Some people consider poetry as prose in a concentrative form, so diction (word choice) is of paramount importance. Poets choose words to create or extend figures of speech, for their sounds, to create or extend images, to create or maintain rhythm, and for formal reasons.
Figurative language is a conspicuous departure from what users of a language apprehend as the standard meaning of words or the standard order of words in order to achieve some special meaning or effect. Although they are primarily poetic, figures are integral to the functioning of language and indispensable to all modes of discourse. Figurative language has been divided into two classes: tropes (the use of phrases in ways that effect changes in what we understand to be their standard meaning) and schemes (the departure from standard usage is in the order or syntactical pattern of the words). The following are classified as tropes: aporia, conceit, epic simile, hyperbole, irony, kenning, litotes, metaphor, metonomy, paradox, periphrasis, personification, pun, simile, synecdoche, and understatement. A common scheme is a rhetorical question. (For more information on figurative language, please peruse the post "Common Poetic Techniques and Terms.")
Most poetry depends on sound to convey emotions and images. Poets often choose words for their sonic textures. A poet knows or discovers what sounds his words will make and what effect those sounds will have on a reader. Alliteration is the repetition of the sound of an initial consonant or consonantal cluster in stressed syllables close enough to each other to affect the ear. Consonance is the repetition of a sequence of two or more consonants but with a change in the interventional vowels. Assonance is the repetition of identical or similar vowels--especially in stressed syllables--in sequential words. Rhyme is the repetition of the last stressed vowel and of the speech sounds following that vowel in at least two words. End rhymes occur at the end of the lines; internal rhymes occur when at least one word in a line rhymes with another word in that line or in a succedent line. An eye rhyme is two or more words that to the eye seem to rhyme, in that their spelling is nearly identical--both begin differently but end alike--but to the ear (that is, in pronunciation) do not rhyme. Also known as partial or imperfect rhyme, slant rhyme occurs when the vowels of words at the end of lines are approximate or different and occasionally the consonants are similar rather than identical. (For more information on the aforementioned techniques, please peruse the post "Common Poetic Techniques and Terms.")
Both the denotations and the connotations of imagery are akin to the word imitate and, hence, refer to a likeness, reproduction, reflection, copy, resemblance or similitude. Although most poetry contains imagery (word pictures), the majority of poets do not use one image to communicate an idea; rather, they combine images in their poems. Imagery signifies all the objects and qualities of sense perception in a literary work--whether by description, allusion, or figurative language. Imagery includes visual (sight), auditory (sound), tactile (touch), thermal (heat and cold), olfactory (smell), gustatory (taste), and kinesthetic (movement) qualities. Imagery makes a literary work concrete, as opposed to abstract. [For more information on imagery, please peruse the posts "Details" and "Poetry (a Revisitation): Imagery."]
Rhythm is a recognizable though variable pattern in the beat of the stresses or accents in a stream of speech-sounds. The prevalent metrical pattern of a poem--for example, iambic pentameter--establishes itself as a norm that controls the reader's expectations, even though the number of lines that deviate from the norm may exceed the number that fit the norm exactly. Furthermore, rhythm is distinct from intonation--the overall rise and fall in the pitch and loudness of the voice--that a poet uses to reveal the meaning of a poem and to produce a rhetorical effect. [For more information on rhythm, please peruse the post "Poetry (a Revisitation): Rhythm."]
Form designates patterns of meter, lines and rhyme, and it designates the order and organization of a work. The Chicago School of criticism makes a distinction between form and structure. The form of a poem is the particular working of emotional power that the composition is designed to evoke, which functions as its shaping principle. That formal principle controls and synthesizes the structure of a work--that is, the order, emphasis and rendering of all its component subject matter and parts--into an effective whole of a determinate kind. Even if you choose not to use conventional structures, you will find that experimenting with and learning about form will ultimately increase your sensitivity to language--whether you write poetry, short stories, or plays. [For more information on form, please peruse the post "Poetry (a Revisitation): Form."]
Making careful choices about diction and having an understanding of connotations (associative meanings) are crucial. You must understand what language can and cannot do for you. Effectively use words, words that connect you and your audience to your poem. As a poet you must deliberate over your selection of words. Always have a dictionary and a thesaurus nearby, for you will want to use words that are not in your vocabulary. Attention to diction will help you take control of your writing--whether you are creating verse, narration or dialogue. (Refer to the post "Creating a Poem.")
