Writer disrupts normal time sequence to recount some past event
o   Conflict: the struggles the protagonist of the story faces
§  Person-against-self: Character typically faces an internal conflict which pulls her/him toward two courses of action
§  Person-against-person: involves a struggle between two or more characters
§  Person-against-society: involves a struggle between a character, or characters and either social mores, cultural values or
sometimes the law
§  Person-against-nature: involves a conflict between a character and some force or forces of nature
o   Pattern of Action: the pattern that the action of the story takes place
§  Suspense: state of uncertainty about what events will happen in the story—cliffhanger, foreshadowing, and sensationalism
§  Climax: peak and turning point of conflict, point at which the reader knows the outcome of the action
§  Denouement: resolution or tying together of the plot that gives the reader a sense of completeness at the end.
·         Good Picture Books for Plot
o   The Ugly Duckling
o   Harriet and the Promised Land

Point of View: The side of the story the reader sees as revealed by the author through the characters. Point of view is seen
through the eyes and minds of characters as the plot unfolds.
·         Types of Point of View
o   First Person
§  Story told through first-person narrator “I” whose actions and feelings influence story
§  This character is limited in perspective because she/he cannot tell what another character thinks unless told by the other
character
o   Objective Point of View
§  Author lets actions speak for themselves
§  Author describes only the characters’ actions; the reader is left to infer characters’ thoughts and feelings
o   Omniscient Point of View
§  Story is told in the third person with author talking about “they, he, or she”
§  Author is not restricted to the knowledge, experience and feelings of one character
§  Feelings, thoughts and even motives of any or all characters can be revealed to give the reader helpful information
o   Limited Omniscient Point of View
§  Combination of first-person and omniscient
§  Story is told through the eyes of a single character, usually the protagonist, but is not told in first-person
·         Good Picture Books for Point of View
o   The True Story of the Three Little Pigs—Jon Scieszka
o   Three Stories You Can Read to Your Dog—Sara Miller

Theme: The idea that holds the story together or the author’s message to the reader. it is the main idea or the central
meaning of the story
·         Themes often deal with society, human nature, the human condition, social issues, and good versus evil
·         Authors reveals theme explicitly as well as implicitly
·         Stories usually have a cluster of theme which are often related
o   Primary theme—central theme which is of more importance than the rest
o   Secondary theme—themes which seem of lesser importance than the primary one
·         “Themes are the underlyng ideas, morals, and lessons that give the story its texture, depth, and meaning….We infer
themes.” (Harvey & Goudvis)
·         “A plot relates to a single story, whereas a theme is applicable to hundreds of stories.” (Donelson & Nilsen)
·         Classroom Connection: Theme boards using Proverbs
       A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.        Make hay while the sun shines. Necessity is
       A friend in need is a friend indeed. the mother of invention.
       A stitch in time saves nine.        Never put off till tomorrow what you can do
       Absence makes the heart grow fonder. today.
       As you sow, so you shall reap.        One man’s meat is another man’s poison.
       Beauty is only skin deep.        Out of sight, out of mind.
       Better late than never.        Rome wasn’t built in a day.
       Better safe than sorry.        The best way to a man’s heart is through his
       Don’t count your chickens before they’re stomach.
hatched.        The end justifies the means.
       Don’t cry over spilt milk.        The grass is always greener on the other side
       Don’t judge a book by its cover. of the fence.
       Don’t through the baby out with the bath        Too many cooks spoil the broth.
water.        Two heads are better than one.
       Early to bed and early to rise makes a man        Waste not, want not.
healthy, wealthy, and wise.        When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
       Every cloud has a silver lining.        You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot
       God helps those who help themselves. make him drink.
       Half a loaf is better than no bread.        You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.
       He who laughs last laughs longest.        Let sleeping dogs lie.
       Hunger is the best sauce.

Style: Author’s choice and arrangement of words in order to create plot, characterizations, setting, and theme.
·         Devices of Style:
o   Connotation: Associative or emotional meaning of a word; usually used to describe a character or situation
o   Imagery: the appeal of the senses; helps to create setting, establish mood and character
o   Figurative Language: Words used in a non-literal way, giving meaning beyond the usual sense. Ex) personification, simile,
or metaphor
o   Hyperbole: exaggeration used for humor or to make a point
o   Understatement: opposite of exaggeration; used to play down a happening or situation
o   Allusion: tends to have more meaning for mature readers; relies on a reference to something in our common understanding,
our past, or our literature
o   Symbol: something that operates on two levels of meaning, the literal and the figurative levels
o   Puns and Wordplay
·         Devices of Sound:
o   Onomatopoeia: words that sounds like their meaning
o   Alliteration: repetition of a similar vowel sound within a phrase
o   Consonance: close repetition of a consonant sound within a phrase but not in the initial position
o   Rhythm and Cadence

Tone: the author’s attitude toward what he or she has written. Ex) humor, mysterious, creepy, straight-forward, matter-of-
fact, exciting, boring, etc.

Tone involves the author’s attitude toward the book’s subject, characters, and readers.
Tone is often quite subtle and may not be easy to pinpoint. In addition, an author may change the tone as the main
character or the supporting characters change. Some examples of appropriate tones used in books for children include
serious, humorous, moralistic, hopeful, sympathetic, wondrous, longing, loving, satirical, and nostalgic.
Children’s literature is particularly likely to have a didactic tone. The literary elements truly suffer when the story has
been created around a message instead of having a message flow naturally from the story.
Like style, tone is developed through the author’s choice of words and through the way all the elements of the story work
together. Because tone influences the meaning of a story, it is important for children to grasp it in order to comprehend the
story. For example, consider the misconceptions that would arise if a child read a tall tale such as the story of Paul Bunyan
and believed the author’s tone was serious rather than humorous.

Literary features of informational books

 Informational text gives factual information on a specific topic or event. Self-help books, as the name implies, give
advice meant to improve a person’s quality of life.
DEFINITION
 Informational text is “…designed primarily to explain, argue or describe rather than to entertain.” (from Harris, et al.
The Literacy Dictionary , IRA, 1995)
 The main function of expository text is to present the reader information about theories, predictions, persons, facts,
dates, specifications, generalizations, limitations, and conclusions.” (Michael F. Graves and Wayne H. Slater.
“Research on Expository Text: Implications for Teachers” in Children’s Comprehension of Text , K. Denise Muth,
editor, IRA, 1989.)

PURPOSE
 To acquire information
 To satisfy curiosity
 To understand our world more fully 
 To understand new concepts and expand vocabulary
 To make connections to our lives and learning
 To write good nonfiction
 To have fun

FORM AND FEATURES

 Informational text uses a number of forms of organization including
 Sequence of events 
 Description by categories
 Process description 
 Comparison/contrast
 Problem and solution
 Cause and effect

Elements of Poetry  

WHAT IS A POEM?
Before we take a look at some specific elements of poetry, it’d be useful to make a brief attempt at defining just what
a poem is.

What exactly is it that makes a poem different, for example, to a piece of prose? Or song lyrics, even?

The truth is that when we get down to it poetry isn’t all that easy to pin down. Even poets themselves disagree about
what constitutes a poem. What chance then do our struggling students have?

Luckily, there are some broad, general characteristics that can be agreed upon. In this article we will look at these
common features of poetry and how we can best instill an understanding of these in our students.

COMMON FEATURES OF POETRY

●      It looks like a poem - if it looks like a poem and it reads like a poem, then the chances are pretty good that it is,
indeed, a poem. Poetry comes in lines, some of which are full sentences, but many of which are not. Also, usually
these lines don’t run out to the margins consistently, like in, say, a novel. All this gives poetry a distinctive and
recognisable look on the page.

●      It often has some underlying form holding things together - while this isn’t always true (in some free verse, for
example) a lot of poetry conforms to a prescribed structure such as in a sonnet, a haiku etc.

●      It uses imagery - if the poet is worth his or her salt, they’ll endeavour to create images in the reader’s mind using
lots of sensory details and figurative language.

●      It has a certain musicality - we could be forgiven for thinking that poetry’s natural incarnation is the written
word and its habitat the page, but the printed word is not where poetry’s origins lie. The earliest poems were
composed orally and committed to memory. We can still see the importance the sound of language plays when we
read poems out loud. We can see it too in the attention paid to musical devices that are incorporated into the poem.
Devices such as alliteration, assonance, and rhyme, for example. We will look at many of these later in this article.

THE PURPOSE OF POETRY: WHAT IS POETRY FOR?

Of all the forms professional writers can take, it is the professional poet who most often finds themself struggling to
make ends meet financially. Poetry can be difficult to understand and require a lot of effort on the part of the reader.
Students can be forgiven for wondering what exactly is the point of this difficult to write and difficult to read genre
that is apparently used to torture the less literary minded during their school years.

It may be a hard sell to some of our more reluctant students, but there is a point behind all this word-smithery.

Poetry’s purpose is essentially to help us understand the world around us. It endeavors to show us things anew that we
may have previously taken for granted. It offers us new perspectives on the familiar.
Poetry’s purpose is to enable us to see the world with fresh eyes again, like those of a child. In doing this, it helps us
understand our world in a deeper way.
 THE STRUCTURE OF POETRY

We’ve mentioned already that though poetry’s origins lie in the spoken word, it does take a very recognizable shape
when put down on the page. This is largely due to the overall organization of the lines on the page, often in the form
of stanzas.

THE STANZA

Though some modern forms of poetry eschew traditional poetic conventions such as rhyme schemes and meter etc, the
stanza still plays an important role in the overall look of printed poetry.

But, just what exactly is a stanza? - your students may well ask.

Stanzas are basically the poetic equivalent of a prose paragraph. They are a series of lines that are grouped together
and separated from other groups of lines or stanzas by a skipped line.

Stanzas come in a variety of lengths, dependent either on the whim of the poet or the conventions of a particular
poetic form. There is a variety of technical vocabulary often used to refer to stanzas of specific lengths. Here are the
most common of these,

Stanzas of:

●      2 lines are called a couplet

●      3 lines are called a tercet

●      4 lines are called a quatrain

●      5 lines are called a cinquain

●      6 lines are called a sestet, or occasionally a sexain

●      7 lines are called a septet

●      8 lines are called an octave

POEM STRUCTURES: TYPES OF POETRY AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS

There are many different types of poetry, some of which we will look at below. But, regardless of the specific type of
poetry in question, most likely a poem will fit into one of these three overarching types of poetry: lyric, narrative, and
descriptive.

Lyric Poetry

Lyric poetry concerns itself largely with the emotional life of the poet, that is, it’s written in their voice and expresses
strong thoughts and emotions. There is only one voice in a lyric poem and we see the world from that single
perspective. Most modern poetry is lyric poetry in that it is personal and introspective.

Narrative Poetry

As its name implies, narrative poetry is concerned with storytelling. Just as in a prose story, a narrative poem will
most likely follow the conventions of plot including elements such as conflict, rising action, climax, resolution etc.
Again, as in prose stories, narrative poems will most likely be peopled with characters to perform the actions of the
tale.

Descriptive Poetry

Descriptive poetry usually employs lots of rich imagery to describe the world around the poet. While it most often has
a single poetic voice and a strong emotional content, descriptive poetry differs from lyric poetry in that its focus is
more on the externalities of the world, rather than the interior life of the poet.

We have mentioned that poetry often hangs on the conventions of specific underlying structures. Let’s now take a
look at some of the more common of these subtypes and their defining characteristics.

SUBTYPES OF POETRY

Sonnet

Sonnets are predominantly concerned with matters of the heart. If you see a sonnet’s recognisably blocky form on a
page, there’s a good chance the theme will be love. There are two common forms of sonnet: Shakespearean and
Petrarchan. They differ slightly in their internal structure, but both have 14 lines. Let’s take look at some more of the
internal characteristics of both forms:

Petrarchan

●      Comprises 2 stanzas

●      First 8 lines pose a question

●      2nd stanza answers the question posed

●      Rhyme scheme is: ABBA, ABBA, CDECDE

 

Shakespearean

●      Comprises 3 quatrains of 4 lines each

●      Ends with a rhyming couplet which forms a conclusion

●      Rhyme scheme is: ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, GG

Haiku

The Haiku is a disciplined form of poetry that has its origins in 17th century Japanese poetry. Usually it is concerned
with nature and natural phenomenon such as the seasons, weather etc. They are often quite meditative in tone.

However, there are no real rules regarding themes, the only real demands here relate to structure:

●      They are written in three line stanzas

●      1st line contains 5 syllables

●      2nd line contains 7 syllables

●      3rd line contains 5 syllables

Due to their short length and limited requirements, these are usually a lot of fun for students to write. They can serve
as a great introduction for students to attempt to write poetry according to specific technical requirements of a form.

Elegy

Elegies are a type of poem that don’t really come with specific structural requirements, but still constitute a
recognisable form of poetry. What makes an elegy an elegy is its subject, that is, death. Elegies are poems of
lamentation - the word elegy itself comes from the Greek word elegeia which means to ‘lament’.

●      A poem of reflection on death, or on someone who has died

●      Usually comes in three parts expressing loss:

○      grief

○      praise for the deceased

○      and, finally, consolation.

 

Limerick

Favorites of school children everywhere, the most defining characteristic of limericks are their renowned humor.
Given their well-deserved reputation for being funny and, on occasion, crude, it’s easy to overlook the fact that
beneath the laughs lie quite a tightly structured verse form.

●      5 lines in total

●      Distinct verbal rhythm

●      2 longer lines of usually between 7 to 10 syllables

●      2 shorter lines of usually between 5 to 7 syllables

●      1 closing line containing the ‘punchline’

●      Rhyme scheme is AABBA

Ballad

Ballads are a type of narrative poetry that has close ties to musical forms. Ballads written as poetry can often easily be
adapted as song lyrics. While ballads don’t have tight formal constrictions like some other forms of poetry, there are
enough in the way of distinguishable features to identify it as a form.

●      Tells a story, often using simple language

●      Often romantic, adventurous, or humorous

●      Arranged in groups of 4 lines or quatrains

●      Often uses alternating 4 and 3 beat lines

●      Rhyme scheme is usually ABAB or ABCB

Ode

Another poetry form that traces its origins to Ancient Greece, odes were originally intended to be sung. Nowadays,
though no longer sung, the term ode still refers to a type of lyrical poem that addresses and often praises a certain
person, thing, or event.
●      The author addresses a person, thing, or event

●      Usually has a solemn, serious tone

●      Explores universal elements of the theme

●      Powerful emotional element, often involving catharsis

Odes written in the classical vein can follow very strict metrical patterns and rhyme schemes, however, many modern
odes are written in free verse involving irregular rhythm and without adherence to a rhyme scheme.

Epic

These are long narrative poems that recount heroic tales, usually focused on a legendary or mythical figure. Think of
works of literature on a grand scale such as The Odyssey, The Cattle Raid of Cooley, or Beowulf.

●      Employs an objective and omniscient narrator

●      Written in an elevated style

●      Recounts heroic events

●      Grand in scale

POETIC DEVICES

Though we refer to these devices here as ‘poetic devices’, the devices below are not the exclusive domain of poetry
alone. Many of these are to be found in other writing genres too, particularly other creative forms such as short
stories, novels, and creative nonfiction.

Many of these devices have their origins in poetry’s roots as a spoken literary form. They rely on the musicality of
words; their rhythm and rhyme. They focus on various sound effects that can be created by the carefully chosen word.

Other devices are more concerned with imagery. They forge connections between various ideas and conjure pictures
in the minds of the readers. Together, these devices lift poetry into the realm of art.

The following devices are organized into two sections. The first section titled Sound Devices deals with the following
devices: alliteration, assonance, consonance, onomatopoeia, rhyme, and rhythm.
The second section Figurative Language deals with metaphor, personification, and simile. These are not meant as an
exhaustive list, but to give an indication of the possibilities for these elements of poetry. You can find many more
examples of these in our article on figurative language.

Students will benefit from learning the definitions of each of these devices over time. While it is important that they
learn to recognize their use in the poetry of others and to learn to appreciate the effects these devices can create, it is
equally important that the students get a chance to have a go at creating their own examples of these devices in their
own writing.

It is only by trying their hand at employing these devices in their own work that students can really internalize how
these devices operate. So, in the section below we’ll first look at a working definition of the poetic device, then an
example to illustrate it in action, before offering a simple exercise students can undertake to gain more practice with it
themselves.
SOUND DEVICES

Alliteration

Meaning: This device involves the repetition of the initial consonant sound of a series of words, often consecutively.
Alliteration is most easily explained to students through looking at a few simple tongue twisters, such as Peter Piper
or She Sells Seashells.

Example:

Betty Botter bought a bit of butter

But, the bit of butter Betty Botter bought was bitter

So Betty Botter bought a better bit of butter

Exercise: Challenge the students to write their own tongue twisters using alliteration. You may wish to give them a
topic to write on to get started. For example, younger students may well enjoy writing about animals. They may even
wish to employ the sounds animals make in their tongue twister e.g. The slithering snake slid sideways through the
grass…

Assonance

Meaning: Similarly to alliteration, assonance involves the repetition of sounds in a series of words, often consecutive
words. However, rather than repeating the initial sounds, assonance focuses on the internal vowel sounds that are
repeated.

Example:
  We can find many examples of assonance in poetry and song. Here’s an example from the poetry of Edgar Allen Poe:
Hear the mellow wedding bells

Exercise: Assonance is often referred to as ‘vowel rhyme’. It is very common in many forms of popular music,
especially rap. Challenge your students to find examples of assonance in the music they listen to and share them with
the class. They may also want to try their hand at writing their own examples too.

Consonance

Meaning: Consonance is the consonant-focused counterpart to assonance. It involves the repetition of consonant
sounds in the middle or at the end of words, as distinguished from alliteration where the initial sound is repeated.

Example: The crow struck through the thick cloud like a rocket

Exercise: As there are lots of similarities between the devices alliteration, assonance, and consonance, it would be a
good idea to give the students opportunities to practice distinguishing between them. A good exercise to achieve this
is to have them first identify examples of each device from a verse in a poetry anthology, before challenging them to
come up with original examples of each on their own. The students can then use the examples they have identified as
models to create their own.

Onomatopoeia

Meaning: Onomatopoeia refers to the process of creating words that sound like the very thing they refer to. For many
students, the first introduction to onomatopoeia goes back to learning animal sounds as an infant. Words such as Oink!
Chirp! Woof! and Meow! can all be thought of as onomatopoeic.

Example: Aside from animal noises, the names of sounds themselves are often onomatopoeic, for example:

Bang!

Thud!

Crash!

 
Exercise: Encourage students to coin new onomatopoeic words. Instruct them to sit in silence for a few minutes. They
should pay close attention to all the sounds they can hear in the environment. When the time is up, have the students
quickly jot down all the noises they heard. They should then come up with an onomatopoeic word for each of the
different sounds. For example, if they could hear people indistinctly talking in the corridor they might come up with
the word ‘rabbalabba’ to describe the sound they heard. As an extension, they could then try to use their freshly-
minted words in sentences.

Rhyme

Meaning: Rhyme refers to the repetition of sounds in a poem. Various types of rhyme are possible, however in
English we usually use the term rhyme to refer to the repetition of the final sounds in a line, or end rhyme. Letters are
often used to denote a rhyme scheme. A new letter is ascribed to each of the different sounds. For example, in the
following example the rhyme scheme is described as ABAB.

Example:

  The people along the sand

All turn and look one way.

They turn their back on the land.

They look at the sea all day.

[From Neither Out Far Nor In Deep by Robert Frost]

Exercise: Even though a lot of modern poetry no longer follows a strict rhyme scheme, it is still helpful for students
to be able to recognize various rhyming patterns in poetry. A good way for them to gain more experience with rhyme
schemes is to give them copies of several different poems and ask them to describe the rhyme scheme using letters
e.g. ABAB, ABABCC etc. Once they have completed this task, they can then be challenged to write a stanza or two of
poetry employing each rhyme scheme identified.

Rhythm

Meaning: Rhythm in poetry involves sound patterning. A lot of classical poetry conforms to a systematic regularity of
rhythm which is referred to as the poem’s meter. This involves the combining of stressed and unstressed syllables to
create a constant beat pattern that runs throughout the poem. Each pattern of beats is called a foot. There are various
possible combinations of stressed and unstressed syllables, or feet, and these patterns have their own names to
describe them. While it is impossible to explore all of these in this article, we take a look at one of the more common
ones below.

Example:

  Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day

[Iambic pentameter i.e. five metrical feet of alternating unstressed and stressed syllables]

Exercise: A useful way of tuning in students to meter is to have them mark the stressed and unstressed syllables in a
line of poetry. The iambic pentameter is a good place to start. This pattern is found in many of Shakespeare’s plays. It
is also frequently used in love sonnets where its rhythm is thought to reflect the beating of the human heart and
reinforce the idea that love comes ‘from the heart’. Once students have become adept at recognizing various meters
and rhythms, they should have a go at writing in them too.

Figurative / Connotative Language

Metaphor

Meaning: Metaphors make comparisons between things by stating that one thing literally is something else.
Metaphors are used to bring clarity to ideas by forming connections. Often, metaphors reveal implicit similarities
between two things or concepts.

Example: We can find lots of examples of metaphors in our everyday speech, for example:

She’s an old flame

Time is money

Life is a rollercoaster

Exercise: When students can comfortably identify metaphors in the poems of others, they should try their hands at
creating their own metaphors. A good place to start is by challenging them to convert some similes into metaphors.
Not only does this give students valuable practice in creating metaphors, it helps reinforce their understanding of the
differences between metaphors and similes while giving them a scaffold to support their first attempts at producing
metaphors themselves.

Simile

Meaning: Unlike metaphors that make comparisons by saying one thing is something else, similes work by saying
something is similar to something else. They commonly come in two forms. Those that make a comparison using ‘as’
and those that make a comparison using ‘like’.

Example:
  She is as strong as an ox

She sings like a nightingale

Exercise: As with the exercise for metaphors, it’d be useful practice for students to convert metaphors they identify in
poetry into similes, reinforcing their understanding of both in the process.

Personification

Meaning: Personification is a particular type of metaphor where a non-human thing or idea is ascribed human
qualities or abilities. This can be in the form of a single phrase or line, or extended in the form of a stanza or the
whole poem.

Example:

  The moon was shining sulkily,

Because she thought the sun

Had got no business to be there

After the day was done -

“It’s very rude of him,” she said,

“To come and spoil the fun.”

[From the Walrus and the Carpenter by Lewis Carroll]

Exercise: To help students practice distinguishing between metaphors, similes, and personification, gather a list of
jumbled up examples of each from various poems. Students can then sort these accordingly. When they have
completed this, task them to come with an original example of each.

The elements of poetry are many and while the elements explored above represent the most important of these, it is
not an exhaustive list of every element. It takes lots of exposure for students to become comfortable recognizing each
and confident employing these elements in their own writing.

Take every opportunity to reinforce student understanding of these elements. Poetic elements are often employed in
genres outside of poetry such as in stories, advertising, and song - waste no opportunity!