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FEATURES OF POETRY
- Very economical in Language use i.e. poetry use few words to convey a lot of information.
- Poetry consists of musical features such as rhyme and rhythm.
- Poetry uses relatively more figures of speech than other genres of literature.
- The basic unit composing a poem is line
- Poetry rarely involves characters with names normally poems use the persona / speaker.
- Poetry is arranged in lines and stanzas.
TERMS USED IN POETRY
Poetry has jargon’s that identify it as something unique in itself. These terms / jargon’s are common in poetry are called POETIC DICTION/ DEVICES
2. POETIC DEVICES
These are techniques or tools used in poetry which help improve the quality of poetry. Poetic method / devices can be number of things used in a poem, for instance language, imagery, assonance, alliteration, simile, metaphor, stanza, consonance, persona, allusion, refrain, Raychem, rhythm, tone, peptic license onomatopoeia.
1.PERSONA
This refers to person who speaks in the poem. Sometime a poet may use the pronoun “I” in his/her poem. This does not mean not mean that it is the poet who is speaking rather than the poet has put him / herself in someone’s shoes.
ALLITERATION:
Is the repletion of initial consonant sounds at the beginning of a consecutive word in a verse / line.
This refers to person who speaks in the poem. Sometime a poet may use the pronoun “I” in his/her poem. This does not mean not mean that it is the poet who is speaking rather than the poet has put him / herself in someone’s shoes.
ALLITERATION:
Is the repletion of initial consonant sounds at the beginning of a consecutive word in a verse / line.
E.g.: But now I am cabined cribbed confide or
when I was one. Or
the babbling brook bubbled the furrow followed free.
when I was one. Or
the babbling brook bubbled the furrow followed free.
CONSONANCE:
Is the repetition of similar consonant sounds at the end of a word in stressed syllable in a given verse.
Is the repetition of similar consonant sounds at the end of a word in stressed syllable in a given verse.
E.g.: – Food is good not word
– Set your foot to fit here.
– Set your foot to fit here.
ASSONANCE:
Is the repetition of vowel sounds in neighboring word in a verse.
Is the repetition of vowel sounds in neighboring word in a verse.
E.g.:– Jo ascended the throne and told the whole populace to throw a bone to Polonius the vole”
ELLIPSIS:
Is the intentionally omission of some words that the poet consider of less important to be used in his/her work. Normally functional words such as proposition, auxiliary verbs, conjunction and
determines are the one that fall victims of being omitted.
Is the intentionally omission of some words that the poet consider of less important to be used in his/her work. Normally functional words such as proposition, auxiliary verbs, conjunction and
determines are the one that fall victims of being omitted.
NB: The omitted words may be filled by the readers as they read
– ALLUSION: Is the use of well-known things as reference so as make readers understand the concept(s) due to the fact the reference used is well know
– ALLUSION: Is the use of well-known things as reference so as make readers understand the concept(s) due to the fact the reference used is well know
–STANZA: Is a group of lines that stands as paragraph. Stanzas are separated from each other by space.
–RHYME: Is the similarity of ending sounds exist between two words. Or is the similarity in sound at the end of consecutive lines or at the same interval in a stanza.
FUNCTIONS OF RHYME
- The repetition of sounds at regular interrupts bring the reader a season’s gratification meaning it makes the reader enjoy that repetition.
- The recurrence of the rhyme at regular intervals helps to establish the form of the stanza
- The rhymes serve to unify and distinguish the divisions of the poem and therefore give a unity to one stanza while marking it off from the others as separate. From such divisions the rhyme creates a sense of movement to the poem as a whole
Types of Rhymes
The types of rhymes are classified according to two schemes;
- The position of the rhymed syllables in the line
- The number of syllables involved introducing the rhyme
- The position of the rhymed syllables in the line
- End Rhymes
These are most common rhymes and they occur at the end of the line
- Internal Rhymes
Sometimes called leonine rhyme occurs at some place after the beginning but before the end of the line.
- The Beginning Rhyme
This occurs in the first syllable or syllables of the line.
– PHYME SEHEME: The sequence in which the rhyme occurs for example:-
Like and learn to be hard working (a)
Like bees you should live (b)
You‘ll be like a king (a)
you‘ll know how to live (b)
Indeed, living is learning (a
Thus the rhyming scheme in this stanza is ab,ab, a
Like bees you should live (b)
You‘ll be like a king (a)
you‘ll know how to live (b)
Indeed, living is learning (a
Thus the rhyming scheme in this stanza is ab,ab, a
– RFFRAIN: Is a word or line that is repeated at the end of each stanza in a poem. It actually act as a chorus. This technique serves two great roles(i) emphatic role(ii)musical purposes
The Refrain
It is a line repeated at the end of each stanza example of poems with refrain
“The song of the low”
“A freedom song”
Function of Repetition in poetry
These two contribute to both musicality of the poem and the meanings of the poem
a). Sound repetition
b). Word repetition
These two contribute to both the musicality of the poem and the meanings of poem.
These two contribute to both the musicality of the poem and the meanings of poem.
A good example is “western civilization a poem” a poem with a lot repeations.
The repetition in this poem shows the monotony of the work.
– VERSE: Is a unit a poem consisting of a line in a stanza. No stanza in the absence of verses.
– RHYTHM: Is a pattern of stress and pauses that link words in a unit. So rhythm is caused by the poem is either regular or irregular. When it is regular, stress occurs at similar internal and when it is irregular, trees does not occur at the same interval both stress and unstressed syllable form a foot. One foot begins where a stressed syllable begins.
– ONAMATOPOEIA: Is the use of words which imitate sound OR. The use of word that suggest meaning through the sounds of things or animals.
E.g.:- The use of tu-tu-tu-tu Which suggest the sound of the Gun?
– POETIC LICENSE: Is the right assumed by poets to alter or invert standard syntax or depart from common diction or pronunciation to comply with the metrical or tonal requirements of their
writing. OR The privilege that poets have to violate the rules of the grammar of the language he/she is using to compose his/her work.
writing. OR The privilege that poets have to violate the rules of the grammar of the language he/she is using to compose his/her work.
It is an allowance or permission to the poet to play around with the rules of language in order to archived effect.
VARIETIES OF POETIC LICENSE
This is the poet right to ignore set rules and conventions generally observed by users of the language. The poet deviates from the norm (canon) in order to archive his own end in this presentation o the poem. Through poetic license there are several deviations that can be observed from poems these include the following;
a. Lexical deviation
This is the art of inventing new words for the poem in order to fit the style of the poet. Lexical deviation not a complete variation of lexical rather it only applies the rules of word formation to a greater generality. Quit a number of widely used English words originated in poetry due to the use of lexical deviations, example: – blatant Spencer
Assassination – Shakespeare
Pandemonium – Milton
Usage of lexical deviations
In order to deviate from the norm lexically, the poet waves or ignores the usual descriptions or the rules of word formation. Examples, the English rules of word formation which profits the predication of “force” to a verb to convey the meaning of beforehand as in foresee foretell.
Such a rule may be applied with greater freedom to create words like, foretell or fore appear
In the example above the rule of using the prefix “fore” which limits its usage to just but a number of verbs is over stretched to include other words which do not under normal circumstances we the prefix.
Likewise compounding which is another process of the word formation is used with greater generality in some line or poems. For example in a poem by Hopkins titled the well of the Heathland, he was used the following rhyme “The widow making uncoiling deeps.The use of UN in a prefix on words which do not take a prefix in normal speech. Window making is also used as a on the pattern of music prize winning tub thumping.
However there is strangeness in th
e usage which such a compound as widow making is not normally or choice by the poet, some words may have to be snorted, in this incidence parts of words are omitted, such as;
e usage which such a compound as widow making is not normally or choice by the poet, some words may have to be snorted, in this incidence parts of words are omitted, such as;
- The removal of the initial part of a word – Ephesians e.g. ‘its instead of its is
- The removal of the medial part of a word – Apocalypse e.g. Nev instead of never
- The removal of the final part of a word syncope oft’ instead of often
- Removal of words with no importance – elision
b. Dialectical deviation
This is the borrowing of features of socially or regionally defined dialects. It is commonly used story teachers humanists, and poets. For the poet, dialect may serve a number of purposes in its usage it evokes flavors and a sense of belonging to the society which reads the poem. A good example is the poem the socialists by Richard mabala.
It had been afraid to draw close dressed as I was in working clothes, But fired by such moving words of commitments approached each Bandung and asked him if they would spare a few hours to help us dig our new irrigation ditch
c. Grammatical Deviations
This is the deviation from the normal grammatical rules in order to suit the requirement of the poem. A good example of this re–arrangement of syntactic elements in a irregular order is what we call “hyper baton, This is done by placing an adjectives after the noun it qualifies, Likewise jumbled structures of clauses are sometimes used in verses. They are taken for granted. This can be seen in the poem “The diverting History of john Gulpin” written by Cowper.
John Gulpin was a citizen of credit and renown
A train – band captain eke he was a
famous of London town
John Gulpin’s spouse said to her dear
“Though wedded we have been”
These twice ten tedious years yet we
“No holiday have seen”
The sections underlined contain the main clause elements which are S for subject, C for compliment and V for verb which impose as in ordinary speech would certainly take the order S V C
However Cowper gives were three separate salvation of that order CVS CSV SCV
d. Archaism
This is the deviation of the language of the Historical period. A poet is not restricted to the language of his or her own periods; widely applauded poets make use of archaism. James Joyce thought a writer must be familiar with the languages history.
T.S. Eliot expressed a similar idea when he argued that the significance and appreciation of the poet is the appreciation of his relationship to the dead poets and artists. This means that many poets have felt that they share the same language, same communicative media as poets of earlier generations, whatever changes the language may have undergone in the mean time.
Archaism is therefore the survival of the language of the past into the language of the past into the language of the present the archaic by Aristotle and has long persisted through much of the history of English poetry.
Poets like Spencer and Milton played a leading role in the establishment of these rational patterns of wages the traditional has been kept allies in poetry by such words such
- Behold meaning see or look
- Betimes meaning sometimes
- Damsel meaning small
- Stetson meaning often
- Are’ meaning error
- Fain meaning act like
- Oft – often
- Smith – hit, kill
- Unto – to me you
- Sounder – there
e. Graphologist/Orthographic Deviation
This is the line by line arrangement of words of the printed poem with irregular. The printed line just like the printed stanza is different in its arrangement when it is compared to stanza or a paragraph in prose.
The line in a stanza is an independent unit which is capable of communication on idea; it is also capable of interacting without the use of standard units of punctuation
Good examples of poets who use graph logical deviations are William Charles Williams and E.E comings.
Orthographical deviation: Is the discarding of capital letters and punctuations were conventional prose cables for the use.
A good example of a poet using orthographical deflation is E.E comings. According to them the used for capital letters spacing and punctuation is an expresses device and not just symbols to the used in writing
Seeker of truth by E.E comings
Seeker of truth
Follow no path
All paths lead where
Truth is here
When graphologist deviation is employed and ambiguity arises from a clash between the units of sentences indicated by line action and by syntax.
By elimination the poem above ends with statements Truth is here but according to syntax “truth is must belong to the clause that begun in the previous line and so here is left on its own as an explanatory conclusion.
The significance of the poem puts or lies on the ambiguity which could not have arisen if the poet had used conventional capitalization and functions.
–Tone: Is the writer’s attitude toward the subject he/she is writing about. It can happy, angry lovely, seared, excited, suspicious etc.
–MOOD: Is the feeling or atmosphere perceived by the reader. OR. Is the feeling the read gets when reading something. It can be scary mood, anger, pity, choppiness, fun
-IMAGERY: Words or phrases that appeal to any series or any combination of senses.
– PERSONIFICATION: Is a figure of speech which endows inanimate objects with human traits OR abilities.
E.g.:- When whole water dapped our cringing brow
In justice strides forth with a sure step
E.g.:- When whole water dapped our cringing brow
In justice strides forth with a sure step
– Point – of View: The poets / author point – of view concentrates on the vantage point of the speaker or teller the stone/ or poem
- 1st person the speaker is a character in the set or poem
and tells it from his/her perspective (uses “1) - 3nd person limited the speaker is not part of story but tells about the other character but limits information about what one character sees and feels.
- 3rd Person omniscient. The speaker is not part the of story, but is able to know” and describe what all characters are thiriking
TASK: Add more ten (10) poetic devices you know
TYPES OF POETRY.
Generally poems / poetry can be group into two broad types. These are:-
- Traditional poetry/ closed from poem
- Modem poetry / open form poem.
i) TRADITIONAL POETRY/ CLOSED FORM POEMS
these are poems which strictly follow ancient rulers and regulation of composing a poem. Rules and regulations like; balance in the number of words per stanza, rhyming pattern, rhythm and balance in the number of words in each line of every stanza.
these are poems which strictly follow ancient rulers and regulation of composing a poem. Rules and regulations like; balance in the number of words per stanza, rhyming pattern, rhythm and balance in the number of words in each line of every stanza.
ii) MODEM POETRY/ OPEN FORM
These are poems which are not strict as the traditional ones in obeying all the rules and regulations of composing a poem.
NB: Some of the modern poems have rhymes if you find a modern poem which has rhymes then it it is not a FREE VERSE poem because a free verse poem is a poem which has no rhyme.
Also it should be noted that, Rational and modern has nothing to do with time. A poem may be composed today and yet be regarded as Traditional poem. The vice versa is true.
However, poetry can further be categorized basing on form and content. If you categorize /classifies poem in this approach the following are the type you can have:-
i)NARRATIVE POEM
This poetry tells a story. It include other types like epic, ballad, allegory/ and simple narratives Example in Always a suspect” the poet tells us a story of one Blackman in South Africa.
In the ”Shebeen Queen” the poet tells the story of the queen collecting her money. Etc.
ii) DIDACTIC POEM
This is a poem whose aim is to instruct the reader rather than an appeal to his imaginative understand. This poem aims at giving a lesson to the reader so as to move them (change) usually talk about political or social maters. For example. “Your pain (by Armando Gaebuza)
iii) LYRICAL POETRY
These are poems which express the thoughts and particularly the feelings of the poet. So it deals with the internal world of the poet. These can be poems of love, death, torture etc. For
instance the poem “I live you Gentle one” or ‘Song of common lover” (by Ralph Botanizer and Flaring Renovo) respectively.
instance the poem “I live you Gentle one” or ‘Song of common lover” (by Ralph Botanizer and Flaring Renovo) respectively.
iv) SONNET POETRY
Is a lyric poem that contains 14 (fourteen) lines. These lines are divided into two groups. The first eight lines are called Octet and the remaining six lines are called sestet.
Is a lyric poem that contains 14 (fourteen) lines. These lines are divided into two groups. The first eight lines are called Octet and the remaining six lines are called sestet.
A good example of this is (If we must die” (by C. Mackey)
v) DESCRIPTIVE POETRY
Is a poem which tells about the outlook of or people or certain situation or events? For instance “Dying child” (by Lwamba)
vi) BALLAD POETRY.
Is a narrative song with the recurrent refrain it is usually a song that tells a story. It’s like a drama as it is in the form of conversation, when you sing it you will find as if here are two people talking to each other in turns.
Example “Ballad of the land lords” (by Langston Auger.
Ballads are tells which touch upon they can be about legends, love passion, battles, human conflicts and even super natural events. They were most popular in the fourteenth to the seventieth century. Many popular ballads describing conflicts were composed in the 15th and 16th century and they were about the conflict between the sots and the English.
Ballads are tells which touch upon they can be about legends, love passion, battles, human conflicts and even super natural events. They were most popular in the fourteenth to the seventieth century. Many popular ballads describing conflicts were composed in the 15th and 16th century and they were about the conflict between the sots and the English.
Characteristics of a Ballad
- They are usual written in four line stanzas.
- They are written in dramatic question and answer dialogue to raise emotion of listeners.
- They often have a refrain.
- Probably the Ballads developed from oral tradition (rational songs) this helps to give the narration a smooth flow and serves to intensify or to increase the dramatic; mostly the narrator remains pensive until the talk reaches its tragic climax. The narrator often refrains from making any moral comment, he doesn’t judge, he just stays there.
- The audience draw their own conclusion.
- Due to passage from one generation to another by word of mouth, the words sometimes change giving each ballad its variation.
vii) EPIC POETRY
This is a long narrative poem presenting characters of high position and adventures normally an epic poem has a central heroic figure whose relation with other characters develops episodes which are important to the history of a national or place.
One theory of epics claims that the first epic took shape from the scattered words of various unknown poets and through their usage in time the episodes were melded into an ordered sequence. This theory has led to the belief that an epic is a product of a single genius who gives its structure and expression.
Epics without certain authorship are called folk epics both folk and art epics share a group a of characteristics
- The hero is an important figure of national or international importance and of great historical or legendary significance.
- The setting is vast, covering great nations the world or the inverse.
- The action consists of deeds of great or seen supernatural courage.
- Supernatural forces interest themselves into the action and intervene from time to time
- A style of sustained elevation and simplicity is used
6. The epic poet recounts the deeds of the hero with a measure of objectivity.
viii) ODE
Is a poem that either address a person or a thing or celebrating a certain event. For instance if one compose poem for one’s wedding.
ix) ELEGY
Is a lyric poem that expresses sadness about someone who has died so all poems composed for purpose are called ELEGY.
Generally these are some of the categories of poems as there are many ways/approaches of categorizing poems. It should be noted that one poem may fall in several kinds of poetry depending
on how one may approach it.
on how one may approach it.
HOW TO COMPOSE A POEM
For a person to compose a good poem one must know all the features of poetry.
– Select a suitable title of your poem in a condensed way but gives summary of your poem.
– Know the type of the poem you are composing.
– Pack your massages in verses. Note that a verse/ line in a poem is not necessarily to be a sentence.
– Know the type of the poem you are composing.
– Pack your massages in verses. Note that a verse/ line in a poem is not necessarily to be a sentence.
– Use words economically so words that are metaphorical or symbolic are inevitable. AS the poet you need to use words that you think earn best present the message you intended to
-Use imagery to appeal at least one of the five senses of organ such as touch. hears, smell, see, and test. These words are as important as they act as spices in your work.
-Reread the poem see to how it produces the rhythm.
-Reread the poem see to how it produces the rhythm.
TASK:
Compose a lyric poem.
Compose a lyric poem.
FORM AND CONTENT IN LITERARY WORK
These are the key concepts to consider when analyzing literary work. Any literary work must have form and content. There is no way one can separate the two concepts understanding form and content will help you to produce your own literary works and easily decipher. The works produced by other artists.
- FORM:
This part contains all techniques used by the artist for artistic effect. In this part the artist choose the best techniques that will enable him/her to decipher the message to the readers/ audience. It is impossible for the work of art to exist without form.
Form contains the following elements style, plot, flashback, foreshadowing, Characters, suspend, language, setting, point of view etc. Through these elements and artist communicate to
his/her reader’s listeners or viewers.
his/her reader’s listeners or viewers.
i) STYLE
This is the way the author decide to present his/her work, in this; every author has his/her unique way of writing. For instance Ngugi wa Thing’o in his novel “Grain of wheat” uses biblical quotation. So if you observe. Many works of Ngugi you will conclude that Ngugi prefer biblical question in his work that been the case we say this is Ngugi style.
Not only that but also Chinua Achebe has the tendency of using Igbo proverbs, vocabularies and mixing of languages so again this is Achebe’s Style.
Generally, style can be achieved by choice of vocabularies, use of certain figure of speech, incorporating feature of Oral literature like songs, proverbs and other Oral literature genres.
NB: One can be in a good position to say, this is a style of a certain author only if one has gone a number of readings of that particular author.
ii) FORESHADOWING.
This is the technique by the hint of the action which will follow later in the story is given. For example you may be reading a play and find some where a Knife is show. As we continue reading it
we find that one of the characters has used it to kill him/herself. The we conduce that it is a fore shadowing.
we find that one of the characters has used it to kill him/herself. The we conduce that it is a fore shadowing.
iii)SETTING:
This can be described in-terms, of place and time Basing on the occurrence of events presented in the work, so setting depends on time and place for example the novel “The Beautiful. Ones are not yet. Born” is set in Ghana offer independence. There are clues that can help a student/ reader to identify the setting of a particular work. As follow:-
– Actual names of place and people.
– Physical features
– The actual history of the place
-Social context in which events take place e.g. church, school, Wedding ceremony.
-The authors name and history. E.g.:- Atufigwegwe, Mwaifuge, Twikasige etc.
-The culture of people at that particular place described. E.g.:- Type of food eaten, type of clothes worn, economic activities carried out, ways of worshiping, type of dances, the way people
marry and bury dead bodies etc
marry and bury dead bodies etc
– So there are some of the clues that can assist learns to identify the setting of a given literary work.
iv) PLOT
This is the arrangement of e vents in a literary work. Plot out to have unit, means incidents are supposed to be arranged in a good mariner to shed how those incidents are related.
Plot may be chronological or mixed up chronological in the sense that incident are arranges in series basing on the way they occurred ie from he beginning to the end (1, 2, 3, 4…)
Plot may be chronological or mixed up chronological in the sense that incident are arranges in series basing on the way they occurred ie from he beginning to the end (1, 2, 3, 4…)
Mixed plot means that incidents are not arranged chronologically not in series. In this you may find the incident that supposes to be presented at the beginning is found at the end or middle. For ex ample you may be introduced the death of a certain main character then about his/her birth and at the end about his/her diseases.
Plot has five stages/ parts these are expository, rising action/ confrontations, climax/ point of not he turn, falling action and resolution.
Thus, Dramatic plot has the following structure. Point of no return/climax.
NB: If the work of art follow this sequence e then it is chronological plot the viscera is also true.
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