The Genre of Poetry

1. The Genre of Poetry Introduction to Literature

2. Poetry vs. Prose • What distinguishes poetry from prose? • It’s rhymed? Only sometimes… • It’s about love? Only sometimes… • It’s difficult to understand? Usually (but, then again, prose can be, too…) • While there are many ways that poetry and prose can differ, these are the major ones: • Poetry places as much importance on the sound, style, and shape of the message as the message itself. • Poetry is less concerned with creating a story, defining characters, or establishing a setting than creating a mood or leaving an impression. • Because poetry is often shorter and more condensed than prose, interpreting it requires the audience to “read between the lines” and consider multiple meanings.

3. Meter • In poetry, meter refers to how we measure a line or lines of poetry. It can be: • Syllabic: Measured according to the number of syllables per word • Accentual: Measured according to the number of accented, or stressed, syllables • Accentual-syllabic: Measured according to the combination of stressed and unstressed syllables • Most common in traditional, form poetry • When we are measuring the length and rhythm of a poem’s line(s), we are engaging in a process called scansion. • Knowledge of poetic forms, rhythms, and scansion is called prosody. Sometimes we refer to a particular poet’s “style” with this term. • Ex. Robert Frost’s prosody

4. Scansion • Stressed Syllable: ́ or ̄ • Unstressed Syllable: ˘́ • Feet Break: / • Caesura: // • A mid-line pause

5. Types of Feet • In accentual-syllabic verse… • Each unit of stressed and unstressed syllables is known as a foot • Different combinations of stresses create different feet—the building blocks of poetry TWO SYLLABLES THREE SYLLABLES • ˘ ¯ • ¯ ˘ ˘ • ¯ ˘ • ˘ ˘¯ • ¯ ¯ • ˘ ¯ ˘ • ¯˘ ¯ • ˘ ˘

6. Number of Feet • In accentual-syllabic verse… • Along with the type of foot, the number of feetperlinedictates the name of the structure in which the poem is written • *Indicates most common

7. Examples • Trochaic Trimeter • Likeahigh-bornmaiden Inapalace-tower, • Percy Shelley, “To a Skylark” • Anapestic Tetrameter • And the sheenof theirspearswas likestarson thesea, When thebluewave rollsnightly ondeepGalilee. • Lord Byron, “The Destruction of Sennacherib” • Iambic Pentameter • ShallIcomparetheetoasummer'sday? Thouartmorelovelyandmoretemperate: • William Shakespeare, “Sonnet 18”

8. Stanza • In prose, we call groups of related/nearby sentences paragraphs. • In poetry, we call groups of related/nearby lines stanzas. • Formal poetry will contain stanzas, often with the same number of lines in each. • Free verse poetry may not use stanzas, and, if it does, the stanzas may not be of uniform length.

9. Types of Rhyme • End Rhyme: The sounds of final vowels and consonants are identical • Ex. Gig/big • Masculine Rhyme: The final syllables of an end rhyme are stressed and identical (most end rhymes are masculine) • Ex. Long/song • Feminine Rhyme: Of an end rhyme that is identical, the penultimate syllable is stressed and the final syllable is unstressed • Ex. Satin/Latin • Triple Rhyme: The final three syllables of an end rhyme are all identical • Ex. Deporting/resorting • Half Rhyme: Only the final consonant—but not the final vowel—rhymes exactly. • Ex. Card/word • Eye Rhyme: Two words that look as if they rhyme but are pronounced differently • Ex. Cough/bough • Internal Rhyme: An exact end rhyme within (in the middle of) a line of poetry • Ex. The goose on the loose is wild.

10. Rhyme Scheme • In formal (rhymed) poetry, the rhyme schemeis the pattern of end rhymes for each line • Different poetical forms—especially traditional ones—will have consistent, expected rhyme schemes • Rhyme schemes are portrayed with letters • Ex. AABB, ABAB, ABCABC, etc. • They flee from me that sometime did me seek A With naked foot, stalking in my chamber. B I have seen them gentle, tame, and meek, A That now are wild and do not remember B That sometime they put themself in dangerB To take bread at my hand; and now they range, C Busily seeking with a continualchange. C • Sir Thomas Wyatt, “They Flee From Me”

11. Rhymed Forms • Terza Rima • Sonnet • Villanelle • Sestina • Ballad • Ode • Elegy

12. Unrhymed Forms • Blank verse • Haiku • Free verse • Prose poem

13. Diction • High (Golden) Style • More complicated, fancy, or multi-syllabic words • Unusual stresses or syntax • Does not necessarily mean older • Low (Plain) Style • Common, simple, shorter words • Natural syntax that mimics speech • Does not necessarily mean more contemporary

14. Additional Terms • Elision: Dropping a syllable or letter to fit in poetic meter • Ex. O’er the ramparts we watched… • Accented Grave: Marking a normally unaccented end syllable (almost always an –ed) to indicate that it should be pronounced • Ex. Belovèd • Enjambment: Breaking up a clause over multiple poetic lines. • Ex. A farmer was ploughing his field • End-stopped: Ending a clause or sentence at the end of a poetic line. • Ex. Humpty dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty dumpty had a great fall.

15. Activity • In groups of 3-4: • Scan: • “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” • “They Flee From Me” • Identify the type and number of feet • Note whether lines are primarily enjambedor end-stopped • Are there stanzas? If so, what type? • Identify the form and rhyme scheme • What imagery or metaphors do you see? • Does the structure of the poem seem to fit the message? Why or why not?