Chapter 9 The Language of Poetry

Introduction Analyzing poetry is, indeed, a dense activity Poetry is the study of form and content The interpreter can do a lot to give life to a poem Logical content & emotive content (hard to find distinction) Each word: Carries denotative meaning Carries connotative meaning Harmonizes with sound pattern

Figurative Language “A poet’s words do not define a concept so much as expand on it in the reader’s consciousness.” Words in poetry mean many things at once. Literary devices Allusions Simile Metaphor Analogy Metonymy – substituting a word for another that it suggests (“table” in place of “meal”) Synecdoche – Substituting a part for a whole (“sail” in place of “boat”

Figurative Language Personification – attribution of human qualities to abstract or inanimate things Apostrophe – An absent figure is addressed as though they are present

Poetic Syntax Stanzas = major units/divisions Sentences = minor units/divisions Poetry does not offer the same sort of “precision” as factual prose Slower reading and suspension of judgement is often needed

Tone Color Combination of vowels and consonants to help achieve a particular effect Connotation is communicated/related by tone color Onomatopoeia – words in succession that reinforce the same idea (“hiss, thud, crack, and bubble) Alliteration - similar sounds at the beginning of two or more words in succession Tone color reinforces the connection between the poem and the interpreter