Reading Poetry

What is Poetry? Poetry is different from all other forms of literature ess

entially because it deals with emotion while the other forms, especially prose deal with reason .

However, poetry is also different in its formal structure. When one looks at a piece of poem and a piece of pros

e written on a sheet of paper, one can immediately noti ce the formal difference between the two forms.

While there are some elements that are common to oth er genres of literature, there are certain elements whic

h are specific to poetry such as rhythm & meter, rhy me & rhyme scheme, poetic sound devices, stanz

a and figures of speech . There are also different for ms of poetry.

How to read poetry?While reading poetry, one should look at two things:

The poem as a finished product with a definite form.

The poem as a meaningful piece of

literature.

Poem as a ProductWhile looking at a poem as a product, one should ask the following questions:

What is the form or shape of the poem? What is the musical pattern used in the poem? What are the special sound devices used in the

poem? What kind of figurative language is used in the

poem? What kind of imagery is used in the poem?

Guide to Analyzing Poetry as a Product

Form Type of PoemStanza Length

Rhythm Foot, Meter, Line Lengthand Rhyme, Rhyme Rhyme Scheme

Sound AlliterationDevices &

Assonance Figurative Simile, Metaphor Language Personification,

OnomatopoeiaHyperbole, Metonymy

Imagery Image, Symbol, Myth

Forms of Poetry The ballad The sonnet

( Shakesperean, Petrarchan and Spencerian) The Epic The Dramatic Monologue The Lyric

(Elegy, ode (Pindaric and Horacian)

Rhythm and Meter Rhythm is the term used to refer to sounds or

movements occurring at regular intervals of time. English rhythm is based on the stress patterns, which tend to occur at regular intervals.

Poetic meter is the measure of a line of poetry. It studies how syllables are arranged into rhythmic groups based on strong and weak syllables in a line of a poem.

Each rhythmic group in a line is called a foot. A foot consists of one strong and one or more weak syllables. Each foot has a name based on how the strong and week syllables are organized in it.

Foot A foot with a ‘weak-strong’ syllabic pattern is called iamb. A foot with a ‘strong-weak’ syllabic pattern is called trochaic. A foot with a ‘weak-weak-strong’ syllabic pattern is called anapaest. A foot with a ‘strong-weak-weak’ syllabic pattern is called dactyl. A foot with a ‘strong-strong’ syllabic pattern is called Spondee.

Look at the following examples. Tiger, tiger burning bright (Tum ti, Tum ti, Tum ti, Tum ti)

trochaic. Cannon to right of them, (tum ti ti tum ti ti Cannon to left of them (tum ti ti tum ti ti)

dactyl.

Meter Now, there can be one or more feet in a

line. The number of feet in a line determines the meter.

The metrical pattern of lines in a poem may vary. In fact, poets use different metrical patterns within a poem in order to produce variety in rhythm and meaning.  Each line takes a name based on the number of feet in it.

Meter A one-foot line is called monometer A two-foot line is called dimeter A three-foot line is called trimeter A four-foot line is called tetrameter A five-foot line is called pentameter A Six-foot line is called hextameter A Seven-foot line is called heptameter An Eight-foot line is called octameterLook at the following lines.

tum ti tum ti tum ti tum tiLet her / live to / earn her / dinners. (tetrameter)tum ti ti tum ti tiTake her up / tenderly. (dimeter)

Naming the metrical pattern So, while describing the metrical pattern of a poem one

should give a two label description. The first should be the name of the foot and the second should be the name of the line. Look at the following lines.

tum ti tum ti tum ti tum ti1. Let her / live to / earn her / dinners. (trochaic tetrameter) tum ti ti tum ti ti2. Take her up / tenderly. (dactylic dimeter)

Line 1 has a strong-week (trochaic) pattern and there are four feet (tetrameter). So we may describe the metrical pattern of line 1 as trochaic tetrameter.

Line 2 has a strong-week-week (dactyl) pattern and there are two feet (tetrameter). So we may describe the metrical pattern of line 2 as dactylic dimetre.

Naming the metrical pattern This act of determining the metrical pattern of a

poem is called scansion. In order to scan a poem, you should follow five steps.

Scansion: Five StepsStep 1 Stress mark the line.

Step 2 Mark the feet. Step 3 Look at the arrangement of the wea k and strong syllables

and name the feet.Step 4 Count the number of feet in each line and name the line.

Step 5 Give a two label description of the meter used in the line.

Rhyme & Rhyme Scheme Rhyme is the repetition of identical sounds at the end o

f lines. We can say that rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhyming

lines in a poem. It is usually referred to by using letters (a,b,c…) to indicate which lines rhyme. For example, abab indicates a four-line stanza in which the first and third lines rhyme, as do the second and fourth.

Here is an example of this rhyme scheme fromShakespeare’s Sonnet 65.

Since brass, nor stone, nor earth, nor boundless sea, (a) But sad mortality o'ersways their power, (b) How with this rage shall beauty hold a plea, (a)

Whose action is no stronger than a flower? (b)

Sound Devices Poetry also uses some interesting sou

nd devices to support the rhythmic fea tures of a poem. Some of the common

devices are alliteration and assonance.

Alliteration

Alliteration is the repetition of consonant s ounds in a short sequence of words (at least

two times). Look at the following lines. In th e first line the /p/ sound is repeated five tim

es and in the second line the /n/ sound is rep eated four times.

In the playground he pushes, pinches and pulls people,

He’s always naughty and nasty – not nice to know.

Assonance

Assonance is the repetition of vowel so unds in a short sequence of words (at l

east two times). Look at the following line from W. b. Yeats’ Byzantium . The /

o / sound is repeated 4 times.“that dolphin-torn, that gong-tormented sea.”

Figures of Speech Figure of speech or figurative languag

e in poetry is a special language that g oes beyond the ordinary language and

produces special effects. The most co mmon figures of speech are simile, m

etaphor, personification, onomato poeia, hyperbole, metonymy, imag

e, symbol and myth.

Simile

It is a comparison made between two i tems using connectives such as ‘like’ o

r ‘as’ or ‘than’ or by the use of a verb s uch as ‘appears’ or ‘seems’. Look at th

e following example. He eats like a pig. “Her lips were as red and moist as the seeds of a po

megranate seed.” Thinking of you is like eating potato chips. Once I

start, I can’t stop.

Metaphor

It is another type of comparison in whi ch the poet does not use the connectiv es ‘as’ or ‘like’. Instead, he/she uses a

name or descriptive term or phrase to effect the comparison. Look at the foll owing example.

“ He is a pig” “ Her lips were pomegranate seeds, red a

nd moist”.

Personification

It gives the characteristics of a human being to abstract ideas or things or animals. In oth -er words, the poet speaks of something non

human as if it were human. Look at the follo wing example from William Watson’s Song.

April, April,Laugh thy girlish laughterThen the moment after,Weep thy girlish tears.

Hyperbole

Hyperbole is exaggeration or overstat ement. For example, “ I'm so hungry I c

ould eat a horse .” Now look at the follo wing lines from Robert Burns’

My Love is Like a Red, Red, Rose.

Till a' the seas gang dry, my DearAnd the rocks melt wi' the sun!O I will luve thee still, my DearWhile the sands o' life shall run.

onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia is a device in which the meaning of a word is suggested by its sound. For example, “jingling bells”, “buzzing bees”, “the whizz of my bow”, “cat meows”, “the sheep baas” etc. Now look at the following line from Tennyson’s The Princess.

“The murmur of innumerable bees” The combination of the nasal /m/ and /n/ sounds

convey to the ear the buzzing of the bees. Some words are onomatopoetic by nature, for

example, “splash," "crash," "croak," "murmur," "moan," "hiss," and so on.

Metonymy

Metonymy is referring to something or some one by naming one of its/one’s attributes. Th

is might be done in several ways: substitutin g the inventor for his invention, the containe r for the thing contained or vice versa and a n author for his work.

“Have you read any Hemingway?” – ‘Hemingway’ stands for a book written by him

“The pen is mightier than the sword.” – The pen stands for thoughts and ideas that are written with a pen; the sword stands for military action

Imagery

Understanding the use of imagery in poetry is essential fo r the comprehension of the overall meaning.

Imagery refers to the "pictures " which we perceive with our mind's eyes, ears, nose, tongue, skin, and through which we experience the world created by the poet. The poet uses words of sounds, color and touch in addition to figures of speech to provide this sensory experience to the reader.

Sometimes he/she even gives you an experience of internal sensations and movements.

Kinds of Images Visual images (sight) Tactile images (touch) Auditory images (sound) Gustatory images (taste) Olfactory images (smell) Organic imagery( internal sensation:

hunger, thirst, fatigue, fear) Kinesthetic - imagery movement

Identify Images1. Magnified apples appear and disappear...every fleck

of russet showing clear. After Apple-Picking 2. The roar of trees, the crack of branches, beating on a

box. An Old Man's Winter Night

3. A scent of ripeness from over a wall...smelling the sweetness in no theft. Unharvested

4. The walking boots that taste of Atlantic and Pacific salt. A Record Stride

5. The bed linens might just as well be ice and the clothes snow. The Witch of Coos

6. My heart owns a doubt, It costs no inward struggle not to go. Storm Fear

7. Leaves got up in a coil and hissed, / Blindly struck at my knee and missed. Bereft

Symbol

While an image evokes a world that is familiar to us, a symbol evoke s an unseen world. It reveals a hidden world that hides behind our ev

eryday reality. For example, a poem that speaks of the fading of therose may actually be speaking of the transience of beauty . Symboli

sm thus attempts to penetrate into a world of ideas beyond reality. Look at the following lines from T. S. Eliot’s The Journey of the Magi.

‘ Then at dawn we came down to a temperate valley, Wet, below the snow line, smelling of vegetation; - With a running stream and a water mill beating the darkness,’

These lines are symbolical. The 'temperate valley ... smelling of veg etation' with its 'running stream' and ‘watermill beating the darknes

s’ evokes feelings of life and redemption.

Myth

Myths are stories about gods or heroes of superhuman dimension, intended to

support religious beliefs. They are valued for their universality and

timelessness. Myths are mostly very symbolic and help us understand the

beliefs and traditions of our past.

Poem as a Meaningful Piece of Literature

While looking at a poem as a meaningful piece of literature, one should ask the following questions:1. Who is the speaker?2. Who is he/she speaking to?3. What is the occasion?4. What is the setting in time?5. What is the setting in place?6. What is the ‘sense’ of the poem?7. What is the ‘intention’ of the poet?8. What is the ‘theme’ of the poem?9. What is the ‘tone’ of the poem?10. What images and symbols are used in the

poem? And, how do they contribute to the meaning construct?

UNIT SUMMARY Poetry is the vehicle of feelings and emotions as agains

t prose which expresses all matters based on reason an d logic.

Poetry is close to music in its dependence on sound an d rhythm.

Poetry is rich because it uses a great deal of figurative l anguage.

Poetry has many forms to accommodate a wide range of themes, impressions and emotions. Some popular fo

rms of poetry are the ballad , the sonnet , the epic , t he dramatic monologue , the lyric , the ode , the li

merick and the haiku. In order to appreciate a poem one should look at the form, figu

rative language and the meaning of the poem.

STUDY QUESTIONS What distinguishes poetry from prose? How important is meter for a poem? Identify the metrical pattern in the

following lines from Wordsworth’s Lucy Gray.Not blither is the mountain roe:With many a wanton strokeHer feet disperse the powdery snow, That rises up like smoke.

STUDY QUESTIONS

What is the difference between alliteration and assonance? Explain with examples.

What is the role of figurative language in poetry?

What is the difference between image and symbol?

STUDY QUESTIONS Identify the figures of speech used in the following.

My luve’s like a red, red rose, That’s newly sprung in June:..

The Soul selects her own Society – Then shuts the door.

The wind whispered to them as they ran through the woods.

He clattered and clanged as he washed the dishes. I had to wait an eternity for the file to download. He took to the bottle after his wife's death. I have four mouths to feed.

STUDY QUESTIONS

What is the difference between a myth and an epic?

Describe in your words the ballad, the sonnet, the epic, the dramatic monologue, the lyric, the ode, the limerick and the haiku. Find your own examples.

CLASS DISCUSSION:My Luve's like a red, red rose,

That's newly sprung in June;

O my Luve's like the melodie

That's sweetly play'd in tune.

As fair art thou, my bonie lass,

So deep in luve am I;

And I will luve thee still, my Dear,

Till a' the seas gang dry.

Till a' the seas gang dry, my Dear,

And the rocks melt wi' the sun;

I will luve thee still my Dear,

While the sands o' life shall run.

And fare thee well, my only Luve,

And fare the well, a while!

And I will come again, my Luve,

Tho' it ware ten thousand mile!