Poetry Handouts

Defining the Genre
Poetry is a genre of literature, either in spoken or written form that emphasizes, among other things,
intricate patterns of sound and imagery, and the many possible ways that words can suggest meaning. The word
itself derives from a Greek word, poesis, meaning “making” or “creating.” Whereas ordinary speech and
writing, called prose, are organized in sentences and paragraphs, poetry in its simplest definition is organized in
units called lines as well as in sentences, and often in stanzas, which are the paragraphs of poetry. The way a
line of poetry is structured can be considered a kind of garment that shapes and clothes the thought within it.
Poetry has been part of the traditions of men through the ages; it has manifested in most human activities
as well as serves as a ready means of entertainment in traditional festivals. Poetry means different things to
different people. Thus, it may be difficult to give a single definition to it as the one standard definition. Let us
consider some of the definitions given to it by different scholars:
Definitions of Poetry
The following are well-known definitions of poetry which illustrate the varied view of this genre:
 Poetry is the language that tells us, through a emotional reaction, something that cannot be said. All
poetry, great or small, does this. - Edwin Arlington Robinson.
 Poetry is the imaginative expression of strong feeling, usually rhythmical...the spontaneous overflow of
powerful feelings recollected in tranquility. – William Wordsworth
 Poetry is the record of the best and happiest moments of the best and happiest minds. – Percy Bysshe
Shelley
 An actual poem is the succession of experiences – sounds, images, thoughts, emotions – through which
we pass when we are reading as poetically as we can. - Andrew Bradley
 If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold that no fire can ever warm me, I know that it is
poetry. If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that it is poetry. – Emily
Dickinson
Steps in the appreciation of poetry:

1. Learn to read a poem aloud/attentively so as to hear the sounds of its words in your inner ear.
2. Bear in mind always that a good poem has to be read repeatedly before it can be fully appreciated.
3. Do not start by worrying about the meaning of a poem. Start by appreciating its sounds, noting the variety of
sound repetitions.
4. Go on to know the meaning of words used in the poem, and to determine whether or not the words have been
used denotatively or connotatively.
5. identify the figures of speech and rhetorical devices used and their meanings.
6. Determine who the speaker in the poem is, his/her situation, and the tone s/he uses/employs.
7. Go over the poem again (and again and again, etc). it is believed that the meaning of the poem, by this act,
will have been arrived at without realizing it.
8. It should be pointed out that as a work of art, there could be different perspectives to the reading of a poem.
ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF A POEM

1. THEME - Every poem consists of a theme or an underlying message of what the poem wanted to tell us. There are
several types of themes we find in poetry. Here are examples of universal themes common to literature:
abundance/scarcity abuse of power action vs. apathy beating the odds
beauty coming of age corruption courage
effects of the past faith fall from grace family
fate fear fear of failure freedom
friendship greed hate heritage
heroes honesty innocence justice
love loyalty manipulation mothering
nature need for change obligation peace
parent-child relationships peer pressure perseverance prejudice
Power of the mind vs authority price of progress pride
quest for knowledge religion revenge secrecy
security/safety seizing the moment survival the overlooked
the road not taken war winners and losers
2. VOICE – Who is speaking in the poem? Most would automatically reply, “The poet.” However, this is not always true
as the one speaking in the poem (also known as the persona/speaker) may be an object or a person other than the writer.
This can be identified through clues that describe the speaker, such as age, attitude or experience.
3. TONE – It refers to the poet’s “implied attitude toward its subject,” and this often determined by the reader’s or
audience’s understanding of the way the poet’s use of other related elements such as rhyme, meter and imagery. Equally
important element in every poem is a tone. A tone is the attitude that we feel when we read or listen to a poem. Some
words that can describe the tone of a poem are:
Serious Humorous Amused Angry Cheerful Sad Gloomy
4. MOOD – Poetry can evoke our emotions and feelings when we read it out loud. These emotions and feelings help
establish a certain atmosphere or mood. Some words that can describe the mood of a poem are:
Romantic Realistic Optimistic Pessimistic Gloomy Mournful Sorrowful
5. SYNTAX – A poem consists of stanzas and each contains lines –these distinguish it from the sentences, paragraphs and
chapters of fiction. Syntax is simply the order or arrangement of words. In poetry, syntax influences the structure of a
poem.
6. DICTION – In poetry, diction or the choice of words include the selection of appropriate figurative language or
descriptive vocabulary to heighten a sensory experience of the theme (the main idea or topic) of the poem. A poet chooses
a word to achieve a certain sensory, emotional, or intellectual effect. For example, selecting “wandered,” may mean
differently compared to say, “walked around,” “shuffled,” “drifted,” “floated,” etc., for each of these listed words can
pertain to a different attitude, image, or relevance to the reader.
7. IMAGERY – This is the use of words to describe ideas or actions in a way that makes the readers connect the ideas
with pictures in their minds. In other words, words (language) are used to produce pictures in the minds of people reading
or listening.
So, imagery is said to be the sensory language as it appeals to or affect the senses of the reader or audience. It is a
collective term used to denote the images in a poem or all the objects and qualities of sense perception in a poem,
representing them as graphically as possible.
Poets utilize imagery to achieve the following important effect in their works:
o Arouse specific emotions in the reader or audience of their poems.
o Create beauty which is an important quality of poetry (the qualities that give pleasure to the senses)
o Communicate thoughts.
o Achieve concretion of life experiences and ideas that are otherwise abstract.
8. REPETITION – this is when the same line occurs in two or more places or is used as a refrain in a poem. The effect of
this may be to lay emphasis on a word or concept or to bring musicality into a poem. The intensity and emphasis laid by
repetition compel attention. Note that the repeated lines may slightly vary, in some poems, they still qualify as repetition.
The repeated lines with slight variation can be found in poems like, ‘The Sun on this Rubble after Rain’ by the South
African poet, Dennis Brutus.
9. REFRAIN – This has its foundation in repetition. It occurs when the same words, phrases or sentences keep recurring
at definite intervals in the course of a poem. In a poem, it is common for it to occur at the end of every stanza. E.g. My
poem on absurdity of life.
10. PARALLELISM – This is the repetition of words at the beginning of some lines in a poem. If a poet frequently
stresses the equal parts of sentences, such is referred to as balanced. Parallelism, aside from providing emphasis, enhances
the musicality of a poem. e.g.
11. ASSONANCE – this is the repetition of the same internal vowel sounds followed by consonants in two or more words
on the same line of a poem, for the purpose of creating lyrical effect that suggests the mood and meaning which the poet
wishes to convey. This is usually more effective in oral rendition. For example:
 ‘feeble reeds
 ‘often we will our real desires
 ‘Blake breaks the snaking flakes’
 ‘float... goat’
12. RHYTHM – This wave-like recurrence of sounds in music is a unique phenomenon in poetry. It is the flow of words
and phrases or the movement of thought which helps to convey mood and meaning in poetry. This is a pattern of stressed
and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry. Poets use rhythm to bring out the musical quality of language, to emphasize
ideas, to create moods, to unify works, and to heighten emotional responses. Devices such as alliteration, rhyme,
assonance, consonance, and parallelism often contribute to creating rhythm.
13. RHYME – This simply suggests the use of matching sounds at the end of two or more lines of poetry. Rhyme
generally helps the musical quality of a poem. Types of rhymes include:
(i) Alternate rhyme: a sequence of alternately rhyming lines. E.g.
Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness! -a
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun; -b
Conspiring with him how to load and bless -a
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-leaves run -b (J. Keats, ‘To Autum’)
• (ii) Couplet: a sequence of two rhyming. E.g.
Like men we’ll face the murderous, cowardly pack, -a
Pressed to the wall, dying fighting back -a
(Mckay, ‘If We Must Die’)
(iii) Initial or beginning rhyme: a sequence of two similar words or words with similar syllable(s) at the beginning
of the lines of a poem. E.g.
...the tranquil souls,
The breaths of the ancestors
The ancestors who were men
The ancestors who were sages
(Birago Diop, Viaticum’)
14. METER – Meter is the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables that creates the rhythm of some poetry.
THREE CLASSIFICATIONS OF POETRY
1. Narrative. By its name, narrative poetry tells a story or a series of events. Some forms of narrative poetry include
ballad (a short poem that often includes a dialogue through simple language), metrical tale (a poem with plenty of
descriptions of attitudes and opinions in verse form), and epic (a very lengthy poem about heroes and great warriors often
in fantastical and lofty language.)
2. Lyric. Often melodious because of the rhyming patterns that it follows, lyric poetry present emotions, feelings and/or
memories and does not tell a story. Forms of lyric poetry include reflective lyric (a poetic response through recalling past
emotions), elegy (dignified poem about grief and death), ode (formal poetic language used to commemorate an important
or historical event) and sonnet (a poem that follows a strict rhyme scheme and structure).
3. Dramatic. Also known as dramatic verse or verse drama, this poetry tells a story and is meant to be spoken or acted.
This classification includes dramatic narrative (a poem that tells a story through the point of view of a person involved in
it), dramatic monologue (a poetic speech addressed to the audience or to an absent character) and soliloquy (a poetic
speech of one character speaking alone, usually to him or herself).
CONVENTIONAL FORMS OF POETRY

Types of Philippine Poetry
Poetry has always been a part of what we call kwentong bayan or folk stories. We have passion for words; we
love exploring the meaning of words. We enjoy writing poems, in any poetic form. We have a diverse and rich Philippine
literature mostly told in poetry and passed down to us in oral form by our ancestors. Below are some types of these poems
or verses in poetic forms.
1. Tanaga is an indigenous type of Filipino short poem that is used traditionally in the Tagalog language to impart lessons
and reminders of our folks to young people.
The poetic art uses four (4) lines (quatrain) with each line having seven (7) syllables only.
Palay siyang matino, Ang katoto kapag tunay
Nang humangi’y yumuko; hindi ngiti ang pang-alay
Nguni’t muling tumayo kundi isang katapatan
Nagkabunga ng ginto ng mataus na pagdamay.
(PALAY ni Ildefonso Santos) (KAIBIGAN ni Emelita Perez Baes)
A tanaga traditionally does not have a title. It is a poetic form that should speak for itself. Most of these types of
poems are handed down by oral history, and contain proverbial forms, moral lessons, and snippets of a code of ethics.
Kabibi, ano ka ba? Wala iyan sa pabalat
May perlas, maganda ka; at sa puso nakatatak,
Kung idiit sa taynga, nadarama’t nalalasap
Nagbubuntung-hininga! ang pag-ibig na matapat.
(KABIBI ni Ildefonso Santos) (PAG-IBIG ni Emelita Perez Baes)
2. Dalit is an indigenous type of Filipino short poem that consists of eight syllables in each line. There are four lines in
each stanza with a single rhyme.
Nag-aral siyang pilit
Nang karangala’y makamit.
Buong buhay s’yang nagtiis.
Makapagtapos ang nais.
Ang pera niya’y tinipid,
Sa guro ay di sumipsip.
Markang mataas, nakamit:
Tagumpay nga ang kapalit.
(Zoren Mercurio)
3. Diona is an indigenous type of Filipino short poem that consists of seven syllables in each line. There are three lines in
each stanza with a single rhyme.
Ang payong ko’y si inay
Kapote ko si itay
Sa maulan kong buhay
(Raymond Pambit)
Aanhin ang yamang Saudi,
O yen ng Japayuki
Kung wala ka sa tabi
(Fernando Gonzales)

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Defining the Genre

Steps in the appreciation of poetry:

ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF A POEM

CONVENTIONAL FORMS OF POETRY

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