POETRY WRITING REVIEWER

Poems will be judged based on these criteria:

20% - Message and Interest (clear message, profound ideas)
30% -Technical Excellence (grammar, organization, presentation , rhyme and meter))
20% -Assonance and Alliteration (soft and sharp sounds of the poem, mixture of powerful words and
sounds)
20% -Form and Flow (form the poem takes on paper, symmetry and balance of lines)
10% -Overall Impact

RHYME
The repetition of syllables, typically at the end of a verse line. Rhymed words conventionally share all
sounds following the word’s last stressed syllable.

A rhyme scheme is usually the pattern of end rhymes in a stanza, with each rhyme encoded by a
letter of the alphabet, from a onward (ABBA BCCB, for example). Rhymes are classified by the
degree of similarity between sounds within words, and by their placement within the lines or stanzas.

-End rhyme, the most common type, is the rhyming of the final syllables of a line. See “Midstairs” by
Virginia Hamilton Adair:

And here on this turning of the stair

Between passion and doubt,
I pause and say a double prayer, Observe the end alternate end rhyme
One for you, and one for you;
And so they cancel out.

METER
Meter is a stressed and unstressed syllabic pattern in a verse, or within the lines of a poem. Stressed
syllables tend to be longer, and unstressed shorter.

 Iamb: Two syllables, the first of which is unstressed and the second of which is stressed. For example,
comPUTE, disPEL, aGREE.
 Trochee: Two syllables, the first of which is stressed and the second of which is unstressed. For example:
ARgue, BISHop, DOCtor.
 Spondee: Two syllables, both of which are stressed. For example: ICE CREAM, HOT LINE, CELL PHONE.
 Dactyl: Three syllables, the first of which is stressed and the next two of which are unstressed. For example,
ELephant, POSSible, TRINity.
 Anapest: Three syllables, the first two of which are unstressed and the third of which is stressed. For
example: of a KIND, souvenIR, underSTAND.

ASSONANCE
Assonance takes place when two or more words, close to one another repeat the same vowel sound,
but start with different consonant sounds.

Examples
 Honesty is the best policy.
 Let the cat out of the bag.
 A stitch in time saves nine.
 The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

ALLITERATION
Alliteration is the repetition of the same consonant sounds at the beginning of words that are in close
proximity to each other.

 Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

 She sells seashells by the seashore.
 A big black bug bit a big black dog and the big black dog bled blood.
 Betty Botter bought some butter, but she said, this butter’s bitter; if I put it in my batter, it will
make my batter bitter, but a bit of better butter will make my bitter batter better.