POETRY

Poetry, first of all looks different from prose on the printed page. It is made up of lines
and ending unevenly on the right and hand margin, while prose works are made up of sentences
put together in paragraph forms. Because it tries to say so much in so compact a form, the
meaning it imparts seems to be more complex and more difficult to grasp than what is usually
found in the prose narratives and essays.

Every poem is an expression of human sentiment, sometimes happy, sometimes better,

sometimes casual. Since the poem is an utterance, it always has a speaker and some motivation
or provocation for the utterance. Usually, it has a listener, too, his presence at least implied. In a
sense, therefore, a poem is like fiction and drama- it has a story to tell.

The elements of Poetry

A sound- Poems use rhyme, rhythm, and repetition to create special sound effects.

1. Rhyme is the regular recurrence of similar sounds usually at the end of lines. Example is
the following lines from the poem Tree. Notice the sounds of the underline words at the
end of each line.

TREES

I think that I shall never see.

A poem as lovely as a tree;

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest,

Against the earth sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,

And lift her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear,

A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain,

Who intimately lives with rain;

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree

2. Rhythm, like the beat in music, is the recurrence of pattern of sound. It is the result of
systematically stressing or accenting words and syllables. It is enjoyable for its own sake.
(Young children derive pleasure from nursery rhymes)

Example: This is chanted while children jump rope:

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 aLONG CAME the DOCtor!
aLONG CAME the NURSE!
aLONG CAME the LADy
With the BIG FAT PURSE!

3. Meter is the measure with which we count the beast of rhythm. It is taken from the Greek
word “metron” meaning “to measure”. Traditionally poetry has measure rhythm, that is,
it has a regular verse or line pattern. The terms dimeter, trimester, tetrameter, and
pentameter indicate the number of measures or feet per line, and iambic (as in “alone”)
and anapestic (as in “over turn”) suggest that the rhythm rises from one or two unstressed
syllables to a stressed syllable in a foot, while trochaic (as in “harbor”) and dactylic (as in
“terrible”) indicate a falling rhythm, that is, from a stressed syllable to one or two
unstressed syllables.

4. Repetition is the repeated use of a sound, word, phrase, sentence, rhythmical pattern or
grammatical patter. Forms of repetition include the following.

Alteration is repetition of initial consonant sounds.

Example:
“He clasps the crag with crooked hands”

Alfred Lord Tennyson

Consonance is repetition of internal consonants sounds.

Example:

“The spotted kitten slept quietly on matter fur”.

Assonance is repetition of vowel sounds.

Example:

“Do not go into that good night”.

Dylan Thomas

Parallelism is repetition of grammatical patterns.

Example:
Withered vine,
Rotten tree,
Dark crow,
Little bridge,
Running stream,

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 Homestead,
Worn-out road,
Western wind,
Lean horse,
The sun is setting in the west;
The broken-hearted man is at the end of the earth.
Ma Chi Yuan

5. Onomatopoeia refers to words that sound like what they mean,

Example: “Bang!” to the sound of the gun.

“Tic, tac,” of the clock
“Splash” of the water

B. Figures of Speech

Unconsciously, we usually use figures of speech in our ordinary conversations, like

“Anong petsa na?”, “I will give you the star, the moon….”, “You are my angel”, She speaks like
the machine gun”, “I heard the whisper of the wind”. These are just sample of figurative
language uttered not in its literal sense but imply a deeper sense of meaning to the speaker and
the listener.

Figure of speech is an utterance not in its literal meaning but in its implication. Most of
the figures of speech became idiomatic expressions or idioms because it is widely used by many
and became part of the vocabulary. The following are reasons why speakers, conversationalists,
and writers use figures of speech.

1. It makes the language more colorful and interesting.

2. It gives more effect to the listener or to the reader.
3. It gives more vivid and concrete description.

The following are the most commonly used figures of speech.

1. Simile (from the Latin word simile which means similar is a stated comparison
between two things that really are very different, but share some common element. It
is introduced by like, as as if, than similar to resemble, etc.

Example:
a. A poem as lovely as a tree.
b. “A little star like a diamond in the sky”
c. His mind is like a sponge.

2. Metaphor (from the Greek verb methapherein which means to carry over) is a
suggested or implied comparison between two unlike things without the use of as, as
if, like.

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 Example;
a. Character is a diamond that scratches every other stones .
b. You are my angel.
c. He is a walking encyclopedia
“She is the apple of his eyes.”

3. Personification is a figure of speech that gives human qualities or attributes to an

object, an animal or an idea.

Examples:
a. Only the moon was the witness in the incident.
b. The volcano is very angry.
“As In entered my room, mosquitos were rehearsing their war song.”
c. Time had fallen asleep in the afternoon sunshine.

4. Metonymy (from the Greek prefix meta, which means change + the root onoma,
name + the noun suffix –y) consists in substitution the literal noun for another which
it suggests because it is somehow associated with it.

Examples:
a. Lend me your ears. (listen)
b. The pen is mightier than the sword. (reading materials, armed forces)
c. I give you my heart . (love)
d. Malacanang announced a non-working holiday. (the president)

5. Hyperbole (from the Greek prefix hyper which means beyond + the root ballein, to
throw) is a deliberate over statement or exaggeration-not to deceive, but to emphasize
a statement often for humorous effect.

Examples:
a. She cried forever!
b. He almost died laughing.
c. I’ve been waiting for an eternity.

6. Irony is a statement of one idea, the opposite of which is meant.

Examples:
a. For Brutus is an honorable man.
b. You’re so lovely today; you look like Christmas tree.
c. You’re great guy! (meant bitterly)

7. Oxymoron is the combining of contraries (opposites) to portray a particular image or

to produce a striking effect.

Examples:
a. Parting is such a sweet sorrow.

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 b. Less is more.
c. Sound of silence

8. Apostrophe is a direct address to an inanimate object, a dead person (as if present),

or an idea.

Examples:

a. O Death! Where is the sting”?

b. Love, thy will be done.
c. O captain, my captain! Our fearful trip is done.

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