POETRY

Poetry is the kind of thing poets write. – Robert Frost

A POET IS LIMITED in materials he can use in creating his works: all he has are words to express his ideas and feelings.
These words need to be precisely right on several levels at once:

 They must sound right to the listener even as they delight his ear
 They must have a meaning which might have been unanticipated, but seems to be the perfect right one
 They must be arranged in a relationship and placed on the page in ways that are at once easy to follow and
assist the reader in understanding
 They must probe the depths of human thought, emotion, and empathy while appearing simple, self-contained
and unpretentious

ELEMENTS OF POETRY
POETIC GENRES
A poetic genre is generally a tradition or classification of poetry based on the subject matter, style, or
other broader literary characteristics.

1. Narrative poetry
Narrative poetry is a genre of poetry that tells a story. Broadly it subsumes epic poetry, but the term “narrative
poetry” is often reserved for smaller works, generally with more appeal to human interest. Narrative poetry may
be the oldest type of poetry.
2. Dramatic poetry
Dramatic poetry is drama written in verse to be spoken or sung, and appears in varying, sometimes related
forms in many cultures.
3. Lyric poetry
Lyric poetry is a genre that, unlike epic and dramatic poetry, does not attempt to tell a story but instead is of a
more personal nature. Poems in this genre tend to be shorter, melodic, and contemplative. Rather than
depicting characters and actions, it portrays the poet’s own feelings, states of mind, and perceptions.
4. Prose poetry
Prose poetry is a hybrid genre that shows attributes of both prose and poetry. It may be indistinguishable from
the micro-story (a.k.a. the “short story”, “flash fiction”). written in prose instead of using verse but preserving
poetic qualities such as heightened imagery, parataxis and emotional effects.

POETRY’S STRUCTURE and FORM

1. POETRY’S RHYTHM
Rhythm gives a poem its sound, and there are many different ways that rhythm is used, and lots of
elements in poetry that are related to rhythm.

Stress / Accent
A line of poetry is filled with syllables. When a syllable is given emphasis, it is called a stressed syllable.
Stress is the emphasis given to the syllable.
Example: “water” has two syllables: wa – ter
The first syllable (“wa”) is the stressed syllable – it is pronounced with more emphasis than the second syllable
(“ter”), which is the unstressed syllable.

2. Foot
A foot is a combination of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry. There are many different
combinations, but some are more popular than others. An unstressed (or light) syllable is marked with a and
a stressed syllable (or heavy) is marked with a
Iamb: A foot with two syllables, one that is not stressed and one that is, in that order.
Trochee: A foot with two syllables, this time with one that is stressed and one that is not.
Spondee: A foot with two syllables, both of which are stressed.
Anapest: A foot with three syllables, two stressed syllables followed by one unstressed syllable
Dactyl: A foot with three syllables, one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables
3. Meter
This is the number of feet that is in a line of poetry. A line of poetry can have any number of feet, and can have
more than one type of foot. There are some meters that are used more often than others.
 Monometer: a line with 1 foot Pentameter: A line with 5 feet
Dimeter: A line with 2 feet Hexameter: A line with 6 feet
Trimeter: A line with 3 feet Heptameter: A line with 7 feet
Tetrameter: A line with 4 feet Octameter: a line with 8 feet

If a line of poetry has 5 feet, and those 5 feet are all iambs, you have a line of poetry that is called iambic pentamter.
This is the most common metric pattern in formal poetry.
Example: How do / I love / thee? Let / me count / the ways. “Sonnet 43” Elizabeth Barrett Browning

POETRY’S FORM

There is no one way to write a poem. In fact, there are many ways, and many different forms!
Sometimes it is the meter of the poem that gives you the form, sometimes it’s the content, and sometimes it is
the organization of it.

Stanza - A group of lines in a poem. A stanza is similar to the paragraph.

Quatrain - A stanza of four lines

Couplet - A stanza of two lines

Open – poetic form free from regularity and consistency in elements such as rhyme, line length and
metrical form

Closed – poetic form subjected to a fixed structure and pattern

Blank Verse – unrhymed iambic pentameter

Free Verse – lines with prescribed pattern or structure – the poet determines all the variables as seems
appropriate for each poem

Concrete – also known as a pattern poetry or shaped verse, these are poems that are printed on page so that
they form a recognizable outline related to the subject

Ballad - A ballad is a poem that usually tells a story that is similar to a folktale. It is often written in
quatrains, and usually in lines that are iambic trimeter.

Elegy - A poem that is sad and thoughtful, and often said in lament of a person who has died.

Epic - A long narrative poem

Lyric - A poem that express the personal mood, feeling, or meditation of a single speaker.

Narrative - A poem that tells a story

Sonnet - In general, sonnets have 14 lines. However, there are many different types of sonnets.

Petrarchan sonnet (or Italian sonnet): Each of its 14 lines will be written in iambic pentameter. There will
be an octave (a group of 8 lines) at the beginning, and a sestet (a group of 6 lines) at the end.

Shakespearean sonnet (or English sonnet) Each of its 14 lines will be written in iambic pentameter.
There will be three quatrains and will end with a couplet. The rhyme scheme will be A-B-A-B, C-D-C-D, E-F-E-
F,G,G

STRUCTURAL TECHNIQUES AND DEVICES

The Line
 A line of poetry is not like a sentence. Just because the words are one line, it doesn’t mean that the
complete thought is finished.

When reading poetry, and you reach the end of the line and there is no punctuation after the last word,
do not pause – continue reading as you would any sentence.

Example: You would read the following

“I lie in bed fully awake. The darkness

breathes to the pace of a dog’s snoring.
The film is replayed to sounds
Of an intricate blues guitar.”
“Late Movies with Skylar”
Michael Ondaatje

the same way you would read

“I lie in bed fully awake. The darkness breathes to the pace of a dog’s
snoring. The film is replayed to sounds of an intricate blues guitar.”

However, this does not mean that what appears on a single line of poetry is not important. When
reading poetry, or when writing your own, pay close attention to how the lines are being broken up. A line of
poetry does not have to end when the sentence ends, and a period or comma does not have to appear at the
end of the line either. Take a look at these examples and notice how the poets are breaking the line.

“Like wet cornstarch, I slide

past my grandmother’s eyes. Bible
at her side, she removes her glasses.”
“Refugee Ship”
Lorna Dee Cervantes

“What peaches and what penumbras! Whole families

shopping at night! Aisles full of husbands! Wives in the
avocados, babies in the tomatoes!”
“A Supermarket in California”
Allen Ginsberg

Caesura
Most commonly, a caesura is punctuation somewhere else other than at the end of a line of poetry.

Example: “There are their fragments, all I remember of them,

wanting more knowledge of them. In the mirror and in my kids
I see them in my flesh. Wherever we are
they parade in my brain…”
“Light”
Michael Ondaatjie

Enjambment
When the idea or phrase in a poem is carried over from one line into the next.

 Example: “Black reapers with the sound of steel on stones

are sharpening scythes. I see them place the hones
in their hip-pockets as a thing that’s done,
and start their silent swinging, one by one.”
“Reapers”
Jean Toomer