Poetry Analysis
POETRY
The word poem derives from a Greek word, poesis meaning “making” or “creating”. Therefore the word poetry can be defined as a form of literature, spoken or written, that emphasizes, rhythm, other intricate patterns of sound and imagery, and many possible ways that words can suggest meaning.
OR:-
Poetry is a literary works written in verse, in particular verse writing of high quality, great beauty, emotional sincerity or intensity, or profound insight.
OR:-
Refers to the artistic expression of ideas, experiences or events, using a rhythmically patterned and emotionally charged kind of language.
OR:-
Poetry is a kind of condensed language which says more in the few number of words.
POETIC UNITS
There are three basic units of poetry which are foot, line and stanza.
{1} FOOT – KINDS OF FOOT
This is the poetic unit which is made up of two or three beats with one strong beat and one or two weak beats
[a] An Iamb.
This is the type foot which is formed by one weak beat and one strong beat. Example: Suppose.
[b] A trochee.
This is the kind of foot which is formed by one strong beat and one weak beat.
Example: Summer.
[c] Anapest.
This is the foot which is made up by two weak beats and one strong beat.
Example: Entertain.
[d] A dactyl.
This is the foot which is made up by one strong beat and two weak beats.
Example: Cinema.
{2} LINE.
This is the poetic unit which is made up by one foot or more. Lines are classified according to the number of feet it contains.
Monometer… This is the line which has one foot.
Diameter… This is the line which has two feet.
Trimeter… This is the line which has three feet.
Tetrameter… This is the line which has four feet.
Pentameter… This is the line which has five feet.
Hexameter… This is the line which has six feet.
Heptameter… This is the line which has seven feet.
Octameter… This is the line which has eight feet.
{/} STANZA.
This is the poetic unit which is made up of a number of lines.
KINDS OF STANZAS.
Couplet This is the stanza with two lines.
Triplet This is the stanza with three lines.
Quatrain… This is the stanza with four lines. It is a poem or a verse of a poem that
has 4 lines.
Quintet This is the stanza with five lines.
Sestet This is the stanza with six lines.
Septet This is the stanza with seven lines.
Octave This is the stanza with eight lines.
TERMS USED IN POETRY
[a] A poet.
This is a person who composes a poem. It can be in a written or oral form. Some of the poets are Ralf Bitamazire (I love you my Gentle one), Joe Corrie (Eat more) and Armando Geubuza (Your pain).
[b] A poem.
It is a piece of writing in verse form especially expressing deep feelings in an artistic language. Or in other words, a poem is a piece of writing that expresses emotions, experiences and ideas especially in short lines using words that rhyme ( = end with the same sound). Examples of poems include You Are Lost, A Freedom song and Lost Beauty.
[c] Persona.
This is a person who speaks or narrates in a poem. This is a character of the poem. For example in the poem “A freedom song” the persona is Atieno’s uncle.
[d] Addressee (Audience).
This is a person that the persona talks to. For example in the poem “Lullaby” the addressee is a child.
[e] A verse.
It is a single line in a poem. Several verses form a stanza. The following is an example of a verse in a poem: “I love you, my gentle one,”
[f] A stanza.
It is the arrangement of verses in a poem, several verses comprising a complete idea. The following is an example of a stanza.
“I have crossed an ocean I have lost my tongue from the root of the old One a new one has sprung.”
KINDS OF POEMS
Generally Speaking, Poems fall into two categories which are traditional poems and modern poems as follows.
{i} TRADITIONAL POEM.
It is sometimes referred to as the closed form or rhythmic poem. It is that kind of poem which strictly observes the old rules of writing poems. Such old rules include rhyme pattern, equal number of syllables in each verse, the length of verses and the number of verses in each stanza.
{ii}MODERN POEM.
It is also known as open poem or free verse. This is that kind of poem which does not observe the old rules of writing poems. For example, there are a lot of variations (differences) in the number of syllables in each verse, the length of verses and the number of verses in each stanza.
Apart from the above two categories, poems can also be classified according to form and content.
[a] KINDS OF POEMS ACCORDING TO FORM.
[i] LYRIC POEM.
This is a short poem of a song like quality, usually expressing serious personal feelings about a certain issue.
{a} ODE.
This is a lyric poem with complex stanza form, usually expressing serious personal feelings about something.
{b} SONG.
This is a lyric poem set to music.
{c} SONNET.
This is a verse form consisting of fourteen (14) lines with a fixed rhyme scheme. A good example of this includes the poems “If We Must Die”, “Sunrise” and “Merry- go round”
{d} DIDACTIC POEM
This is a poem whose aim is instruction of the reader. In other words didactic poems are those poems designed to give instructions to the readers. A good example of this is the poem “Your pain” by Armando Geubuza.
{e} ELEGY.
This is a lyric poem that expresses sadness especially for somebody who has died. Elegy is a mournful poem, typically for the dead. A good example of this is the poem “The Funeral of Martin Luther King, Jr: by Nikki Glovanni and “Death of a Comrade” by Martin Carter.
[ii] NARRATIVE POEM.
This is a poem which narrates or tells a story. It gives an account of a sequence of events in the order in which they happened.
{a} BALLAD.
This is the narrative poem with recurrent refrain; usually it is a song like telling a story. A good example of ballad is the poem “A Freedom Song” by Mac Goye.
{b} EPIC.
This is along narrative poem which tells a story of a historical figure (hero) or event.
{c} ALLEGORICAL POEM.
This is a narrative poem that conveys a hidden moral meaning.
[b] KINDS OF POEMS ACCORDING TO CONTENT (Themes).
{i} POLITICAL POEM.
This is a poem which talks about the questions of politics.
{ii} LOVE POEM (Romantic poem).
This is a poem that addresses love affairs and their main theme is affection.
{iii} RELIGIOUS POEM.
This is a poem that addresses the questions of faith (beliefs).
{iv} ECONOMICAL POEM.
This is a poem that talks about the questions of economy.
{v} REALIZATIONAL POEM.
This is the poem in which a person realizes a fact or becomes aware of a certain fact.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN
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POETRY. |
PROSE (NOVEL&PLAYS). |
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{i} Arrangement. It is arranged in lines and stanzas. |
{i} It is arranged in sentences and paragraphs. |
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{ii} It is very telegraphic.(Economical). It uses a very few words to express many ideas. |
{ii} It is very elaborative. It uses a lot of words to express a few ideas. |
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{iii} Figures of speech. It employs (uses) figures of speech to a great extent. |
{iii} Some times, it uses figures of speech but most often uses direct expression. |
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{iv} Rhythmical. It is more rhythmical as it uses various musical devices. Eg. Rhyme, refrain and assonance. |
{iv} Less rhythmical. It makes use of natural rise and fall of sound pitch and stress when spoken. |
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{v} Imaginative. Poetry employs imaginative use of language that is the reason as to why its message needs interpretation to understand. |
{v} It is intellectual dimension of language. Its message can be directly understood. |
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{vi} Connotation. It uses connotative (indirect) meaning more than denotative (direct meaning). |
{vi} Denotation. It uses denotative (direct) meaning more than connotative (indirect meaning). |
| {vii} It is very occasional.
Poetry occurs infrequently (not often). |
{vii} It is daily (practical use). It occurs very frequently or regularly. |
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{Viii} Characterization. The character of a poem is persona who hardly bears a name, hence somehow difficult to recognize. |
{Viii} characters in novels and plays bear the names, hence very easy to recognize. |
FIGURES OF SPEECH
Refers to the words or phrases used in a different way from its usual meaning so as to create particular mental image or effect. The following are some of the figures of speech and their examples:
(i) Personification.
This is a figure of speech in which non-human creatures are given human characteristics or behaviour. For example in the poem You are Lost “the tenderness” has been given a human character of asking a question.
(ii) Depersonification. (Depersonalization)
This refers to the figure of speech in which a human being is given non-human characteristics or behaviour.
Eg: “Sultani barked a lot this morning”
“You cannot have my baby, you bastard” he roared.
(iii) Apostrophe.
It is an explanation whereby a person is addressing an absent, dead or non-human creatures as if they can hear or reply.
Eg:- “Ooh Ananda my dear wife
The dead never come back home But at least once in life
They visit us in dream”
(iv) Allusion.
This refers to the comparison of an ordinary person or event with the past famous or notorious person or event.
Example: “The Machingas at Jamatini faced Tsunami yesterday.”
(v) An-tithe-sis.
This is the comparison of an entity with another by using contrary attributes. In other words, an- tithe-sis is a contrast between two things.
Example: “The Internet is a master of technology and a thief of time.”
(vi) Simile.
This is the figure of speech which compares two different entities or situations by using comparison entry. For example in the poem Lost Beauty the persona uses simile when he says: “..And a face dark as the night…”
Another example: “She walked like a monkey”
(vii) Metaphor.
This is the figure of speech which is used to compare two different entities or situations without using comparison entry. For example in the poem You Are Lost the persona compares himself with the tool when he says “to you I am now a tool”.
“Another example: “Kipingo is a lion”
(viii) Metonymy.
This refers to the substitution of meaning where by an entity is mentioned to mean another related entity.
Example: “The crown is visiting us today” (i.e. the king). “White house” = The Us President.
(ix) Synecdoche.
This refers to the substitution of meaning where by a part of an entity is mentioned to mean the whole entity or the whole entity is mentioned to mean its part.
Example: “Tanzania won a gold medal in marathon last month.”
(x) Overstatement. (Hyperbole).
This is the figure of speech in which a person says something in a way that it seems more important than it really is. In short it is the saying more than what a person means. For example in the poem I Love you, My Gentle One the persona says “Because you possess my heart” this is an overstatement because it is not possible for a person to have the capability of possessing the heart of some one else..
Another example: “I invited one billion people in my birthday”
(xi) Understatement. (Litotes).
This is the figure of speech in which a person says less than what he/ she actually means.
Eg. “It’s not that I passed that much, I only scored division 1.3 in my form six
exams”
(xii) Anti–climax.
This refers to the statement ending with unexpected explanation. In other words, anti-climax is a situation that is disappointing because it happens at the end of something that was much more exciting, or because it is not as exciting as you expected.
Example:- “The home of the brave
and the land of the free to massacre;”
(xiii) Allegory.
This refers to a story which has two meanings one is open and direct meaning while another one is indirect and hidden but intended meaning. Allegory is a story, play, a picture etc in which each character or event is a symbol representing an idea or quality, such as truth, evil, death etc.
(xiv) Satire.
This is an expression in which a person becomes ridiculous because of his/her own fool or vice. It can take the form of irony or sarcasm. The major aim of satire is to change a situation or behaviour, to educate or just to entertain through humour. For example in the poem Lost Beauty the persona uses satire by calling his black sisters “Awful fakes of White females” and “White masks”.
(xv) Sarcasm.
This refers to the bitter statement which intends to hurt or humiliating someone in order to make him or her angry or unhappy.
(xvi) Paradox.
This is the contradictory statement which has some truth when interpreted. It is the saying that seems foolish yet may be true.
Example:- “You will kill him with your kindness”
(xvii) Oxymoron.
This is the statement in which elements of opposite meanings are used. Oxymoron is the phrase that combines two words that seem to be the opposite of each other.
Example: “Let us agree to disagree”.
A deafening silence (= very noticeable that nothing was said or done).
(xviii) Euphemism.
It is a word, phrase or statement which is used instead of the one that sounds harsh, unpleasant or obscene.
Eg: She is expecting = she is pregnant.
(xix) Symbolism.
It is a case in which an entity in a work of art refers to another different entity or situation. For example in the poem Your pain “blood” symbolizes the existence of armed struggle and sacrifice.
(xx) Irony.
This is a figure of speech in which a person says the opposite of what he/she really means. For example in the poem Hollow Heads the persona calls his enemies Friends instead of enemies.
KINDS OF IRONY.
[a] Verbal Irony.
The term verbal means something related to words, therefore verbal irony is that type of irony in which what is said or spoken is opposite to the reality.
[b] Situational Irony.
This happens when all the circumstances and things happening at a particular time and a particular place is opposite to its normal situation. Refer to the play “Betrayal in the city” by Francis Imbuga for further understanding.
[c] Dramatic Irony.
This is a situation in a literary work when a character’s words carry an extra meaning to the audience because they know more than a character, especially about what is going to happen.
MUSICAL DEVICES.
To make their poems musical, poets use meter and repetition.
Meter.
This refers to the arrangement of strong and weak syllables in a poem at more or less equal intervals to make regular rhythm.
Nb:- Apart from meter, the most common way used by poets to make their poems musical is the use of repetition. There are various kinds of repetition in poetry as follows.
(i) Alliteration.
It is the repetition of initial identical consonant of lexical item in a poetic line.
Eg.
Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers……………………………….
Your beautiful black blood that irrigates the field……………………………
(ii) Consonance.
It is the repetition of final identical consonant of lexical items in a poetic line.
Eg.
Take your pack and pick your pack.
(iii) Assonance.
It is the repetition of a vowel sound of a lexical item in a poetic line.
Eg.
Mosses Supposes his toes are roses.
(iv) Reiteration.
This refers to the repetition of words or phrases in a poetic line for emphasis or rhythmic effect.
Eg.
(v) Parallelism.
Land lord, land lord….
Police, police…………
It is the repetition of line which has similar structures with the same similar phrases. Consider the following example.
If you love one, you can’t have a fun, If you love two, you can’t be true,
If you love three, you can’t be free, If you love four, what for?
(vi) Refrain.
It is the repetition of a word, phrase, line or group of lines in specific position of different stanzas in a poem. It is also called chorus especially in a song. For example “Atieno yo” is a refrain of the poem A freedom song by Mcgoye while “Front line” is a refrain of the poem Front Line by George Shea.
(vii) Rhyme.
This is the repetition of sound in different words such that the words sound more or less a like (similar).
Eg. “Ooh Ananda my dear wife
The dead never come back home But at least once in life
They visit us in dream”
Nb: -The word wife rhymes with life.
-The word home rhymes with dream.
(i) Setting.
DETAILED CHECKLIST.
Sometimes the poems indicate what is expressed in them. Setting can be the time, place or situation in which the poem happens.
(ii) General message.
This is what the speaker is telling the audience. Hence, it is required to explain the whole event, state or thought as told by the poet.
(iii) Theme.
This is the central idea that the poet intends to express.
(iv) Diction.
This refers to the choice of words to achieve a certain effect. The poet may choose the words to show whether the persona is educated or not or a member of upper class or lower class. Consider the following last verse in the poem “Ballad of the Landlord”
Judge gives Negro 90 days in county jail.
This shows that the persona (Landlord) is a Whiteman.
(v) Tone.
This refers to the use of language that reveals the attitude of the speaker. The tone of the speaker can be easily identified (understood) by the use of his/her diction. The tone can be of love, hatred, seriousness, contempt, sad, pity, mockery, sarcasm, irony, satire, exciting etc.
(vi) Mood.
This is the feelings that a reader gets through the prevailing tone. In the end of a poem, the reader becomes happy, angry, sad, sympathetic, depressed, embarrassed, disappointed or excited.
(vii) Imagery.
This is the creation of some mental picture in the minds of the reader
KINDS OF IMAGERY.
[i] Tactile Imagery {Touch Imagery}:- This is a type of imagery connected with the sense of touch. A good example of this is found in the novel “The Beautyful ones are not yet born” as follows:
“The Man put out his hand and touched the body in between the thighs, just below the genitals……The hand moved up” {Pg: 98}.
[ii] Gustatory Imagery {Taste Imagery}:- This is a type of imagery connected with the sense of taste. The following narration from the novel “The Beautyful ones are not yet born” is good evidence of this kind of imagery.
“Under a dying lamp a child is disturbed by a long cough coming from somewhere deep in the center of the infant body. At the end of it his mother calmly puts her mouth to the wet congested nostrils and sucks them free.” {Pg: 35}.
[iii] Auditory Imagery {Heard sounds}:- This is a type of imagery connected with hearing. The following narration by Odili Samalu from the novel “A Man of the People” provides a vivid example of an auditory imagery.
“She was one of those girls who send out loud cries in the heat of the thing. It happened again each time. But the first day it was rather funny she kept calling: “Ralph darling.”
{Pg: 24}.
[iv] Olfactory Imagery {Smell Imagery}:- This is a kind of imagery connected with the sense of smell. The following narration by Toundi when describing Madame {Suzy} the wife of the Commandant in the novel “Houseboy” by Ferdinand Oyono is a good example of Olfactory Imagery.
“Her eyes grew small. She came towards me. A light breeze from behind her brought a smell of perfume and female sweat that seemed to scorch my body.” {Pg: 73}.
[v] Visual Imagery {seen objects}:- This is a kind of imagery connected with seeing or sight. In the novel “A Man of the people” The main character Odili Samalu is heard describing Chief Nanga.
“The man was still as handsome and youthful – looking as ever there was no doubt about that.
Looking at him now – that his smile was anything but genuine.” {Pg: 8}.
[vi] Kinetic Imagery {Movement}:- This is a kind of imagery produced by movement. In the novel “A Man of the People” Odili Samalu is heard talking of the Minister, Chief Nanga.
“Outside, the dancers had all come alive again and the hunters – their last powder gone – were tamely waiting for the promised palm-wine. The Minister danced a few dignified steps to the music of each group and stuck red pound notes on the perspiring faces of the best dancers.” {Pg: 14}.
