POETRY AN INTRODUCTION POETRY Introduction What is poetry

POETRY AN INTRODUCTION

POETRY Introduction: What is poetry?

What Is Poetry? O A short story condensed O “from concentrate” – just add the water of your imagination O compressed, distilled, dense, nutritive value O “Condensed by contraction of volume, with proportional increase of strength. ” O without superfluity, excess 3

What Is Poetry? O Subjective O Emotional O Lyrical O (expresses thoughts, feelings of a single speaker) O Narrative O Descriptive O Argumentative O Philosophical O (waxes philosophic, embodies a philosophy) O Metaphoric O Dramatic O Didactic O (teaches, preaches, imparts knowledge) 4

What Is Poetry? O Good poetry: O unique O poetic elements (properly handled) O consistent O controlled O form = function 5

What Is Poetry? O Bad poetry: O mixed metaphors O poor similes and metaphors O (“my wife is a shirt” or “a poem is a bra”) O poor diction-word choice O wrong word O inappropriate word O poor word choice O wrong sound of a word 6

What Is Poetry? O Bad poetry: O form does not equal function O (style does not fit the content or message) O inappropriate diction O unsuitable style O inapt form for the occasion O inconsistent tone O lack of control O over language, emotion, vision 7

What Is Poetry? O Bad poetry: O all emotion, no skill O ad misericordiam O sentimentality O “bathos”: O bad pathos O when overly sentimental works move readers to laughter instead of tears 8

What Is Poetry? O Bad poetry: O creates unintended reaction O unwittingly comic O unintentionally antagonizing O does not say what intended it to say/mean O unconscious of double meanings O too contrived O (trying too hard, overly ingenious) 9

What Is Poetry? O Bad poetry: O trite, banal, hackneyed O lacks originality O clichés, pat expressions, trite maxims, platitudes O stale phrasing and imagery O too derivative O too much impersonation, imitation O ripping off the Greats O too aphoristic, preachy, didactic O smacks of moral or intellectual superiority 1 0

What Is Poetry? O Bad poetry: O only of private value O so personal only the poet gets it O the extreme opposite of banality O self-indulgent, self-aggrandizing O forced rhyme scheme O come up with a word to make a rhyme O rather than using a word that arises from the thought/feeling) O too mechanical O metronome rhythm O robotic, “by t’ book” 1 1

POETRY Introduction: Reading Poetry

How to Read Poetry Notice PUNCTUATION: O question marks, exclamation marks, period O is a line (or more) a question or a statement O adjust your inflection accordingly Read to a COMMA or SEMICOLON or PERIOD: O don't stop necessarily at the end of each line O enjambment 1 3

How to Read Poetry Watch for “ROAD SIGNS”: O watch for changes in logic or time conjunctions such as “but” or “yet” O recognize transitions such as “then” or “meanwhile” or O notice “afterwards” Read with a DICTIONARY at hand: O look up O key words O words you do not recognize O to note Connotation vs. Denotation O look up various definitions, to note how different meanings = different interpretations for the work 1 4

How to Read Poetry Sparingly and Cautiously use PERSONAL experiences or personal tastes, attitudes, beliefs: O while your own views may, occasionally, shed light on the work O more often than not, they can lead to misinterpretations and prejudices O a “grain of salt” 1 5

How to Read Poetry Realize that the SPEAKER and the POET are not necessarily one and the same: O because poetry is by nature quite subjective and emotional, O we readers have a tendency to confuse the views expressed in the poem with the views held by the writer O Disclaimer: “Please understand that the opinions, views, and comments that appear in the poem will not necessarily reflect the views held by the poet…. ” 1 6

How to Read Poetry Notice the POETIC ELEMENTS employed: O diction, symbolism, imagery, metaphors, O similes, conceit, meter, rhythm, rhyme, O stanza, persona, alliteration, assonance … Note the RHYME SCHEME and RHYTHM: O at the end of each line, note the rhyme with a letter (a, b, c, …) O read the poem aloud, noticing and enunciating each piece of punctuation, to discover its rhythm 1 7

How to Read Poetry READ, PARAPHRASE, and then SUMMARIZE: O read the poem through the first time O then begin to put it into your own words, to simplify its meaning (paraphrase) O then summarize the entirety in a brief statement relating to its meaning, message, “theme” (summarize) EXPLICATE and ANALYZE: O explain each line of the poem; interpret line by line (explicate) O analyze the piece focusing on a single literary/poetic element (analyze) 1 8

POETRY Introduction: Writing about Poetry

Writing About Poetry I. LITERAL LEVEL O Paraphrase: (parts) O put lines into your own words O simplify the language and syntax O Summarize: (whole) O the gist/thrust of the entire work O succinct, short 2 0

Writing About Poetry II. ANALYTICAL LEVEL O Explication: O “close reading” O line-by-line analysis O tone, persona, imagery, symbolism, meter, … O how the poetic elements work together to form a unified whole & reveal hidden meanings O Edgar Allan Poe’s “unity of effect” O * arrive at a conclusion about the work 2 1

Writing About Poetry II. ANALYTICAL LEVEL O Analysis: O focus on a single poetic element O note its relationship to the whole, especially in terms of meaning 2 2

Writing About Poetry III. HOW to QUOTE POETRY O Slash marks: word space slash space word O Line numbers: end quote” space (line #). O no “line” or “#, ” just the numeral O End punctuation: include ? or !, otherwise omit O Ellipses: word space word O Quoting multiple lines: block quote style O indent all, no “ ” O period at the end space (line #s) O Brackets: when you change a letter or a word 2 3

POETRY Narrative Poetry

BACKGROUND O Transition from Prose to Poetry O Historically, move from “stories” in poetry to stories in prose O verse narratives O stories in poetic form O “narrative” = O beginning, middle, end O basic Plot O Action, Characterization, Setting, Dialogue O Symbolism, Irony, Juxtaposition 2 5

BACKGROUND O Historically O Oral Tradition O illiterate masses O poetic structure makes it easy to remember & pass along O stories about heroes & history O epic poetry (Homer) O sagas (scops) 2 6

BACKGROUND O Historically O Literacy – O Wm. Caxton’s printing press (1440) O Gutenberg’s bible (1450) O More literacy O = less oral tradition O = change in literature 2 7

POPULAR BALLADS 28

POPULAR BALLADS O authors = O anonymous, undated O persona = O detached, objective, impersonal, characterless O 3 rd person POV O themes O death, fate O perils of sea This ain’t no love song, baby! (not that type of “ballad”) 2 9

POPULAR BALLADS O use of repetition O of sounds O alliteration (Anglo-Saxon hold-over) O consonance (consonant) O assonance (vowel) O of words, phrases O musical rhythm O meant to be sung 3 0

POPULAR BALLADS O omissions O ellipses O not so descriptive (omitting key details) O NO SHIPWRECK O told in flashes, quick glimpses O photo slide show O little description O photo show O omitted details, scenes (ellipses) O some dialogue 3 1

POPULAR BALLADS O 4 -line stanzas O ABAB rhyme scheme (typically unrhymed) O 1 st, 3 rd lines = 4 accents O 2 nd, 3 rd lines = 3 accents The king sits in Dumferling toune, Drinking the blude-reid wine: O quhar will I get guid sailor To sail this schip of mine? 3 2

POPULAR BALLADS O Belong to the Oral Tradition O not written down O until 18 th century O multiple versions O Enlightenment (frowned upon) O undignified O lacks decorum O Romantics (resurgence) O poetry of the people, masses O Old ballads = written down O New ballads = composed (“literary ballads”) 3 3

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