English 1201 Poetry Unit Terminology
I. FORMS
Ballad – a type of narrative poem telling a popular emotional story, typically with four-line stanzas and a refrain/chorus; used broadly to mean romantic songs.
Blank Verse - unrhymed verse that closely resembles everyday conversation, is always in iambic pentameter, and is used in Shakespearean plays and other forms of drama.
Elegy – a memento mori, a poem dealing with things long past, of loss, of death, and sad things. Sometimes associated with eulogies and epitaphs, though not always quite that sad. (Ex. Elegy in a Country Churchyard)
Epic – a type of narrative poem that is long and is about historic or legendary people; it is like a legend, but in poetic form (Ex. Homer’s Iliad)
Free Verse – poetry that that is close to natural speech and that has no regular pattern of line length, rhyme or rhythm.
Lyric – a subjective, emotional poem with musical roots (rhythm or rhyme); Forms include ode and sonnets.
Narrative – a poem that tells a story (ex. ballad or epic).
Ode – a lyric poem, typically long and formal, with a complex structure. It offers praise of a scene or to a person. (Ex. Ode to Newfoundland)
Sonnet – a lyric poem with 14 lines, sometimes written in iambic pentameter.
The major types of sonnet are the Italian (Petrarchan) and the English (Shakespearean).
English Sonnet: Form - 3 quatrains (4 line stanzas), followed by a rhyming couplet (2 lines).
Italian Sonnet: Form – octave (8 lines), followed by a sestet (6 lines)
Generally, a question is posed or a problem is raised in the quatrains or octave, and the solution or answer is provided in the rhyming couplet or sestet.
villanelle is a dance form, accompanied by sung lyrics or an instrumental piece based on this dance form.
II. DEVICES (A). Sound Terminology
Alliteration – is the repetition of the same sound at the beginning of nearby words
Ex: sweet smell of success, do or die, safe and sound, falcon took flight with flair Assonance – is the repetition of the same or similar vowel sounds within nearby words for a musical effect.
Example: “We chatted and laughed as we ambled along”.
Consonance – is the repetition of the same or similar consonant sounds within nearby words for a musical effect.
Example: add-read, bill-ball, born-burn
Cacophony –refers to the use of words that combine sharp, harsh, hissing, or unmelodious sounds. They are often difficult to speak aloud. It is the opposite of euphony.
Example: crash, church, car, rocks
Euphony – refers to the soft, harmonious, pleasing sound of words - as opposed to cacophony. Example: "O star (the fairest one in sight)"; marshmellow, swallow
Onomatopoeia – is a literary device wherein the sound of a word echoes the sound it represents.
Example: crunch, drip, boom, buzz
Chorus – a refrain repeated after each stanza in a poem or song. Couplet – is a stanza of two lines, usually rhyming.
Iambic Pentameter – a metrical pattern in poetry which consists of five iambic feet per line. An iamb, or iambic foot, consists of one unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. (weak, strong) Example: Most of Shakespeare’s plays and his sonnets were in iambic pentameter. Melody – or musicality, refers to sound devices, the main one being rhyme.
Meter – is when a rhythmic pattern of stresses recurs in a poem.
Refrain – is a phrase repeated at intervals throughout a poem. A refrain may appear at the end of each stanza or at less regular intervals. It may be altered slightly at each appearance.
Example: In Lady of Shalott, the refrain is the "Lady of Shalott".
Rhyme Scheme – is the pattern of rhyme used in a poem, generally indicated by matching lowercase letters to show which lines rhyme. The letter "a" notes the first line, and all other lines rhyming with the first line. The first line that does not rhyme with the first, or "a" line, and all others that rhyme with this line, is noted by the letter "b", and so on. The rhyme scheme may follow a fixed pattern (as in a sonnet) or may be arranged freely according to the poet's requirements.
Rhythm – are recurrences of stressed and unstressed syllables at equal intervals, similar to meter.
Stanza – is a major subdivision in a poem. A stanza of two lines is called a couplet; a stanza of three lines is called a tercet; a stanza of four lines is called a quatrain.
(B.) Terms
Diction – is a writer’s choice of words, phrases, sentence structures, and figurative language, which combine to help create meaning.
Figurative Language –also known as the "ornaments of language," figurative language does not mean exactly what it says, but instead forces the reader to make an imaginative leap in order to comprehend an author's point. It usually involves a comparison between two things that may not, at first, seem to relate to one another. It includes personification, metaphors and similes (PMS).
Example: Macbeth refers to life as "a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage."
Example: I strolled over to the park = I went to the park
Imagery – is a word or group of words in a literary work which appeal to one or more of the senses: sight, taste, touch, hearing, and smell. The use of images serves to intensify the impact of the work.
Example: Throughout the play of Macbeth, Shakespeare effectively uses blood imagery to create suspense and horror.
Irony – takes many forms. In irony of situation, the result of an action is the reverse of what the actor expected. In dramatic irony, the audience knows something that the characters in the drama do not. In verbal irony, the contrast is between the literal meaning of what is said and what is meant.
Ex: D.I. occurs when Macbeth plans Duncan’s murder while feigning loyalty to the king. While Duncan does not know of Macbeth’s plans, the audience does. Metaphor – invokes a comparison between two things: one is usually the subject at hand, and the other is something associated with it. The comparison is not stated directly but implied (no use of ‘like’ or ‘as’.)
Example: I am an island.
Simile – is a figure of speech that takes the form of a comparison between two unlike quantities for which a basis for comparison can be found, and which uses the words "like" or "as".
Example: I am like an island.
Dominant Impression (or image) – is the feature or image that strikes you the most about a piece (or one you notice first). It also tends to remain with you the longest.
Example: The dominant impression from Macbeth is the ruinous effects of ambition and ruthlessness.
Hyperbole – is an exaggeration or overstatement.
Ex. Dog, with teeth the size of axe blades, began chewing the seat of my pants. Oxymoron – is a combination of contradictory terms.
Example: In Romeo and Juliet, "O brawling love! O loving hate!"
Pun – is a play on words wherein a word is used to convey two meanings at the same time. Title (significance) – is how the title relates to the work and what new insights can be gained into the work when one considers the title.
Example: If a work is named "Shadows", then you would search for use of light and dark in the piece because they would help you gain insight.
Tone –expresses the author's attitude toward his or her subject.
Steps to Analyze a Poem
1. Read the poem through once, not stopping to worry about words you do not know. 2. Mark any words you are unfamiliar with. Look them up.
3. Read again. Make note of any figurative language (simile, metaphor, personification) and other poetic devices. Make notes in the margins or in your notebook. What might this language mean?
4. The third time, read each stanza and make notes on the literal meaning of the lines in your own words.
5. Read the poem once more, you should have a better understanding. Think about the theme, tone and mood.
In Class Work:
Respond to the following questions using complete sentences in your notebook. This work will be checked in class for completion.
Poem #1: Daffodils By: William Wordsworth
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
And twinkle on the milky way, They stretched in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but they Out-did the sparkling waves in glee: A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils.
1. Identify two (2) similes in the poem.
2. Identify two (2) examples of personification. 3. Define pensive and jocund.
4. Wordsworth uses punctuation (apostrophe) to control his metre. That is he alters the words he wants to use, in order to maintain the rhythm. Identify two (2) examples of this.
5. Wordsworth uses figurative language to paint a picture in the readers mind. Select your favorite image in this poem and justify your choice.
6. What is the tone of the poem? Explain how the author establishes this tone using two (2) specific references.
Poem #2: Dulce and Decorum Est By: Wilfred Own (Nelson English 10, p. 62)
1. Describe your reaction to the scene in this poem. 2. How are the men in the poem portrayed?
3. a) Identify three (3) examples of alliteration.
b) What is the overall effect of alliteration in this poem?
4. Identify a theme for this poem. Use two (2) specific references in your response.
1. What is the subject of the poem?
2. Provide three (3) examples of repetition from the poem. 3. Provide three (3) examples of metaphor from the poem. 4. Provide three (3) examples of allusion from the poem. 5. Provide a theme from the poem.
6. Provide an example of irony from the poem.
Poem #4: The Survivor By: Katherine Gallagher (p. 340 Sightlines text)
1. Is the poet in The Survivor a non-conformist? Explain. 2. Provide an example of metaphor.
3. Provide an example of personification. 4. What is the theme of the poem?
Poem #5 : Warren Pryor By: Alden Nowlan (p. 70 Sightlines text)
1. LINKS: Non-Conformity & Jail– In Poem # 4, The Survivor, the poet is jailed for her non-conformity. In what way is the son in Warren Pryor jailed?
2. Provide an example of irony. 3. Provide an example of metaphor. 4. Provide an example of simile. 5. Provide an example of connotation. 6. Provide the rhyme scheme.
Poem #6 will be provided as an assignment. Poetry and artistic visual test to follow.
Respond in complete sentences using your poetic terms and analyzing a poem handout for assistance.
SONNET 18
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimm'd;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st;
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
By: William Shakespeare1. What is the rhyme scheme of this poem? Does it follow the exact pattern of a Shakespearean sonnet? _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________
2. Define the word temperate.
_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________
3. The poet describes some ways in which a summer day might not be temperate. What are two of the ways he mentions?
4. The speaker says that all fair things in time become less lovely; they are, in effect, “untrimm’d.” What two causes of this loss of beauty are mentioned in the poem?
_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________
5. The speaker promises, however, that his love’s beauty will not disappear because this person will live in “eternal lines.” What specific “lines” is the poet referring to?
_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________
6. A paradox is a pair of facts that seem to contradict each other. In this sonnet, Shakespeare presents us with a paradox: while all things must die, his love will live forever. How does the couplet (the two rhyming lines) that ends the sonnet explain this apparent contradiction?
_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________
7. The sonnet is usually used to express a poet’s personal feelings or beliefs. List two beliefs about time or beauty that Shakespeare is expressing in the sonnet.
