STRUCTURE and POETRY
Remember that most modern poems do not have
STANZAS: Stanzas are a series of lines grouped together and
separated by an empty line from other stanzas. They are the
equivalent of a paragraph in an essay. One way to identify a
stanza is to count the number of lines. Thus:
couplet (2 lines) tercet (3 lines) quatrain (4 lines) cinquain (5
lines) sestet (6 lines) (sometimes it's called a sexain) septet (7
lines) octave (8 lines)
FORM: A poem may or may not have a specific number of lines,
rhyme scheme and/or metrical pattern, but it can still be
labeled according to its form or style. Here are the three most
common types of poems according to form:
1. Lyric Poetry: It is any poem with one speaker (not necessarily
the poet) who expresses strong thoughts and feelings. Most
poems, especially modern ones, are lyric poems.
2. Narrative Poem: It is a poem that tells a story; its structure
resembles the plot line of a story [i.e. the introduction of
conflict and characters, rising action, climax and the
denouement].
3. Descriptive Poem: It is a poem that describes the world that
surrounds the speaker. It uses elaborate imagery and
adjectives. While emotional, it is more "outward-focused"
than lyric poetry, which is more personal and introspective.
The Italian/Petrarchan sonnet is named after Petrarch, an
Italian Renaissance poet. The Petrarchan sonnet consists of an
octave (eight lines) and a sestet (six lines). The Shakespearean
sonnet consists of three quatrains (four lines each) and a
concluding couplet (two lines). The Petrarchan sonnet tends to
divide the thought into two parts (argument and conclusion);
the Shakespearean, into four (the final couplet is the
summary).
Ballad: It is a narrative poem that has a musical rhythm and
can be sung. A ballad is usually organized into quatrains or
cinquains, has a simple rhythm structure, and tells the tales of
ordinary people.
SOUND PATTERNS
Three other elements of poetry are rhyme scheme, meter (ie.
regular rhythm) and word sounds (like alliteration). These are
sometimes collectively called sound play because they take
advantage of the performative, spoken nature of poetry.
Rhyme is the repetition of similar sounds. In poetry, the most
common kind of rhyme is the end rhyme, which occurs at the
end of two or more lines.
Internal rhyme occurs in the middle of a line, as in these lines
from Coleridge, "In mist or cloud, on mast or shroud" or
"Whiles all the night through fog-smoke white" ("The Ancient
Mariner").
rhyme.
RHYTHM AND METER
Meter: the systematic regularity in rhythm; this systematic
rhythm (or sound pattern) is usually identified by examining
the type of "foot" and the number of feet.
1. Poetic Foot: The traditional line of metered poetry contains
a number of rhythmical units, which are called feet. The
pattern, or foot, is designated according to the number of
syllables contained, and the relationship in each foot between
the strong and weak syllables. Thus:
a. Iamb (Iambic) - weak syllable followed by strong syllable.
[Note that the pattern is sometimes fairly hard to maintain, as
in the third foot.]
b. Trochee (Trochaic): strong syllable followed by a weak
syllable.
c. Anapest (Anapestic): two weak syllables followed by a
strong syllable.
d. Dactyl (Dactylic): a strong syllable followed by two weak
syllables.
e. Spondee (Spondaic): two strong syllables (not common as
lines but appears as a foot). A spondee usually appears at the
end of a line.
2. The Number of Feet: The second part of meter is the number
of feet contained in a line.
Thus:
1 foot=monometer 2 feet=dimeter 3 feet=trimeter 4
feet=tetrameter 5feet=pentameter 6 feet=hexameter (when
hexameter is in iambic rhythm, it is called an alexandrine)
3. Irregularity: Many metered poems in English avoid perfectly
regular rhythm because it is monotonous. Irregularities in
rhythm add interest and emphasis to the lines. In this line:
The first foot substitutes a trochee for an iamb. Thus, the basic
iambic pentameter is varied with the opening trochee.
4. Blank Verse: Any poetry that does have a set metrical
pattern (usually iambic pentameter), but does not have rhyme,
is blank verse. Shakespeare frequently used unrhymed iambic
pentameter in his plays; his works are an early example of
blank verse.
5. Free Verse: Most modern poetry no longer follows strict
rules of meter or rhyme, especially throughout an entire poem.
WORD SOUNDS
Alliteration: the repetition of initial sounds on the same line or
stanza - Big bad Bob bounced bravely.
Assonance: the repetition of vowel sounds (anywhere in the
middle or end of a line or stanza) - Tilting at windmills
Consonance: the repetition of consonant sounds (anywhere in
the middle or end of a line or stanza) - And all the air a solemn
stillness holds. (T. Gray)
Onomatopoeia: words that sound like that which they
describe - Boom! Crash! Pow! Quack! Moo! Caress...
Repetition: the repetition of entire lines or phrases to
emphasize key thematic ideas.
Parallel Stucture: a form of repetition where the order of verbs
and nouns is repeated; it may involve exact words, but it more
importantly repeats sentence structure - "I came, I saw, I
conquered".
Types of Poetry
Acrostic: In acrostic poems, the first letters of each line of the
poem are aligned vertically to form a word. Generally, the
word formed thus, is the subject of the poem.
Ballad: Ballads are narrative poems that are supposed to be
sung. The narrator usually starts with a dramatic scene and
relates the narrative with dialog and actions.
Canzone: The word canzone, which means, a song, signifies
any simple song-like composition. It is an Italian song or ballad.
Cinquain: Cinquain poems are five lines long. They do not
rhyme.
Concrete: In this kind of poetry, the topographical
arrangement of words supports the meaning conveyed by the
poem. The poems form a picture of the topic on which they are
centered.
Couplet: It is a very simple form of a verse, which contains two
rhyming lines.
Diamante: This type of poetry is one of the simplest ones to
write. The first line of a diamante is a single word; the second
line consists of two adjectives describing that word, third line
contains three words about the subject while the fourth line
contains four. The fifth line and the lines that follow consist of
a similar pattern of words describing the idea opposite to the
subject of the poem. It seems this kind of poetry writing is
simple and interesting
Dramatic Poetry: A drama that is written in the form of verses
to be recited or sung refers to the dramatic genre of poetry.
This form of poetry has evolved from Greek and Sanskrit
literature.
Epic Poetry: This genre of poetry is a type of narrative
literature that narrates stories of mythological heroes.
Homer's Iliad and Odyssey and the great Indian epics of
Mahabharata and Ramayana are a few of the noteworthy
examples of epic poetry.
Free Verse: Free verses refer to the different styles of poetry,
wherein the poems do not carry a specific meter. Free verses
are a poet's expressions, which are free from any rules or
restrictions pertaining to the rhyme schemes of the poem.
Ghazal: This form of poetry is popular in the Arabic, Persian,
Urdu and Bengali literature. It is characterized by five to fifteen
couplets that have a refrain at the end of every second line.
Each couplet of a ghazal can stand individually as each
represents a distinct thought.
Haiku: (5,7,5) It is an unrhymed form of poetry that is native to
Japan. It contains three sections that can be written in a single
line but are written in three lines instead.
Jintishi: Native to China, Jintishi is a poetic form based on tonal
patterns consisting of the four tones of the classical Chinese
language in every couplet. Jintishi is composed of eight lines in
four couplets, wherein two couplets depict contrasting ideas
but similar grammatical patterns. Du Fu, a poet of the 8th
century was an important name in the world of Jintishi.
Limerick: Limerick is one of the very popular kinds of poetry. A
limerick is a funny little poem with a rhyme scheme of 'aabba'.
Lyric Poetry: Lyric poetry is of a personal nature, wherein a
poet expresses his/her perceptions and ideas through poetry.
Lyric poems deal with subjects like love, peace, loss and grief.
T. S. Eliot is one of the prominent names in lyric poetry.
Narrative Poetry: This is a genre of poetry that involves story-
telling and is one of the very old forms of poetry. The content
of these types of poems is intended to appeal the masses.
Nursery Rhymes: It is one of the most popular types of poetry,
especially a favorite of most of the kids. Nursery rhymes are
short poems written for children and are usually handed over
from one generation to another.
Ode: is a literary technique that is lyrical in nature, but not
very lengthy.
Pantoum: It is composed of quatrains, where the second and
fourth lines of each verse are repeated as the first and third
lines of the next stanza.
Pastourelle: It refers to an old French lyrical form. The poems
in this category have the romance of a shepherdess as their
central idea.
Prose Poetry: This genre of poetry blends prose and poetry. It
is very similar to a short story. However, its concise nature and
the use of metaphor in it are sufficient to classify it as a poetical
form.
Ruba'i: This form of poetry is written as a four-line verse. It is
written by the poets in Arabia and Persia.
Satirical Poetry: Sarcasm serves as a very powerful means of
expressing criticism. An insult can most strongly be expressed
through poetry. Romans have been using satirical poetry for
political purposes.
Sestina: In this kind of poetry, there are six stanzas, each
consisting of six lines without an element of rhyme. The words
that appear at the end of the lines in the first stanza are
repeated in other stanzas. A concluding stanza of three lines
wherein the repeating words reappear in a peculiar way is an
important characteristic of Sestina.
Sijo: It is a musical lyric popular among the Korean poets. It is
written in three lines with a pause in the middle of every line.
Sonnet: Derived from Occitan and Italian words meaning 'a
little song', Sonnet was originally a fourteen-line song that was
based on a strict rhyme scheme and structure.
Stev: It is a form of lyrical poetry that is prominent in
Scandinavia. Stave is the English version of this kind of poetry
Tanka: It is an unrhymed kind of poetry that originated in
Japan. It came up as a shorter version of the Japanese formal
poetry and the poems of this type were primarily based on
personal themes. (75757)
Verse Fable: The poems that belong to this genre of poetry
consist of stories set into verses. Fables involving natural
elements and inanimate objects carrying a moral or message
for the masses are expressed through verses. Verse fables use
different types of rhyming schemes.
Approaches
- Thematic approach: This is the teaching of literature based
on the understanding of the central theme and the sub
themes.
- Stylistic approach: This has to do with looking at the text in
respect of the author‟s style and incomparison with another
author.
- Group Approach: This engages the weak and the strong in a
common activity possibly to strengthen the weak. But as an
approach to teaching of literature, group approach is engaged
in to dramatize or act out the text.
- Response Approach: This portrays the critical method. This
offers the student the freedom to be real to the text and not
stereotyped or stage-managed.
- Integrated approach: This has to do with looking at a text as
a whole entity. This approach also involves using the text to
teach language and literature. A test could be so used to teach
vocabularies, pronunciation, literary devices etc.
- Problem posing approach requires the students to unravel a
given mystery in the text.
Formalistic – based on the literary elements
Moral / Humanistic – close to the morality of literature to
questions of ethical goodness and badness.
Historical – sees literature as both a reflection and a product
of the times and circumstances in which it is written.
Cultural – an approach in knowing the culture of the people
and one of the pleasurable ways of appreciating the literature
of the people.
Psychological – considers literature as the expression of
“personality”, of “inner drive” of neurosis.
Methods
- Criticism method: This is highly recommended in literature
teaching. Students may be occasionally required to criticize the
information they obtain from the „Study Guides‟ with close
reference to the actual text. This method prompts student to
read further for more information. This is capable of evoking
and sustaining the interest of the students in the subject.
- Discussion method: This could be an effective means of
ensuring that students read the text and acquire the correct
information.
- Discovery method: These stems from problem posing
approach and can achieve greater result when fused with
discussion method. Here the teacher can identify some of the
contemporary issues raised in the text under study and
encourage the students to propose solutions bearing in mind
the evidence contained in the text. This encourages originality
and flexibility of ideas or thoughts.
- Also, to encourage initiatives and curiosity, questioning
method is encouraged.
- Project method: Because of individual differences, some
students are known to demonstrate poor language skills.
Project method can assist them.
- Activity method: This can be best portrayed with
dramatization technique which is great value to the teaching
of literature.
- Read and explain method though related to discussion
method, is also a good method that challenges the students.
The Traditional Theory of Poetry
1. Poetry is mimetic.
Poetry imitates, copies, or reflects something.
2. Poetry is emotional as well as rational.
Like all literature, poetry exploits connotation, multiple
meaning, emotive language, and penetrating images.
3. Poetry recreates, not merely recounts.
Readers of a poem should not just recognize or understand the
feeling or idea the poet is treating; they should experience it.
4. Poetry is a "speaking picture."
The phrase belongs to Sir Philip Sidney. He means that poetry
uses imagery, pictures, concrete visions to convey its message
and feeling; it shows, and not just tells.