War Casualties

The explosion, loud as thunder,
Buzzing in my ears.
There he lay, my comrade
Crushed like an insect.

Blood spurting in a fountain,
Rushed to the infirmary
Gasping, a fish out of water.
His arm, removed. Screams.

Days, a ghost he resembles.
Infection like ink, spreading quickly.
Death, like thousands of others.
My brother

Rhythm

Definition: constant repetition of a beat

Example:

1 and 2 and 3 and 1 and 2 and 3 and 1...


Significance: It makes it more enjoyable. It flows into each other so it becomes not a poem anymore but a song. It sings to you.

Rhyme

Definition: use of a recurring common sound


Example:

Boa Constrictor by Shel Silverstein

Oh, I'm being eaten
By a boa constrictor,
A boa constrictor,
A boa constrictor,
I'm being eaten by a boa constrictor,
And I don't like it--one bit.
Well, what do you know?
It's nibblin' my toe.
Oh, gee,
It's up to my knee.
Oh my,
It's up to my thigh.
Oh, fiddle,
It's up to my middle.
Oh, heck,
It's up to my neck.
Oh, dread,
It's upmmmmmmmmmmffffffffff . . .


Significance: Rhyming makes the poem more enjoyable to read. It also makes the writer really think about his words to convey his message and makes it more enjoyable for the thought and effort put into it.

Onomatopoeia

Definition: words for sounds

Example:

"Boom," said the gun.

Significance: Onomatopoeia helps you hear the action going on. It helps it feel more realistic.

Personification

Definition: to give human traits and actions to a non-human thing or idea

Example:

The trees were begging for water.

Significance: Personification can create a type of imagery only made by this. Personification can help create symbols representing ideas and things in writing.

Imagery

Definition: words that connect to the five senses: sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell.

Visual- sight
Auditory- sound
Gustatory- taste
Tactile- touch
Olfactory-smell

Example:

Excerpt from "Preludes" by T.S. Eliot

The winter evening settles down

With smell of steaks in passageways.

Six o'clock.

The burnt-out ends of smoky days.

And now a gusty shower wraps

The grimy scraps

Of withered leaves about your feet

And newspapers from vacant lots;

The showers beat

On broken blinds and chimney-pots,

And at the corner of the street
A lonely cab-horse steams and stamps.
And then the lighting of the lamps.

Significance: Imagery draws the reader into the story and plot. It paints pictures in your mind. Imagery makes writing more realistic for the reader and also more enjoyable.

Simile

Definition: a comparison between two unlike ideas or things using the words "like" or "as"

Example: 

"busy as a bee"

Berkley by Laurie Lawlor

Black as midnight,
Bad as the devil
With eyes like pieces of dark chocolate,
He thinks he’s king of the world,
My dog Berkley.
He’s very much like a pig
With his pudgy stomach and all.
Like a leech, he’s always attached
To his next meal.

Even though he’s as bad as the devil,
Berkley is my best fellow.

Significance: Similies create new connections between two objects you would have overlooked. It creates visual imagery.