Poetry Terminology
tone – the writer’s or speaker’s attitude toward his subject, his audience, or himself. It is the emotional coloring, or the emotional meaning of the work. The tone may be ecstatic, incredulous, despairing, resigned, etc. The tone can also reflect IRONY.
theme – the central or dominating idea in a literary work.
***imagery – the representation through language of sense experience. An image appeals directly to our senses, it forms a mental picture.
-Imagery is often created through the use of metaphor and simile.
-metaphor and simile are both used as a means of comparing things that are essentially alike.
symbol – a symbol is something which is itself and yet stands for or suggests something else. Example: talking about a bird trying to escape its cage and compare it to a child trying to grow up and mature.
irony – a figure of speech in which the actual intent is expressed in words which carry the opposite meaning. Verbal irony is saying the opposite of what one means. However, although sarcasm can be ironic. You can have irony without being sarcastic.
mood – the atmosphere or feeling within a poem. For example: a quiet mood, a sentimental mood, a sad mood, an excited mood, a tense mood.
diction - word choice, the accurate, CAREFUL use of words perfect for that particular poem; clear cut, precise words chosen for their poetic quality.
detail - description of items in the poem that contribute to the imagery, mood, theme, etc.
****figurative language – an intentional departure from the normal order, construction, or meaning of words in order to gain strength and freshness of expression, to create a pictorial effect, to describe by comparing.
figurative language includes:
hyperbole – exaggeration
metaphor – comparison of two rather unlike things without using like or as.
simile – comparison of two rather unlike things using like or as
personification – a non human subject is given human characteristics.
alliteration – the repetition of the same consonant sounds for poetic effect (especially of the first consonant in a word).
imagery – a word or phrase that appeals to one or more of the five senses
onomatopoeia - the use of words whose pronunciation suggests their meaning…such as: buzz, bang, etc.
Poets also have themes for their work and use IRONY, foreshadowing, plot, and other elements of literature. Using irony also reveals tone of voice.
*The poet uses language to evoke an emotional and intellectual response from the reader in the fewest possible words. He chooses his material with special care and he screens his language for useless words. Careful selection and sifting of words results in compression: he says a lot in a little.
Rhyme – the repetition of ending sounds in two or more words. Rhyme usually has a rhyme scheme which is the sequence of pattern of the rhyme...such as ababab or aab aab aab
Rhythm - the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a poem. Stress is the emphasis given to a word or syllable.
Repetition - the repeating of a line, a word or group of words, or an idea in order to create suspense or to emphasize an idea.
How to read a poem:
- Spend time thinking about the title
- Read the poem once (not line by line, let the ideas flow) to get a general meaning. Then read it line by line or stanza by stanza and translate it into your own words.
- Come up with the overall meaning (theme), what is the poem trying to say?
- How is this theme expressed? Is there something in the use of imagery, language, or structure that emphasizes the theme?
- Look for the dominant literary devices (see list)
- Look at tone and what is the attitude of the speaker toward the subject. Look for emotion in the poem.
- Any changes in tone as the poem progresses?
Analyze a poem by:
- Who is the speaker?
- What is his attitude toward his subject? What is his tone of voice?
- Generally, what is the poem about? What is the dominant imagery? What is it describing?
- What is the theme of the poem?
- Is there a mood to your poem?
- What literary devices are used? How do they contribute to the meaning/imagery of the poem?