Repetition

Definition: Words, phrases, or lines that are repeated multiple times.

Example: In this poem, "Fallen cold and dead." is one of the repeative part.

O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done;The ship has weathered every rack, the prize we sought is won;The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring:

But O heart! heart! heart!

O the bleeding drops of red,

Where on the deck my Captain lies,

Fallen cold and dead.

O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills;For you bouquets and ribboned wreaths—for you the shores a-crowding;For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;

Here Captain! dear father!

This arm beneath your head;

It is some dream that on the deck,

You've fallen cold and dead.

My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still;My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will;The ship is anchored safe and sound, its voyage closed and done;From fearful trip, the victor ship, comes in with object won;

Exult, O shores, and ring, O bells!

But I, with mournful tread,

Walk the deck my Captain lies,

Fallen cold and dead.

Signficance: Repetition is important because it lets the poet prove his/her point.

Tone

Definition: The attitude or emotion of the words in the poem spoken by the speaker.

Example: In the poem O'Captain My Captain, the tone in the beginning is mournful and the tone in the end is triumphant.

Significance: The tone is very important because it allows to you feel the mood of the poem. The tone lets the speaker express their feelings.

Interpretation

Definition:  To understand the meaning and theme of the poem. To find the meaning using your own words.

Example: My interpretation of the poem If is that it's inspirational towards boys.

Signficance: The significance of interpetating a poem is helpful because it allows you to fully understand what the poem is about.

Metaphor (Extended Metaphor)

Definition: A metaphor is when you compare two different ideas without using "like" or "as." An extended metaphor is comparing groups of connected ideas.


Example: 
Metaphor: "Baby you light up my world like nobody else" ~ One Direction


Extended Metaphor: The fog comes in on little cat feet.
It sits looking over the harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then, moves on. - 'Fog' - Carl Sandburg


Significance: The significance of metaphors is good because it makes the poem more interesting and fun to read. 

Speaker

Definition: A speaker is the narrative voice that expresses his/her feelings in the poem. The speaker is who the point of view is in the poem. The speaker may not always be the poet.


Example: Well, son, I'll tell you:
Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
It's had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor --
Bare.
But all the time
I'se been a-climbin' on,
And reachin' landin's,
And turnin' corners,
And sometimes goin' in the dark
Where there ain't been no light.
So boy, don't you turn back.
Don't you set down on the steps
'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.
Don't you fall now --
For I'se still goin', honey,
I'se still climbin',
And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.

Mother and Son by Langston Hughes

In this poem, the mother is the speaker and she's talking to her son.

Significance: The significance of a speaker is important because it allows you to feel the mood of the poem. Also, the speaker helps let you understand the purpose and meaning of the poem. 

Symbol

Definition: A symbol is an object or a person that represents something.

Example: For Christians, the cross stands for Jesus's sacrifice. It symbolizes the sins he washed away when he died on it.

Significance: Symbols are important because it lets any object turn into something really valuable.

Couplet

Definition: A stanza that contains a pair of lines that are usually rhyme and are the same length.

Example: Silly SallyWhen Silly Sally irons her clothes, they come out looking awful.
She did not read the label and her iron was meant to waffle.

Significance: Couplets are important because it makes the poem easier to read and understand. Without couplets, poems would look more like a novel would be less fun to read.