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Poetry
Explication A formal and close analysis of a text: its
structure, style, content, imagery
indeed every aspect of it.
Paraphrase A version in other words of the sense of any passage
or text. It may be a free
rendering or amplification of a passage.
Figurative language (from J.A. uddon The Penguin Dictionary
of
Literary Terms and Literary Theory!
Figurative language -language which uses figures of speech" for
example, metaphor, simile,alliteration. #igurative language must be
distinguished from literal language. $%e hared down
the street& or $%e ran li'e a hare down the street& are
figurative (metaphor and simile!. $%e ran
very uic'ly down the street& is literal.
Poetic diction diction denotes the vocabulary used by a writer.
)oetic diction usually refers
to a particular 'ind of language and artificial arrangement
employed by many poets in a given
epoch such a language must be selected and adapted according to
its appropriateness for the
wor' in hand" it depends on literary convention.
Tone the reflection of the spea'ing I&s attitude (especially
towards his readers!, manner,
mood and moral outloo' in his wor'" even, perhaps, the way is
personality pervades the wor'.*he counterpart of tone of voice in
speech, which may be friendly, detached, pompous,
officious, intimate, bantering and so forth.
Metonymy a figure of speech in which the name of an attribute or
a thing is substituted for
the thing itself. ommon examples are $*he +tage& for the
theatrical profession or $ante& for
his wor's, li'e in the sentence $-e often read ante at
school&.
Synecdoche one particular type of metonymy, a figure in which
the part stands for the
whole, and thus something else is understood within the thing
mentioned. #or example: $ive
us this day our daily bread&, $bread& stands for all the
meals ta'en each day.
Simile a figure of speech in which one thing is li'ened to
another, in such a way as to
clarify and enhance an image" an explicit comparison,
recogni/able by the use of the words
$li'e& or $as&. #or example: 0+he screamed li'e the one
bereft of reason&.
Hyperbole a figure of speech which contains an exaggeration for
emphasis. #or example" $I
haven&t seen you for ages&" $as old as hills&"
$terrible weather&.
Imagery the use of language to represent ob1ects, actions,
feelings, thoughts, ideas etc., in
general to create images mental pictures, which may be literal
(no figures of speech!,
conceptual(abstractimagery 2 figures of speech appealing to
intellect li'e in a phrase $castle
of od& which is understood but impossible to visuali/e!
andperceptual3appealing to senses:
visual(eyes!, olfactory(smell!, tactile(touch!,
auditory(hearing!,gustatory(taste! etc.4
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hetorical !igures artful arrangements of words to achieve a
particular emphasis and
effect" a rhetorical figure does not alter the meanings of words
(contradictory to for example
metaphor!. 5est 'nown rhetorical figures are: rhetorical
question(not expecting any answer,
self2evident, used for artistic effect!" rhetorical irony(the
attitude and tone of the spea'ing I is
the exact opposite to what is expressed!, alliteration(in which
consonants at the beginnings ofstressed syllables are repeated!"
assonance(repetition of similar vowel sounds, usually close
together!" consonance (the close repetition of identical
consonant sons before and after
different vowels!" onomatopoeia(the formation and use of words
to imitate sounds, the sound
reflects the sense!" anaphora (the repetition of a word or a
group of words in successive
clauses , usually in the beginning of each verse of a poem!"
apostrophe(in which a thing, a
place, an abstract uality, an idea, a dead or abstract person,
is addressed as if present and
capable of understanding!.
Metaphor a figure of speech in which one thing is implicitly
described in terms of another,
it consists of $tenor& (the drift of thought regarding the
sub1ect of a metaphor!" and $vehicle&
(the image which embodies the tenor!" e.g. in $she is the
sunshine of my life& the sunshine is
the vehicle while the tenor is $her& brightness, warmth,
love etc, the spea'ing I wants to
express.
Lyrical genres
Sonnet consists of 67 lines usually in iambic pentameters with
considerable variations in
rhyme scheme. 8ften written in cycle a series of sonnet on a
particular theme to a
particular individual. 9ove is the commonest theme.
"de a lyric poem of some length. *he main features are an
elaborate stan/a2structure, a
mar'ed formality and stateliness in tone and style (which ma'e
it ceremonious!, and lofty
sentiments and thoughts. In short, an ode is rather a grand
poem" a full2dress poem. %owever,
this said, we can distinguish two basic 'inds: the public and
the private. *he public is used for
ceremonial occasions, li'e funerals, birthdays, state events,
the private often celebrates rather
intense, personal and sub1ective occasions" it is inclined to be
meditative, reflective.
Elegy in classical literature the sub1ects of elegies were
various: death, war, love etc, the
elegy was used also for epitaphs and commemorative verses, and
very often signified
mourning. %owever it is only since 6thcentury that an elegy has
come to mean a poem of
mourning for an individual or a lament for some tragic
event.
#yric a fairly short poem, not often longer than fifty or sixty
lines, and often much shorter,
and it usually expresses the feelings and thoughts of a single
spea'er (not necessarily the poet
himself! in a personal and sub1ective fashion. *he range and
variety of lyric verse is immense,
and lyric poetry, which is to be found in most literatures,
comprises the bul' of all poetry.
Free verse has no regular meter or line length and depends on
natural speech rhythms and
the counterpoint of stressed and unstressed syllables. In the
hands of a gifted poet it can
acuire rhythms and melodies of its own.
