Journal Entry 43: Elements of Poetry

Poems are like stories; they both have a plot, setting, characters, and theme. But the elements that make up a poem are different than the elements that make up stories. The elements of poetry are figurative language, rhyme, theme, imagery, plot, characters, and settings. The elements of stories are plot, characters, setting, and conflict. As I list some of the elements of poem and stories, they shared the most common elements in common stories. Plot, characters, setting, and conflict all that stuff.

The example which I will provide is called Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out.

Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout

Would not take the garbage out!

She’d scour the pots and scrape the pans,

Candy the yams and spice the hams,

And though her daddy would scream and shout,

She simply would not take the garbage out.

And so it piled up to the ceilings:

Coffee grounds, potato peelings,

Brown bananas, rotten peas,

Chunks of sour cottage cheese.

This is few lines in Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out. The character is Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout. The conflict is Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout wouldn’t take the garbage out. The plot of this poem is all the lines in this poem; if you understand the meaning of the poem, then it would be easier to understand the plot. Finally, the setting, obviously is in Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout’s house.