The Practice of Poetry

The Writing and Reading ProgramAt Western New England College

Paul Signac. French, 1863-1935. The Bonaventure Pine. 1893.

Definitions

“Poetry is a kind of representation using rhythm, speech, and melody.”

Aristotle

Definitions

“ Poetry is an extension and refinement of the mind’s extreme recognitions, and of language’s most unexpected apprehensions.”

Seamus Heaney

Definitions

“Poetic meaning is like and yet unlike ordinary meaning, just as poetry is both like and unlike ordinary speech or ordinary writing in prose forms. There are aspects of a poem which we can understand much as we understand a request for a loan or a declaration that it is raining. There are other aspects of a poem which must be approached somewhat differently.”

Burton Raffel

Definitions

“Poetry is a synthesis of hyacinths and biscuits.”

Carl Sandburg

Although difficult to define, poetry is a literary genre that binds cultures, indeed, our whole species together.

From the earliest days, poetry passed great stories along in an oral tradition with the aid of rhythm, rhyme, and figurative language:

“Athena

cast a grey glance at her friend and said:

‘Son of Laërtês and the gods of old,

Odysseus, master of land ways and sea ways,

command yourself. Call off this battle now

or Zeus who views the wide world may be angry.’” The Odyssey

Getting the Beat

Rhythm has to do with cadence and beat. Like music, poetry is suffused with various rhythms:

Whan that April with his showres soote…

Chaucer Out of the cradle endlessly rocking,

Out of the mocking-bird’s throat, the musical shuttle…

Whitman

Keeping Count

Meter, on the other hand, is a count of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry.

“When my love swears that she is made of truth / ” Shakespeare

The underscored words in the line above are the stressed syllables.

Keeping Count

In poetry, the relationships between stressed and unstressed syllables are expressed in many different ways:

Iamb (, /) “withDRAW” Trochee (/, ) “WHEther” Anapest (, , /) “reproDUCE”

Sister Sounds

Rhyme is often a favorite feature of poetry, and it comes in two basic “flavors.” Direct rhyme presents two words that sound

very similar: fleece / cease

Indirect rhyme underscores either similar internal vowel sounds or it stresses consonant sounds:

Time / Prior Gate / Greet

Blank Verse

Of course, not all poems rhyme. Blank verse is a very popular, unrhymed poetic form which uses an iambic ( /) rhythm in lines with five stressed feet (pentameter).

“The buzz saw snarled and rattled in the yard And made dust and dropped stove-length sticks of wood.” Robert Frost

Shakespeare’s Sonnets – First Lines

Here are some examples of iambic pentameter:

“When in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes”

“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”

“My mistress’s eyes are nothing like the sun”

Key Terms Pertaining to Poetry

Speaker – don’t equate the speaker of the poem with the poet. Often the first person narrator is a character or a persona that the poet has created.

Diction – carefully chosen words to convey precise meaning.

Key Terms Pertaining to Poetry

Personification – attributing human characteristics to animals, objects, and ideas.

Hyperbole – an intentional exaggeration used with humorous or ironic results.

Understatement – treats a serious issue as if it were of little importance.

Key Terms Pertaining to Poetry

Allusion – a reference to a person, place, or event meant to enhance the reader’s understanding or experience of the poem.

Imagery – impressions created by strong sensory data.

Paradox – a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement that expresses a possible truth.

Key Terms Pertaining to Poetry

Alliteration – the repetition of initial consonants

Assonance – the repetition of vowel sounds

Onomatopoeia – the sound of a word imitating meaning and sense

“Death’s second self , that seals up all the rest”

“My cycle-clips in awkward reverence”

“Bees go buzz and flies go splat”

Figurative Language

Figurative language defines one thing in terms of another. Similes make comparisons:

You are as quiet as a mouse. Billy looks like a gladiator in those clothes.

Metaphors are stronger, more concentrated comparisons:

Life is “a tale / Told by an idiot.”

How to Read a Poem

Attempt to classify the poem: Is it a narrative poem? Does it tell a

story? Is it a lyric poem? Does it primarily

convey emotions, mood, or a state of mind?

How to Read a Poem

Factual or Non-factual Meaning? Literal meaning refers to lines, stanzas, or

poems that can be understood straightforwardly and then taken at face value.

Non-literal meaning refers to figurative or metaphorical language used to convey a new reality or emphasize an idea, image, or symbol.

Poetry Readers’ Axiom #1

Take your time reading! Although some poems may seem short and

quite straightforward, most poetry requires a thoughtful, deliberate reading style. Plan to read each poem several times.

Poetry Readers’ Axiom #2

Read Aloud! Poetry is part of an oral tradition. Reading

aloud brings out the sound and meaning intended by the poet.

It often takes two or three tries to achieve a smooth reading. If the poem uses punctuation, let it guide your reading impulse, and remember that pauses can be critical to the overall affect.

Poetry Readers’ Axiom #3

Read closely! Define unfamiliar words. Think about connections between ideas,

images, and figures of speech. Define the speaker and tone. Examine word choice. Identify predominate imagery. Look for an identifiable theme.

Poetry Readers’ Axiom #4

Paraphrase the poem. Use your own words to briefly restate the

action or intended meaning of key lines, stanzas and / or the whole poem.

Paraphrasing can help you understand the structure and meaning of poetry, and it can help you remember significant details of a poem when you are surveying many different poems by a variety of poets.

Like a great piece of music, a poem improves with each encounter.

Enjoy every experience as you would a concert or play, and remember, poetry is meant to reflect the world.