Poetry uses language in special ways — condensing meaning, creating images, and stirring emotions. Learning poetry techniques helps you both understand poems and write your own. Poetry exists in every culture, including rich traditions in Te Ao Māori.
Words with matching end sounds.
"The cat sat on the mat"
Repeated consonant sounds at the start of words.
"Peter Piper picked a peck"
Repeated vowel sounds within words.
"The rain in Spain falls mainly"
Words that sound like what they mean.
"Splash, crash, buzz, whisper"
Comparison using "like" or "as".
"Eyes like stars" / "Brave as a lion"
Saying something IS something else.
"The world is a stage"
Giving human qualities to non-human things.
"The wind whispered secrets"
Objects representing bigger ideas.
"A dove = peace"
3 lines: 5-7-5 syllables. Often about nature.
14 lines, strict rhyme scheme. Often about love.
No fixed rules — rhythm comes from meaning.
First letters of each line spell a word.
5 lines, AABBA rhyme, often funny.
Māori song-poems. Story, chant, emotion.
An old silent pond...
A frog jumps into the pond—
Splash! Silence again.
— Matsuo Bashō
Write your own haiku about nature:
My haiku:
Identify the technique used: