Journal 43: Elements of Poetry

Some of the elements of poetry that I know of are Voice, Stanzas, Sound, Rhythm, Figures of speech, and Form. Voice is basically about who is speaking and the way the one speaks. Stanzas is the way of grouping lines. Sounds includes rhyme and patterns, rhythm. Figure of speech is just figurative language, and form is the variety of standards that a poem might follow.

Sometimes we can find some of the elements in fiction. For example, figurative language’s largely used in fiction. Also, when the author’s trying to create some kind of intense mood or fun scene (!?), he/she might choose to use rhyme and rhythm in the fiction. However, since fiction is usually way longer than poetry, the effects of these elements in prose are therefore not as manifest or as noticeable as those in poetry.

For example, in the book Child 44, a lot of metaphors and paradoxes are used to create the turbulent atmosphere under Soviet Union’s rule and the hysterical emotions that the people had during that time. In poetry, one of the most impressive poems I’ve ever seen is the Knock Knock thing Mr. McCool showed us in class. It uses knock knock as onomatopoeia and symbol to describe his need and desperate of his father in his childhood, and the scene of his dad being put in the jail.