UNDERSTANDING POETRY

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1 UNDERSTANDING POETRY Poetry is often considered beautiful, lyrical, and mesmerizing. However, poetry can also be very difficult to understand. Students of all levels sometimes have trouble when analyzing poetry, but there are many techniques that can help us to understand poetry as much as possible. In this handout, we will go over some common techniques for analyzing poetry. For more information on analyzing poetry and literature, please check out the Writing Center Handout Poetic and Literary Devices. WHAT IS POETRY? According to Bob s Poetry Byway, poetry is defined as a heightened literary expression cast in lines, rather than sentences, in which language is used in a concentrated blend of sound, meaning, and imagery, to create an emotional response. Here are some quotes relevant to the definition of poetry: For all good poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings William Wordsworth, Preface to Lyrical Ballads Poetry is nearer to vital truth than history. ~Plato, Ion Poetry is the rhythmical creation of beauty in words. ~Edgar Allan Poe Before we analyze poetry, it is important to see poetry in a positive light. Due to the difficulty of poetry analysis, many students develop an aversion to poetry however, appreciating the beauty and emotional connection we can have with poetry will better help us to understand it. Poems often try to capture that which is not easy to plainly see, such as feelings and impressions through the power of suggestion by the use of figurative language, structure, imagery, diction, sounds, and rhythm. The hidden meaning of every poem is up to your interpretation. 1

2 COMMON FORMS OF POETRY: The form of a poem can give us a hint about the poem s content or theme. Here are some common types of poetry: NARRATIVE: A narrative poem tells a story, such as a ballad or an epic. A ballad is a short poem with stanzas of two or four lines and usually a refrain. An epic is a long poem, usually simple in construction but grand in scope, exalted in styles, and heroic in theme, often giving expression to the ideals of a nation or race. LYRICAL: A lyrical poem has rhyme schemes that express personal and emotional feelings (such as a sonnet, haiku, or ode). A sonnet consists of 14 lines in a single stanza, and each line contains ten syllables. Additionally, sonnets are written in iambic pentameter 1, in which a pattern of an unstressed syllable is followed by a stressed syllable. One of the most famous types of sonnet is the Shakespearean sonnet form, in which the rhyme scheme consists of an a-b-a-b, c-d-c-d, e-f-e-f, g-g; the last two lines are a rhyming couplet 2. Shakespearean sonnets also tend to have strong volta, or a turn in the sonnet s mood, located somewhere in the middle of the sonnet (usually around the 9 th line). For example: Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer's lease hath all too short a date: Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimm'd; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd; But thy eternal summer shall not fade Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest; Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou growest: So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. ( Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare) Notice the aforementioned rhyme pattern, such as in Day and May. The volta shows a shift in the sonnet s tone. The sonnet is completed with a rhyming couplet: see and thee. 1 For more information on iambic pentameter, please refer to the Rhythm section on page 4. 2 For more information about couplets, please refer to the Structure section on page 5. 2

3 A haiku is a very short, three-lined poetry structure that originated in Japan. They are not rhymed. Haikus consist of lines of five, seven, and five syllables. Additionally, traditional haikus emphasize striking imagery and nature, but many modern haikus no longer follow this tradition. For example: snow mixes with rain my mother keeps calling me by my brother's name (an untitled haiku by Paul David Mena) An ode is a long [lyric] in elevated language on a serious theme. An ode can take the form of a song, chant, and it typically honors a specific person, place, or thing. For example: Row after row with strict impunity The headstones yield their names to the element, The wind whirrs without recollection; In the riven troughs the splayed leaves Pile up, of nature the casual sacrament To the seasonal eternity of death; Then driven by the fierce scrutiny Of heaven to their election in the vast breath, They sough the rumour of mortality. ( Ode to the Confederate Dead by Allen Tate) In this poem, the poet is writing in honor of the confederate dead, as the title suggests. In a way, this poem is in celebration of their sacrifice and how they came to join the war. DRAMATIC: A dramatic poem reveals a character's thoughts through speech, such as in a monologue or soliloquy. A monologue is when the character may be speaking his or her thoughts aloud, directly addressing another character, or speaking to the audience. It is distinct from a soliloquy, in which a character relates his or her thoughts and feelings to him/herself and to the audience, but they do not address any of the other characters. 3

4 RHYTHM: Traditional verse is made up of formal patterns of stressed (accented) and unstressed (unaccented) syllables. Poets use rhythm and syllables depending on the meter of the poem, or the measure of its length. POETIC FEET/MEASURE: A metrical unit refers to the measure of a line. To help keep track of the feet in a line, try to count the stressed beats or syllables in a line. For example, a pentameter (five feet) will have five stressed syllables. Trimeter = 3 feet Tetrameter = 4 feet Pentameter = 5 feet Hexameter = 6 feet BEAT PATTERNS: Poetry with an organized rhythm has a certain number of poetic feet, which usually contains two or three syllables with a beat pattern. Some of the most common forms of poetic beats are as follows: = a stressed (or strong, or LOUD) syllable U = an unstressed (or weak, or quiet) syllable Iambic Beats - weak syllable followed by strong syllable. Trochaic Beats: strong syllable followed by a weak syllable. Anapestic Beats: two weak syllables followed by a strong syllable. Dactylic Beats: a strong syllable followed by two weak syllables. Spondaic Beats: two strong syllables (not common as lines, but appears as a foot). A spondee usually appears at the end of a line. 4

5 IAMBIC PENTAMETER: One of the most common forms of poetic rhythm is the iambic pentameter, which was most commonly used by William Shakespeare. As described above, a poem that uses iambic pentameter uses iambic beats and five feet of measure, such as in the line: the CUR few TOLLS the KNELL of PAR ting DAY. Iambic pentameter has been a popular choice for particularly British poets in past centuries, and it is still used by many modern poets today. Furthermore, rhythm may also be visually conveyed through the poem's structure. STRUCTURE: Stanzas: The structure of a poem is the specific arrangement of words, lines, and stanzas in which a poem is written. Many poems are written with stanzas, or paragraphs of verse. How does the structure change the meaning or tone of a poem? Does the structure enhance or distract from the poetry? Types of stanzas include: Couplets: units of 2 lines Triplets: units of 3 lines Quatrains: units of 4 lines *Ballad Stanzas: quatrains made up of alternating lines of 8 & 6 syllables with usually only the 2nd & 4th lines rhyming Sestets: units of 6 lines Octaves: units of 8 lines Line Breaks: Sometimes, the poem has no breaks at all, or the pattern is whimsical or disjointed for effect. This has no official name and can be as random as the poet desires: in Just-- spring when the world is mud-- luscious the little lame balloonman whistles far and wee (lines 1-5 of In Just by E.E. Cummings) Sometimes, the poem s pattern visually suggests a thematic object in the poem. This is known as an emblem poem. One example of an emblem poem is The Altar by George Herberts, which is shaped to reflect the title and uses capitalization for highlight words that the 5

6 reader can associate with altars: A broken A L T A R, Lord, thy servant reares, Made of a heart, and cemented with teares: Whose parts are as thy hand did frame; No workmans tool hath touch d the same. A H E A R T alone Is such a stone, As nothing but Thy pow r doth cut. Wherefore each part Of my hard heart Meets in this frame, To praise thy Name; That, if I chance to hold my peace, These stones to praise thee may not cease. O let thy blessed S A C R I F I C E be mine, And sanctifie this A L T A R to be thine. ( The Altar by George Herberts) A break in the middle of a line by a space or an end stop (such as a period) is called a caesura: waiting for Christmas. The water seems suspended; (line from the third stanza of At the Fishhouses by Elizabeth Bishop) A line that does not end in an end stop (such as a period), but continues into the next line, is called an enjambment: We can see the mountains shimmering blue above the air. (line from the fifth stanza of Heaven by Cathy Song) In this example, the thought consists of two lines. Keep in mind that punctuation is very important in poetry because it shows when a thought pauses, begins, and ends. SOUND: Sound is a very important aspect in poetry. How does the poem sound when read aloud? Is the language harsh or soft, and do you believe that the sound has anything to do with the poem s meaning? Below are some common techniques that poets use to make their poetry sound a certain way. ALLITERATION: A poem uses alliteration when the first letter sound of a word is the same in nearby words, such as: the L sound in: Lazy lions lick their lips. ASSONANCE: A poem uses assonance when a vowel sound is repeated in nearby words, such as: the Ow sound in: Out of the foul mouth. 6

7 CONSONANCE: A poem uses consonance when a consonant sound is repeated in nearby words, such as: the K sound in: Packing quickly the ticking clock. REPITITION: A poem uses repetition when a word, phrase, form, or expression is repeated in a series of lines: If they are not yours as much as mine they are nothing, or next to nothing, If they are not the riddle and the untying of the riddle they are nothing, If they are not just as close as they are distant they are nothing (lines 2-4 of 17 from Songs of my Myself by Walt Whitman) ONOMATOPOEIA: A poem uses onomatopoeia when the sound of a word suggests its meaning, such as: bang, Ow!, slither, screech, murmur, pow! RHYME: A poem uses rhyme when words end with identical or similar sounding syllables, such as the rhymed pairs: suit and loot, or sweet and complete. There are also rhymes that are near or off rhymes, such as: fate and lake, stream and bean, or cold and owe. TIPS AND QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF: Poems usually try to say a lot in a short amount of space; every detail is important. In order to understand a poem, make sure that you take the following steps: Read the poem several times. Make notes about the poem Identify the poetic devices being used Ask yourself the following questions and take notes if necessary: Who is speaking? Refer to the narrator of a poem as the speaker. Do not assume that the speaker is the poet. Oftentimes, poets write persona poems, in which the speaker is a character outside of the author. The speaker is important to identify because the identity of the speaker can determine the meaning of the poem. What is the poem about? What are the central themes? The theme of a poem is the unifying subject or topic of a poem. Common themes include: the ecstasy of love, the horrors of war, mourning a death, the agony of defeat, protesting injustice, celebrating an achievement, laughing at folly, etc. The theme is often expressed through the point of view that the author is taking or the speaker is expressing. To find the theme, ask what conclusion the poem seems to make regarding its subject. What is the poem trying to say to you, the reader? What is the tone of the poem? The tone is the attitude of the poem. How does the speaker react emotionally to the poem s subject? Sarcastically, sadly, joyfully? 7

What is the setting of the poem? The setting is the time and place in which the events of a poem are taking place. When and where does it take place? How does that influence the meaning of the poem?

8 What is the setting of the poem? The setting is the time and place in which the events of a poem are taking place. When and where does it take place? How does that influence the meaning of the poem? More important questions to ask yourself: What is the poem's intended audience? What type of reader is the poem intended for? Why is the speaker addressing this audience? What conclusions does the reader come to? Most importantly, don t forget to ask yourself: How does the poem make you feel? What is its overall message? To practice analyzing poetry, please refer to the exercises on the following page. 8

9 EXERCISES: Analyze and interpret the two poems below. Read them closely and brainstorm the meaning behind this poem. MY POEM by Rich Accetta-Evans My poem delights me. My poem is mine. It is like fresh bread When I bake it myself. It is like my son The day he was born. I laughed as I wrote it, And clapped my hands. I will stop a stranger To show him my poem. Because it delights me. Because it is mine. QUESTIONS Who is the speaker of the poem? What is the tone of the poem? How does the poem make you feel? What is the poem about? Does it have a central theme? If so, what is it? Who is the intended audience? For what purpose would the poet write this poem? What lines stand out to you the most? Why do you think they stand out? Is there anything else that you notice? Is there a certain structure or rhythm? Is this a narrative, lyrical, or dramatic poem? 9

10 SONNET 116 by William Shakespeare Let me not to the marriage of true minds Admit impediments. Love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove: O no! it is an ever-fixed mark That looks on tempests and is never shaken; It is the star to every wandering bark, Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken. Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks Within his bending sickle's compass come: Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, But bears it out even to the edge of doom. If this be error and upon me proved, I never writ, nor no man ever loved. QUESTIONS Who is the speaker of the poem? What is the tone of the poem? How does the poem make you feel? What is the poem about? Does it have a central theme? If so, what is it? Who is the intended audience? For what purpose would the poet write this poem? What lines stand out to you the most? Why do you think they stand out? Is there anything else that you notice? Is there a certain structure or rhythm? Is this a narrative, lyrical, or dramatic poem? 10

11 This handout is based on the following sources: Gwynn, R. S. Poetry: A Pocket Anthology. New York: Pearson/Longman, Print. Kennedy, X. J., and Dana Gioia. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. New York, NY: HarperCollins College, Print. Welch, Colin. Elements of Poetry. Lexiconic Education Resources. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 June < Poets.org. Poetry, Poems, Bios & More. Academy of American Poets, Web. 19 June < Roberts, Edgar V. Writing about Literature. Boston: Pearson, Print. For further reference, see the following books: Bogarad, Carley Rees., and Jan Zlotnik. Schmidt. Legacies: Fiction, Poetry, Drama, Nonfiction. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt College, Print. Wyatt, C.S. Clauses and Phrases. Tameri Guide for Writers. Ed. S.D. Schnelbach. 12 September April < All of the above texts are available in the Writing Center. For more information, please visit our website at Last Revised: 07/11/

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