3460 Session 2: Ways of Reading Session Aims Introduce close reading of poems Introduce formal analysis of poems Form Metrics Rhyme Fields of meaning Poetic devices Ruben Darío, “Yo persigo una forma”

3460: What to look for in a poem? Form What is on the page? How is it organised or divided up? Verses Lines Line length Note: you do not even need to understand the words yet.

3460: What to look for in a poem? Metre How long are the lines? Read the poem out loud: Does it move quickly or slowly? Does it have a regular beat or not? Count the syllables Remember: elision of final/initial vowels Final stressed syllable + one = syllable count Count the stresses: Accented words, nouns, pronouns and verbs How are they distributed?

3460: What to look for in a poem? Rhyme Compare last two syllables of lines Spanish assonance counts as rhyme What patterns can you detect?

3460: What to look for in a poem? Syntax How are sentences organised? How do they relate to the lines of verse or verses? Is the syntax straightforward, or more complex than everyday speech?

3460: What to look for in a poem? Lexical Describe the register (implicit social and intellectual level) of the language What groups or fields of related words can you detect? Can these be divided up at all?

3460: What to look for in a poem? Poetic devices Use of e.g. metaphor metonym synecdoche allusion symbol imagery, synaesthesia hyperbaton Etc…

3460: Darío, “Yo persigo” What more can you say about the poem now? For next week: In groups, choose one of the essays (Barthes, Calvino or Todorov) Read it carefully, discuss it and be prepared to answer the following questions: What is the piece’s basic argument? What examples does the piece give? Do you agree with the author? Why?