Unit 8 Lesson 3: Structure of Poetry

Question 1

meter

Answer 1

the number of beats or stressed syllables per line of poetry

Question 2

refrain

Answer 2

a line that repeats

Question 3

rhyme scheme

Answer 3

the ordered pattern of rhymes at the ends of the lines of a poem

Question 4

stanzas

Answer 4

groups of lines in a poem

Question 5

structure

Answer 5

how a poem is organized, including rhymes, rhythm, number of lines, and more

Question 6

villanelle

Answer 6

a type of poem that uses three-line stanzas and two refrains

Question 7

What is poetry designed to express

Answer 7

Poetry is designed to express emotions that can be difficult to convey in other types of writing

Question 8

What makes poems different from each other

Answer 8

What makes each of these types of poem different from one another is structure.

Question 9

A poem’s structure is made up of elements, such as

Answer 9

its stanzas, rhythm (or meter), and rhyme scheme.

Question 10

You can use these and other characteristics of a villanelle to describe its structure:

Answer 10

• A villanelle contains five stanzas of three lines each, followed by a stanza with four lines.
• The first line of the first stanza is the first refrain and the last line of the first stanza is the second refrain. These two refrains rhyme.
• The second lines of each stanza all rhyme with each other.
• The first lines of each stanza (after the first stanza) all rhyme with each other (and the refrain).
• The last line of the second and fourth stanza is the first refrain.
• The last line of the third and fifth stanza is the second refrain.
• The last stanza ends with the first refrain, followed by the second refrain.

Question 11

Haiku

Answer 11

Contains three lines: the first and third lines have five syllables, and the second line has seven syllables.

Question 12

Litany

Answer 12

Each line or stanza begins with the same word or phrase.

Question 13

Ballad

Answer 13

Tells a story in four-line stanzas with a rhyme scheme of ABCB; has either three or four beats, or stressed syllables, per line—this can vary throughout the poem.

Question 14

A poem that uses three-line stanzas, two refrains, and a specific rhyme scheme is most likely what type of poem?

a litany
a haiku
a villanelle
a ballad

Answer 14

a villanelle

Question 15

What elements would you include in a description of a poem’s structure?

the subject and the title
the length of the poem and the number of times a refrain repeats
the number of beats per line and the speaker
the rhyme scheme and the meter

Answer 15

the rhyme scheme and the meter