Poetry
Before we begin…Define “Poetry” Bing Dictionary: literature in verse-- literary works written in verse, in particular verse writing of high quality, great beauty, emotional sincerity or intensity, or profound insight About.com an imaginative awareness of experience expressed through meaning, sound, and rhythmic language choices so as to evoke an emotional response. Dictionary.com: the art of rhythmical composition, written or spoken, for exciting pleasure by beautiful, imaginative, or elevated thoughts.art
Types of Poetry Lyric poetry - expresses a speaker’s personal thoughts and feelings - Is rich in musical / sound devices - Includes many types such as ballads, hymns and sonnets Narrative poetry - Tells a story - May range from the unfolding of an isolated incident to the narrative of someone’s lifetime - Epics or situational poems
Types of poetry continued Dramatic poetry - Poetry in which one or more characters exist - The speaker addresses a specific listener within the poem, or someone outside of the poem other than the reader
Classification by stanza length Couplet = two lines Triplet = three lines Quatrain = four lines Quintet = five lines Sestet = six lines Septet = seven lines Octave = eight lines
Poetry terms Theme – the central message or idea of the work SOUND DEVICES: Onomatopoeia – a word that sounds like its meaning External rhyme – a similar sound between two words at the end of a line Internal rhyme – a similar sound between words within a line Repetition – repeating a word or phrase for emphasis or rhythm
Terms Rhythm – ordered or free occurrences of sound (metered verse or free verse) Refrain – repetition of a line or phrase at regular intervals, usually at the end of stanzas Stanza – a division of poetry named for the number of lines it contains (like a paragraph in stories or essays, it breaks up the poem into different, yet related ideas)
Terms Alliteration- repetition of consonant sounds Assonance – repetition of vowel sounds Caesura – a pause or sudden break in line created for effect Parallelism – the repetition of phrases and sentences similar in meaning or structure
Devices of Language (or senses) Speaker – the voice in a poem Tone – the attitude a writer takes toward subject that is shown through language/word choice Personification – giving human qualities to inanimate objects Symbol- any object, person, place, or action that has meaning in itself and stands for something larger than itself Denotation- the dictionary definition of a word (ex: black=a color resulting from the reflection of all colors of the spectrum
Devices of language Connotation – the suggested or implied meaning of a word (black = dark, scary, morbid) Hyperbole – over-exaggeration (“That took forever!”) Irony (verbal) – saying one thing but meaning something else Allusion – a reference to a famous person, historical event, or literary work Simile- a comparison between two seemingly unlike things using “like” or “as”
Devices of language Metaphor – a direct comparison between two seemingly unlike things Extended metaphor – a direct comparison between two things through the whole poem Imagery – language that appeals to the senses (sight, taste, touch, smell, sound); occurs in the reader’s mind