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The Art of Poetry
• Poetry has been defined as “heightened
language,” as it is generally a very artistic use
of language, which puts the language into
verse and concentrates on rhythm. As your
text points out, there need not be even a
predictable rhyme or rhythm scheme for a
piece of literature to be considered a poem.
• In a poem, instead of sentences and
paragraphs, you find lines and stanzas.
Elements of Poetry
• In addition to metaphor, imagery,
symbolism, and tone, we will look at
speaker and situation, syntax, and sound as
we study poetry.
Speaker
• One of the most difficult concepts in the study
of poetry is that of speaker.
• The speaker is roughly equivalent to the
narrator of fictional works. It is a character or a
psychological persona that the poet constructs
to deliver the words of the poem.
Speaker vs. Poet
• Be very careful in analyzing poem that you do
not attribute the emotions or events experienced
by the speaker to the poet, him- or herself.
• Sometimes, you may have strong biographical
evidence linking the speaker to the poet, in
which case you might quote and cite that
information to make your case; however, for the
purposes of this class, you should mentally
divorce the speaker from the poet.
Situation
• The situation is the context in which the
speaker finds him- or herself. This is
roughly equivalent to setting and plot in
fiction.
• In “Bored” by Margaret Atwood, the
speaker is the grown-up child who now
understands that time spent with his/her
father was precious, even though he/she did
not understand that at the time. The
situation is one removed from those former
boring times.
Syntax
• Syntax refers to the structure of language in
a poem. A poem’s lines may be long or
short, simple or complex.
• Generally, we would look to the line length
or the shape of the lines and stanzas as
being related somehow to the poem’s
theme.
Sound
• Sound in poems is extremely important. Poems
can be analyzed by rhythm or the internal
sounds of words or phrases.
– Rhythm can be created out of meter, the regular
pattern of accented and unaccented syllables in a
poetic line, and pace, the relative speed suggested
by the lines.
Internal Sounds
– Rhyme occurs when the final accented syllables of words
sound alike. They usually occur at the end of a poetic line.
A regular rhyme scheme may make the poem’s lines more
predictable or more easy to memorize.
• Roses are red / Violets are blue / Sugar is sweet / And so are you
– Alliteration occurs when initial consonant or vowel
sounds are repeated through several words
• Roses are red
– Assonance occurs when internal vowel sounds are
repeated through several words whose final consonant
sounds differ.
• Lake and fate
Questions for Analyzing Poems
• Speaker and Situation
– What kind of person is speaking in the poem?
Can you figure out age, race, gender?
– What is the situation of the poem?
– How do speaker and/or situation relate to the
poem’s theme?
Questions, continued
• Tone
– How would you describe the tone of the poem?
– Does the tone change over the course of the
poem?
– Do diction, syntax, imagery, and/or sound help
develop that tone?
Questions, continued
• Diction
– What is the level of the poem’s diction? Is it
formal or informal? Simple or difficult? Elegant
or course?
– What words might have double meanings?
– Does the poem use paradox or verbal irony?
Questions, continued
• Syntax
– How difficult are the lines or sentences? Are
they short and simple or long and complex?
– Are there any departures from standard
grammar, such as fragmented elliptical
passages?
– Does the syntax change over the course of the
poem?
Questions, continued
• Imagery
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–
–
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What patterns does the imagery suggest?
What colors predominate?
To what senses do the images appeal?
What similes, metaphors, and symbols does the
poet use?
– Are there contrasting images?
– Does the imagery change through the course of
the poem?
Questions, continued
• Sound
– What effects are created by the sounds and
location of particular words/
– Does the poem move fast or slow? Does it flow
smoothly, or does it contain abrupt shifts, stops
and starts?
– How regular is the meter of the poem? What is
the meter?
– Does the poem use rhyme, alliteration, or
assonance?
– Does the sound in the poem change?