Poetry

Terms

1. total effect: overall impact of a poem on the reader
2. form: distinctive way words of a poem are arranged
3. traditional poem: poem with a classical form of rhyme, meter, and language
4. organic poem: poem in a form that is less strict than a traditional poem and arises naturally from its subject matter
   
5. line: basic units of a poem made up of words arranged in a row
6. stanza: group of lines which usually have a fixed length, meter, or rhyme scheme (like a paragraph in a poem)
7. rhyme: repetition of sounds near each other, often at the end of a line
• visual rhyme: looks like it'll rhyme, but it doesn't
• approximate/near rhyme: almost rhymes
• A poem's pattern of rhymes formed by end rhymes is called the rhyme scheme.
8. rhythm: repetition of beats you can hear established by the stressed syllables (meter) in a line of poetry
9. meter: pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables within the lines of a poem
10. scanning: marking the meter of a poem
• unstressed syllables are marked with a ˘
• stressed syllables are marked with a ´
11. foot: measuring unit in poetry made up of stressed and unstressed syllables
12. iambic pentameter: a meter pattern in which lines are made up of five iambs (10 syllables, baBOOM/baBOOM/baBOOM/baBOOM/baBOOM)
• iamb: type of foot consisting of an unstressed syllable and a stressed syllable
  
13. trochaic tetrameter: form in which some of Shakespeare's prose passages are written in his plays (8 syllables, BOOMba/BOOMba/BOOMba/BOOMba).
14. literal language: language that uses words exactly according to their meanings
15. figurative language: language that uses words deviating from their proper definitions to achieve a heightened effect (uses literary devices like similes, metaphor, and hyperboles)
• simile: a comparison using the words like, as, or if
• metaphor: a comparison without using a linking word
• personification: description of a non-human with human traits
• hyperbole: exaggeration
• imagery: words that cause a sensory experience
16. repetition: sound, word, phrase, or line that is repeated for emphasis or unity
17. alliteration: repetition of consonant sounds, most often at the beginning of words
18. assonance: repetition of vowel sounds within a sentence
19. consonance: repetition of consonant sounds within a sentence
20. free verse: poem with no set meter or rhyme
21. blank verse: un-rhyming verse written in iambic pentameter
22. ode: lyrical poem which is not lengthy, and celebrates/admires someone or something or speaks of justice (serious subject)
23. ballad: short poem of musical and emotional appeal that tells a story
24. epic: long, narrative poem which is usually related to the heroic deeds of a being (characterized by length and a hero)
• Examples are the Iliad and the Odyssey.
25. sonnet: lyric poem (about feelings) of Italian origin with 14 lines with 10 syllables each written in iambic pentameter; it is the most important and influential verse in English
• Petrarchan sonnets: classic Italian sonnets Petrarch dedicated to Laura
• Shakespearean sonnets: form in which Shakespeare wrote, stretched conversation (3 quatrains and a couplet in Iambic pentameter)
26. caesura: deliberate rhetorical pause in a line, to emphasize; can be marked by a comma, a space, a dash, etc.
27. couplet: 2 line stanza; it usually rhymes
28. quatrain: stanza or poem with four lines (usually rhyme ABAB)
• quintain: 5 line stanza
• sestet: 6 line stanza
• septet: 7 line stanza
• octet: 8 line stanza
29. enjambment: 'run-on line', or an 'incomplete' line without punctuation
30. monologue: a speech given to another in which only one person speaks
31. soliloquy: a person who speaks to themselves, often about their inner thoughts and feelings
32. aside: in a play, something that is meant for only the audience to hear
33. Hamartia: tragic flaw that causes the hero to die (seen in Shakespearean tragedies)

Shakespeare's World (1564-1616)

• Shakespeare is considered the greatest writer in the English language by many.
• He was born in Stratford-on-Avon, London on April 26, 1564 and died, aged 52, at the same place on April 23, 1616.
• He married Anne Hathaway in 1582 and had three kids.
• He wrote:
• 37 plays (like Romeo and Juliet, Richard III, Hamlet, Henry VIII, Julius Caesar, and A Midsummer Night's Dream)
• 154 sonnets (first published in 1609 without Shakespeare's permission)
• A sonnet is a 14 line lyric poem written in iambic pentameter.  It is the most important verse in English poetry.
• A lyric poem tends to be about feelings.
• The Shakespearean Sonnet is the form of sonnet he used, which is divided into four stanzas:
• The first three are 4 lines long (quatrains) rhymed ABAB
• The fourth part has 2 lines that rhyme (couplet)
• The 154 sonnets Shakespeare wrote can be grouped into three categories:
• The Fair Youth Sonnets (like Sonnet 18)
• The Dark Lady Sonnets
• The Greek Lady Sonnets
• Shakespeare paved the way for modern romantic poetry; his sonnets were unpopular until the 19th century (Romanticism).
• His plays have some elements in common:
• They're often tragedies.
• Have a tragic hero and Hamartia (tragic flaw that causes the hero to die).
• Contain humor mixed in (comic relief).
• Use allusion.
• Have a foil character that contrasts and highlights another one's personality.
• May contain soliloquies, monologues, and asides.
• Written in blank verse and iambic pentameter.
• Foreshadow events.
• Are ironic (contrast between appearance and actuality).
• Dramatic irony (reader is aware of something the character is not)
• Situational irony (contrast between what the reader expects and what happens)
• Verbal irony (saying one thing and meaning another)
• Shakespeare's rhythmic poetry is widely considered a precursor to hip hop.

Piano by D.H. Lawrence

• It is a traditional lyric poem written in 3 quatrains.
• Enjambment can be seen.
• A woman sings, smiles and plays the piano while a child sits under the piano and presses her feet.
• This makes the poetic voice, who is now an adult, reminisce about how Sundays were when he was a child.  This makes him cry.

Fifteen by William Stafford

• It is an organic poem that uses the repetition of "I was fifteen." at the end of stanzas.
• Enjambment can be seen.
• The motorcycle is personified as a 'companion'.
• The poetic voice talks about how, when he was 15 years old, he saw a pretty motorcycle on its side in the street.  He thought about stealing it, but ended up helping out the owner, who had flipped over and fell.
• The owner had blood in his hands, but he called the boy a good man and left.

Tonight I Can Write... by Pablo Neruda

• Pablo Neruda was a famous poet and politician from Chile.
• It is the 20th poem of Neruda's book 20 poemas de amor y una canción desesperada and was originally written in Spanish, called Puedo escribir los versos más tristes esta noche.
• It is a love poem.
• The poetic voice remembers moments he spent with a woman he loved but lost.
• He writes 'the saddest lines' because he's lost her and is heartbroken.
• The poetic voice says he no longer loves the woman, but that he had loved her very much.  He says this will be the last she makes him suffer, and these verses the last he'll write for her.

Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare

• The poem is dedicated to a male Shakespeare loves, and it compares that loved one to a beautiful summer day (but the loved one is even greater).
• The person is "more lovely and more temperate" than the summer's day, so the loved one is even more beautiful than a summer day and doesn't go away (like a summer day does).
• Shakespeare states in the poem that the poem will live forever and give said loved one life as long as it's seen and read.
• He gives immortality to his loved one.
• The volume was dedicated to a Mr. W.H.; it is speculated the poem is dedicated to Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton, as Shakespeare seemed to have an affection towards him.

Sonnet XXX of Fatal Interview by Edna St. Vincent Millay

• This poem's first line is "Love is not all: it is not meat nor drink", and it captures its basic essence.
• This poem says you can't live off love alone, but that if you don't have it you may die.
• It's very important, but it's not the only necessity.
• It poses the question of "If you could sell your love for peace, or trade a memory of a night of love for food, would you?".
• The poetic voice does not think it would.

Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

• Is a play about the assassination of Julius Caesar and its aftermath.
• Mostly written in blank verse (un-rhyming iambic pentameter), but commoners (as well as Brutus in the funeral oration) speak in ordinary prose.
• "The evil that men do lives after them / The good is oft interred with their bones"
• It is set in Rome and Philippi.
• Its style is narration, dialogue, and introspection.
• It doesn't have a point of view, as it's composed entirely of dialogues and soliloquies.
• Its literary elements include:
• Soliloquies
• Cassius speaks of how he can manipulate Brutus
• Mark Antony speaks over Caesar's dead body about avenging him
• Symbolism
• lions walking around Rome
• Irony
• Mark Antony repeatedly saying 'Brutus is an honorable man' (verbal irony)
• Foreshadowing
• omens
• Calpurnia's dream
• Soothsayer's warning
• Metaphors
• 'lend me your ears'
• Inference
• Calpurnia's infertility (we can infer it from something Caesar says)
• Rhetoric (persuasive discourse)
• Antony and Brutus' speeches
• Personification
• Caesar says danger should fear him
• Hyperbole
• Weeping (crying) that will make the river overflow
• Allusion
• Cassius is compared to a Trojan god
• Cassius says Caesar will ride with Ate (god of mischief) when he dies
• Foil characters (contrast and highlight each other)
• Brutus and Cassius
• Benvolio and Tybalt
• The play allows two perspectives regarding the protagonist and antagonist.
• Caesar may be the protagonist, and the Conspirators the antagonist.
• There is a direct conflict between these, as the Conspirators plotted against him and killed him.
• Brutus may be the protagonist, and Mark Antony the antagonist.
• Brutus and Mark Antony are in direct opposition and at war with each other.  Brutus betrays Mark Antony by killing Caesar, but Mark Antony betrays him back with his manipulative words at Caesar's funeral.
• The story's plot is as follows:
• Exposition:
• Rome is celebrating; some people are with Caesar and others against him.
• Rising Action:
• Cassius convinces Brutus to join him and the conspiracy is formed.
• Climax:
• Caesar is stabbed.
• Mark Antony speaks at his funeral.
• Falling Action:
• Civil war ensues.
• Brutus and Cassius experience tension.
• Mark Antony and Octavius prepare for war at Philippi.
• Resolution:
• Portia, Titinus, Cassius, and Brutus commit suicide.
• Mark Antony praises Brutus as the "greatest Roman that ever lived".
  
• The key message of the story is that 'every action has consequences' and that 'violence/chaos only leads to more chaos'.
• The story's themes include:
• moral corruption
• betrayal
• revenge
• loyalty vs. disloyalty
• appearance vs. reality
• morality
• family relations
• love
• relationship between thought and action
• violence
• murder/suicide
• honor/dishonor
• friendship
• The key conflict in the story is that avenging Caesar's death leads to great suffering and destruction.  Some of the most notable conflicts in the story are:
• Caesar vs. Conspirators (man vs. man)
• Caesar vs. Cassius (man vs. man)
• Cassius vs. Brutus (man vs. man)
• Brutus vs. Antony (man vs. man)
• Brutus vs. his inner conflicts (man vs. himself)
• Brutus and the Conspirators vs. the Roman people (man vs. society)
• Mark Antony vs. the Roman people (man vs. society)
• Caesar vs. the Roman people (man vs. society)
• Caesar vs. the omens (man vs. nature)
• Calpurnia vs. superstition (man vs. nature)