POETRY
AN INTRODUCTION
POETRY
Introduction: What is poetry?
3
What Is Poetry?
o A short story condensed
o From “concentrate” – just add the water of
your imagination (needs dilution)
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
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compressed, distilled, dense, nutritive value
“Condensed by contraction of volume, with
proportional increase of strength.”
without superfluity, excess
4
What Is Poetry?
o Subjective
o Emotional
o Lyrical
 (expresses thoughts, feelings of a single speaker)
o Narrative
o Descriptive
o Argumentative
o Philosophical
 (waxes philosophic, embodies a philosophy)
o Metaphoric
o Dramatic
o Didactic
 (teaches, preaches, imparts knowledge)
5
What Is Poetry?
o Good poetry:
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unique
poetic elements (properly handled)
consistent
controlled
form = function
6
What Is Poetry?
o Bad poetry:
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mixed metaphors
poor similes and metaphors
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(“my wife is a shirt” or “a poem is a bra”)
poor diction-word choice

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wrong word
inappropriate word
poor word choice
wrong sound of a word
7
What Is Poetry?
o Bad poetry:

form does not equal function
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(style does not fit the content or message)
inappropriate diction
unsuitable style
inapt form for the occasion
inconsistent tone
lack of control

over language, emotion, vision
8
What Is Poetry?
o Bad poetry:

all emotion, no skill

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ad misericordiam
sentimentality
“bathos”:
 bad pathos
 when overly sentimental works move readers to
laughter instead of tears
9
What Is Poetry?
o Bad poetry:

creates unintended reaction

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does not say what intended it to say/mean
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unwittingly comic
unintentionally antagonizing
unconscious of double meanings
too contrived

(trying too hard, overly ingenious)
10
What Is Poetry?
o Bad poetry:

trite, banal, hackneyed
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too derivative

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lacks originality
clichés, pat expressions, trite maxims, platitudes
stale phrasing and imagery
too much impersonation, imitation
ripping off the Greats
too aphoristic, preachy, didactic
smacks of moral or intellectual superiority
11
What Is Poetry?
o Bad poetry:

only of private value

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forced rhyme scheme
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so personal only the poet gets it
the extreme opposite of banality
self-indulgent, self-aggrandizing
come up with a word to make a rhyme
rather than using a word that arises from the
thought/feeling)
too mechanical

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metronome rhythm
robotic, “by t’ book”
POETRY
Introduction: Reading Poetry
13
How to Read Poetry
Notice PUNCTUATION:
o question marks, exclamation marks, period
o is a line (or more) a question or a statement
o adjust your inflection accordingly
Read to a COMMA or SEMICOLON or PERIOD:
o don't stop necessarily at the end of each line
o enjambment
14
How to Read Poetry
Watch for “ROAD SIGNS”:
o watch for changes in logic or time
o notice conjunctions such as “but” or “yet”
o recognize transitions such as “then” or “meanwhile”
or “afterwards”
Read with a DICTIONARY at hand:
o look up
key words
 words you do not recognize
 to note Connotation vs. Denotation
o look up various definitions of words to note how
different meanings = different interpretations for the work

15
How to Read Poetry
Sparingly and Cautiously use PERSONAL experiences
or personal tastes, attitudes, beliefs:
o while your own views may, occasionally, shed light on the work
o more often than not, they can lead to misinterpretations and
prejudices
o a “grain of salt”
Realize that the SPEAKER and the POET are not
necessarily one and the same:
o because poetry is by nature quite subjective and emotional,
o we readers have a tendency to confuse the views expressed in
the poem with the views held by the writer
o Disclaimer: “Please understand that the opinions, views, and
comments that appear in the poem will not necessarily reflect
the views held by the poet….”
16
How to Read Poetry
Notice the POETIC ELEMENTS employed:
o diction, symbolism, imagery, metaphors,
o similes, conceit, meter, rhythm, rhyme,
o stanza, persona, alliteration, assonance …
Note the RHYME SCHEME and RHYTHM:
o at the end of each line, note the rhyme with a letter
(a, b, c, …)
o read the poem aloud, noticing and enunciating each
piece of punctuation, to discover its rhythm
17
How to Read Poetry
READ, PARAPHRASE, and then SUMMARIZE:
o read the poem through the first time
o then begin to put it into your own words, to simplify
its meaning (paraphrase)
o then summarize the entirety in a brief statement
relating to its meaning, message, “theme”
(summarize)
EXPLICATE and ANALYZE:
o explain each line of the poem; interpret line by line
(explicate)
o analyze the piece focusing on a single literary/poetic
element (analyze)
POETRY
Introduction: Writing about Poetry
19
Writing About Poetry
I. LITERAL LEVEL
o Paraphrase: (parts)
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put lines into your own words
simplify the language and syntax
o Summarize: (whole)
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the gist/thrust of the entire work
succinct, short
20
Writing About Poetry
II. ANALYTICAL LEVEL
o Explication:
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“close reading”
line-by-line analysis
tone, persona, imagery, symbolism, meter, …
how the poetic elements work together to
form a unified whole & reveal hidden
meanings
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
Edgar Allan Poe’s “unity of effect”
* arrive at a conclusion about the work
21
Writing About Poetry
II. ANALYTICAL LEVEL
o Analysis:


focus on a single poetic element
note its relationship to the whole, especially
in terms of meaning
22
Writing About Poetry
III. HOW to QUOTE POETRY
o Slash marks: word space slash space word
o Line numbers: end quote” space (line #).

no “line” or “#,” just the numeral
o End punctuation: include ? or !, otherwise omit
o Ellipses: word space . space . space . space word
o Quoting multiple lines: block quote style
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indent all, no “ ”
period at the end space (line #s)
o Brackets: when you change a letter or a word
POETRY
Introduction: Poems
24
LANGSTON
HUGHES
25
LANGSTON HUGHES
o 1902-67
o Born in Joplin, Missouri
o Mexico, NYC, Paris
o Fiction, Drama, Essays, Biographies,
o Newspaper column


In the Chicago Defender
Jesse B. Simple (fictional Everyman)
o Poetry

“Poet Laureate of the Negro Race”
26
LANGSTON HUGHES
o “Harlem” (1951)
 re-titled in 1959 as “Dream Deferred”
 Which do you prefer?
o 11 lines
o 1st and last –
 questions
 1-line stanzas
o Middle stanzas = 4 questions (possibilities)
 2 lines, 2 lines, 1 line, 2 lines
 similes
 last = not a question
o Last line = italicized
27
LANGSTON HUGHES
o “Harlem” (1951)
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Thesis Question:
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“What happens to a dream deferred?”
Answers:
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dries up (raisin in sun)
festers (sore)
stinks (rotten meat)
crusts over (sweet syrup)
sags (heavy load)
explodes (bomb)
28
LANGSTON HUGHES
o “Harlem” (1951)
 Diction
 Dream =
 hopes, aspirations, wishes, talents
 delusion

Fester =
 to rot, puss, ulcerate
 (ugly, repulsive images)

Heavy load & sag =
 Burden
 Slaves carrying bales of cotton, supplies

Raisin, sore, black meat, syrup, bomb =
 Black in color

Syrup =
 Not so disgusting
 Why?
29
LANGSTON HUGHES
o “Harlem” (1951)

Title

Harlem Renaissance (1920s)
 “New Negro Movement”
 post-Civil War, move North
 Harlem, Manhattan, New York
 @ 3 miles, @ 175,000 blacks
 WEB DuBois, Langston Hughes
 Countee Cullen, Zora Neale Hurston,
 Jazz Age, Roaring ’20s
 Great Depression, Harlem Riots
30
LANGSTON HUGHES
o “Harlem” (1951)

Title

Harlem, 1950s
 Racial inequality
 Riots: 1935, 1943, 1964 (Watts 1965, Detroit 1967)

How did people react?




Rot
Anger, frustration festers
“Uncle Toms”
Anger, frustration explodes
31
LANGSTON HUGHES
o “Harlem” (1951)

Questions
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Why are the 1st and last lines separated?
Why is the last line italicized?
Why is the last line w/o simile?
Why is the “heavy load” not a question?
What is the answer to the thesis question?
Why are “load” and “explode” the only rhymes?
Why the break from disgusting images with syrup?
32
APHRA BEHN
33
APHRA BEHN
o “Ay-fra Bean”
o (1640-89)
o 1st English woman to earn a living through
writing (1st professional woman writer)
o Married London merchant of Dutch descent
o Served as a spy in the Dutch Wars, 1665-67
(after his death)
o Novels

Oroonoko (royal slave, one of 1st English
works to question slavery)
o Plays, Poetry
34
APHRA BEHN
o “Song: Love Armed” (1676)

Characters:
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Love = Cupid, the god of love
Persona = man
Addressee = woman
Poetic conventions:

Unrequited love of the man
 toward a disdainful woman

Unrequited love is painful
 Yet pleasurable
35
APHRA BEHN
o “Song: Love Armed” (1676)
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Structure:
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2 4-line stanzas
Rhyme scheme = ABAB
Refrain
 “from me”
 “from thee”
 (variations on)
36
APHRA BEHN
o “Song: Love Armed” (1676)

Structure:

What’s “Taken” (to arm Love)?
 From man (persona):
 desire from his eyes
 sighs & tears
 languishments & fears
 From woman:
 fire from her eyes
 pride & cruelty
 killing dart
37
APHRA BEHN
o “Song: Love Armed” (1676)

Themes:

Love & war connection
 Battle of the sexes
 All’s fair in love & war
 Cupid w/bow & arrow

Why do we enjoy suffering? Listening to others
suffer?
 The Blues
 Sad songs, break-up songs
 Why do we name hurricanes?
 To impose form onto suffering = To master or
control suffering, the unknown, uncontrollable
38
APHRA BEHN
o “Song: Love Armed” (1676)
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Questions:
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What is its theme concerning “love” or
relationships?
Is this a man’s poem – to be enjoyed more by
male readers than female readers?
Is it sexist in its portrayal of women?
The persona = man, written by a woman – Does
that make a difference?
POETRY
Narrative Poetry
40
BACKGROUND
o Transition from Prose to Poetry
o Historically, move from “stories” in poetry to
stories in prose
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verse narratives
stories in poetic form
“narrative” =
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beginning, middle, end
basic Plot
Action, Characterization, Setting, Dialogue
Symbolism, Irony, Juxtaposition
41
BACKGROUND
o Historically

Oral Tradition

illiterate masses
 poetic structure makes it easy to remember & pass
along
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stories about heroes & history
epic poetry (Homer)
sagas (scops)
42
BACKGROUND
o Historically

Literacy –


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Wm. Caxton’s printing press (1440)
Gutenberg’s bible (1450)
More literacy


= less oral tradition
= change in literature
43
POPULAR
BALLADS
44
POPULAR BALLADS
o authors =

anonymous, undated
o persona =
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detached, objective, impersonal,
characterless
3rd person POV
o themes
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death, fate
perils of sea
45
POPULAR BALLADS
o use of repetition
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of sounds
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alliteration (Anglo-Saxon hold-over)
consonance (consonant)
assonance (vowel)
of words, phrases
o musical rhythm

meant to be sung
46
POPULAR BALLADS
o omissions
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ellipses
not so descriptive (omitting key details)
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NO SHIPWRECK
told in flashes, quick glimpses

photo slide show
o little description
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photo show
omitted details, scenes (ellipses)
some dialogue
47
POPULAR BALLADS
o 4-line stanzas
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ABAB rhyme scheme (typically unrhymed)
1st, 3rd lines = 4 accents
2nd, 3rd lines = 3 accents
The king sits in Dumferling toune,
Drinking the blude-reid wine:
O quhar will I get guid sailor
To sail this schip of mine?
48
POPULAR BALLADS

Belong to the Oral Tradition

not written down
 until 18th century
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Enlightenment (frowned upon)
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multiple versions
undignified
lacks decorum
Romantics (resurgence)
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poetry of the people, masses
Old ballads = written down
New ballads = composed (“literary ballads”)
49
“Sir Patrick Spence”
50
“SIR PATRICK SPENCE”
BACKGROUND
o Written

@ 15th century
o Published
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in 1765
Thomas Percy’s Reliques of Ancient English
Poetry
(famous collection of folk ballads)
51
“SIR PATRICK SPENCE”
BACKGROUND
 possible (though never verified) historical allusion
 1281 marriage:
 of Margaret, daughter of Alexander III of Scotland
 to King Eric of Norway in 1281
 on the return voyage, many of her noble escorts were
drowned
 1290 succession:
 the death of Margaret's daughter, "the Maid of
Norway,"
 while she was being brought back to Scotland in 1290
 to succeed her grandfather, who died in 1286.
52
“SIR PATRICK SPENCE”
o Dumferling:


Dumferline, a town in Fife, on the Firth of
Forth
an early residence of the Scottish kings
o “sits”:

reigns, rules AND is stationary, seated BUT
will make others move
o “blood red”:

mighty power, power over life & death,
foreshadowing
53
“SIR PATRICK SPENCE”
o “wine”:


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party (Eros in “Love Armed”)
suggests the ease with which he wields such
power
suggests that the question (sailing mission) =
not well-thought, casual
that the one who takes this mission will die

“The Lottery”
 win BUT lose by winning
 typically an honor to be chosen by the king
 BUT this is an impossible, dangerous “suicide
mission”
54
“SIR PATRICK SPENCE”
o “good” sailor:
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

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skillful sailor
brave
decent human
loyal, obedient to king
55
“SIR PATRICK SPENCE”
o Elder Knight:

elder = respected


favored, respected by king, yields political
power


(“respect your elders”)
(sits at king’s right knee)
line 14:

suggests Elder Knight = enemy of Sir Patrick
Spence (“ill deid”)
56
“SIR PATRICK SPENCE”
o alliteration & stanza #3:




repetition of sound
“s”
sounds like snake, waves crashing on beach
(foreshadows SPS’ death)
o Long Letter to SPS:




written, signed, sealed by king
= royal decree
MUST be obeyed
SPS must sail the royal ship
57
“SIR PATRICK SPENCE”
o Sir Patrick Spence:
 1st meeting = reading king’s letter, walking on the
beach
 at leisure
 his 1st reaction, 1st line = laugh
 modest: laughs at praise
 humor: thinks the mission is a practical joke
 his 2nd reaction = cry
 realizes this mission will be his death
 but he cannot refuse the king’s command
 feels set up/betrayed by someone
 “O who is this who has done this deed / This ill deed
done to me”
 (repetition = for emphasis in Oral Tradition foreshadowing)
58
“SIR PATRICK SPENCE”
o “done deed” to deed done”:



repetition
certainty of death
Mirror World:



Court vs. Ordinary, appearance vs. reality
true friends
court politics, stab in the back, set up for death
o Blinded by tears:


tears = water = waves, storm,…his death
blind seers of old – see the future, his future
is death
59
“SIR PATRICK SPENCE”
o merry men:

good men on leave



at leisure, as SPS was on the beach
at leisure – yet dutiful to SPS
from merriment to death (Contrast)
o bad signs:

bad moon rising – omens, harbinger


new moon with the old moon in its arms
dangerous weather = bad sailing, danger,
death
60
“SIR PATRICK SPENCE”
o repetition:



“I fear, I fear”
stresses the danger
stresses the switch from “merry” to “fear”
61
“SIR PATRICK SPENCE”
o nobles:


Nobles don’t want to ruin their expensive
shoes
IRONY


b/c SPS knows they will drown anyway
CONTRAST

Nobles’ nobility
 (b/c of family inheritance)

SPS’ nobility
 (brave, loyal, follows orders on suicide mission)
62
“SIR PATRICK SPENCE”
o Shipwreck = play:

play = game (“like flies to wanton boys, they
kill us for sport”)



humans = at the mercy of fate, the fates, the gods
play = drama, to be watched by nobles
IRONY:



their hats swim while they drown
their hats are symbols of their wealth BUT all the
money won’t save them from death
perhaps drowned by the weight of their opulent
attire
63
“SIR PATRICK SPENCE”
o hands:

CAUSE-EFFECT –


King signs letter w/hand, sending them to their
deaths
Women hold fans in their hands, awaiting in vain
the men to return
64
“SIR PATRICK SPENCE”
o Fans:




used to control the weather (when it’s too hot)
BUT
cannot control the weather at sea
CONTRAST:

women = hot
 men = drenched

women stand for their men’s return (tension)
 king sits to send them to their death (ease)
65
“SIR PATRICK SPENCE”
o gold combs:
 symbols of opulence, richness
 misplaced focus b/c worldliness/materialism =
meaningless to Death


their hair will turn gray as the combs stay gold –
IRONY
 Danse Macabre
o Their own dear lords:
 not “theirs” any more – belong to Death, the
Sea
 they wait to see them again (alive) BUT don’t
 reader sees them again (dead)
66
“SIR PATRICK SPENCE”
o Mirror World:


ironic twist of social class – IRONY
the lords sit at SPS’ feet




he knew they were going to die
had no illusions
they had vanity, materialism
Will he go to heaven before them?
67
“SIR PATRICK SPENCE”
o Aberdour:

“half over to Aberdour”


two villages of Aberdour on the east coast of
Scotland –



half-way from Norway to Aberdour
one in Aberdeenshire
the other in Fife, on the north shore of the Firth of
Forth.
Either may be meant.
68
“SIR PATRICK SPENCE”
THEMES
o anti-materialism
 anti-worldliness
o power:
 abuse of power (knight)
 reckless or indifferent wielding of power (king)
 anti-monarchy?
o Fate, Death:
 cannot escape, control (like seas)
 must obey (like king’s command)
 SPS accepts his fate & gets his crew to, too
 Nobles are ignorant of their fate
69
“SIR PATRICK SPENCE”
THEMES
o duty:
 to king
 to men/sailors
 to wives
 Why do men serve those they serve?
 in court – for political favor, power
 on ship – allegiance, respect, honor
o criticism of court life:
 pettiness
 spitefulness
 luxury
 materialism
70
“SIR PATRICK SPENCE”
o “Sir Patrick Spens” video
o “The Ballad of Gilligan’s Island”
71
JOHN KEATS
72
JOHN KEATS
o (1795-1821)
o father = London stable keeper
o apprenticed to be apothecary & surgeon
o gave it up to be poet
o books of poetry in 1817, 1818, 1820
o dead at 25

tuberculosis
73
“La Belle Dame sans Merci”
o 1819
o Latin

“The Beautiful Woman without Mercy”
o “Literary Ballad”
o 12 4-line stanzas
o repetitions
o supernatural
o knights, kings, princes
o dialogue
74
“La Belle Dame sans Merci”
o title:


“The lovely lady without pity”
medieval ballad by Alain Chartier



title = quoted in “The Eve of St. Agnes”
but Keats borrows only the title, not the
subject matter
story: mortal destroyed by his love for a
supernatural femme fatale
o format = folk ballad  dialogue form


1st 3 stanzas = addressed to the Knight
4-12 = Knight’s reply
75
“La Belle Dame sans Merci”
o setting = late fall



no birds, withered grass plant
harvest is done
squirrels’ holes are fully stocked
o Speaker comes upon a knight
o refrain: “O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms”
76
“La Belle Dame sans Merci”
o Knight =



pale, haggard,
woe-begone, fever, sweats
described as flowers: lily & rose
77
“La Belle Dame sans Merci”
o Knight’s story:

met a beautiful lady in the meads


meadow, fields
“a fairy’s child” – (?)
 really – (language, home)
 OR
 her beauty
78
“La Belle Dame sans Merci”
o Knight’s story:

made her






garland for her head
bracelets, girdle/belt
rode with her on my horse
she sang “a fairy’s song”
she fed him roots, honey, manna
she spoke in a strange language


he didn’t understand
BUT assumed she was saying she loved him
79
“La Belle Dame sans Merci”
o Knight’s story:


she took him to “her elfin grot”
she cried



Why does she cry?
What was she trying to say in her language?
he calmed her with kisses


truly calmed or mask, faking it?
what she really needed?
80
“La Belle Dame sans Merci”
o Knight’s story:

she lulled him asleep  dreamed



nightmare
warned by previous kings, princes, & warriors
that “La belle dame sans merci / Hath thee in
thrall!”
previous victims =
 pale as death, life sucked out of them
 high social status (literary genre)
 trying to warn him (title)
81
“La Belle Dame sans Merci”
o Knight’s story:


he awoke in this same spot
and that’s why he’s there, pale & alone


“sojourn” BUT “loitering”
movement BUT stationary
 moved emotionally, creatively, spiritually
82
“La Belle Dame sans Merci”
o La Belle Dame:

WHO is she?



fairy, elf, supernatural being
woman, beautiful
creativity, muse
83
“La Belle Dame sans Merci”
o La Belle Dame:

THEMES based on who she is?

2 different worlds, culture
 love between 2 worlds = doomed, never work
 communication breakdowns

women = different creatures, unknowable to men
 assumptions of men, women need to be taken care
of, “comforted”
 “men are from Mars, women are from Venus”
 unrequited love (“Love Armed”)

Dame = Beauty – can only be glimpsed
84
“La Belle Dame sans Merci”
o La Belle Dame:

THEMES based on who she is?

She = Muse, Knight = Poet
 men cannot live in World of Imagination
 once in World of Imagination, men can no longer live
in the Ordinary World
 Poet = caught between 2 worlds
85
“La Belle Dame sans Merci”
THEMES
o Love:

dangers of love


danger signs at the start of relationships
unrequited love (“Love Armed”)
 embarrassment, frustration




losing oneself in love, loss of control
despair – emotionally crippled
shock of sudden end
after this love is gone – now what?
 can’t go back once been there

supernatural?
86
“La Belle Dame sans Merci”
THEMES
o Despair:


in life, in love
lost all hope
o Nature:



seasons in Nature
Nature in Death (winter, his imagery)
She = child of Nature – “wild”



food = of Nature
home = of Nature
Civilization vs. Natural World (Romanticism)
87
“La Belle Dame sans Merci”
o Knight:

WHY is he there?




lost, bewildered
can’t leave – for some reason
can’t go back to his old lifestyle
there looking for her again
 wants to go back

there warning others against her
 what others did in his dream he’s doing in reality
 The Poet-Prophet?
 Is that the role of the Poet?
88
“La Belle Dame sans Merci”
o SUPERNATURAL:



“Eve of St. Agnes”
“La Belle Dame”
STC’s “Christabel”
o Other related works:

“To Autumn”



Keats celebrates the season
season of completion, summation, peace…death
(remember, Keats is dying, brother = dead)
89
“La Belle Dame sans Merci”
o Other related works:

“Lamia”






“Ode to a Nightingale”



enthralled out of the ordinary life by beauty, nature
suspension of conscious state - reasoning, thinking
“On Melancholy”



female snake transforms into woman
man & woman live in blissful love until scholar intervenes &
dispels the spell
suspension of conscious state (reasoning, thinking) = magic
ruined by reason, logic
= “unweaving of the rainbow”
melancholy, despair
only the Poet can appreciate sadness (of all things are
ephemeral)
“Ode on a Grecian Urn”


a scene of beauty is captured forever
eternal moment = better than “reality”
90
“La Belle Dame sans Merci”
o KEATS & DREAMS:






fine line between reality & dream
** dreams = related to poetic vision **
“Eve of St. Agnes”
“La Belle Dame sans Merci”
“Ode to Psyche”
“Ode to a Nightingale”
91
“La Belle Dame sans Merci”
o Like Popular Ballads









narrative
Repetitions
musical quality – rhythm
noble men (victims)
supernatural
plain language
dialogue
no background
slide show images
92
“La Belle Dame sans Merci”
o Unlike Popular Ballads

Literary





allusions, imagery, craftsmanship
multiple meanings, themes, interpretations
rhyme scheme (ABCB)
lines 1-3 = 8 syllables/beats
last line = only 4/5 syllables/beats
93
“La Belle Dame sans Merci”
o FEMINIST reading
 Femme fatale, succubus = Sexist?




powerful, beautiful women = supernatural,
succubae to weak, threatened men
Knight doesn’t know what she says BUT
assumes it’s that she loves him
Knight doesn’t know why she’s crying BUT
assumes he needs to comfort her, that she
needs him to comfort her, with kisses
She = powerful


pretends to be weak & sucks him in to traditional
male-female role
has ruined men of power before
94
“La Belle Dame sans Merci”
o BIOGRAPHICAL reading

What if she is NOT


fairy, supernatural, proto-Feminist?
What if she = TUBERCULOSIS?





effects of TB = effects of Dame
victims = pale, dying, haggard
Keats = physician
Keats’ brother died of it
Keats himself would soon thereafter
95
“La Belle Dame sans Merci”
o OTHER readings






Cults & Ideologies
Drug addiction
Vampires
Religious rapture
English history of fairies
Beauty – realm of Ideals vs. of Shadows
96
“La Belle Dame sans Merci”
o JW Waterhouse’s painting
o
<http://www.jwwaterhouse.com/paintings/images/waterhouse_la_belle_dame_s
ans_merci.jpg >