Understanding Poetry Elements

Definition of Poetry

• Poetry is the rhythmical creation of beauty (Edgar Allan Poe).
• Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings, taking origin from emotion recollected in tranquility (William Wordsworth).
• Poetry differs from prose through form: compression, use of meter/rhyme, line as unit, heightened vocabulary, and flexible syntax (Ophelia A. Dimalanta, 2003).
• Poetry employs metaphors and similes to enhance imaginative understanding through implicit or explicit comparisons.
• Poetry is created by a poet, based on human experience, and shared with an audience.
• "Poiesis" means "making"
• Oldest poets are referred to as "makers".

Elements of Poetry

• Line: Basic unit of poetry.
• Stanza: Group of lines.
  • Couplet: Two lines.
  • Triplet: Three lines.
  • Quatrain: Four lines.
  • Cinquain: Five lines.
• Rhythm: Patterned recurrence of language features (sound), easily perceived by ear and mind.
• Meter: Recurrence of stressed and unstressed syllables.
• Stress: Emphasis on one syllable over others.
• English poetry has five basic meters: iambic (unstressed/stressed), trochaic (stressed/unstressed), spondaic (stressed/stressed), pyrrhic (unstressed/unstressed), and amphibrach (unstressed/stressed/unstressed).
• Persona: Speaker of the poem.
• Tone: Speaker's attitude towards subject/audience.
• Diction: Word choice (and order) determining language level.
• Theme: Main point/idea of the poem.

Types of Poetry

• Lyric Poetry: Brief, single speaker expressing feelings about a subject.

  • Song: Short lyric poem for singing.
  • Ode: Relatively long, serious poem with formal diction, often addressing a significant object.
  • Elegy: Mournful poem, often meditating on death or loss of beauty/youth.
  • Sonnet: 14-line poem, specific rhyme schemes.
  • Simple Lyric: Short, musical, subjective/emotional verse.

• Narrative Poetry: Tells a story, often longer than lyric.

  • Ballad: Old verse form, originally for singing or recitation, with simple refrain.
  • Epic: Long narrative poem about a heroic journey, superb deeds, fabulous adventures, highly stylized language.
  • Metrical Romance: Narrative poem about a knight's quest for a lady's favor, emphasizing courtly love, bravery, honour and proper character.
  • Metrical Tale: Narrative in verse about real or fictional events, characters, and situations, using simple language; single incident.
  • Idyll: Narrative poem with epic, romantic, or tragic themes.

Dive into the world of poetry with this quiz that explores its definitions and fundamental elements. Learn about key terms such as lines, stanzas, rhythm, and meter while enhancing your appreciation for poetic form and expression. Perfect for poetry enthusiasts and students alike!