Unit 1 What is Poetry?
As a form of literature, poetry is much older than prose. The word poetry derives from e
Greek verb poieo which means `to create' and generally refers to a composition written
for performance by the human voice. Poetry. in fact, predates writing. The earliest poems
were the expression of oral cultures and were only later written down. Poetry generally
pays special attention to the musical qualities of language such as sound relationships and
rhythm which the poet manipulates in particular ways to create or modify the sense.
Poetry has traditionally been classified in three categories: epic, dramatic and lyric. The
epic was a long narrative poem sometimes extending to several books on a serious
subject. Dramatic verse usually referred to a poetic monologue or dialogue between
characters invented by the poet, or taken from history or myth. The lyric originally
referred to a song performed in ancient Greece accompanied by an instrument called a
lyre, but now refers to any short poem in the voice of a single speaker.
The evolution of poetry has gradually seen the disappearance of the epic (replaced by the
novel) and to a lesser extent the dramatic, so that now most poems are generally of the
lyric type. While it was once the major form of literary expression, poetry is now
considered a specialist branch of literature. While it is studied at schools and universities,
it is rarely read by the general public. This is partly related to the perceived difficulty of
poetry in contrast with the accessibility of most prose. Two essential components of
poetry which distinguish it from fiction are concision and exactitude. The form of it great
poem has a finality, a sense that what it says could not be said in any other way. If one
word were changed the whole thing would collapse. It has been said that poetry is the
highest form of language. In a few short lines a poem can often convey an idea or
eniotion more effectively than pages of prose. At its best, poetry can say something more
than language on its own is capable of.
----------------------Check what you know
1: Where does the word poetry come from?
2 : What aspects of language does poetry focus on?
3 : What are the three traditional forms of poetry? Give a short definition for each.
4: Explain what has happened to poetry over the course of its evolution.
5: What are two essential components of poetry which distinguish it from fiction?
1
Unit 2: The uses of Poetry
Transmission of memory
The form and structure of poetry, its use of rhythm and rhyme, together with its
concision, tend to make it memorable. It is easier to learn a poem than a novel or short
story. Perhaps this is why one of the values associated with poetry is the preservation and
transmission of memory. For oral cultures, poetry was the only form of cultural memory,
the only way of passing on the mythical foundations and historical experience of the tribe
from one generation to the next. In this sonnet, in a more personal sense, Shakespeare
celebrates the power of poetry to triumph over time.
Sonnet 55
by William Shakespeare (1564 -1616)
Although more widely known for his plays, Shakespeare was also a poet and wrote a
collection of 154 sonnets, some of which were dedicated to a “fair youth”, probably one
of his patrons, and some to a “dark lady”.
Not marble, nor the gilded monuments
Of princes, shall outlive this powerful rhyme;
But you shall shine more bright in these contents
Than unswept stone, besmear'd with sluttish time.
When wasteful war shall statues overturn,
And broils root out the work of masonry,
Nor Mars his sword, nor war's quick fire shall burn
The living record of your memory.
'Gainst death, and all oblivious enmity
Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room
Even in the eyes of all posterity
That wear this world out to the ending doom.
So, till the judgment that yourself arise,
You live in this, and dwell in lovers' eyes.
SONNET 55 PARAPHRASE
Not marble, nor the gilded monuments Not marble, nor the gold-plated shrines
Of princes, shall outlive this powerful rhyme; Of princes shall outlive the power of poetry;
But you shall shine more bright in these You shall shine more bright in these verses
contents
Than unswept stone besmear'd with sluttish Than on a neglected monument, ravaged by
2
time. time,
When wasteful war shall statues overturn, When devastating war shall overturn statues,
And broils root out the work of masonry, And conflicts destroy the mason's handiwork,
Nor Mars his sword nor war's quick fire shall Neither the cause of war (Mars) nor the effects
burn of war (fire) shall destroy
The living record of your memory. The living record of your memory
'Gainst death and all-oblivious enmity Against death and hate that destroys the
memory of everyone
Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find Shall you push onward; your praise shall still
room find a place
Even in the eyes of all posterity Even in the eyes of all posterity
That wear this world out to the ending doom. That exists until the end of humanity.
So, till the judgment that yourself arise, So, until judgment day, when you yourself will
rise again,
You live in this, and dwell in lover's eyes. You live in this poetry, and people will continue
to love you.
Langston Hughes (1902-1967)
Dreams
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
3
Unit 3: Sounds
Sound effects
DEFINITION OF ALLITERATION
Alliteration occurs when the initial sounds of a word, beginning either with a consonant or a vowel, are
repeated in close succession.
Examples:
Athena and Apollo
Nate never knows
People who pen poetry
Note that the words only have to be close to one another: Alliteration that repeats and attempts to
connect a number of words is little more than a tongue-twister.
The function of alliteration, like rhyme, might be to accentuate the beauty of language in a given context,
or to unite words or concepts through a kind of repetition. Alliteration, like rhyme, can follow specific
patterns. Sometimes the consonants aren't always the initial ones, but they are generally the stressed
syllables. Alliteration is less common than rhyme, but because it is less common, it can call our attention
to a word or line in a poem that might not have the same emphasis otherwise.
DEFINITION OF ASSONANCE
If alliteration occurs at the beginning of a word and rhyme at the end, assonance takes the middle
territory. Assonance occurs when the vowel sound within a word matches the same sound in a nearby
word, but the surrounding consonant sounds are different. "Tune" and "June" are rhymes; "tune" and
"food" are assonant. The function of assonance is frequently the same as end rhyme or alliteration: All
serve to give a sense of continuity or fluidity to the verse. Assonance might be especially effective when
rhyme is absent: It gives the poet more flexibility, and it is not typically used as part of a predetermined
pattern. Like alliteration, it does not so much determine the structure or form of a poem; rather, it is more
ornamental.
DEFINITION OF METER
Meter is the rhythm established by a poem, and it is usually dependent not only on the number of
syllables in a line but also on the way those syllables are accented. This rhythm is often described as a
pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables. The rhythmic unit is often described as a foot; patterns of
feet can be identified and labeled. A foot may be iambic, which follows a pattern of unstressed/stressed
syllables. For example, read aloud: "The DOG went WALKing DOWN the ROAD and BARKED."
Because there are five iambs, or feet, this line follows the conventions of iambic pentameter (pent =
five), the common form in Shakespeare's time. Stressed syllables are conventionally labeled with a "/"
mark and unstressed syllables with a "U" mark.
DEFINITION OF RHYME
The basic definition of rhyme is two words that sound alike. The vowel sound of two words is the same,
but the initial consonant sound is different. Rhyme is perhaps the most recognizable convention of poetry,
but its function is often overlooked. Rhyme helps to unify a poem; it also repeats a sound that links one
concept to another, thus helping to determine the structure of a poem. When two subsequent lines rhyme,
4
it is likely that they are thematically linked, or that the next set of rhymed lines signifies a slight departure.
Especially in modern poetry, for which conventions aren't as rigidly determined as they were during the
English Renaissance or in the eighteenth century, rhyme can indicate a poetic theme or the willingness to
structure a subject that seems otherwise chaotic. Rhyme works closely with meter in this regard. There
are varieties of rhyme: internal rhyme functions within a line of poetry, for example, while the more
common end rhyme occurs at the end of the line and at the end of some other line, usually within the
same stanza if not in subsequent lines. There are true rhymes (bear, care) and slant rhymes (lying, mine).
There are also a number of predetermined rhyme schemes associated with different forms of poetry.
Once you have identified a rhyme scheme, examine it closely to determine (1) how rigid it is, (2) how
closely it conforms to a predetermined rhyme scheme (such as a sestina), and especially (3) what
function it serves
DEFINITION OF ONOMATOPOEIA
Onomatopoeia is a word that imitates the sound it represents.
also imitative harmony
Example:
splash, wow, gush, kerplunk
Such devices bring out the full flavor of words. Comparison and association are sometimes strengthened
by syllables which imitate or reproduce the sounds they describe. When this occurs, it is called
onomatopoeia (a Greek word meaning name-making "), for the sounds literally make the meaning in such
words as "buzz," "crash," "whirr," "clang" "hiss," "purr," "squeak," "mumble," "hush," "boom." Poe lets us
hear the different kinds of sounds made by different types of bells in his famous poem "The Bells." His
choice of the right word gives us the right sound when he speaks of "tinkling" sleigh bells; "clanging" fire
bells; mellow "chiming" wedding bells; "tolling," "moaning," and "groaning" funeral bells.
5
Robert Frost (1874-1963)
One of the most well-known and popular American poets of the 20th century, Frost's first
book of poetry was not published until he was almost forty but he went on to win four
Pulitzer prizes for New Hampshire (1923), Collected Poems, (1930), A Further Range
(1936) and A Witeness Tree (1942).
Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer (1)
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells (2) a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep (3)
Of easy wind and downy (4) flake (5).
The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
----------------------------------------------------(1): strange.
(2): bells attached to a horse to signal its approach.
(3): swinging movement.
(4) covered with soft fluffy hair (figurative here).
(5) small piece of snow.
--------------------------Rhyme and Meaning
The poem by Robert Frost provides us with a ‘wintry’ vision. In this case we have the
impression that the woods covered in snow lead to the land of the dead and the woods in which
the poet stops form a space that separates the realms of the living and the dead. The darkness and
stillness of the woods seem to invite the poet to take his rest and join the dead but he resists the
temptation because he has “miles to go before I sleep”.
6
The rhyme scheme here is a little complicated. The third line of each stanza doesn't rhyme but
anticipates the rhyme of the following stanza. While “know'', “though” and “snow” rhyme, for
example, “here” doesn't but will theme with “queer”, “near” and “year”. The same can be said
about “lake” and “sweep”. This gives an idea of slow and inevitable movement towards a goal
even though the poet has stopped between the woods and the frozen lake. However, in the last
stanza the four lines all rhyme and therefore don't lead anywhere. Although the poet still has
miles to go, he appears to have no destination but is simply trapped in his movement towards the
immobility of death. Frost's use of rhyme is therefore more than musical. It is an implicit part of
the poem's meaning. Also the use of repetition in the last two lines gives the end of the poem a
mysterious, hypnotic quality. Although its precise meaning is unclear, it forms a refrain which
stays in the reader's memory.
7
Unit 4: Poetic language
DEFINITION OF SIMILE
Have you ever noticed how many times your friends say, "It's like . . ." or "I'm like . . . "? They aren't
always creating similes, but they are attempting to simulate something (often a conversation). The word
like signifies a direct comparison between two things that are alike in a certain way. Usually one of the
elements of a simile is concrete and the other abstract. "My love is like a red, red rose" writes Robert
Burns. He's talking about the rose's beauty when it's in full bloom (he tells us that it's May in the next
line). "Love is like a rose" is a simpler version of the simile, but it's a more dangerous version. (A black
rose? A dead rose in December? The thorns of a rose?) Sometimes similes force us to consider how the
two things being compared are dissimilar, but the relationship between two dissimilar things can break
down easily, so similes must be rendered delicately and carefully
DEFINITION OF METAPHOR
Closely related to similes, metaphors immediately identify one object or idea with another, in one or more
aspects. The meaning of a poem frequently depends on the success of a metaphor. Like a simile, a
metaphor expands the sense and clarifies the meaning of something. "He's such a pig," you might say,
and the listener wouldn't immediately think, "My friend has a porcine boyfriend," but rather, "My friend
has a human boyfriend who is (a) a slob, (b) a voracious eater, (c) someone with crude attitudes or
tastes, or (d) a chauvinist." In any case, it would be clear that the speaker wasn't paying her boyfriend a
compliment, but unless she clarifies the metaphor, you might have to ask, "In what sense?" English
Renaissance poetry is characterized by metaphors that turn into elaborate conceits, or extended
metaphors. Poets like John Donne and William Shakespeare extended their comparisons brilliantly, with
the effect that the reader was dazzled. Contemporary poets tend to be more economical with their
metaphors, but they still use them as one of the chief elements that distinguishes poetry from less lofty
forms of communication.
DEFINITION OF SYMBOL
A symbol works two ways: It is something itself, and it also suggests something deeper. It is crucial to
distinguish a symbol from a metaphor: Metaphors are comparisons between two seemingly dissimilar
things; symbols associate two things, but their meaning is both literal and figurative. A metaphor might
read, "His life was an oak tree that had just lost its leaves"; a symbol might be the oak tree itself, which
would evoke the cycle of death and rebirth through the loss and growth of leaves. Some symbols have
widespread, commonly accepted values that most readers should recognize: Apple pie suggests
innocence or homespun values; ravens signify death; fruit is associated with sensuality. Yet none of
these associations is absolute, and all of them are really determined by individual cultures and time
(would a Chinese reader recognize that apple pie suggests innocence?). No symbols have absolute
meanings, and, by their nature, we cannot read them at face value. Rather than beginning an inquiry into
symbols by asking what they mean, it is better to begin by asking what they could mean, or what they
have meant.
She dealt her pretty words like blades
How glittering they shone
Emily Dickinson, “479”
-----------------------
8
Let us go then, you and I,
When the evening is spread out against the sky
like a patient etherized(1) upon a table;
T.S. Eliot, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”
--------------------------------------Spring is like a perhaps hand
e e cummings
------------------------------------The eyes of strangers
Are cold as snowdrops (2)
Philip Larkin, “Strangers”
----------------------------------you fit into me
like a hook(3) into an eye(4)
a fish hook
an open eye
Margaret Atwood, “Power and Politics”
-----------------------------------(1) etherized: under the effect of an anaesthetic
(2) snowdrops: white, winter flowers
(3) hook: piece of metal, bent back at an angle. Used to catch things
(4) eye: top of hook into which line is thread
9
Unit 5: REGISTER JUXTAPOSITION
Siegfried Sassoon (1886-1967)
He was educated at Cambridge University and served with great courage in France
during World War I. He wrote his war poetry at the front and was one of the first poets
to express contempt for the generals and politicians and to describe the horror of the
trenches. He was also one of the few poets to survive the war.
'They'
The Bishop tells us: 'When the boys come back
'They will not be the same; for1 they'll have fought
'In a just2 cause: they lead the last attack
'On Anti-Christ3; their comrades' blood has bought
'New right to breed an honourable race,
'They have challenged Death and dared him face to face.'
'We're none of us the same!' the boys reply.
'For George lost both his legs; and Bill's stone blind;
'Poor Jim's shot through the lungs and like to die;
'And Bert's gone syphilitic: you'll not find
'A chap who's served that hasn't found some change.
' And the Bishop said: 'The ways of God are strange!'
1
For: because
Just: right
3
One who denies or opposes Christ (Anticristo). In St Paul’s letters and in the Apocalypse – both in the
New Testament – he is identified with evil and Satan.
2
10
Unit 6: From Poetry to Pop
In the preceding units we have looked at some of the main features of poetry and also how
poetic techniques have developed over the centuries. These days, rhyming poetry with regular
metrics is the exception rather than the rule. Most contemporary poetry is written in free verse
or in a combination of different styles. However, old devices and techniques have not been
entirely forgotten. One area where some of the traditional musical values of poetic language is
still important is inusic, particularly the various fields of pop music from rock to jazz and blues
songs to rap. In this section we're (going to look at three examples from different genres of
music in connection with three specific poetic concerns: rhythm and rhvine, metaphor and
symbolism.
Today if we want to find inventive use of rhyme, a good place to look is rap music, where the
ability to create new and surprising sound combinations is an essential part of the art. In the first
module of this book we looked at the oral origins of storytelling when it was inseparable from
poetry. In a certain sense rap music has revived an oral art through its combination of spoken
word and technology. Like the poetry of oral cultures, rap music has also had a collective and
social function for African-American and Hispanic communities living in the inner cities of the
United States, by recounting the day to day reality of life in the ghetto. Yet at the same time rap is
a highly individualist medium and there is considerable rivalry among rappers, sometimes leading
to violent confrontation.
The essence of rap lies in the ‘flow' - the linguistic and rhythmic virtuosity of the rapper, in the
way his words interact with the beats the DJ creates by `cutting' (switching rapidly from one
record to another to create a new sequence of beats), ‘scratching' and `sampling' records.
“Follow the Leader” is an excellent example of rap's playfulness and spontaneitv. In this song
Kakiin boasts of his ability to go on inventing ('dropping') new rhymes `for days and days'. The
title of the song alludes to the idea that all other rappers are merely copying ('biting') his style, but
they will never overtake him. Rakim will always be one step - in this case one line - ahead of the
pack.
Check what you know
1. Does contemporary poetry generally follow a particular rhyme scheme?
2. Explain what features of poetry are revived in pop music.
3. Which 'genre' of pop music makes particularly innovative use of rhythm and rhyme?
4. Explain how rap has partially revived aspects of oral culture.
-----------------------------------------
Eric B. and Rakim
"Follow The Leader"
Griffin) (1988)
By Eric B. & Rakim. (E. Barrier - W.
Follow me into a solo, get in the flow4,
And you could picture5, like a photo,
Music makes mellow6, maintains7 to make,
4
flow: rhythm and discourse of the rapper
picture: imagine
6
mellow: relaxed
7
mantains: keeps going
5
11
Melodies for MCs8, motivates the breaks9.
I'm everlasting10; I can go on for days and days,
With rhyme displays that engrave11 deep as x-rays.
I can take a phrase that's rarely heard,
Flip it...12 now it's a daily word.
I can get illin'13 at normal killin',
Bomb but no alarm, Rakim'll remain calm.
Self esteem make me super superb and supreme.
Before a microphone, still, I fiend14.
This was a take15, I wasn't supposed to break,
I was supposed to wait, but let's motivate.
I wanna see 'em keep followin' and swallowin',
Takin' the makin', bitin'16 and borrowin'.
Brothers try and others die to get the formula,
But I'm a let 'cha17 sweat18. You still ain't19 warm,
You a step away from frozen, stiff as if you're posin',20
Dig into my brain as the rhyme gets chosen.
So follow me, and while you're thinking you were first,
Let's travel adventitious at speeds around the universe.
What could you say as the earth gets further and further away,
Planets as small as balls of clay?
Astray21 into the Milky Way, world's out of sight,
As far as the eye can see, not even a satellite.
Now stop and turn around and look.
As you stare into the darkness, your knowledge: took!
So keep starin', soon you suddenly see a star.
You better follow it 'cause it's the "R."22
This is a lesson. If you're guessin' and if you're borrowin',
Hurry hurry step right up23 and keep followin',
The Leader.
MC’s: masters of ceremonies, here another term for a rapper
breaks: parts of a record, usually percussive, used by the DJ to create new music
10
everlasting: immortal
11
engrave: cut, inscribe
12
flip it: transform it (in the sense of a word’s use and meaning)
13
illing: very good, in this sense part of a family of slang termsreferring to the hard, merciless qualities of
the rapper, considered in a positive light. Others include ‘bad’, ‘dope’ and ‘sick’.
14
still Ifiend: I’m still a fiend (demon)
15
take: to begin a new set of rhymes
16
biting: (biting) copying
17
I’m a let’ cha: I’m going to let you
18
sweat: (here) worry
19
ain’t: aren’t
20
posing: trying to look coll in a self-conscious way
21
astray: off the path
22
the “R”: Rakin
23
step right up: come onto the stage
8
9
12