Lesson 8: Poetry الشعر

[ESAL SPIRIT]

Poetry: Poetical Aspects

Poetry is a particular kind of literature written in verse and characterized by a use of a language far from everyday speech. Poetry is the most intense and concentrated language.

The first elements to be taken into consideration for a correct reading of a poem are the following: a) Diction= The poet’s choice of words gives the poem its character and tone. b) Meaning= It is the result coming through the associations as well the literal meaning of the words. c) Double meaning= They are the ambiguities giving poetry richness and complexity. d) Visual Imagery= It creates pictures in the mind, but imagery can appeal to all five senses.

As an initial analysis we can ask students to give personal responses about the elements previously mentioned which they will verify later after following detailed steps. Some questions: What about the character of the poem, considering the choice of words? Elevated, lofty, colloquial, serious lighthearted? Try to find out different meanings referring to the same words and explain the poet’s intention about the great concentration of significance in a few words.

‘Verse’ is the way poetry sounds to our ears and we can call it musical characteristic. ‘Run on line’ happens when there is no punctuation at the end of a line and the sense is carried on without break in the next line. ‘Caesura’ happens when there is a definite pause somewhere in the middle of the line. Sound devices always add considerably to the musical effect of the poem, when it is read aloud.

The three structural devices adopted in poetry are the following: ‘contrast’ which is the most common device consisting of two opposite pictures, frequently adopted in fiction too. ‘illustration’ happens when the poet adopts a vivid picture in order to make an idea or a feeling more meaningful. ‘repetition’ happens when the poet wants to stress on a particular idea.

Sense devices, that are similes, metaphors, symbols or allegories have in poetry the same function as in fiction but their identification is sometimes more difficult because poetry has a concise language and a rather difficult general syntactic structure. Therefore, students should appreciate the poet’s inventiveness through a correct analysis of all these devices, after verifying general meaning, detailed meaning and sound devices.


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