Reading and Writing about Poetry

Reading and Writing about PoetryENC 1102Brown7/15/20121What is Poetry?UndefinableUnmistakableIs Shakespeare poetry?What about Who Let the Dogs Out?2What is Poetry?Uses more concentrated languageRequires closer reading than fictionOften helps to read out loudOften helps to paraphrase, or rewrite using your own prosePoetic DevicesFigures of SpeechDenotation = literal meaningsBird = a type of animalConnotation = associated meaningsBird = fragility, vulnerability, the sky, or freedomMight vary from time, place and cultureLight vs. lite beerSimile: comparison of two seemingly unlike objects, using like, as, etc.Metaphor: like a simile, but without the linking wordsPersonaThe speaker may or may not be the same as the poetSometimes the poet will create a persona, or character (similar to narrator), that tells the poemPay attention to how favorably you respond to the personaPay attention to the personas situationPay attention to the personas dictionExample: Eminems Stan

DictionPoetic dictionExtremely elevated word choices (e.g. Shakespeare)Formal dictionDignified, impersonal and elevated word choices (e.g. wedding invitation)Middle dictionLess formal word choices (e.g. college paper)Informal dictionConversational, and colloquial (slang) word choices

Repetition and RhymeAlliteration: repeat letter soundsConsonance: repeat consonant soundsAssonance: repeat vowel soundsEnd rhyme and rhyme scheme: pattern of rhyming words at the end of each lineRhythm and MeterRhythm refers to stressed and unstressed syllables Stressed get more emphasis than unstressedThe pattern of stresses makes up the meterWe measure the meter using scansionWe typically use to mark unstressed and for stressed

Units of MeterA foot is the basic unit of meter, and usually consists of two syllables:Iamb: Trochee: Anapest: Dactyl: Spondee: Iambic feet are the most common in English poetryUnits of MeterA line is measured by the number of feet it containsMonometer: one footDimeter: two feetTrimeter: three feetTetrameter: four feetPentameter: five feetHexameter: six feetAn iambic line of five feet is thus iambic pentameterUnrhymed iambic pentameter is called blank verse (used in Shakespeares plays)

Other things to considerSetting TitleTheme(s)SymbolismAllusions (i.e. references to other literary works)StyleToneIrony