DEFINITION OF ALLEGORY.doc

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DEFINITION OF ALLEGORY

An allegory is a whole world of symbols. Within a narrative form, which can be either in prose or verse, an allegory tells a story tread symbolically. You may have encountered The Faerie Queen by Edmund Spenser, or a short story by Nathaniel HawthorneRappacini’s Daughter, or maybe youve heard that The Wizard of Oz was originally an allegory. !nterpreting an allegory is complbecause you need to be aware of what each symbol in the narrative refers to. Allegories thus reinforce symbolic meaning, but cappreciated as good stories regardless of their allegorical meaning.

DEFINITION OF ALLITERATION

Alliteration occurs when the initial sounds of a word, beginning either with a consonant or a vowel, are repeated in close succes

E"amples# Athena and ApolloNate never $nows%eople who pen poetry

Note that the words only have to be close to one another# Alliteration that repeats and attempts to connect a number of words isthan a tongue&twister.

'he function of alliteration, li$e rhyme, might be to accentuate the beauty of language in a given conte"t, or to unite words or cothrough a $ind of repetition. Alliteration, li$e rhyme, can follow specific patterns. Sometimes the consonants aren(t always the inithey are generally the stressed syllables. Alliteration is less common than rhyme, but because it is less common, it can call ourword or line in a poem that might not have the same emphasis otherwise.

DEFINITION OF ASSONANCE

!f alliteration occurs at the beginning of a word and rhyme at the end, assonanceta$es the middle territory. Assonance occurs when the vowel sound within a wordmatches the same sound in a nearby word, but the surrounding consonantsounds are different. )'une) and )*une) are rhymes+ )tune) and )food) areassonant. 'he function of assonance is freuently the same as end rhyme oralliteration# All serve to give a sense of continuity or fluidity to the verse.

Assonance might be especially effective when rhyme is absent# !t gives the poetmore fle"ibility, and it is not typically used as part of a predetermined pattern. -i$ealliteration, it does not so much determine the structure or form of a poem+ rather,it is more ornamental.

Go to assonance exercise

See how assonance functions in "The Fish"

DEFINITION OF DENOTATION AND CONNOTATION

Denotation is when you mean what you say, literally. Connotation is createdwhen you mean something else, something that might be initially hidden. 'he

connotative meaning of a word is based on implication, or shared emotionalassociation with a word. Greasy is a completely innocent word# Some things, li$ecar engines, need to be greasy. ut greasy contains negative associations formost people, whether they are tal$ing about food or about people. /ften there aremany words that denote appro"imately the same thing, but their connotations arevery different. Innocent and genuine both denote an absence of corruption, butthe connotations of the two words are different# innocent is often associated with alac$ of e"perience, whereas genuine is not. 0onnotations are important in poetrybecause poets use them to further develop or complicate a poem(s meaning.

Go to denotation and connotation exercise

See how denotation and connotation function in "The Fish"

DEFINITION OF DICTION

http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/virtualit/poetry/assonance_ex.htmlhttp://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/virtualit/poetry/fish_elements/fish_assonance.htmlhttp://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/virtualit/poetry/denotate_ex.htmlhttp://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/virtualit/poetry/fish_elements/fish_denoteconnote.htmlhttp://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/virtualit/poetry/fish_elements/fish_assonance.htmlhttp://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/virtualit/poetry/denotate_ex.htmlhttp://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/virtualit/poetry/fish_elements/fish_denoteconnote.htmlhttp://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/virtualit/poetry/assonance_ex.html


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1iction refers to both the choice and the order of words. !t has typically been splitinto vocabuary and synta!" 'he basic uestion to as$ about vocabulary is )!s itsimple or comple"2) 'he basic uestion to as$ about synta" is )!s it ordinary orunusual2) 'a$en together, these two elements ma$e up diction. When we spea$of a )level of diction,) we might be misleading, because it(s certainly possible touse )plain) language in a complicated way, especially in poetry, and it(s euallypossible to use complicated language in a simple way. !t might help to thin$ ofdiction as a web rather than a level# 'here(s typically something deeper than asurface meaning to consider, so poetic diction is, by definition, comple".

Go to diction exercise

See how diction functions in "To is Co! istress"

See how diction functions in "! #a$a%s &a't("

DEFINITION OF IAGE

'hin$ of an image as a picture or a sculpture, something concrete andrepresentational within a wor$ of art. -iteral images appeal to our sense of

realistic perception, li$e a nineteenth&century landscape painting that loo$s )3ustli$e a photograph.) 'here are also figurative images that appeal to ourimagination, li$e a twentieth&century modernist portrait that loo$s only vaguely li$ea person but that implies a certain mood.

-iteral images saturate Samuel 0oleridge(s poem, )4ubla 4han# or, A 5ision in a1ream)#

So twice five miles of fertile groundWith walls and towers were girdled round# And here were gardens bright with sinuous rillsWhere blossomed many an incense&bearing tree+ And there were forests ancient as the hills,Enfolding sunny spots of greenery. 6lines 7&889

A figurative image begins '. S. Eliot(s famous poem )'he -ove Song of *. Alfred%rufroc$)#

-et us go then, you and !,When the evening is spread out against the s$y-i$e a patient etheri:ed upon a table+

'o see the evening in the way %rufroc$ describes it reuires an imaginative leap#He(s doing much more than setting the scene and telling us that it(s nighttime. Weare encouraged to see stars, to feel the unconscious and infinite presence of theuniverse, but these things are only implied. !n either case, poetic imagery alters or shapes the way we see what the poem is describing.

Go to i)a*e exerciseSee how i)a*es function in "To is Co! istress"

See how i)a*es function in "! #a$a%s &a't(

DEFINITION OF IRONY

As a figure of speech, irony refers to a difference between the way somethingappears and what is actually true. %art of what ma$es poetry interesting is itsindirectness, its refusal to state something simply as )the way it is.) !rony allowsus to say something but to mean something else, whether we are being sarcastic,e"aggerating, or understating. A woman might say to her husband ironically, )!never $now what you(re going to say,) when in fact she always $nows what he willsay. 'his is sarcasm, which is one way to achieve irony. !rony is generally morerestrained than sarcasm, even though the effect might be the same. 'he womanof our e"ample above might simply say, )!nteresting,) when her husband says

http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/virtualit/poetry/diction_ex.htmlhttp://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/virtualit/poetry/mistress_elements/mistress_diction.htmlhttp://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/virtualit/poetry/waltz_elements/waltz_diction.htmlhttp://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/virtualit/poetry/image_ex.htmlhttp://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/virtualit/poetry/mistress_elements/mistress_image.htmlhttp://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/virtualit/poetry/waltz_elements/waltz_image.htmlhttp://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/virtualit/poetry/diction_ex.htmlhttp://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/virtualit/poetry/mistress_elements/mistress_diction.htmlhttp://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/virtualit/poetry/waltz_elements/waltz_diction.htmlhttp://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/virtualit/poetry/image_ex.htmlhttp://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/virtualit/poetry/mistress_elements/mistress_image.htmlhttp://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/virtualit/poetry/waltz_elements/waltz_image.html


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something that really isn(t interesting. She might not be using sarcasm in thiscase, and she might not even be aware that she is being ironic. A listener whofinds the husband dull would probably understand the irony, though. 'he $ey toirony is often the tone, which is sometimes harder to detect in poetry than inspeech.

Go to iron! exercise

See how iron! functions in "The Fish"

See how iron! functions in "To is Co! istress"

See how iron! functions in "! #a$a%s &a't("

DEFINITION OF ETA#OR

0losely related to similes, metaphors immediately identify one ob3ect or idea withanother, in one or more aspects. 'he meaning of a poem freuently depends onthe success of a metaphor. -i$e a simile, a metaphor e"pands the sense andclarifies the meaning of something. )He(s such a pig,) you might say, and thelistener wouldn(t immediately thin$, );y friend has a porcine boyfriend,) but rather,

);y friend has a human boyfriend who is 6a9 a slob, 6b9 a voracious eater, 6c9someone with crude attitudes or tastes, or 6d9 a chauvinist.) !n any case, it wouldbe clear that the spea$er wasn(t paying her boyfriend a compliment, but unlessshe clarifies the metaphor, you might have to as$, )!n what sense2) Englishor e"ample, read aloud# )'he 1/? wentWA-4ing 1/WN the


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for which conventions aren(t as rigidly determined as they were during the English


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DEFINITION OF TONE

'he tone of a poem is roughly euivalent to the mood it creates in the reader.'hin$ of an actor reading a line such as )! could $ill you.) He can read it in a few

different ways# !f he thin$s the proper tone is murderous anger, he might screamthe line and cause the veins to bulge in his nec$. He might assume the tone ofcool power and murmur the line in a low, even voice. %erhaps he does not meanthe words at all and laughs as he says them. ;uch depends on interpretation, ofcourse, but the play will give the actor clues about the tone 3ust as a poem givesits readers clues about how to feel about it. 'he tone may be based on a numberof other conventions that the poem uses, such as meter or repetition. !f you find apoem e"hilarating, maybe it(s because the meter mimics galloping. !f you find apoem depressing, that may be because it contains shadowy imagery. 'one is notin any way divorced from the other elements of poetry+ it is directly dependent onthem.

Go to tone exercise

See how tone functions in "The Fish"See how tone functions in "To is Co! istress"

DEFINITION OF &ORD ORDER

%oetry can be li$e a recipe. !f you were ma$ing a ca$e, you would first mi" the dryingredients together+ then you would cream butter and sugar together, then addeggs, then stir the dry ingredients in. Why wouldn(t you 3ust drop all of theingredients into a big bowl at the same time and mi"2 You(d end up with a lumpymess, and no one wants a ca$e, or a poem, to be a lumpy mess. Word ordermattersDsometimes for clarity of meaning 6a solo guitar isn(t the same as a guitar solo9 and sometimes for effect 6)a dying man) is roughly the same as )a man,dying,) but the effect of the word order matters9. 'here are many different ways toorder words and communicate appro"imately the same meaning, so readersshould always uestion %hy poets have chosen a particular order, whether thechoice is conventional or 3ust the opposite.

Go to word order exercise

See how word order functions in "! #a$a%s &a't("

ALLEGORY E-ERCISE

0onsider the following story line#

/nce upon a time, there was a little girl who wanted to e"plore the world, so, one day she pac$ed up her things and set out onShe wal$ed through the woods that surrounded her hut until she reached a road. Standing on the other side of the road was ana little boy. When as$ed, he suggested that she go north, for that was where the big towns and more interesting sights were. Soalong the road northward until she reached a large town. She spent several days e"ploring the town and meeting all $inds of str >inally she grew bored, and found a new road along which to travel. Standing at the edge of town was a young woman. When asuggested that the little girl go east, for that was where the small cities and most interesting sights were. So the little girl wal$edalong the road until she came to a small city. She wandered through the city for a few wee$s and saw all manner of new inventishe had seen everything, so she left and found a new road along which to travel. Waiting at an intersection was a man, who, wsuggested that the little girl go south, for that was where the big cities were. So the little girl wal$ed along the road going south f time, until she came to a large city. 'here she tal$ed with people from different countries who spo$e different languages and hadifferent cultures. She learned a lot during her stay, but finally she had had enough of the city, so she found another road alongtravel.


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How might we allegori:e this tale2 We could, for e"ample, ma$e the storysymbolic of gaining e"perience 6naming the little girl !nnocence,F perhaps9. /r wecould substitute animals for the human characters 6the little girl could, fore"ample, be represented by a baby chic$, or a fawn, and the old woman by anowl9. 1oes allegori:ing the story add a layer of meaning2 1oes your versionseem to have a moral2 Write your allegorical version of the story and yourresponses to these uestions in your noteboo$Dthis will be collated so that youcan print or e&mail your wor$ when you are finished.

ALLITERATION E-ERCISE

%retty womanF sounds different from lovely lady,F although both mean essentially the same thing 6attractive adult femaleF9. Achoose lovely ladyF for its triple all iteration and its rhyme+ another writer might re3ect that phrase for the same reason 6probablyfloweryF9.

!n the following lines, come up with synonymous phrases for the alliteratedphrase 6dont hesitate to use a thesaurus if you need to9. 'hen describe how thealliterated phrase differs from your less ornamental version. What is gained in

each2 What is sacrificed2 Write your responses in your noteboo$Dthis will becollated so that you can print or e&mail your wor$ when you are finished.

Sometimes snakes slithered past"

& majestic mountain %as visibe in the distance"

He hopped about happily "

The baker busily $neaded the bread "

They stayed up %hie the moon mounted in the s$y

ASSONANCE E-ERCISE

!nstructions# 0reate assonance by selecting the appropriate word from the choices given. ruit

%urple


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'he denotative meaning is simple# a guy dran$ whis$ey and didn)t ma$e much noise. ut to get at the connotative meaning, thiemotional impact of the line, and about the associations you have with these words. 1rin$ing can be celebratory+ parties are soaccompanied by alcohol. ut this man does not seem to be in the company of others. 'he word )uietly,) in association with alcto mean )alone.) !ntensifying this feeling is the fact that )the man) is anonymous to the reader 6he isn(t )*ac$)9, and he is drin$inHow might it have been different if he were drin$ing scotch, a $ind of whis$ey that is generally associated with sophistication2were drin$ing a milder, )fun) drin$ li$e a pina colada2 )Guietly) and )whis$ey) allow us to read a connotation into a simple sentepoem ma$es you feel a certain way, as$ yourself why.

-oo$ at the following sentences. 'he words in the menu for each sentence denotethe same meaning, however they have different connotations. 0hoose one of thewords in the menu and then, in your noteboo$, write about how the word youchose changes the connotative meaning of the sentence. Your noteboo$ will becollated so that you can print or e&mail your wor$ when you are finished.

She his favorite '&shirt.

DICTION E-ERCISE

-ets ta$e a simple sentence and see how it would be possible to rewrite it#

(he too$ an appe fro# under the tree"

>irst, lets alter the order, or synta"# Fro# under the tree she too$ an appe" (he, fro# under the tree, too$ an appe" Fro# undeappe she too$ . 'hey all ma$e sense+ we havent altered the basic meaning. ut all three of these altered versions change somfirst brings the rhyme 6she=tree9 closer together. 'he second plays on our notion of suspense. 'he third sounds li$e it belongs insome other form where the too$F at the end of the sentence is there either for emphasis, or to set up a rhyme 6 . . . that croo$F

Now lets alter the vocabulary# (he pic$ed up a fruit fro# the ground, %here it ay" (he pifered an appe that had faen fro# its t

ovey %o#an stooped and grabbed the faen appe. !n all three versions we have the basic elementsDa woman, an apple, a tr are given different emphasis.

A poet rewor$s diction, not always to the best effect. -ets combine some of the altered vocabulary and synta" from above# Frotree a ovey %o#an pifered a fruit . Well, maybe, but the diction should be wor$ing toward a single effect, or enhancing an imagaccommodating meter.

'ry rewriting the following simple phrases by altering diction 6synta", vocabulary,or both9 while preserving the original sense. 'hin$ of each as a single line# Youdon(t necessarily have to e"pand or elaborate to alter diction. What effect are youtrying to achieve2 Write your responses in your noteboo$Dthis will be collated sothat you can print or e&mail your wor$ when you are finished.

I %as a%ash in #e#ories, reiving the innocence of ti#es past"

Then, %ithout %arning, a $noc$ ca#e at the door"

They %atched a pretty red sunset"

IAGE E-ERCISE

Even mundane ob3ects can ta$e on a special meaning when rendered as a poetic image. 0onsider#

A red balloon, bobbing uncertainly/n a string tied to the wrist/f a weary boy

rea$s free, and floats hopefully s$yward>ading rapidly into a tiny blood spot.


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4ids lose balloons, and its not tragicDunless youre the $id 'he hopefulness of the balloon, free at last, contrasts with the implithe boy must feel. He is tired, perhaps worn out from a fair. 'ragedy on a small scale 6its a tiny blood spot, not a bloodbath9 smnevertheless, and can happen uic$ly. All of these ideas are pac$ed into a single, relatively simple image.

What $ind of poetic imagery might evolve around the following scenarios2 0ontrolyour image with descriptive and economic language.


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I a#"""se a metaphor that is evocative and comprehensible. How far would you have to go to ma$e your sense perfectly comprehenreader2 'ry to be economical without being clichId. 'he $ey is to ma$e sense as well#! am a 3umbo shrimp,1renched in coc$tail sauce About to be swallowedy an overweight lawyer

At a three&martini lunch.'his spea$er feels# insignificant2 powerless in the face of America(s corporate elite2 ;aybe so+ why, then, is he a )3umbo) shrimmedium shrimp2 Why not the olive in the martini, or better yet, the pimento in the olive2 !t(s your metaphor for your life# choose iremember to avoid those words that convert metaphors into similes 6i$e and as9.

%A


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Nor earth nor sea nor cloud less s$yD

ut on ly spi rit wan dering wide

'hrough in fin ite im mens it y.

6'his e"ercise will not be added to your noteboo$.9

RYE E-ERCISE


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'he goal is to e"pand the sense, not to confuse it. !f none of the choices in thesecond column wor$ for one of the set&ups, what would wor$2

/nce you find a comparison that coud wor$, try adding a second line that canclarify the relationship. Write your responses in your noteboo$Dthis will becollated so that you can print or e&mail your wor$ when you are finished.

A relationship li$e...

A professor as interesting as...

Her face was li$e...

A force as strong as...

A night as long as...

A comforting voice li$e...

!t made him uneasy, li$e...

A 3ob as appealing as...


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Her eyes bec$oned, li$e...

SY+OL E-ERCISE

!t is important to consider the ualities and associations of a symbol within a poem. !f you are loo$ing into the symbolic value ofinstance, you may begin by saying, Sweet, crisp fruit, 3uicy, tastes good in the fall, red and white in sharp contrast.F 'hose areapples ualities. You should be able to go beyond those associations into some others you have with apples, li$e Adam and E

innocence or gaining of $nowledge.F /r Sir !saac Newton and gravity.F /r Snow White# temptation and danger.F /ne apple prosignify all of these things, but along with the conte"t surrounding it, you may get closer to an understanding of its symbolic valu

! too$ the apple from her hand And ate it, feeling almost guilty As the 3uice dripped down my chin.

!ts probably safe to eliminate !saac Newton here# We seem to be pretty firmly in Eden. 'he ne"t step is to e"amine that symbolits other ualities and use them to begin to formulate an interpretation.

What are the symbolic possibilities of the following things2

& bind #an, & dove, & river , The stars, & pay , & co#puter screen, 1ightning , ountain

0onsider both their inherent ualities and their cultural associations. /nce youhave brainstormed about their possibilities, consider how each item might beused as a symbol within a poem and compose a few lines that would give thesymbol conte"t and eliminate or complicate some of its symbolic possibilities.Write your responses in your noteboo$Dthis will be collated so that you can printor e&mail your wor$ when you are finished.

TONE E-ERCISE

0onsider the tone of the following e"cerpt from a poem by *ohn 4eats#

)'o Autumn)!

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, 0lose bosom&friend of the maturing sun+0onspiring with him how to load and bless With fruit the vines that round the thatch&eves run+'o bend with apples the mossed cottage&trees, And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core+ 'o swell the gourd, and plump the ha:el shells With a sweet $ernel+ to set budding more, And still more, later flowers for the bees,ntil they thin$ warm days will never cease, >or summer has oer&brimmed their clammy cells.

'he poems tone is lu"uriant and contented. How might it change, however, if the last autumnal harvest had been poor and theit would be hard to survive through the winter2


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'ry to rewrite this stan:a with this hypothetical conte"t of scarcity in mind. Youmight, for e"ample, change )mellow) in the first line to withering.F Write yourresponses in your noteboo$Dthis will be collated so that you can print or e&mailyour wor$ when you are finished.

&ORD ORDER E-ERCISE

'he


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My mother’s countenance

Could not unfrown itself.

The hand that held my wrist

Was battered on one knuckle;

At every step you missed

My right ear scraped a buckle.

You beat time on my head

With a palm caked hard by dirt,

Then waltzed me off to bed

Still clinging to your shirt.

PAL: Perspectives in American Literature- A Research and Reference Guide - An

Ongoing Project

© Paul P. Reuben

(To send an email, please click on my name above.)

Appendi !: "lements of Poetr# - A $rief %ntroduction

Page Links: | 1. What is Poetry | !. "eading the Poem | #. $enotation and%onnotation | &. 'magery | . ig*rative Lang*age 1: +etaphor, Personiication,and +etonymy | -. ig*rative Lang*age !: ymbol and /llegory | 0. ig*rativeLang*age #: Parado, 2verstatement, *nderstatement, 'rony and /ll*sion | 3.

Tone and +*sical $evices | 4. "hythm and +eter | 15. Patterns o TraditionalPoems | +L/ tyle %itation o this Web Page |

| /ppendi 2: /merican Poetry: elected 6ibliography |

ite Links: | /ppendices: 'nde | /lphabetical List | Table 2 %ontents | 7omePage | 8*ne 4, !553 |

&. 'hat is Poetr#(

't is diic*lt to deine9 e have been more s*ccess*l at describing andappreciating poetry than at deining it. Poetry might be deined, initially, as a kindo lang*age that says more and says it more intensely than does ordinarylang*age. William Wordsorth deined poetry as ;the spontaneo*s overlo opoer*l eelings, recollected in tranvery ord is

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thereore important. d. /lays pay care*l attention to hat the poem is saying.e. Practice reading poems alo*d. /sk yo*rsel the olloing


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/ parado is an apparent contradiction that is nevertheless tr*e. 't may eitherbe a sit*ation or a statement (;damn ith aint praise;). Overstatement, orhyperbole, is simply eaggeration b*t eaggeration in the service o tr*th.4nderstatement, or saying less than one means, may eist in hat one says ormerely in ho one says it Like parado, iron# has meanings that etend beyondits *se merely as a ig*re o speech. Berbal irony, saying the opposite o hat one

means, is oten con*sed ith sarcasm and ith satire. arcasm and satire bothimply ridic*le, one on the collossential elements in all m*sic are repetition andvariation. The repetition o initial consonant so*nds, as in ;tried and tr*e,; ;saeand so*nd,; ;ish and ol,; ;rhyme and reason,; is alliteration. The repetitiono voel so*nds, as in ;mad as a hatter,; ;time o*t o mind,; ;ree and easy,;;slapdash,; is assonance. The repetition o inal consonant so*nds, as in ;irst

and last,; ;odds and ends,; ;short and seet,; ;a stroke o l*ck,; is consonance.The combination o assonance and consonance is rhyme. "hyme is the repetitiono the accented voel so*nd and all s*cceeding so*nds.

7. Rh#thm and /eter:

The term rhythm reers to any ave like rec*rrence o motion or so*nd. +eter isthe kind o rhythm e can tap o*r oot to. +etrical lang*age is called verse9 non

metrical lang*age is prose.

Trochee trips rom long to short9

rom long to long in solemn sortlo pondee stalks9 strong oot yet ill able>ver to come *p ith $actylic trisyllable.'ambics march rom short to long @With a leap and a bo*nd the sit /napests throng.

@ am*el Taylor %oleridge

The foot is the metrical *nit by hich a line o poetry is meas*red9 it *s*allyconsists o one stressed or accented ( ? ) and one or to unstressed or

*naccented syllables ( @ ).

8ame of !oot 8ame of /eter /easure

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%amb %ambic - 9

6rochee 6rochaic 9 -

Anapest Anapestic - - 9

+act#l +act#lic 9 - -

1pondee 1pondaic 9 9

P#rrhus P#rrhic - - | Top | The secondary *nit o meas*rement, the line, is meas*red by naming then*mber o eet in it. / line that ends ith a stressed syllable is said to have amasculine ending and a line that ends ith an etra syllable is said to have afeminine ending. / pa*se ithin a line is called a caesura and is identiied by a

do*ble vertical line (||). / line ith a pa*se at its end is called end-stopped

line, hereas a line that contin*es itho*t a pa*se is called run-on line orenjambment. The olloing metrical names are *sed to identiy the lengths olines:

Length 8ame

one foot /onometer

to feet +imeter

three feet 6rimeter

four feet 6etrameter

five feet Pentameter

si feet ;eameter

seven feet ;eptameter

eight feet Octameter The third *nit, the stan


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$allade is rench in origin and made *p o !3 lines, *s*ally three stanDas o 3lines and a concl*ding stanDa, called envoy, o & lines. The last line o each stanDais the same and the scheme is ababbcbc and the envoy?s is bcbc.

$lan> ?erse is made *p o *nrhymed iambic pentameter lines.

"leg# is a lyric poem ritten to commemorate someone ho is dead.

"pigram is a brie, pointed, and itty poem o no prescribed orm.

!ree ?erse has no identiiable meter, altho*gh the lines may have a rhyme@scheme.

;ai>u is an *nrhymed poem o seventeen syllables derived rom 8apanese verse9it is made *p o three lines, lines 1 and # have ive syllables, line ! has seven.

;eroic ,ouplet is to lines o rhyming iambic pentameters.

Limeric> is a ive@line poem in hich lines 1, !, and are anapestic trimeters

and lines # and & are anapestic dimeters, rhymed as aabba. Possible so*rce oorigin is Limerick, 'reland.

L#ric is a poem o emotional intensity and epresses poer*l eelings.

8arrative orm is *sed to tell a story9 it is *s*ally made o ballad stanDas @ o*rlines alternatively o o*r and three eet.

Ode, >nglish in origin, is a poem o indeinite length, divided in 15@line stanDas,

rhymed, ith dierent schemes or each stanDa @ ababcdecde, ritten in iambic

meter.

Parod# is a h*moro*s imitation o a serio*s poem.

@uatrain is a o*r@line stanDa ith vario*s meters and rhyme schemes.

1estina consists o thirty@nine lines divided into si si@line stanDas and a three@line concl*ding stanDa called an envoy.

1onnet is a o*rteen line poem. The %talian or Petrarchan has to stanDas: theirst o eight lines is called octave and has the rhyme@scheme abba abba9 the

second o si lines is called the sestet and has the rhyme cdecde or cdcdcd. The1penserian sonnet, developed by >dm*nd penser, has three


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($einitions and eamples in /ppendices , E, F 7 are rom La*rence Perrine,LITERATRE! "tructure, "ound, and "ense9 1403, hapiro and 6e*m, A #rosody $andbook 9 +iller Williams, #atterns of #oetry 9 and Larence Gillman, The Art and

%raft of #oetry .)

/LA 1t#le ,itation of this 'eb Page

"e*ben, Pa*l P. ;P/L: /ppendi : >lements o Poetry.; #AL! #erspectives in American Literature& A Research and Reference 'uide.H"L:http:CC.cs*stan.ed*CenglishCre*benCpalCappendCa.html (provide pagedate or date o yo*r login).

| Top |

Elements of Poetry

This is a list of elements used within the writing of poems.

Alliteration

Two or more words which have the same initial sound.

Assonance

A partial rhyme which has the same internal vowel sounds amongst different

words.

Metaphor

A comparison which does not use the words like or as.

Onomatopoeia

Words that sound like their meaning. For example, u!!, moo, pow.

"epetitions

The repetition of the same word throughout the poem to emphasi!e

significance.

"hyme

The repetition of sounds within different words, either end sound, middle or

eginning.

"hythm

The flow of words within each meter and stan!a.

#imile

A comparison using the words like or as.#tyle

The way the poem is written. Free$style, allad, haiku, etc. %ncludes length of

meters, numer of stan!as along with rhyme techni&ues and rhythm.

#ymol

#omething that represents something else through association, resemlance or

convention

Theme

The message, point of view and idea of the poem.

Poetry Definition

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Poetry is more than 'ust rhyming . %n fact, poetry doesn(t even have

to rhyme. The main ingrediants are movement and sound. These two things along

with feeling make up what poetry is...

). The art or work of a poet.

*.• +oems regarded as forming a division of literature.

• The poetic works of a given author, group, nation, or kind.

. A piece of literature written in meter - verse.

. +rose that resemles a poem in some respect, as in form or sound.

/. The essence or characteristic &uality of a poem.

0. A &uality that suggests poetry, as in grace, beauty, or harmony1 the poetry of the

dancer(s movements.

Reference: Dictionary.com

Poetry Dictionary

Alliteration

#tarting three or more words with the same sound. 2xample1 The cra!y

crackling crops

Assonance

A repetition of vowel sounds within syllales with changing consonants.

2xample1 Tilting at windmills

3liche An overused word or phrase. 2xample1 %(m so hungry % could eat a horse.

4omonym

A word that has the same spelling 5or different spelling ut same sound6 as

another, ut has a different meaning or origan.

4yperole

A large exageration, usually used with humor. 2xample1 The fish was a

footall field and a granny long.

%diom

A language familiar to a group of people. 2xample1 7a(ll comin( to da party

tonight8

MetaphorA word or phrase used to have a completely different meaning. 2xample1

2dgar Allen +oe(s 9The "aven9 eing a constant reminder of his loss and not

truly a raven.

Onomatopoeia

A word imitating a sound. 2xample1 (u!!(, (moo( and (eep(

+enultimate syllale

The next to last syllale of a word.

"hyme

#imilarity of sound in the last syllale. 2xample1 #poon and Toon

#imile

An expression that compares one thing to another using (like( or (as(. 2xample1The milk tasted like pickles.

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#ynechdoche

The metaphorical or rhetorical sustitution of a whole for a part or vice versa.

2xample1 3ounting (heads( as cattle.

Tercet

A group of three lines, often rhyming together or with another tercet.

51 Types of Poetry

A:3

A poem that has five lines that create a mood, picture, or feeling. ;ines )

through are made up of words, phrases or clauses while the first word of

each line is in alphaetical order. ;ine / is one sentence long and egins with

any letter.

Acrostic

+oetry that certain letters, usually the first in each line form a word or message

when read in a se&uence.:allad

A poem that tells a story similar to a folk tail or legend which often has a

repeated refrain.

:allade

+oetry which has three stan!as of seven, eight or ten lines and a shorter final

stan!a of four or five. All stan!as end with the same one line refrain.

:lank verse

A poem written in unrhymed iamic pentameter and is often unotrusive. The

iamic pentameter form often resemles the rhythms of speech.

:io

A poem written aout one self(s life, personality traits, and amitions.

:urles&ue

+oetry that treats a serious su'ect as humor.

3an!one

Medieval %talian lyric style poetry with five or six stan!as and a shorter ending

stan!a.

3arpe diem

;atin expression that means (sei!e the day.( 3arpe diem poems have a theme of

living for today.

3in&uain

+oetry with five lines. ;ine ) has one word 5the title6. ;ine * has two wordsthat descrie the title. ;ine has three words that tell the action. ;ine has

four words that express the feeling, and line / has one word which recalls the

title.

3lassicism

+oetry which holds the principles and ideals of eauty that are characteristic of


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A sad and thoughtful poem aout the death of an individual.

2pic

An extensive, serious poem that tells the story aout a heroic figure.

2pigram

A very short, ironic and witty poem usually written as a rief couplet or

&uatrain. The term is derived from the


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A poem that is made up of a list of items or events. %t can e any length and

rhymed or unrhymed.

;yric

A poem that expresses the thoughts and feelings of the poet.

Memoriam stan!a

A &uatrain in iamic tetrameter with a rhyme scheme of aa $$ named afterthe pattern used y ;ord Tennyson.

ame

+oetry that tells aout the word. %t uses the letters of the word for the first

letter of each line.

arrative

A poem that tells a story.

Ode

A lengthy lyric poem typically of a serious or meditative nature and having an

elevated style and formal stan!a structure.

+astoral

A poem that depicts rural life in a peaceful, romantici!ed way.+etrarchan

A )$line sonnet consisting of an octave rhyming aaaa followed y a

sestet of cddcee or cdecde

+indaric ode

A ceremonious poem consisting of a strophe 5two or more lines repeated as a

unit6 followed y a an antistrophe with the same metrical pattern and

concluding with a summary line 5an epode6 in a different meter. amed after

+indar, a


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+oetry written in the shape or form of an o'ect.

#onnet

A lyric poem that consists of ) lines which usually have one or more

conventional rhyme schemes.

Tanka

A @apanese poem of five lines, the first and third composed of five syllalesand the other seven.

Ter!a "ima

A type of poetry consisting of )C or )) syllale lines arranged in three$line

tercets.

Derse

A single metrical line of poetry.

Dillanelle

A )E$line poem consisting of five tercets and a final &uatrain on two rhymes.

The first and third lines of the first tercet repeat alternately as a refrain closing

the succeeding stan!as and 'oined as the final couplet of the &uatrain.

Poetry Styles

The style of writing poetry differs from person to person- long or

short meters, three or four lines to a stan!a. :ut the great thing is, no matter how a

poem is written it still holds great emotion. #ome techni&ues used in poetry are

onomatopoeia, alliteration, assonance, rhyming, simile and metaphor.

Onomatopoeia is one of the easiest to learn and use 5ut not spell6. The definition of

onomatopoeia is a word imitating a sound. For example- (u!!(, (moo( and (eep(. This

can e used in a variety of ways giving the reader a (hands on( feel.

One techni&ue that you might e familiar with is alliteration. This procedure is used

y starting three or more words with the same sound. An example of this would e

(The cra!y crackling crops.( The three words don(t have to have the exact same

eginning to have this effect.

The next style is assonance. %t is defined as a repetition of vowel sounds within

syllales with changing consonants. This is also used in many different circumstances.

One would e (tilting at windmills.( otice the vowels within each syllale sound thesame.

Rhyming is proaly the most well$known techni&ue used. 4owever unlike popular

elief, it does not need to e within a poem to make it a poem. %t is what it is.. a

techni&ue.

As for similes, they are often used within poetry. They are an expression that

compares one thing to another. A paradigm of this would e (The milk tasted like

pickles.( This method is used in all forms of poetry and generally has the words (like(

or (as.(


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The last ut not least style is metaphor. A metaphor is a word or phrase used one way

to mean another. Metaphors are sometimes hard to spot and take some thinking to

figure out, ut they give writers more power to express their thoughts aout a certain

situation. One famous case where a metaphor is used is within (The "aven( y 2dgar

Allen +oe. %n fact, not only is it found within the story, the story itself is a metaphor of

memory and the constant reminder of the narrator(s loss.

These techni&ues are seen throughout history within oth famous and amateur poems

alike. To have a full grasp of poetry onomatopoeia, alliteration, assonance, rhyming,

simile and metaphor should e household words.

To view a more comprehensive definition list of go here1 +oetry =ictionary

Poetry in a Nutshell+oetry is more than 'ust rhyming and prose in meters and verse. %t

is an art form. %t is something that can not e 'udged y its cover and can not e

critici!ed to the point where it 'ust 9sucks.9 Poetry is aout expression. +oetry

expresses the way we feel aout a certain su'ect through imagery and other senses. %t

helps us deal with our daily life, e it good or ad.

The emotion which is put within each meter rings it to life. A poem without emotion

is not a poem at all ut simply prose. +oetry is what makes us feel happy or sad , mad

or gleeful, loving or roken hearted. +oetry is life through words. %t does not need to e of a certain su'ect or even rhyme, it only needs emotion.

+oetry is poetry. %t has its own mind. %f it flows, good $$ if not... it needs work. The

rules can e ent ut not roken. Our life is our life and no one can tell us what we

have een through ut ourselves. We know est not some stranger reading our poems.

Our poetry is our life, not what someone says.

Rhyming in poetry is not always the est way to express yourself. "hyming actually

takes away many words that could have een used. %f you try to rhyme it cuts your

dictionary into little pieces. %t doesn(t need to e this way, choose flow over rhyme.

As a result of this, poetry is defined as a way of putting flowing words together in

meter and verse to show emotion or tell a story.

Tips for Writing Poetry

Writing poetry has always een aout emotion- thrilling, itterness

and even humorous. Although it sounds simple enough, it isn(t always. +oetry can e

as complicated or as frivolous possile, it(s all up to the author.

+oetry is food for thought and all food has its ingredients.

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Writing poetry techniques

Show all senses A genuine poem offers its readers a variety of senses to endure while

reading.

• Smell.


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anything pops out that you want to write aout, if not, that(s up to you. The

point of flushing is to get rid of the garage which is holding your mind ack.

• *reate a dream +ournal Often, dreams lead to thoughts which never would

have een uncovered during consciousness. Write what the dream was aout,

then at a later date, come ack to the dream and read what happened, it might

'ust e this is the inspiration you need for your next est writing.• 'f you write a (ad poem& don#t gi"e up 2ven great poets have written

hundreds, if not thousands, adly. @ust keep writing.

• ,earn from your criticism =on(t necessarily live y it, ut learn from it.

2veryone has a different perspective on a poem, one person may like it and the

next hate it.

• 'f you create a poem you really li%e& write another Maye your creative

'uices are flowing, or maye you were at your peak. There(s only one way to

find out.

• Don#t hold (ac% your fears %f something has happened or you(re afraid of

happening, write aout it.

• 'f you e"er wish to ha"e your poem pu(lished& su(mit them now :ecause

sooner or later it must e done. Most people who don(t get pulished during

their life never will e, it(s not unheard of, ut the 2mily =ickinson(s of the

world are rare and far etween.

• $o to poetry readings -or host your own. This is a great chance to enhance

your knowledge of current poetry and learn what others en'oy. %t(s also a great

place to meet fellow poets.

• To help with criticism& try +oining a poetry group or creating your own To

help get started, list your group in a local arts pulication, many are free to do

so.

•

Pu(lish a poetry +ournal ot only will it get the word out aout yourwriting, ut it will help you improve y encouraging you to write.

/ight

Category: American poems

Serious anxiety flowing

Crashing through my mind

Blood rushing through my veins

Muscles tightening upon compression

The moment is soon to come

Where losers will not win

The masks come off from posers

And winners show their skills

The death of one has come quickly

Another soon to fall

The ailities matched etween us

Strength! quickness! stamina

"ust the same

# choose the weapon # know est

To fight off the evil souls$utnumering my foolish hatred

They strike quickly

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This moment of oppression

$nly seen y some

#t%s the time to attack

My weapon swung ut too soon

They move quickly to retaliateMy arm struck! leeding

My opponent strong ut still foolish

# use my mind to strike ack

Weakening their hope to win

Seeing the passion within my eyes

They settle into fear

&ictory will soon come

&ictory will soon come

y 'ary () *ess

0est /riends

Category: +riendship poems

+riends that watch your ack

+riends that play with your heart

All act the same from the start

Before you know it some disappear

$thers stay eside you for life

Those are the friends

The est friends

y 'ary () *ess

*at& *at

Category: +unny poems

Cat! cat!

Come out of my hat!

And #,ll give you a all of yarn-

And when # give

#,ll make sure it,s long #f # am not amusing

y 'ary () *ess

,o"e Poems

Many love poems have een inspired y relationships over the

course of a lifetime. When % was 'ust a teenager my thoughts of love circled around

affairs which were long distance. Who knew that they could inspire so much poetry8

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:eing in love is the est inspiration. The romance, candle light dinners, long sensual

evenings, it(s ama!ing. The feeling that our life is complete and nothing could ever go

wrong. We feel free.

Long Distance Relationships

The eauty of love lasts a life time, ut what happens when the relationship is long

distance8 %t(s still the same only hundreds 5if not thousands6 of miles away. When

you(re in love it doesn(t matter if your loved one is in the same city, state or even

country. ;ove has no distance.

Love Poetry

:ut a ightmare

:utterfly Doice

The =ay We Met2verlasting ;ove

The 2xtra Mile

=olphin(s 3ry

Feeling

Middle Ages ;ove

One iss

Our Moment

The #acred Fruit

That


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$ohn %ennon

Fortune and love favor the rave.

&vid

We loved with a love that was more than love. #dgar "llan 'oe

The only anormality is the incapacity to love.

"nais (in

We waste time looking for the perfect lover, instead of creating the perfect love.

Tom Robbins

There is no disguise which can hide love for long where it exists, or simulate it where

it does not.

)rancois de %a Rochefoucauld

Asence diminishes mediocre passions and increases great ones, as the wind

extinguishes candles and fans fires.

)rancois de %a Rochefoucauld

More love quotes

"omantic love &uotes

'nspirational uotes

o one should negotiate their dreams. =reams must e free to flee

and fly high. o government, no legislature, has a right to limit your dreams. 7ou

should never agree to surrender your dreams.

Rev. $esse $ac*son

The future depends on what we do in the present.

!ahatma andhi

%nspiration and genius$$one and the same.

+ictor Hugo

othing is predestined1 The ostacles of your past can ecome the gateways that lead

to new eginnings.

Ralph ,lum

n !riumph and De"eat

There are some defeats more triumphant than victories.

!ontaigne-#ssays

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n #aith and $nspiration

The world has no room for cowards. We must all e ready somehow to toil, to suffer,

to die. And yours is not the less nole ecause no drum eats efore you when you go

out into your daily attlefields, and no crowds shout aout your coming when you

return from your daily victory or defeat.

Robert %ouis Stevenson

:eing unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten y everyody, % think that is a much

greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat...We

must find each other.

!other Teresa

%t is possile to provide security against other ills, ut as far as death is concerned, we

men live in a city without walls.

#picurus

4ealthy children will not fear life if their elders have integrity enough not to fear

death.

#ri* H. #ri*son

There are so many little dyings that it doesn(t matter which of them is death.

Kenneth 'atchen

*omposition of Poetry2 3eaningful Soul

Poem%ut your ear down close to your soul and listen hard. %oetry has been always near to heart of people inevery age and every form.


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shape of the universe, helps to e"tend everyone(s $nowledge of himself and the world aroundhim.)

'he function of poetry can be described as two pages covering boo$ of new life of literature.

>irst, it gives birth to $nowledge and pleasure.

Second it lets a desire in mind to reproduce this material of $nowledge according to therhythm of beauty.

!f $nowledge is the body, poetry is the soul. 5irtue, love, patriotism, beautiful natural scenerywill be all repel if poetry did not beautify. When $nowledge increase literature body too muchthat it becomes too difficult to animate it.

According to JShelley we have too much moral, political and historical wisdom. 'here is nowant of $nowledge but what we la$e is the creative faculty to imagine that which we $now. Wewant tie poetry of life, without which the cultivation of sciences remains circumscribed.

;arge %iercy said )/ne of the functions of poetry has always been to articulate for people, togive dignity to people(s e"periences, their sufferings, their pleasures, the dramas of their

lives.)

According to Steven


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responsive of souls and they represent the sprit of their age. %oets are the unac$nowledgedlegislators of the world. 'hus by giving the highest and divine place to poetry and poets. )Apoet is an unhappy being whose heart is torn by secret sufferings, but whose lips are sostrangely formed that when the sighs and the cries escape them, they sound li$e beautifulmusic...) described Soren 4ier$egaard.

#atterns of #oetr!

lan$ 5erse!ntroduced to England in the 87th century, blan$ verse consists of unrhymed lines of tensyllables each+ with the second, fourth, si"th, eighth, and tenth syllables bearing the accents.lan$ verse is especially well&adapted to dramatic verse. 0hristopher ;arlowe, WilliamSha$espeare, and *ohn ;ilton are masters of blan$ verse.


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'he limeric$ is humorous nonsense verse consisting of a triplet and couplet, ma$ing it a fiveline poem. -ines one, two, and five are the triplet and rhyme. -ines three and four form arhyming couplet.

Acrostic A poem where the first letter of each line spells a word that can be read vertically.

0inuain A type of poetry in which the first line has one word, the second has two words describing thefirst line, the third line shows action with three words, the fourth line has four words thatconvey feeling, and the fifth line refers to line one.

>ree 5erse'he poetry that is written material freed from paragraph form and has rhythm but no rhyme

>inally, there is only one best way i see to understand poet or poetry as Anne Se"tonsuggested.

#ut !our ear down c'ose to !our sou' and 'isten hard/

Further Readings

0ritical Approaches to -iterature & Short analysis y %.% ;ehra K %.N.hatt A 0ritical Study y 1avid 1aiches

y @ay 3%ublished# 8=BL=BMML

Writing Poetry2 !ow to Write a Poem

Want to $now how to go about writing a poem2


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of a place2

An interesting way to ta$e the 3ump from this point is writing down the words, phrases orsentences that come to your mind when you are thin$ing about the sub3ect or the theme ofyour poem. 1ont worry if nothing sounds or feels right, 3ust write it down for now.

The Fee'in*1

A poem, no matter how descriptive it may be, is not to be used to state the obvious. We all$now that the grass is green, for e"ample. What you need to e"press in your poem is whatyou felt when you saw the green grass. What emotions did it evo$e within you2 What wereyou going through at the time and how did seeing the green grass change or enhance yourfeelings at that moment of time2 With your words, you have to convey what you feel or felt.'he readers have to understand the depth of what you were going through. A poem isessentially about the emotions of the poet.

A way to get past the barrier of writing about emotions is to ta$e ordinary things from yourdaily life and write down whatever Jfeeling words come to your mind when you see the ob3ect.Such a list will come in handy and is a good way to practice.

The ood1

How do you want to portray your thoughts, ideas and feelings via this poem2 1o you want toma$e it a serious poem, or a funny one, a sarcastic one or an irreverent one2 'he mood canoften help you convey the feelings more effectively.

/nce you have your feeling words in place, you can choose different moods of the poem andtry to write a sentence or two that contains the theme and the feeling in these various moods.Which mood do you li$e the best2 Which mood conveys what you feel about the sub3ect moreeffectively2

The St!'e1

0hoose a style of writing the poem from among several O from classical to the moderncontemporary styles of writing poetry, there are many to choose from. %ic$ a style which iseasier for you to wor$ with. ;ost modern poets often use the free verse style of poetry. Although, to the beginner, this style may not have a formal structure and sound easy to writein, loo$ closely at the wor$ of popular free verse poets and you will find a basic form lur$ingsomewhere.

An e"ercise to try out at this 3uncture is to write down your thoughts about something orsomeone in free verse and then trying to see if you can put those lines into another well&$nown structure or style of writing poetry. %erhaps a few changes here and there and it mightdo the tric$. 'ry doing that with two or three styles and find one which you are morecomfortable with. 'his process will help you revise your wor$ and find your style at the same

time.

The Audience1

Who are you writing for2 'he audience of the poem can help you choose the language, thestyle and the words to be used in your piece. E"periment with forms and words to find youruniue J5oice as a poet.


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• !t ma$es sense to study the forms and styles used by poets across the world to

become more familiar with structure, format, rhythm, rhyme and meter along withseveral other elements used in poetry.

• A dictionary or a thesaurus is very handy to have. /ften, a search for meanings of

words can help you ta$e a 3ump off to another wonderful dimension within yourpoetry.

• 4eep a 3ournal, noteboo$ or a diary where you record your thoughts, feelings ande"periences, even dreams. You may never $now where they may lead you off to.

• Attend as many poet = poetry groups as you can. 'his helps you get your wor$ read

and critiued by other people and can provide you with valuable insights on yourwor$.

• And to conclude, 6and this is perhaps the best tip of all9, dont be afraid to edit and re&

write. 1ont ta$e all the criticism personally. 4eep a good sense of humor whileshowing your wor$. 4eep wor$ing at it till you feel it is 3ust right and every single wordis e"actly where it should be.

y Madhavi

Date post:	07-Aug-2018
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DEFINITION OF ALLEGORY.doc

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