IMAGES

Images are pictures made of words. Images help us to visualise something clearly by appealing to one or more of our five senses.

• Images appeal to our sense of sight by describing the appearance of things, such as their colour, shape and size.
• Images appeal to our sense of hearing by describing sounds, such as those made by animals and birds, the wind, music and people speaking or singing
• Images appeal to our sense of smell by describing smell, such as food cooking, flowers or smoke from a fire.
• Images appeal to our sense of taste by using words that help us imagine the taste of things, for example, sweet, bitter or salty.
• Images appeal to our sense of touch by describing the way things feel in our hands, for example, soft, furry, greasy, rough, or sharp.

Images are often created by comparing two things. Making a comparison is a way to show how something can be the same or different from another thing. Similes, metaphors and personification are all ways of comparing things.

• Similes

A simile is an image that compares one thing with another, and is introduced by the words like or as. These words tell us that two things are being compared, and we think about the similarities between them. Different similes could have been used to compare other aspects of the creatures. 

•  Metaphors

Metaphors is another type of image where one thing is compared to another. Metaphors seem to say that one thing is the other thing, because they leave out the words like or as that tell us a comparison is being made.

• Personification

Personification is a type of metaphor where something that is not human is given  human qualities.

LINES

Lines are  an important feature of poem. They make a piece of writing look like a poem, In most kind of writing, lines go from one margin to the other. In poem, lines can be many different lengths, and can also help us to understand the meaning of a poem. The types of lines that we can find in poems include lines that are complete sentences, lines that are part of a sentence, lines that have only one word, lines that have several words, lines that start with small or capital letters, short and dramatic lines, long and thoughtful lines, lines of equal length, lines of varied lengths, opening lines that tell what the poem is about, closing lines that sum up the poem, lines that are set out underneath each other and lines that are arranged in a design or picture to add meaning to the poem. 

• Stanzas and groups of lines

A stanza is a group of lines that is separated by a space from other stanzas. Some stanzas have a definite pattern, such as equal numbers of lines, although this may vary. a poem may have one stanza or many stanzas. The word stanza comes from an Italian word meaning a room. It will help us to think of a poem as a series of rooms, each having a different purpose. Usually, a new stanza shows some change in the poem, This might be a new person speaking, a change of topis, a change of setting or a new event in a story. 

• Shape poems

Shape poems are another example of varying line in lengths in a poem. Shape poems have lines that are arranged in a design or picture to add meaning to the poem. The way the words are arranged emphasises the way  things happen.

PATTERNS

Patterns are  a feature of poem. Many poem have regular pattern of rhyme or rhythm. Other pattern are formed by the repetition of words, lines or images. Some poems. such limericks, haiku and cinquains have their own patterns. These may be patterns of rhyme or counted syllables.

•   Limerick

Limericks are short poems that tell little stories. Limericks have been written for hundreds of years. Limerick can be written about any topic but they are usually humorous in tone so no one takes the stories seriously. The humor is emphasised by the rhymes and rhythms. Limerick has a definite pattern of syllables, rhyme and rhythm. Limericks always open with a line of eight syllables that refers to a person and a place or that gives a person's name and occupation. 

• Haiku

Haiku are very short poems. Traditional haiku contain a reference to nature or to an emotion. They do not have many of the features of other poems. It is written in patterns of syllables - lines 1 has 5 syllables, line 2 has 7 syllables and line 3 has 5 syllables. Haiku have no  regular rhythm, no rhymes, no metaphors or similes, no title and do not tell a story. Haiku is originated in Japan.

• Cinquains

A cinquain is a poem containing five lines. It can be a complete poem or a stanza of a poem. There are two types of cinquains; syllable cinquains and word cinquains.