Poetry Terms Part 1

An Introduction to Poetry Definitely need to take notes in the “Poetry” section of your notebook. “A poem is the shortest emotional distance between two points” - Robert Frost

Formal Analysis Poetry creates meaning from form Interactions between the meaning of words and the effects of them arranged in metrical patterns FORM and MEANING must be considered together for full understanding Expresses the ineffable Poetry is intimate, private, emotional – open to many interpretations Historically, poetry has played an important role in illuminating cultural inequalities Poetry = way of engaging world while providing personal meaning

Key Ideas You’ll need to know (jot these down) Form enhances credibility (i.e. sonnet) Rhyme Scheme/Form – influence diction, syntax and style Tone is created through imagery and connotation

Style Style: Author’s distinctive way of writing Style includes: Manner of language used to evoke mood Refers to a time period in literary history OR to an individual writer Style includes: Diction, or word choice, which some believe most important subject of poetry Tone/Figures of speech Sentence length/structure

BIG IDEAS Diction Figures of Speech Imagery Tone/Mood Rhyme Meter Form Syntax Sound Tone Mood Narrator Setting Theme Denotation Connotation Formal/informal (slang/ colloquial) Language (abstract/ concrete) Figures of speech Simile Metaphor Personification Analogy Extended metaphor Overstatement (hyperbole) Understatement Paradox Irony Free verse End rhyme Internal rhyme Eye/sight rhymes Near rhyme Quatrain Couplets Rhythm Feet Iambic Iambic pentameter/tetrameter Blank verse Sonnet Elegy Lyric Ode Villanelle Simple Complex Cumulative Periodic Inverted Enjambment Caesura Alliteration Assonance onomatopoeia Cadence

Theme & Tone

Tone Tone usually associated with attitude Irony VERY common Communicated by writer’s diction MOOD = overall feeling Mood + Tone add richness and texture to words, deliberate by writer TONE SHIFTS = Essential in analyzing poetry and purposeful by writer Tone helps guide us to understanding of theme

Tone is created through Imagery Used in poetry to create “pictures” evoked in a poem Reader perceives “pictures” through senses Tangible – NOT abstract – allows readers to connect with poet’s thoughts/ideas Allows poet’s meaning to be strong, clear and sure

Tone is created through Figurative Language Manipulates language to convey impressions in a new, innovative construction Used to SUGGEST rather than give direct meaning Allows poet AND reader opportunity for unique expression and understanding Emotions, feelings and moods invoked through skillful use of figurative language (i.e. similes, metaphors, hyperbole, personification, etc.) Figures of speech: Images - picture created in your mind’s eye Simile – comparison using “like” or “as” Metaphor – implicit comparison, describing something as if it were something else Personification – giving human qualities to inanimate objects Hyperbole – overstatement/exaggeration Symbol – something that stands for something else Paradoxes -  a statement that contradicts itself and still seems true somehow

Tone is created through Speaker Speaker = the character that is voicing the poem, may or may no be the poet themselves In stories, novels, and plays we use the term “narrator” in poetry we use the term “speaker” Common Tones: Serious, bitter, humorous, ironic, sympathetic, joyous, mocking, angry, amusing, shocked, playful Diction = word choice Denotation (literal meaning) v. Connotation (implied meaning) Formal v. Informal diction (slang/colloquial) Abstract v. Concrete language

Theme and Tone Theme Tone What a poem says the message about love or death or whatever the topic is How a poem makes the statement of theme. the poem’s attitude or feelings toward the theme

Theme Theme = the statement about the topic Theme may be expressed in several ways and can have several interpretations Setting can help shape the theme

Common Themes in Poetry Usually universal theme – connects to emotions and life Coming of Age: Identity search; loss of innocence, growth through life Life Cycle: Major events, i.e. birth, falling in love, growing old, death The Quest: Undertaking journeys to achieve a goal Outcast Motif: Individual is either isolated or excluded from society – can be voluntary or involuntary

Situation & Setting

Situation Situation – refers to several questions that need to be answered for comprehension of the poem 1. Who is speaking? 2. To whom is the speaker speaking? 3. Is there an auditor in the poem, or simply an audience outside of it? 4. Is anyone else present or referred to in the poem? 5. What is happening? 6. Why is this event or communication occurring, or significant?

Setting Both time and place 1. Where does the action or communication take place? 2. When in the poem set 3. How much time passes during the poem?

You try: You’re now receiving a poem that you’ve probably seen before, Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 18”. Read through the poem and try and identify/match the following vocabulary terms with the what’s in the poem and answer the questions. This is your copy so you may write on the poem. Whatever you do not finish needs to be taken home and finished for homework.