Page 8 Finding Themes in Poetry

Finding Themes in Poetry

Finding theme in Poetry

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Take a Bow by Rihanna Oh, how about a round of applause? Yeah, standing ovation This looks like a re-run but you put on quite a show, really had me going But now it’s time to go, curtains finally closing That was quite a show, very entertaining But it’s over now Go on and take a bow And the award for the best liar is you Let’s hear your speech now

The repeated theatre terms suggest the main idea: the speaker's relationship was just pretense. The tone is sarcastic.

Poetry has a lot in common with music.  Click on the link to a Shmooptube video below to learn about musical poetry.


"The Last Saskatchewan Pirate" is a ballad, a poem or a song which tells a story. Its short stanzas and rhyme scheme make it easier to commit to memory to pass on to future generations. Usually, a ballad is a slow, sentimental love song.

The rhyme scheme of "The Last Saskatchewan Pirate" is rhyming couplets: a set of two lines with rhyming words at the end of each line. Each line in the couplet also shares nearly identical rhythm (number of beats per line).

But times were hard and though I tried, the money wasn't there (14 beats)
And the bankers came and took my land and told me 'fair is fair'?" (15 beats)