Week 2 Chapter 1 - INTRODUCTION TO POETRY

"Poetry is emotion put into measure. The emotion must come by nature, but the measure can be
acquired by art". Thomas Hardy

I. INTRODUCTION :

What is poetry ?
Poetry is a type of literature, or artistic writing, that attempts to stir a reader's imagination or
emotions. The poet does this by carefully choosing and arranging language for its meaning,
sound, and rhythm.

Poems rely heavily on literary devices, rhythm (patterns of stresses)and rhyme patterns.

II. POEM ANALYSIS:

1. How is poetry to be analyzed ?

To truly understand poetry, you must examine each element on its own to discover what a poem
means. Analyzing poems line by line allows you to break poems down in order to study their
→structure,
→form (metrical pattern, rhythm...),
→language (literary devices...),
→mood and tone,
→theme.

The purpose of literary analysis is to interpret the meaning of a poem and appreciate it on a
deeper level.

2. The 5 aspects you ought to consider :

Poetry involves different elements such as language, rhythm, and structure which, put together,
tell a story and create a complexity that is unique to poetic verse. When studying poems in-depth,
look at these individual elements:

① Form : what category of poem does the poem fall into ?

② Structure and language: How many stanzas? What is the rhyme and rhythm in the poem?
What examples of literary devices can you find? The way language is arranged. The sound and
rhythm:
③ Theme : What is the poem about ? The subject of the poem.
④ Literary devices : Use of Simile, Metaphor and Personification, rhetorical figures of speech.
⑤ Mood & Tone: What emotions is the poet giving you ? What is the overall mood of the poem ?

II. THE FORMS OF POETRY :

1. What is form?
Poems come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. They are laid out and divided up carefully by the
poet. When we look closely at a poem, its form can give us clarity on the message and meaning of
the poem.
Some poems have fixed forms in terms of line pattern, rhythm and rhyme.
There are basically three major forms of poetry :

→ LYRIC POETRY conveys emotional intensity and relies heavily on musical and rhythmical
qualities : Shakespearean Sonnet, Petrarchan Sonnet, Ode, Elegy, haiku, limerick.

→ NARRATIVE POETRY tells a story about societies, cultures, and heroes : Ballad, Epic, Allegory.

→ FREE VERSE is an open form of poetry that doesn't use consistent meter or rhyme scheme
(enjambment and line breaks inserted in the middle of sentences are often used).

2. LYRIC POETRY :

● A limerick is a funny five-line poem with a rhyme scheme AABBA.

● A haiku has three lines : 1st line (5 syllables) 2nd line (7 syllables) 3rd line (5 syllables).

● A Shakespearian sonnet always has 14 lines : 3 quatrains + 1 rhyming couplet. A sonnet follows
the rhyme scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF GG.

● An ode is a type of lyric poetry. Odes are elaborately structured poems praising or glorifying an
event or individual, describing nature intellectually as well as emotionally.

● A villanelle is composed of 5 tercets + 1 quatrain.

● An elegy is a poem of serious reflection, and in English literature usually a lament for the dead.

3. NARRATIVE POETRY :

● An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary
deeds of extraordinary characters.

● A ballad is uses quatrains and alternating rhyme schemes (ABAB).

III. STRUCTURE :

1. Definition :
Structure refers to the way the poem is organized and the relationship between the different
parts of the poem.
It involves → the number of lines,
→ the stanza length,
→ rhyme scheme and the rhythm pattern.

2. Stanza, lines and Capital letters

The 2 features that are specific to poetry are →the arrangement in stanza and lines
→the use of a capital letter at the beginning of each line.
It is important to note whether a poem is broken up into discernible stanzas of equal or unequal
size. Poets often use deviation from a pattern to highlight important words or phrases. The
poems form usually reflects what the poem is about.

* Stanza
Looking at the layout of a poem helps to identify the form.
Stanzas separate poems into groups of lines.
Special names have been given to stanzas according to their number of lines :

→ 2 lines = couplet
→ 3 lines = tercet 3 lines that rhyme : triplet
→ 4 lines = quatrain
→ 5 lines = quintain
→ 6 lines = sestet
→ 7 lines = septet
→ 8 lines = octet

Exemples :
①In his poem, The Eagle, Alfred, Lord Tennyson breaks his poem into two stanzas:
He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
Close to the sun in lonely lands, description of the eagle perched on the
Ring’d with the azure world, he stands. mountain
The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
He watches from his mountain walls, description of the eagle swooping down
And like a thunderbolt he falls.
→ Breaking the poem into two separate events helps to increase the drama.

② In the poem Island Man, Grace Nichols uses long and short lines to suggest the sea :

Morning
and island man wakes up
to the sound of blue surf
in his head
the steady breaking and wombing

→ The alternation of short and longer lines suggests the action of waves breaking.

IV. LANGUAGE:

1. The sound devices of a poem

Some poets use sound devices as a strategy to create an emotional response by the listener and
and to convey and reinforce meaning through sound.

* Rhymes :
To analyze a poem's structure properly, it is crucial to find out what its rhyme pattern is. Is it
written in quatrains that rhyme at the end? Is it written in rhyming couplets?
If there is no observable rhyme, it is written in free verse.
A rhyme scheme is the pattern of sounds that repeats at the end of a line or stanza. Poems with
rhyme schemes are generally written in formal verse. Rhyme scheme patterns are encoded by
letters of the alphabet (ABAB...).
Here are the main rhyme schemes :

①Alternate rhyme (ABAB pattern). This rhyme scheme is used for poems with four-line stanzas.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “A Psalm of Life”
Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream!—
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.

②Coupled rhyme (AA BB CC... scheme). The rhymes themselves are referred to as rhyming
couplets. Shakespeare’s sonnets end with rhyming couplets, such as this one:
William Shakespeare, “Sonnet 18”
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

③Monorhyme (AAAA...). In a monorhyme, all the lines in a poem end with the same rhyme.

④Enclosed rhyme (ABBA pattern).

Sonnet VII
By John Milton

How soon hath Time, the subtle thief of youth,

Stol'n on his wing my three-and-twentieth year!
My hasting days fly on with full career,
But my late spring no bud or blossom shew'th.

⑤Triplet (AAA pattern). Used for tercets.

William Shakespeare, “The Phoenix and the Turtle”
Truth may seem, but cannot be
Beauty brag, but 'tis not she
Truth and beauty buried be

⑥Terza rima (ABA BCB CDC DED EE pattern). An Italian form of poetry that consists of tercets, a
terza rima follows a chain rhyme in which the second line of each stanza rhymes with the first and
last line of the subsequent stanza.

Percy Shelley, “Ode to the West Wind”

O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn’s being,
Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves dead
 Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing,

Yellow, and black, and pale, and hectic red,

Pestilence-stricken multitudes: O thou,
Who chariotest to their dark wintry bed

The winged seeds, where they lie cold and low,

Each like a corpse within its grave, until
Thine azure sister of the Spring shall blow

Her clarion o’er the dreaming earth, and fill

(Driving sweet buds like flocks to feed in air)
With living hues and odours plain and hill:

Wild Spirit, which art moving everywhere;

Destroyer and Preserver; hear, O hear!

2. The rhythm pattern :

● Meter = The pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a poem that make up the rhythm of
a poem. Different rhythmic patterns are created by choosing where the emphasis (stress) falls in
the line. Rhythm can help to strengthen the meaning of words and ideas in a poem.

There are various types of meter, each characterized by a specific pattern of stressed (accented)
and unstressed (unaccented) syllables. Here are some common meters:

→ the iambic pentameter: unstressed / stressed (da – DUM) = 10 syllables, 5 iambs per line
For example, the famous line from Shakespeare's "Sonnet 18":
"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?"

→ the trochaic pentameter: stressed / unstressed ('DUM – da) = 10 syllables, 5 trochees (the reverse of
iambs) It's less common but still used in poetry.
Read the lines from these two poems aloud. Can you hear the rhythm as you say it? Which one is
iambic and which is trochaic?

1) « The Charge of the Light Brigade » by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, the rhythm sounds like galloping
hooves adding to the dramatic re-telling of the famous charge on horseback into the enemy’s
guns :
Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
b) « Remember » by Christina Rossetti
Remember me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land;

PRACTICE :

Look at the Structure and form of the Poem.

Is it an ode, elegy, sonnet, narrative poem, or is it
free verse?
How are the stanzas arranged?
How are the ideas arranged in the poem?

→ 4 quatrains with chain rhymes where the rhyme

from the 3rd line is carried over to the next stanza.
→ a lyric poem where the narrator expresses
personal emotions.

● A Haiku : a poem of Japanese origin containing 3

lines with 5 7 5 syllables respectively.

● A limerick : a humorous poem of five lines

 Chapter 2 - Figurative language and figures of speech

I. FIGURATIVE VS LITERAL LANGUAGE :

In literal language, words say exactly what they mean. For example : "The car is blue". "He caught
the ball". Literal Language excludes comparison, exaggeration or understatement. It's a factual
way of writing.
Figurative language refers to language that is not literal: it is a tool used by poets to create a
mental picture or sensation (to build IMAGERY) to give words more power.
Figurative language is phrasing that goes beyond the literal meaning of words to get a message or
point across. Figurative language conveys emotion, creates tone and mood, and expresses slight
nuances in connotation. Its chief function is to communicate the writer’s message as clearly as
possible by creating musicality or imagery.
The poet uses these rhetorical and stylistic devices to convey to the reader a particular meaning or
provoke an emotional reaction.

Read the following sentences and say whether they are using the literal or figurative language.
The water was rising in the river because of the rain.
Her teeth are like stars because they come out at night.
When she sings her voice is like velvet.
Half of the class did not complete the assignment.
I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.
Mike was so angry that steam was coming out of his ears.
The zebras cried when the wise old elephant died.
I’ve told you a million times to clean up your room.

II. FIGURES OF SPEECH

Figures of speech are the literary devices used in a poem to enhance its content.

Figures of speech fall into several categories, according to the effect they produce. Here are the
most common ones :
→sonic devices : alliteration, assonance, onomatopeia
→word repetition : anaphora
→word relation : oxymoron
→discourse level : understatement, hyperbole
→imagery : metaphor, simile, personification, metonymy

The most common types of figurative language :

A Simile is a figure of speech that compares two separate concepts through the use of a clear
connecting word such as “like” or “as.” Ex : “He was wily as a fox,” or “I slept like a log.”
A Metaphor is like a simile, but without connecting words. Ex : “He was a wily fox”.

A Personification projects human qualities onto inanimate objects, or perhaps animals or

natural elements. Ex : “The wind howled,” “The words leapt off the page,” and “Time marches on”.

A metonymy consists of the use of the name of one thing for that of another of which it is an
attribute or with which it is associated.
Ex: The Crown is amused (“The Crown” is the Queen).

A Hyperbole is extravagant, intentional exaggeration. Ex : “I have a million things to do today”.

An understatement is an intentional lessening of something's importance. This device might be

used ironically in order to draw attention to how important or strong something truly is. Ex :
Describing the grave as a "fine and private place.”

An oxymoron combines together two contradictory or incongruous words in order to create an
effect. Ex: “cruel kindness”, or “deafening silence”.

An anaphora repeats a word or expression at the beginning of successive verses for rhetorical or
poetic effect. Ex: “With mine own tears I wash away my balm,/ With mine own hands I give away
my crown” Richard III, W. Shakespeare

An onomatopeia : The naming of a thing or action by a vocal imitation of the sound associated
with it. Ex : The bee buzzed in my ear.

An alliteration is the repetition of the same, initial consonant sounds to create a particular sound effect.
Ex : William Blake, "The Tyger "(1794) : "Burning bright, … frame thy fearful symmetry".

An assonance is the repetition of the same vowel sounds followed by different consonants. Ex :
"Who knows why the cold wind blows" Kelly Roper.

III. EXAMPLES OF FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE FROM LITERATURE :

Ex 1: I Know Why the Cage Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou (1983)

But a BIRD that stalks down his narrow cage

Can seldom see through his bars of rage
His wings are clipped and his feet are tied
The caged bird sings with a fearful trill …
And his tune is heard on the distant hill for
The caged bird sings of freedom.

→In this poem, the author uses the sustained metaphor of a bird in a cage to symbolize the
oppression of African Americans who couldn't get freedom. The cage represents the
confinement that Maya feels as a Black American in a time of harsh segregation laws, especially
in the south. The song of the bird represents true self yearning for something greater in life.

→The author uses the metaphor of the bird struggling to escape its cage to denounce the racism
and gender discrimination she faced in her childhood.
Ex 2 : As You Like It , by William Shakespeare.

Jaques: All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits
and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts.

→This is a monologue by Jacques in which he gives the depiction of the stages of a man’s life from
cradle to grave i.e. from birth to death.

→In this passage, the protagonist uses a metaphor. He compares human life to the world of
theatre, directly and without connecting words (“like” or “as”).

→Shakespeare compares the world to a stage where the drama of human lives is enacted. The
playwright himself is unknown to humans and remains off-stage (God?).

→The theme of the poem is the cycle of life and predestinity.

Ex 3 : A type of figurative language that is harder to find in poetry is personification. “She Sweeps
with Many-Colored Brooms” by Emily Dickinson is a great example:

She sweeps with many-colored brooms,

And leaves the shreds behind;
Oh, housewife in the evening west,
Come back, and dust the pond!

→Dickinson is not talking about a literal person but ascribing instead the properties of the
housewife to a non-living thing—the sunset. Her imagery has strong cleansing associations.