Prosody (poetry)

Okay kiddo, so you know how when you talk, you use your voice to make different sounds for different words? That's called "prosody." And when you read or listen to poetry, the way the writer uses prosody is really important.

Prosody can help create a mood or tone for the poem. If a poem has a lot of long, slow words, it might sound sad or serious. If it has a lot of short, bouncy words, it might sound happy or silly.

Another way prosody is used in poetry is by controlling the rhythm or beat of the words. Some poems have a very strict rhythm, almost like a song. Other poems might have a more free-flowing rhythm that changes throughout the poem.

Finally, poets also use things like rhyme and repetition to play with prosody. If two words in a line of poetry end with the same sound, that's called a "rhyme." And if a certain word or phrase keeps showing up in the poem, that's called "repetition." By using these techniques, poets can make their words sound even more powerful or meaningful.

So, in short, prosody is how poets use their voices to make their poetry sound different ways, and it can include things like rhythm, rhyme, and repetition to create a certain feeling or tone for the poem.