POETRY

DEFINITION

A. DEFINITION
According to Wikipedia: Poetryis a form ofliteraturethat uses

aestheticand rhythmic qualities oflanguage to evoke meanings

in addition to, or in place of, theprosaicostensiblemeaning.

According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary: Writing

that formulates a concentrated imaginative awareness of
experience in language chosen and arranged to create a specific
emotional response through meaning, sound, and rhythm
According to Oxford Dictionary: Literarywork in which the
expression of feelings andideasis givenintensityby theuseof
distinctivestyle andrhythm;poemscollectively or as agenreof
literature.
According to Britannica: Literaturethat evokes a concentrated
imaginative awarenessof experience or a specific emotional
response throughlanguagechosen and arranged for its
meaning, sound, andrhythm.

ELEMENTs

A. Prosody
is the study of the meter,rhythm, and

intonationof a poem. Rhythm and meter are

different, although closely related.Meter is
the definitive pattern established for a verse
(such asiambic pentameter), while rhythm is
the actual sound that results from a line of
poetry. Prosody also may be used more
specifically to refer to thescanningof poetic
lines to show meter.
I.

Rhythm :The methods for creating poetic rhythm vary

across languages and between poetic traditions.
Languages are often described as having timing set
primarily byaccents,syllables, ormoras, depending on
how rhythm is established, though a language can be

Meter: In the Western poetic tradition, meters are

customarily grouped according to a characteristic
metrical footand the number of feet per line.The
number of metrical feet in a line are described using
Greek terminology:tetrameterfor four feet and
hexameterfor six feet, for example.Thus, "
iambic pentameter" is a meter comprising five feet per
line, in which the predominant kind of foot is the "iamb".
This metric system originated in ancientGreek poetry,
and was used by poets such asPindarandSappho, and
by the great tragediansofAthens. Similarly, "
dactylic hexameter", comprises six feet per line, of
which the dominant kind of foot is the "dactyl".

The most common metrical feet in

English are:
iamb one unstressed syllable followed by a

stressed syllable (e.g. describe, Include, retract)

trochee one stressed syllable followed by an
unstressed syllable (e.g.picture,flower)
dactyl one stressed syllable followed by two
unstressed syllables (e.g.annotatean-no-tate)
anapest two unstressed syllables followed by one
stressed syllable (e.g. comprehendcom-pre-hend)
spondee two stressed syllables together (e.g.enough)
pyrrhic two unstressed syllables together (rare,
usually used to end dactylic hexameter)

II

Metrical Patterns : Different traditions and genres of

poetry tend to use different meters, ranging from the
Shakespeareaniambic pentameterand the Homericdactylic
hexameterto theanapestic tetrameterused in many nursery
rhymes. However, a number of variations to the established
meter are common, both to provide emphasis or attention to a
given foot or line and to avoid boring repetition.
Some common metrical patterns, with notable examples of
poets and poems who use them, include:

Iambic pentameter(John MiltoninParadise Lost,

William Shakespearein hisSonnets)

Dactylic hexameter(Homer,Iliad;Virgil,Aeneid)
Iambic tetrameter(Andrew Marvell, "To His Coy Mistress";
Aleksandr Pushkin,Eugene Onegin,Robert Frost,
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening )
Trochaic octameter(Edgar Allan Poe, "The Raven")
Alexandrine(Jean Racine,Phdre)

B. Rhyme, Alliteration,
Assonance
Rhyme, alliteration, assonance andconsonanceare

ways of creating repetitive patterns of sound. They

may be used as an independent structural element in
a poem, to reinforce rhythmic patterns, or as an
ornamental element.They can also carry a meaning
separate from the repetitive sound patterns created.
For example,Chaucerused heavy alliteration to mock
Old English verse and to paint a character as archaic.
Rhyme consists of identical ("hard-rhyme") or similar
("soft-rhyme") sounds placed at the ends of lines or at
predictable locations within lines ("internal rhyme").
Languages vary in the richness of their rhyming
structures;

i. Rhyme Schemes

In many languages, including

modern European languages and
Arabic, poets use rhyme in set
patterns as a structural element for
specific poetic forms, such as
ballads,sonnetsand
rhyming couplets. However, the use
of structural rhyme is not universal
even within the European tradition.
Much modern poetry avoids
traditionalrhyme schemes.

C. FORM
Poetic form is more flexible in modernist and post-

modernist poetry, and continues to be less structured

than in previous literary eras. Many modern poets eschew
recognisable structures or forms, and write infree verse.
Among major structural elements used in poetry are the
line, thestanzaorverse paragraph, and larger
combinations of stanzas or lines such ascantos. Also
sometimes used are broader visual presentations of
words andcalligraphy. These basic units of poetic form
are often combined into larger structures, calledpoetic
formsor poetic modes (see following section), as in the
sonnetorhaiku.
a. Lines and Stanzas
b. Visual Presentation

LITERARY
DEVICES

Simile
to the practice
of drawing
parallels or
comparisons
between two
unrelated and
dissimilar
things, people,
beings, places
and concepts.

Metaphor
refers to a

meaning
or identity
ascribed to
one
subject by
way of
another.

Personification
It refers to the practice of attaching human
traits and characteristics with inanimate
objects, phenomena and animals.

Apostrophe
In literature,
apostrophe is a
figure of speech
sometimes
represented by
exclamation O. A
writer or a speaker,
using an
apostrophe,
detaches himself
from the reality and
addresses an
imaginary character
in his speech.

- refers to the

Metonymy
practice of not

using the
formal word
for an object
or subject and
instead
referring to it
by using
another word
that is
intricately
linked to the
formal name

Synecdoche
is aliterary

devicesthat uses a
part of something to
refer to the whole. It
is somewhat
rhetorical in nature,
where the entire
object is
represented by way
of a faction of it or a
faction of the object
is symbolized by the
full.

Hyperbole
- is a literary device wherein

the author uses specific

words and phrases that
exaggerate and
overemphasize the basic
crux of the statement in
order to produce a
grander,morenoticeable
effect.

Irony

Refers to playing around with

words such that the meaning
implied by a sentence or word is
actually different from the literal

Allusion
- is a figure of
speech whereby
the author refers
to a subject
matter such as a
place, event, or
literary work by
way of a passing
reference. It is up
to the reader to
make a
connection to the
subject being
mentioned.

Antithesis

- is used when the

writer employs two
sentences of
contrasting meanings
in close proximity to
one another.

Whether they are words or

phrases of the same
sentence, an antithesis is
used to create a stark
contrast using two
divergent elements that
come together to create one
uniform whole.

refers to
the use of
concepts or
ideas that
are
contradictor
y to one
another,
yet, when
placed
together
hold
significant
value on
-

Paradox

Litotes
are figures of

rhetoric speech
that use an
understated
statement of
an affirmative
by using a
negative
description

Types

Lyric Poetry
A poem that is

very personal in
nature. It
expresses the
authors own
thoughts,
feelings, moods
and reflections in
musical
language.

. It derived its name

from the musical
instrument, the
lyre.

Idylls
Pastorals
Songs
Sonnets
Elegy
Odes

Narrative Poetry

A
poem
that
tells a
story.

a. Epic - are long, serious poems that tells the

story of a heroic figure.

b. Ballads - are poems that tells a story

similar to a folk tale or legend and often has

a repeated refrain.
c. Metrical Tale - a narrative poem consisting

usually a single series connective events that

are simple, and generally do not form a plot.
d. Metrical Romance -is a kindof poetry
dealing with the emotions or phase of life and
the story is toldin a simple, straightforward
and realistic manner. It has a happy ending
whether love is involved or not.