Name: _____________________________________
Mastery Assessment:
Identifying Poetic Devices used to create rhythm
Task and Purpose: You must, first, complete a chart that gives examples of these poetic devices
found in your three poems. Then, you need to write a fully-developed paragraph defining the devices,
giving examples of their use, and explaining how they affect the rhythm of one particular poem.
Source #1 – The definitions and functions of five main poetic devices
1. Rhyme Definition
A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounding words occurring in lines in poems or songs. A rhyme is a tool
utilizing repeating patterns that brings rhythm or musicality in poems which differentiate them
from prose which is plain. A rhyme is employed for the specific purpose of rendering a pleasing effect to a
poem which makes its recital an enjoyable experience.
Function of Rhyme
As discussed above, a rhyme serves two distinct functions in the art of writing poetry:
1. It gives poetry a typical symmetry that differentiates poetry from prose.
2. It makes recital of poetry a pleasurable experience for the readers as the repetitive patterns
renders musicality and rhythm to it
2. Stanza Definition
In poetry, a stanza is a division of four or more lines having a fixed length, meter or rhyming scheme.
Stanzas in poetry are similar to paragraphs in prose. Both stanzas and paragraphs include connected
thoughts and are set off by a space. The number of lines varies in different kinds of stanzas but it is
uncommon for a stanza to have more than twelve lines. The pattern of a stanza is determined by the
number of feet in each line and by its metrical or rhyming scheme.
Function of Stanza
Stanza divides a poem in such a way that does not harm its balance but rather it adds to
the beauty to the symmetry of a poem. Moreover, it allows poets to shift their moods and present
different subject matters in their poems.
3. Alliteration Definition
Alliteration is derived from Latin’s “Latira”. It means “letters of alphabet”. It is a stylistic device in which a
number of words, having the same first consonant sound, occur close together in a series.
Function of Alliteration
Alliteration has a very vital role in poetry and prose. It creates a musical effect in the text that
enhances the pleasure of reading a literary piece. Furthermore, it renders flow and beauty to a
piece of writing.
4. Meter Definition
Meter is a stressed and unstressed syllabic pattern in a verse or within the lines of a poem. Stressed
syllables tend to be longer and unstressed shorter. In simple language, meter is a poetic device that
serves as a linguistic sound pattern for the verses, as it gives poetry a rhythmical and melodious sound.
Function of Meter
Its basic function is to provide rhythm, uniformity and give a rounded and well-formed structure to
the poetic work. It makes the tone of a language more lyrical.
5. Repetition Definition
Repetition is a literary device that repeats the same words or phrases a few times to make an idea
clearer. There are several types of repetitions commonly used in both prose and poetry. As a rhetorical
device, it could be a word, a phrase or a full sentence or a poetical line repeated to emphasize its
significance in the entire text.
Name: _____________________________________
Function of Repetition
The beauty of using figurative language is that the pattern it arranges the words into is nothing
like our ordinary speech. It is not only stylistically appealing but it also helps convey the message
in much more engaging and notable way. Repetition often uses word associations to express the
ideas and emotions in an indirect manner, putting emphasis on a point, confirming a fact or an
idea, showing impartiality, and or describing a notion.
1. Fill out the chart below to help you organize the information from your three poems to create a topic
sentence and provide evidence that support that idea.
Poetic
Device
Rhyme
Stanza
Alliteration
Meter
Repetition
Evidence from
Poem #1
Evidence from
Poem #2
Evidence from
Poem #3
Name: _____________________________________
2. Now that you have some evidence regarding the poetic devices your poet used, you
need to write a paragraph describing how those devices affected the rhythm of one of
your poems.
Poetic Device
Evidence
Affect on the rhythm
Name: _____________________________________
Your paragraph will be scored with the following rubric:
Main Idea (Topic
Sentence)
Evidence
Explanations
Conclusion
Sentence Variety
Consistency in
Verb Tense
5 points
4.25 points
3.5 points
Writer clearly
expressed one main
idea in a topic
sentence.
Writer gave specific
detailed evidence from
each poem to support
the claim made in the
topic sentence
Writer includes a
personal observation
after each piece of
evidence that clearly
explains how it
supports the main idea.
Writer uses a final
statement that answers
the question, “So,
what?”
Writer begins several
sentences with
phrases.
Writer keeps all verbs
in present or past
tense.
Main idea is unclear or
expressed in more than
one sentence.
Main idea is missing.
Evidence is too vague
and/or too sparse to
support the topic
sentence.
Evidence from one or
more poems is missing.
Personal observations
do not clearly explain
how the evidence
supports the main idea.
Personal observations
are missing for one or
more poems.
Final statement fails to
answer the, “So, what?”
questions completely.
Final statement is
missing.
Two or fewer
sentences begin with
phrases.
Tenses are not aligned
a few times.
No sentences begin
with phrases.
Verb tenses jump from
present to past
throughout the
paragraph.