Approaching Poetry

Flashcards for key vocabulary and concepts discussed in the lecture notes.

Narrative Poetry

Tells a story, with clearly developed and structured plots;

• Epic long poem

• Romance

• Ballad

Lyric Poetry

Mainly concerned with one event, impression, or idea;

• Riddles and charms

• Elegy

• Ode

• Sonnet

•

…

Lyric Poetry Definition

Poetry in which the poet writes about thoughts and feelings; often in the form of a song

Speaker/Persona/Lyric I

Voice in the poem

Diction

the words a person chooses to use in speaking or writing

Rhythm

Depends on length and internal arrangement of lines; Foot ; Metre

Foot (Poetry)

Unit of rhythm, depends on pattern on stressed and unstressed syllables

Metre

More or less regular rhythmical pattern of a line / poem

Line (Poetry Definition)

A formal structural division in a poem

Rhythm: Types of Feet

• Iamb: 1 unstressed 1 stressed syllable, ex. “defeat”

• Spondee: two stressed syllables, ex. “headline”

• Trochee: 1 stressed 1 unstressed, ex. “listen”

• Dactyl: 1 stressed 2 unstressed, ex. “Birmingham”

• Anapest: 2 unstressed 1 stressed, ex. “intercede”

• Iamb and anapest → rising rhythm

• Trochee and dactyl → falling rhythm

Iamb

One unstressed, one stressed syllable; e.g., 'defeat'

Spondee

Two stressed syllables; e.g., 'headline'

Trochee

One stressed, one unstressed syllable; e.g., 'listen'

Dactyl

One stressed, two unstressed syllables; e.g., 'Birmingham'

Anapest

Two unstressed, one stressed syllable; e.g., 'intercede'

Rising Rhythm

Iamb and anapest have a rising rhythm

Falling Rhythm

Trochee and dactyl have a falling rhythm

Rhythm: Types of Metre

• Dimeter: two feet

• Trimeter: three feet

• Tetrameter: four feet

• Pentameter: five feet

• Hexameter: six feet

Dimeter

Two feet

Trimeter

Three feet

Tetrameter

Four feet

Pentameter

Five feet

Hexameter

Six feet

Scansion

Analysis of metrical patterns of verse

• Determining metrical feet → mark stressed and unstressed

syllables of a line according to natural emphasis of words

• Determining type of meter (how many feet are there per line?)

• Classification according to rhyme scheme

• Classification according to number of lines per stanza

Iambic Pentameter

Most common metrical pattern in English poetry (two syllables — the first is unstressed, and the second is stressed (da-DUM)

Rhythm:

Breaks and Continuation

• Caesura

• End-stopped line

• Run-on line

Caesura

A pause or break within a line of verse

End-stopped Line

A line ending in a full stop or definite pause

Run-on Line

A line having no end punctuation or natural pause

Rhyme

Identity of sounds

Rhyme Functions

Source of aesthetic satisfaction and assists in the actual structure of a poem and mnemonic function

Types of rhyme 7

• End rhyme

• Internal rhyme

• Single rhyme (between single stressed syllables)

• Double rhyme (rhyme on two syllables, the second of them unstressed)

• Eye rhyme

• Half rhyme

• Historical rhyme

End Rhyme

Rhyme at the end of lines

Internal Rhyme

Rhyme within a line

Single Rhyme

Rhyme between single stressed syllables

Double Rhyme

Rhyme on two syllables, the second unstressed

Eye Rhyme

Rhyme that looks like it should rhyme, but doesn't

Half Rhyme

Imperfect rhyme in which the final
consonants of stressed syllables agree but the vowel
sounds do not match e.g. comes and Tombs

Historical Rhyme

Rhyme based on pronunciation from a previous time

Rhyme Schemes

• aabb (pair rhyme / rhyming couplets)

• abab (alternate rhyme)

• abba (embracing rhyme)

Types of Verse

• Blank verse: unrhymed iambic pentameter

• Alexandrine: line of iambic hexameter, often used

at the end of a stanza

• Free verse: no regular rhythm or rhyme

Blank Verse

Unrhymed iambic pentameter

Alexandrine

Line of iambic hexameter, often at the end of a stanza

Free Verse

No regular rhythm or rhyme

Stanza

a paragraph of a poem where the line sharing the same structure

Stanza Forms

• Couplet: 2 lines

• Tercet / Triplet: 3 lines

• Quatrain: 4 lines

• Ballad Stanza: 4 lines, 2nd and 4th line rhyme

• Sonnets (Italian, Spenserian, Shakespearean): 14

lines, iambic pentameter

Couplet

Two lines

Tercet / Triplet

Three lines

Quatrain

Four lines

Ballad Stanza

Four lines, 2nd and 4th line rhyme

Sonnet

14 lines, iambic pentameter

Acoustic Features

• Assonance

• Consonance

• Alliteration

• Dissonance

Assonance

Repetition of vowel sounds

Consonance

Repetition of consonant sounds

Alliteration

Repetition of initial consonant sounds

Dissonance

Harsh, inharmonious sounds

Tropes

Involve a change of meaning

Literal meaning

Actual meaning of a word or phrase

Figurative Meaning

An expression that uses words in a nonliteral way

Figures of Similarity

Direct or indirect comparison with two parts: tenor and vehicle

Tropes: Figures of Similarity

• Direct or indirect comparison

• Two parts: tenor and vehicle

• Tenor = idea that is expressed

• Vehicle = secondary figurative term

Tenor

Idea that is expressed

Vehicle

Secondary figurative term

Simile

Comparison using 'like' or 'as'

Metaphor

Equation of one thing with another without actual comparison; without using "like" or "as.

Personification

Giving human qualities to non-human things

Symbol

Is itself AND stands for something else

Other Tropes 10

• Metonymy

• Synecdoche

• Euphemism

• Hyperbole

• Irony

• Litotes

• Oxymoron

• Paradox

• Pun

• Ambiguity

Synecdoche

a part stands for the whole, or the whole stands for a part. e.g."The White House issued a statement." → "The White House" stands for the U.S. President or government (the whole building represents the people in it

Euphemism

way of saying something politely or gently instead of using a harsh or offensive term.

Hyperbole

Exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally

Irony

something happens differently from what you expect or when what’s said is the opposite of what’s meant.

Litotes

saying something positive in a negative way. e.g. “Not bad." → Means good.

Oxymoron

two opposite or contradictory words are used together to create a unique or thought-provoking effect. e.g.Deafening silence/Bittersweet

Paradox

a statement that seems impossible or contradictory, but it actually makes sense or reveals a truth.

Pun

funny use of a word that has more than one meaning or sounds like another word. e.g.Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana."
("Flies" is used in two different ways.)

Ambiguity

something is unclear or can be understood in different ways.

Rhetorical Figures

ways of using words differently from the usual to create a special effect, without changing their basic meaning.

Repetition

Sounds, syllables, words, phrases etc. are repeated

Anaphora

starting several lines or sentences with the same words to create emphasis and rhythm.

Parallelism

using the same sentence structure to make writing clear, balanced, and rhythmic. e.g. "She likes cooking, jogging, and reading."
(All verbs are in the same form.)

Chiasm

saying something, then repeating it in reverse order. e.g. "Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country."

Climax

the point in a story or argument where the tension or excitement reaches its highest point.

Ellipsis

when a word or phrase is left out because it's not needed — you can guess it from the rest of the sentence.

Inversion

A reversal of the usual order of words

Poetry Slam

a fun, energetic event where poets perform poems out loud and compete for scores or applause.

Uptown Poetry Slam

First official poetry slam organized in Chicago by Marc Kelly Smith in 1986

Rap Music as Poetry

Some scholars see popular songs, particularly rap music, as a contemporary, and hugely popular, form of poetry

Metonymy

using a word that’s related to the thing you're talking about, instead of the thing itself. e.g. "The crown will find an heir." → "The crown" refers to the king or queen