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UNIT 4: UNDERSTANDING POETRY

4.0 Intended Learning Outcomes

a. Adopt awareness of the literary devices in poetry.
b. Articulate and discuss the developments in the field of practice.
c. Explain the need and demonstrate the ability for lifelong learning about various literary
works.

4.1 Introduction
As a genre, poetry is said to aspire to the conditions of music, hence its rhythmic quality. Aes-
thetically, it employs figurative and symbolic language that makes it susceptible to different interpre-
tations. The interaction of these two aspects of poetry explains why the genre is still very much
around. As a matter of fact, poetry has responded to change in more ways than one, including its in-
tegration with old and new genres. Poetry’s traditional lyricism, for example, is still very much evi-
dent in popular modes of expression such as the song, which weds symbolic and figurative language
with music. Poetry has had a long history. Presumably it was used in the old days for religious ritu-
als and ceremonies, and later for narrating mythical stories. One of the earliest examples is the Epic
of Gilgamesh, considered by some scholars as the “first great work of literature.” Other early exam-
ples are Iliad and Odyssey traditionally attributed to Greek poet Homer, and the Vedas of ancient In-
dia. Originally there were transmitted orally; they were recited or chanted on certain occasions such
as community gatherings. Later, they were put into writing for posterity. (Ambon, F., et al, 2016).

4.2 Topics

4.2.1 Elements of Poetry

Poems are literary attempts to share personal experiences and feelings. Since
literature, in general, is all about significant human experience, poetry’s subject mat-
ter is also about the poet’s personal life or the lives of those around him. Good po-
ems, aside from being stated in a fresh manner, often probe deeply and can contain
disturbing insights. The language is fresh and demanding because of its subtleties.
Good poems show images which leave the reader a sense of delight, awe and won-
der. Some elements of poetry are indicated below (Maramba, R., et al, 2015).

1. The Poetic Line

It is the basic unit of composition in poems. An idea or feeling which is expressed in one line
and is continued with little or no pause into the next line. This is called enjambment or run-on lines.

2. The Sound of Words

An indirection prominent in the method of poetry is the use of sound effects to intensify mean-
ing. For the poet to convey ideas, he chooses and organizes his words into a pattern of sound that is a
part of the total meaning. These sound effects are the products of organized repetitions. They are the
following:
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a. Rhyme repeats similar or corresponding sounds in some apparent scheme.

b. Rhythm is the result of systematically stressing or accenting words and syllables attained
through patterns in the tuning, spacing, repetition of the elements.

c. Alliteration means the repetition for effect of initial vowels or consonants.

e.g. He clasps the crags with crooked hands (Tennyson)

d. Assonance refers to a partial change in which the stressed vowel sounds are alike but the
consonant sounds are unlike.
e.g. Maiden crowned with glossy blackness
Long armed maid, when she dances. (George Eliot)

e. Onomatopoeia is a long word that simply means the imitation in

words of natural sounds.
e.g. Hiss, buzz, mew
Dry clash’d his harness in the icy caves
And barren chasms, and all to left and right
The bare black cliffs clang’d round him. (Tennyson)

3. Meter

It is regularized and patterned rhythm. There are four conventional types of meter in Eng-
lish poetry, each being distinguished from the others by the number and accent of syllables.

a. Iambic meter - by far, the most popular and the most natural to English expression. Its basic
unit or foot is one unaccented syllable followed by one accented syllable.
e.g. Whose woods/these are/I think/I know.

b. Trochaic meter - the reverse of iambic meter. Each foot consists of an accented or long sylla-
ble followed by an unaccented short syllable.
e.g. Swift of/foot was/Hia/watha

c. Anapestic meter - contains in each foot two unaccented or short syllables followed by one
accented or long syllable.
e.g. For the moon/never beams/without bring/ing me dreams

d. Dactylic meter - opposite of anapestic. It consists of one accented or long syllable followed
by two unaccented or short syllables. It is slower and often is used to create a strange
mood.
e.g. This is the/forest pri/meval

Seeing what the metrical units are and how many of them occur in the line is called
“scanning” a line of poetry. A one-foot line is called a monometer, two diameter and others in
progression up to a seven-foot line, thus: trimester, tetrameter, pentameter, hexameter and hep-
tameter. Thus, the iambic line above is a tetrameter, and the dactylic line is a trimeter.
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4. Imagery

More than a visual detail, imagery includes sounds, textures feel, odors, and sometimes
even tastes. Selection of concrete details is the poet’s of giving his reader a sensory image. By
means of images, the poet makes the reader think about the meaning of the poem.

5. Tone

Reveals the attitude toward the subject and in some cases the attitude of the persona or
implied speaker of the poem as well. Examples of tone are: cheerful, sad, reflective, serious, an-
gry, anxious, etc. There are, however, many shades of tone and that clear-cut divisions cannot
be easily established.

Poetry can be defined as follows:

 Poetry like a song is an expression of a feeling, an insight, a discovery; it is about life.

 Poetry is the language of the imagination, almost entirely figurative, and also a musical
literary language.

According to purpose and structure there are three groups of poetry, these are:

1. Narrative Poetry - this includes poems that tell stories like:

a. Ballads- the narration of a story in poetry form.
b. Metrical Tale-a series of events or facts told or presented based on the metric
system as a standard of measurement.
c. Epic- a story about the heroic deeds of an individual written in verse.

2. Lyric Poetry-poems in this group are subjective and intensely emotional.

a. Song-A poem easily set to music.
b Sonnet-A fixed verse form, of Italian origin consisting of fourteen (14) lines.
c. Elegy-A poem expressing sorrow or lamentation for one who is dead.
d. Ode-A poem usually marked by exaltation of feeling and style.
e. Lullabies-A soothing refrain specifically a song to quiet down children or to lull
them to sleep.

3. Dramatic Poetry-includes plays which are written in verse, examples are:

a. Dramatic Monologue-a literary work in which a character reveals himself in a
dramatic sketch performed by himself alone.
b. Soliloquy-the act of talking to oneself.
c. Character Sketch-a poem which dramatizes the attributes or features that make
up and distinguish an individual.
d. Prose Poetry-a narrative in poetic form.

The essential qualities of poetry are: precise diction, figurative language, subtlety, concen-
tration of ideas and suggestiveness.
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The usual themes in poetry are love, death, brotherhood, inhumanity, loneliness and joy.
Poetry can do the following:
 Move an individual to tears or laughter.
 Stir the insights of the readers.
 Stimulate the imagination of the reader.
 Soothe the mind of a reader.
 Lift the burden of a heavy heart.
 Ease and relax tension in a troubled world.

4.2.2 Literary Devices in Poetry

Much of the suggestive power of words comes from figures

of speech. They are essential part of the poet’s craft especially if
stated in his original, fresh and subtle way (Cruz, I.R., 2018).

1. Simile is directly expressed comparison between two dissimilar objects by means of the
words like, as, or as if.
e.g. Serenity of mind poises
He watches from his mountain walls;
Like a gull swinging in air
and like a thunderbolt he falls.
2. Metaphor gives an implied, not expressed, comparison to two unlike objects.
e.g. 1. Good books are food and drink to an avid reader.
2. When I saw her smile, a stone rolled away from my heart.
3. Personification gives an inanimate object or an abstract idea a human attribute or con-
siders it a live being.
e.g. 1. At last the wind sighed itself to sleep
2. Break, break, break
On the cold, gray stones, O sea!
4. Apostrophe is an address to the absent as if he were present or to somebody dead as if he
were alive or to inanimate things as if they were animated.
e.g. 1. MILTON! Thou should be living at this hour.
2. Mountains and hills come and fall on me.
5. Metonymy is a name of one thing used in place of another suggested or associated with
it. It consists in giving an idea that is so closely associated with another.
e.g. 1. The pen is mightier than the sword.
2. Gray hairs should be respected.
6. Antithesis is a contrast or opposition of thoughts, words or ideas. Contrasting words or
ideas make each other emphatic.
e.g. 1. Easy writing makes hard reading; hard writing, easy reading.
2. His body is active but his mind is sluggish.
7. Hyperbole is an exaggeration for effect and not to deceive or to be taken literally.
e.g. Morning, noon, and night her tongue was incessantly doing.
8. Irony is a method of humorous or subtly sarcastic expression in which the intended
meaning of the words is the direct opposite of what is meant.
e.g. It was very kind of you to remind me of my humiliation.
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9. Synecdoche means using a part for the whole.

e.g. No busy hand provoke a tear
No roving foot shall crush thee here
10. Oxymoron is all about the use of contradictory terms.
e.g. O heavy lightness, serious vanity!
11. Litotes means giving an assertion by means of negation or understatement
e.g. I never saw a moon,
I never saw the sea,
Yet know I how the heather looks,
And what a wave must be.
12. Allusion refers to any scientific, historical, mythological, literary or biblical event or
figure.
e.g. I am not Lazarus nor Prince Hamlet.
13. Paradox is a phrase or statement that on the surface seems contradictory, but makes
some kind of emotional sense.
e.g. You have to die to live.

Literary Allusions and Expressions

 Penelope’s web - a task that is never ending or done repeatedly and never finishes.
 Achilles’ heel - the weakest point of one’s personality or something that marks the weakest
point of a person. e.g. Kryptonite for Superman
 Bacchanalian feast - a gathering that is characterized by wanton abandon.
 Herculean task - a great or almost impossible task; something that is almost impossible to
be accomplished or it will take a great effort to do.
 Apple of discord - the object of conflict
 Beware of Greeks bearing gifts - be careful if an enemy suddenly becomes very friendly.

Poetry matters because it is a central example of the use of human beings and make of
words to explore and understand. Like other forms of writing we value, it lends shape and
meaning to our experiences and helps us to move con-
Activity fidently in the world we know and then to step be-
yond it. Poetry gives teachers an authentic text in
Write the literary device/s used in each which to work on phonics, phonemic awareness, and
sentence stated below: language development skills such as rhyme, word
families, and alliteration. Poems provide a simpler
_____1. The professor praised his pupil's context for students to practice these skills, using text
flowery prose. that is at their interest and academic levels.
_____2. The leaves danced in the wind on
the cold October afternoon. Poetry often contains words that rhyme for ef-
_____3. Nobody invites Marlon to parties fect. Children can learn about phonics and letter
because he is a wet blanket. sounds by listening for and locating rhyming
_____4. Rhea runs as fast as the wind. words. Teaching grammar in engaging ways can be a
_____5. My eyes widened at the sight of struggle. Poetry provides teachers with a special tool:
the mile-high sundaes that were A tool that can be broken down and evaluated in
brought to our table. parts. A tool that can use to teach many literacy skills
(Maramba, R., et al, 2015).
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4.2.3 Reading Selection | Heartbeats

Activity:
Heartbeats
by Ann Luna To burn with desire and
keep quiet about it is the
7:17 (a.m.) greatest punishment we
the heart pumps can bring on ourselves.
and draws upon my chest - Federico Garcia Lorca
many dotted lines
in red
7:18 Explain the quote. Have you ever felt a
memories of me strong emotion for a person but for some reason
seeing you there again you were not allowed to express it? How did it
I felt my heart beat like this before, make you feel?
turning brown cheeks ___________________________________________
slyly into crimson ___________________________________________
…when was the last time? ___________________________________________
7:21
that get-together after class Text Analysis:
and heart knew it
1. Describe the feelings of the persona to-
and inch by inch
wards the “you” in the poem. Cite lines to prove
it shook me to the edge of my seat
your answer.
until the bell rang
and i arose so anxiously the next second
2. At what time in the poem does the persona
as if there was some bullet to dodge
revel affection for the other person? Why?
7:23
you came to tell me something
3. At what time in the poem does the persona
and my mind never knew
realize his/her heartbreak? Why?
but the heart flashed its warning
pounding away so hard
4. What is the resolution of the persona? Will
as if to ward off the news arriving
the persona continue loving the “you”? Explain
your answer.
you were in love with another
Literary Connection:
7:25
in that settee you sat yesterday alone The class will be divided into
and I passed by you groups with about 8 members each.
and secretly awaited Each group will think of a song that
the shaking to the edges, closely shares the meaning/theme of the poem.
the frantic warnings, Be ready to do a creative presentation (video) of
the browns turning into crimson, the song.
all the heart’s telltale signs of just how
lost I am to you, Criteria:
but there was none.
I passed you by and right then knew Relevance 30%
how long it’s been Originality 30%
since I loved you so. Creativity 25%
Impact 15%
(http://anniemarr.wordpress.com/2015)
Total: 100%
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ASSESSMENT
A. Identify the following statements correctly by indicating the answer on the space provided
before the number. (5 pts.)

_____1. It helps writers punch points by repeating the same sound of the first or second letter in
a series of words.
_____2. It exaggerates something, typically in a humorous way.
_____3. It is a comparison between two things. It doesn’t necessarily have to be alike but makes
a link in the reader’s mind.
_____4. When something non-human is given human-like qualities, what is it?
_____5. It is a direct comparison between two things, using like or as.

B. Create an alliterative poem about pandemic. Write your output in a short bond paper.
Guidelines:
- Your poem must be at least five lines.
- Use complete sentences that make sense.
- Use correct punctuation.
- Include at least three examples of alliteration in your poem.
- Add a related picture/image to your output.

Criteria:

Relevance 30%
Originality 30%
Creativity 25%
Impact 15%
Total: 100%

C. Read the paragraph to answer the questions that follow: (4 pts.)

Natural resources are needed to sustain life. There are two kinds – non-renewable and
renewable natural resources. The non-renewable natural resources which include metal-
lic ores, coal, petroleum and stone cannot be replaced once extracted. Renewable natural
resources, like trees, animals and other living organisms can be replenished or replaced
quickly. If man wants the renewable resources to be available indefinitely, they have to
be used efficiently and judiciously.

What are the two kinds of natural resources?

1.
2.

Which kind of natural resources cannot be replenished?

3.

What is a good title of this article?

4.
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D. Read the poem below and answer the questions that follow.

“Coup de Grace” (2013) is a French term referring to a death blow. As you read, pick out the
images and other details that evoke these emotions.

Coup de Grace Cut off our fists if

by Noel Moratilla we clench & raise them in protest.
Demolish our houses empty as our stomachs,
When you bother to come with cardboard-thin walls
to our slums, Standing in the muck.
remember to carry
the hardest & heaviest rifles Gorge our parched throats
to jog our memory. with your dirt
Bring some gasoline to singe & show more pleasure
our unwashed When we grovel at your feet.
conscience. Should you hear our famished babies cry,
Sear our flesh bury a dagger deep
misshapen by into each one’s neck.
Bullet holes When they die, we’ll put them in paper coffins
with eyes that never shut. brittle as our sanity.

When we welcome you The next time we meet and you find us rest-
with hands less, speak to us of your visions.
reeking of slime or grease, Regale us with more promises,
you’ll find us contrived
disgusting images, false
so have us handcuffed hopes
for such impropriety when in truth you’re
& whisked thinking
to the nearest prison or graveyard. how to butcher us
even more.
Show no mercy if we forget
to stoop when
asking for charity. (Insights, College Faculty Newsletter of St. Scholastica’s College Manila, 2013)

1. What is the persona asking the reader to bring? (1 pt.)

2. What should be done when the reader is welcomed with “hands/reeking of slime or grease?”
When the persona raises his/her clenched fist in protest? (2 pts.)
3. Give the other “suggestions” made by the persona. Are those suggestions sincere and to be tak-
en seriously? Why or why not? (2 pts.)

4.3 References

Cruz, I.R. (2018). Teaching Literature: A Manual of Readings. REX Book Store.
Ambon, F.M., et al (2016). 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World.
Mutya Publishing House, Inc.
Maramba, R.E., et al (2015). Elements of Literature. REX Book Store.

4.4 Acknowledgment

The images, tables, figures and information contained in this module were taken from the
references cited above.