Poetry Terrms

Words

Words can be divided up into three components:

  1. Sound—the combination of tones and noises that make up a word.
  2. Connotation—what a word suggests beyond what it expresses. (The difference between childish and childlike, for example).
  3. Denotation—the dictionary meaning of a word.

Imagery

  • Representation through language of sense experience.
  • Most
    commonly represents a visual image, but can also represent a smell, a
    taste, or even an internal sensation like hunger, thirst, or nausea.

Figurative Language

Figurative
language—language using figures of speech, that cannot/should not be
taken literally. Broadly defined, a figure of speech is a way of saying
something other than in the ordinary way.

Metaphor and Simile:
both a means of comparing two things that are unalike. The only
difference is in phrasing—similes use phrases such as: like, as,
resembles, or seems. In a metaphor the comparison is implied.

Personification: giving the attributes of a human being to an animal, object, or concept.

Apostrophe: addressing someone absent or dead or nonhuman as if that person or thing were present and could reply.

Synecdoche:
a figure of speech in which a part is substituted for a whole or a
whole for a part, as in 50 head of cattle for 50 cows, or the army for
a soldier.

Metonymy: a figure of
speech in which an attribute or a suggestive word is substituted for
the name of something, as in “The Crown” for “the monarchy”.

Symbol:
Roughly defined as something that means more than what it is. Something
that stands in the place of another thing. A symbol can be as simple as
the color red representing “stop” or as complex and culturally loaded
as an eagle.

Allegory is a
narrative or description that has a second meaning beneath the surface
one. It is a less common literary device than it once was.

Paradox: An apparent contradiction that is somehow true. Shock value that startles the reader.

Hyperbole: Deliberate exaggeration for effect. “You could have knocked me over with a feather”).

Irony:

  • Verbal/Sarcasm: Saying one thing and meaning another.
  • Dramatic: device where the author implies a different meaning from the one intended by the speaker.
  • Situational: a situation where there is an incongruity between what is anticipated and what actually happens.

Musical Devices

Alliteration: repetition of initial consonant sounds.

Consonance: repetition of final consonant sounds.

Assonance: repetition of vowel sounds.

Rhyme: repetition of the accented vowel sound and all succeeding sounds.

  • Internal: Rhyme within a line.
  • End: Rhymes at the end of lines.
  • Approximate Rhyme: words with sound familiarity.

Rhythm and Meter¹

  • Meter is consistent rhythm, something that we can tap our feet to. Meter comes from the term “to measure”.
  • Foot: one accented syllable with one, two, three or zero unaccented syllables.

Iamb: unstressed/stressed (Today)
"when I have FEARS that I may CEASE to BE" (John Keats)

Trochee: stressed/unstressed (Daily)
"PIping DOWN the VALleys WILD" (William Blake)

Anapest: Unstressed/unstressed/stressed (intervene)
"twas the NIGHT before CHRISTmas and ALL through the HOUSE" (Clement Moore)

Dactyl: Stressed/unstressed/unstressed (Yesterday)
"Grand go the years in the Crescent above them/ Worlds scoop their arcs/ and firmaments row" (Emily Dickinson)

Spondee: Stressed/stressed (True-blue)

Other Terms

Allusion: a reference to something in history or previous literature.

Tone:
A writer or speaker’s attitude toward his subject, her audience, or
his/herself. It is the emotional coloring and emotional meaning of the
words and phrases used.

Stanza: A group of lines within a poem (functions like a paragraph in prose).

Juxtaposition: Deliberately placing dissimilar things side by side for comparison.

Free Verse: poetry in lines of irregular length, usually unrhymed.

Blank Verse: unrhymed iambic pentameter; that is, with every second syllable stressed.

Closed Form:
A type of form or structure in poetry characterized by regularity and
consistency in such elements as rhyme, line length, and metrical
pattern.

Open Form-A type of
structure or form in poetry characterized by freedom from regularity
and consistency in such elements as rhyme, line length, metrical
pattern, and overall poetic structure.

Falling Meter-Poetic meters such as trochaic and dactylic that move or fall from a stressed to an unstressed syllable.

Rising Meter. Poetic meters such as iambic and anapestic that move or ascend from an unstressed to a stressed syllable.

Speaker:
Distinct from the author of the poem. The writer may have chosen
another “character” to be the speaker of the lines. Do not assume that
biographical sounding poetry is necessarily from the author’s point of
view.

Enjambment– a line of poetry in which the grammatical and logical sense run on, without pause, into the next line or lines.

Onomatopoeia– words (or the use of words) that sound like what they mean.

Allegory–
A symbolic narrative in which the surface details imply a secondary
meaning. Allegory often takes the form of a story in which the
characters represent moral qualities.

Caesura: A strong pause within a line of verse.

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Poetic Forms

The Sonnet

· 14 lines, iambic pentameter (easy to remember as 10 syllables per line)
· English Sonnet(Shakespearean)

  • Three four line quatrains, and one 2 line couplet
  • Typically, the couplet reverses, alters, or challenges the meaning of the preceding 12 lines in an ironic twist.
  • The rhyme scheme is ABAB CDCD EFEF GG.

· Italian Sonnet (Petrarchan)

  • One eight line octet and one 6 line sestet.
  • Typically, the octet poses a dilemma that is answered in the sestet.
  • The rhyme schme is ABBAABBA CDECDE.

· Spenserian Sonnet

  • A variant on the Shakespearean sonnet, with four quatrains with interlocked rhyme scheme.
  • The rhyme scheme is ABAB BCBC CDCD EE.

The Villanelle

  • Nineteen lines, 5 three line stanzas followed by one four line stanza.
  • Usually tetrameter (4 beats) or pentameter (5 beats).
  • Alternating end rhymes patterned aba, aba, aba, aba, abaa, although not all vilanelles rhyme.
  • Lines 1,6,12, and 18 are the same.
  • Lines 3, 9,15, and 19 are the same.
  • Usually nostalgic in tone.

Poetic Genres

  • Epic: a long serious narrative poem concerning a heroic figure or group of heroes (Beowulf).
  • Lyric: poems written in subjectively rich voice, often emotional. Sound quality is emphasized.
  • Ode: a formal lyric poem of exalted emotion celebrating someone or something.
  • Elegy: a poetic lament for the dead or missing.
  • Prose Poem: form of free verse that lacks the formal shape of poetry.
  • Narrative: a poem that tells a story.
  • Ballad: a story told in verse, without much detail or setting. The primary emphasis is action.
  • Haiku: a short poem with seventeen syllables, usually written in three lines with the following syllable pattern (5,7,5).
  • Cinquain:
    a five-line poem with two syllables in the first line, four in the
    second, six in the third, eight in the fourth, and two in the fifth.
  • Concrete Poetry: a picture poem, in which the visual shape of the poem contributes to its meaning.

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Close Reading of Literature

What is Close Reading?

To
do a close reading, you choose a specific passage and analyze it in
fine detail, as if with a magnifying glass. You then comment on points
of style and on your reactions as a reader. Close reading is important
because it is the building block for larger analysis. Your thoughts
evolve not from someone else’s truth about the reading, but from your
own observations. The more closely you can observe the more original
and exact your ideas will be. To begin your close reading, ask yourself
several specific questions about the passage. The following questions
are not a formula, but a starting point for your own thoughts. When you
arrive at some answers, you are ready to organize and write. You should
organize your close reading like any other kind of essay, paragraph by
paragraph, but you can arrange it any way you like.

First Impressions

  • What is the first thing you notice about the passage?
  • What is the second thing?
  • Do the two things you noticed complement each other? Or contradict each other?
  • What mood does the passage create in you? Why?

Vocabulary and Diction

  • Which words do you notice first? Why? What is noteworthy about this diction?
  • How do the important words relate to one another?
  • Do any words seem oddly used to you? Why?
  • Do any words have double meanings? Do they have extra connotations?
  • Look up any unfamiliar words. For a pre-20th century text, look in the //Oxford English Dictionary// for possible outdated meanings. (The OED
    can only be accessed by students with a subscription or from a library
    computer that has a subscription. Otherwise, you should find a copy in
    the local library.)

Discerning Patterns

  • Does an image here remind you of an image elsewhere in the book? Where? What’s the connection?
  • How might this image fit into the pattern of the book as a whole?
  • Could
    this passage symbolize the entire work? Could this passage serve as a
    microcosm–a little picture–of what’s taking place in the whole work?
  • What
    is the sentence rhythm like? Short and choppy? Long and flowing? Does
    it build on itself or stay at an even pace? What is the style like?
  • Look at the punctuation. Is there anything unusual about it?
  • Is there any repetition within the passage? What is the effect of that repetition?
  • How
    many types of writing are in the passage? (For example, narration,
    description, argument, dialogue, rhymed or alliterative poetry, etc.)
  • Can you identify paradoxes in the author’s thought or subject?
  • What is left out or kept silent? What would you expect the author to talk about that the author avoided?

Point of View and Characterization

  • How does the passage make us react or think about any characters or events within the narrative?
  • Are there colors, sounds, physical description that appeals to the senses? Does this imagery form a pattern? Why might the author have chosen that color, sound or physical description?
  • Who speaks in the passage? To whom does he or she speak? Does the narrator have a limited or partial point of view?
    Or does the narrator appear to be omniscient, and he knows things the
    characters couldn’t possibly know? (For example, omniscient narrators
    might mention future historical events, events taking place "off
    stage," the thoughts and feelings of multiple characters, and so on).

Symbolism

  • Are there metaphors? What kinds?
  • Is there
    one controlling metaphor? If not, how many different metaphors are
    there, and in what order do they occur? How might that be significant?
  • How might objects represent something else?
  • Do
    any of the objects, colors, animals, or plants appearing in the passage
    have traditional connotations or meaning? What about religious or
    biblical significance?
  • If there are multiple symbols in the work, could we read the entire passage as having allegorical meaning beyond the literal level?

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Symbolism

The Basics of Symbolism

Symbolism is a
relatively straightforward concept on its surface. An object or objects
represents an Idea or a concept. For example, the United States Flag is
an object (a flag). It is simply fabric with stripes and stars. In
itself, the flag is meaningless. However, the flag represents or stands
for a variety of ideas and concepts. As a symbol, the flag can
represent freedom, unity, justice, or patriotism to certain people. It
can also represent evil, hatred, world domination, and injustice to
certain people. One object, in this case the flag, can represent a
multitude of ideas. It is ultimately up to the audience to decide what
the symbol represents to them. In symbolic representations we often are
given an ordinary object and challenged to attach meaning to the object
beyond its concrete use or intended meaning.

Another concrete example of non-literary symbolism would be cross which
is perhaps the most common of all visual symbols. Like the flag, a
cross can be seen to represent a number of different ideas: redemption,
crucifixion, or sacrifice. Engineering feats can be seen as symbolic as
well. As the great bridges began to connect Manhattan to the rest of
New York, for example, New Yorkers either saw it as a symbol of man’s
great progress or as a symbol of the degeneration of the city center.

Symbolism in Literature

When we read, we may feel that certain characters and certain items in
the story stand for more than themselves, or hint at larger meanings.
It may be clear to us, for example, that the author has mentioned
certain items or ideas in order to get us to think more deeply about
something.

One question students often ask about symbolism in literature is this:
why do authors have to suggest meaning, why can’t they just tell us
about it directly?
The answer may be best arrived at by thinking about the object
mentioned above, the American flag. How many words would it take to
concretely, exactly, and meaningfully communicate the feelings evoked
upon seeing the flag flying at half-mast? It would be a very difficult
thing to do, and in doing so the writer might lose the reader’s
interest or worse, alienate them from the moment because the feeling is
not one they shared., but by allowing the flag to stand as a symbol,
the writer forces the reader to apply his or her own knowledge to the
situation, and the feelings evoked are the sole domain of the reader,
not the author.

Literary symbols are of two broad types: One includes those embodying universal suggestions
of meaning, as flowing water suggests time and eternity, a voyage
suggests life. Such symbols are used widely (and sometimes
unconsciously) in literature. The other type of symbol acquires its
suggestiveness not from qualities inherent in itself but from the way
in which it is used in a given work. An example would be the apple in
the story of Adam and Eve.
There are no concrete right and wrong answers when it comes to symbols,
though some are more evident than others. Because we all have different
levels of understanding of certain subjects, we come to literature with
different abilities to decipher symbols. I urge you to not try to
assign absolute meaning to every symbol you encounter. The multiplicity
of interpretation is what makes literature (especially modern
literature) so rich and interesting to read.

Similarly, not every item or object is meant to be symbol. Sometimes a
picture can just be decoration. Sometimes a character carries a gun
because he carries a gun. So while I encourage you to be critical and
thoughtful, I do not want you to work too hard to assign symbolic
meaning to everything you see in a story or poem. Symbolism is not
mathematics and cannot be explained in simple formulas. There are
seldom concrete answers to questions of symbolic significance, and you
are not supposed to be experts in literary symbolism.

Symbolism Dictionary:
http://www.umich.edu/~umfandsf/symbolismproject/symbolism.html/ 

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Hero Journey

The Separation

The Call

The Call
invites the initiate into the adventure, offering an opportunity to
face the unknown and grow physically or spiritually. The initiate may
choose willingly to accept the call or s/he may be thrust into the
adventure.

Often the call comes when the initiate has had something taken from
him, his family or his society. He accepts the quest to reclaim what
was taken. The call may involve a sensation that there is something
lacking in life. Often the call involves a need to save honor.

The Threshold

A hero first must encounter "threshold guardians,"
beings who block the way to the adventure. These guardians may attempt
to destroy the initiate, or to protect her from entering the adventure
before she is ready.

Often the inexperienced hero finds that he cannot proceed without supernatural aid, in the form of a "wise and helpful guide" who provides advice and amulets to further the quest.

The hero must leave his familiar life behind to begin a journey from childhood to adulthood and to a life-transformation. The threshold
of the journey is the point at which the initiate leaves the known
world to enter the unknown. At this point a helper or guide may appear
to provide assistance or direction. Helpers often appear when the
initiate is in the greatest danger.

The Descent — “into the labyrinth”

The descent is a voyage into uncharted territory, either physical or
psychological. The initiate becomes more at risk. A labyrinth has
always symbolized a difficult journey into the unknown, and in one way
or another it is often incorporated into tales of the hero’s journey.

The Initiation

Tests and Ordeals

On his journey the initiate faces a series of tests and ordeals which
challenge him, and force him to grow physically or mentally. The tests
validate the initiate’s right to be hero. The hero faces mortal combat,
but in the end good triumphs over evil and the hero is recognized for
his deeds of valor.

Into the Abyss

The
abyss represents the greatest challenge of the journey. Usually the
initiate must face the abyss alone and overcome her greatest fears.
Here is where the initiate must “slay the dragon.” The dragon is the
thing the hero most dreads and needs to overcome.

Common mythic motifs at this point in the adventure are the “swallowing up of the hero by a large monster” or the “sacred grove—a
magical forest where trees may have creative energy and enchanters
dwell.” Each of these ancient motifs represents enclosures where the
hero is transformed and attains new insight.

The Transformation

The opening of the mind and heart to spiritual knowledge requires a sacrifice
from the hero. At this difficult and dangerous place on the hero path,
the initiate reaffirm the meaning and importance of his life by his
willingness to sacrifice himself. Continued on back. . . . .

As a result of successfully meeting the challenge of the abyss, the
hero is transformed. The transformation is the moment of death and
rebirth. Often the transformation involves a change of consciousness, a
change in the way the hero views life.

The Atonement

The
initiate has become stronger, a better leader, or spiritually
enlightened. The hero accepts his/her new transformed self. He/she is
given a gift bestowed because of a new level of skill and awareness.
The initiate is now a hero. The imbalance which sent the hero on the
quest has now been corrected—until the next call.
“Atonement with the father” is another common motif of the hero
journey. The hero comes to an understanding or a peace with his/her
father.

The Return


The "hero’s return" marks the end of the "trials and ordeals." The hero must return from his adventures with the means to benefit his society.
In some cases, when the hero returns things do not go well. Either the
society rejects the message of the hero or the hero becomes
disillusioned by society and leaves.

Sources for this handout: Jean O’Connor and Colleen Hansen from HHS English Department; Wikipedia; 

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