Elements Of Poetry - English (Compulsory) For Class XI - Introduction : Elements Of Poetry

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Introduction : Elements Of Poetry

POETRY:
"Poetry is a verbal or written expression of feelings and ideas in an imaginative style with distinctive rhythm, rhyme, and meter."

ELEMENTS OF POETRY

1. Line
2. Foot
3. Meter
4. Stanza
5. Rhyme
6. Rhyming pattern
7. Free verse

Terms	Description
Line	Poetry contains lines. The length of a line may be measured in two ways: the number of syllables in it or the number of stresses.  Example: Thus in the winter stands the lonely tree. (This verse has ten syllables or five meters.)
Foot	The foot is a formative measuring unit in poetry that is made up of stressed and unstressed syllables. The combination of feet creates meter in poetry. Later, these meters join for the composition of a complete poem.
Meter	Meter functions as a means of imposing a specific number of syllables in a line of poetry. It consists of the number of syllables and the pattern of emphasis on those syllables. The most widely used meter in English poetry is iambic pentameter that is a line or verse with five metrical feet, each consisting of one short (or unstressed) syllable followed by one long (or stressed) syllable.  Example:  Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun; -- Keats
Stanza	Stanza is the division of a poem in a certain number of lines having the same meter, rhyme, and a unifying idea or image. Stanza is identified with a number of lines it contains. Thus, a couplet has two lines, a tercet has three lines, a quatrain has four lines, a quintain has five, a sestet has six lines, a septet has seven, and an octave has eight lines.  Example: How happy is he born or taught, That serveth not another's will; Whose armour is his honest thought, And simple truth his highest skill.
Rhyme	It is the same sound at the end of poetic lines.
Rhyming pattern	A convenient way of setting out a pattern of rhymes is to write for: (a) the first rhyme, (b) for the second, (c) for the third, and so on.  Example: The people along the sand. (a) All turn and look one way. (b) They turn their back on the land. (a) They look at the sea all day. (b)
Free verse	Free verse is a poem that doesn't rhyme and doesn't have a regular rhythm or meter.

FORMS AND GENRES OF POETRY:

1. Lyric
2. Sonnet
3. Elegy
4. Ode
5. Ballad
6. Epic

Poetry can be broadly divided into three types:

1. lyrical,
2. narrative,and
3. descriptive.

Further, poetry can be classified into forms and genres based on structure, content, and style. Here are some important forms and genres of poetry.

Forms / Genres	Description
Lyric	A lyric poem is a short but highly musical verse that conveys powerful feelings. It has rhyme, meter, or other literary devices.
Sonnet	The word 'sonnet' means little song. A sonnet is a 14-line lyrical poem divided into two stanzas: an octave and a sestet.  The sonnet's three main types are the Italian, the English and the Spenserian.
Elegy	Elegy is a lyrical poem expressing sorrow over the death of a loved one.
Ode	Ode is also a kind of lyrical poem usually written in the form of an address commonly glorifying an event or individual.
Ballad	A ballad is a narrative poem that tells a story, usually in four-line stanzas called quatrains.
Epic	Epic is a long narrative poem that tells the heroic exploits of a legendary hero.

POETIC DEVICES AND FIGURES OF SPEECH

1. Simile
2. Metaphor
3. Personification
4. Hyperbole
5. Alliteration
6. Onomatopoeia
7. Oxymoron
8. Irony
9. Symbol
10. Imagery

Poetic Devices and Figures of Speech:
Poets use poetic devices and figures of speech in order to enhance the meaning or mood of a poem. Here are some essential poetic devices and figures of speech.

Poetic Devices/ Figures of Speech	Description
Simile	A simile is a direct comparison between two unlike things, usually with the words like or as.  Example:  The muscles on his brawny arms are strong as iron bands.
Metaphor	Metaphor is an implied comparison between two relatively unlike things without like or as.  Example:  The road was a ribbon of moonlight.
Personification	Personification gives the qualities of a human to an animal, an object, or an idea.  Example:  a brave handsome tree fell with a creaking rending cry.
Hyperbole	It is an exaggerated statement used to heighten the effect.  Example:  She's said so on several million occasions.
Alliteration	Alliteration is the repeated consonant sounds at the beginning of words.  Example:  Wide-eyed and wondering while we wait for others to waken.
Onomatopoeia	It is the use of words that mimic sounds.  Example:  Crackle!
Oxymoron	It is the contradictory words used together signifying two different but exact ideas.  Examples:  He is the wisest fool of them all.
Irony	It is a situation that means quite opposite to what is apparently said. . Example  A post on Facebook complaining how useless Facebook is.
Symbol	A symbol is an object that represents something else rather than itself.  Example:  Ah Sun-flower, weary of time,  Who countest the steps of the sun; -- William Blake.
Imagery	Imagery is the use of words to create an image or images in the reader's mind based on five senses.  Examples:  I wandered lonely as a cloud  That floats on high o'er vales and hills. ---Wordsworth

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