Hey, young poets!
Want to write a poem that sparkles like a shooting star? That sings like a happy bird? That sticks in your mind like your favorite song?
Every great poem has 6 key ingredients that make it memorable, meaningful, and magical. Let’s dive in!
1. Imagery – Painting Pictures with Words
Great poetry makes us see, hear, feel, taste, and smell things as if we were right there! This is called imagery, and it brings a poem to life.
✏️ Examples:
✅ Instead of saying: The sun is bright.👉 Say: The golden sun drips honey-light across the sleepy hills.
✅ Instead of saying: The rain is loud.👉 Say: Raindrops drum a wild rhythm on my windowpane.
📜 Classic Example: "The Swing" by Robert Louis Stevenson
"How do you like to go up in a swing,Up in the air so blue?Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thingEver a child can do!"
Why it works: Can you see the bright blue sky? Feel the excitement of swinging high? That’s imagery!
2. Rhythm – The Beat of the Poem
Poetry isn’t just about words—it has a beat, a rhythm, a music to it! Some poems rhyme, some don’t, but every great poem has a flow that makes it fun to read out loud.
✏️ Examples:
✅ Bouncy rhythm:"I saw a frog upon a log—He winked at me and gave a nod!"
✅ Slow and steady rhythm:"The wind is soft, the night is still,A silver moon glows on the hill."
📜 Classic Example: "The Caterpillar" by Christina Rossetti
"Brown and furry,Caterpillar in a hurry;Take your walkTo the shady leaf or stalk."
Why it works: Can you feel the fun, bouncy rhythm? It makes the poem easy to remember and fun to say!
3. Emotion – Making People Feel Something
A good poem makes people laugh, cry, wonder, or dream. It connects to emotions in a way that regular sentences just can’t.
✏️ Examples:
✅ Exciting and joyful:"The parade comes marching, drums go BOOM!Balloons float high, confetti blooms!"
✅ Sad and thoughtful:"The empty swing moves in the breeze,A whisper of a friend who’s gone."
📜 Classic Example: "Bed in Summer" by Robert Louis Stevenson
"In winter I get up at nightAnd dress by yellow candlelight.In summer quite the other way,I have to go to bed by day."
Why it works: Can you feel the frustration of going to bed when the sun is still shining? That’s emotion at work!
4. Word Play – Making Language Fun
Poets love to play with words! They use alliteration, rhyme, repetition, and made-up words to make their poems exciting and fun to say.
✏️ Examples:
✅ Alliteration (same beginning sounds):"The sneaky snake slithered silently."
✅ Made-up words:*"Jabberwocky," "lollapalooza," or "squiggly-wiggly-waggle."
📜 Classic Example: "Jabberwocky" by Lewis Carroll
"’Twas brillig, and the slithy tovesDid gyre and gimble in the wabe."
Why it works: Even though some words are nonsense, the sounds and rhythm make it exciting!
5. Meaning – A Message to Remember
A great poem makes you think or feel something special. It might teach a lesson, tell a story, or just share a beautiful moment.
✏️ Examples:
✅ Lesson about kindness:"A little smile, a helping hand,Can spread more joy across the land."
✅ Lesson about patience:"The tiny seed sleeps in the ground,Then wakes when springtime rolls around."
📜 Classic Example: "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost (simplified for kids)
"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,And sorry I could not travel both...I took the one less traveled by,And that has made all the difference."
Why it works: It makes us think—what choices will we make in life?
6. Rhyme – Words That Dance Together
Rhyme makes poems fun to read and easy to remember! It’s when words sound alike at the end of lines or within them. While not all poems need rhyme, it can add a playful or musical quality to your writing.
✏️ Examples:
✅ End rhyme:"The cat sat on a sunny mat,
Dreaming of a fluffy hat."
✅ Internal rhyme (inside a line):"The bright light shone in the night."
📜 Classic Example: "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" by Jane Taylor
"Twinkle, twinkle, little star,How I wonder what you are!Up above the world so high,Like a diamond in the sky."
Why it works: The rhyming words make it fun and easy to memorize—that’s why we all know this one!
Now It’s Your Turn!
Try writing a poem using one (or ALL!) of these key elements.
Imagery – Paint a picture with words
Rhythm – Give it a beat
Emotion – Make people feel something
Word Play – Have fun with language
Meaning – Leave readers with something to think about
Rhyme – Make the words dance
What will your poem say? I can’t wait to read it!
Full Classic Poem Examples
The Swing
By Robert Louis Stevenson
How do you like to go up in a swing,
Up in the air so blue?
Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing
Ever a child can do!
Up in the air and over the wall,
Till I can see so wide,
Rivers and trees and cattle and all
Over the countryside—
Till I look down on the garden green,
Down on the roof so brown—
Up in the air I go flying again,
Up in the air and down!
Caterpillar ("Brown and furry")
By Christina Rossetti
Brown and furry
Caterpillar in a hurry,
Take your walk
To the shady leaf, or stalk,
Or what not,
Which may be the chosen spot.
No toad spy you,
Hovering bird of prey pass by you;
Spin and die,
To live again a butterfly.
Bed in Summer
In winter I get up at night
And dress by yellow candle-light.
In summer, quite the other way,
I have to go to bed by day.
I have to go to bed and see
The birds still hopping on the tree,
Or hear the grown-up people's feet
Still going past me in the street.
And does it not seem hard to you,
When all the sky is clear and blue,
And I should like so much to play,
To have to go to bed by day?
Jabberwocky
By Lewis Carroll
’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
“Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!”
He took his vorpal sword in hand;
Long time the manxome foe he sought—
So rested he by the Tumtum tree
And stood awhile in thought.
And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!
One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.
“And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!”
He chortled in his joy.
’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
The Road Not Taken
Play Audio
By Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
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