INTRODUCTION TO POETRY
What is poetry?
POETRY is the art of writing, studying and analyzing poems.A poem is a written or verbal expression of thought, feelings and emotions which uses lines, stanzas and deliberate arrangement and choice of words as a mode of transmission. Basically, the meaning of a poem is contained in what is called content and form.
Understanding the structure and content of a poem.
The Content of a poem is what the poem is all about, it’s what the writer wanted us to know or talk about. Content is what is generally referred to as a theme/message. Examples of themes are love, death, war etc.
The content of a poem is concerned with the question: What is the poem saying?
The content of a poem is concerned with the question: What is the poem saying?
The form of a poem refers to the general arrangement/ structure of a poem. It is the technique which the poet utilizes to communicate his ideas. It’s the style or the manner of presentation depicted by physical aspects of the poem. The form of a poem is concerned with the question: How is the message conveyed?
Language use in poetry - Poetry uses language in a more freestyle. The poets at their disposal use language in a special freedom referred to as poetic license that allows them to flout some basic rules of grammar such as sentence structure and spelling to get the desired meaning and effect. Therefore, to communicate their concerns successfully, poets use this freedom in two different ways: diction and style.
Diction and Style in Poetry
DICTION in poetry refers to the deliberate and specific choice of words that allows the poet
to use the fewest words possible and still pass the intended message.
to use the fewest words possible and still pass the intended message.
STYLE in poetry refers to the specific use of language to make it beautiful and more effective. The style of the poem is the channel through which the message is passed. This style
is what is generally referred to as stylistic devices and can be categorized
into two.
✓ Sound devices in poetry deal with the sound devices used in the poem.
✓ Semantic styles in poetry deals with the meaning of the poem.
English tests three forms of poetry.
Paper 1 – tests on form in poetry
Paper 2 /– tests on content in poetry
Oral poetry.
is what is generally referred to as stylistic devices and can be categorized
into two.
✓ Sound devices in poetry deal with the sound devices used in the poem.
✓ Semantic styles in poetry deals with the meaning of the poem.
English tests three forms of poetry.
Paper 1 – tests on form in poetry
Paper 2 /– tests on content in poetry
Oral poetry.