Exploring the minefield of studying poetry

THIS week I delve into unpopular territory — poetry. Regardless of the fact that poetry is done and examined in local languages, when it comes to English poetry people consider it as unfamiliar and difficult to comprehend. Both teachers and students are uncomfortable with poetry hence many examination centres leave it out and opt for novels, plays and anything that is written in prose, like short stories.

Students alienate themselves from poetry because of vocabulary restrictions.

The style of writing used in poetry is a hindrance to many students’ understanding of poetry. Terminology used in poetry at times confuses students. Why is it so? Poetic terminology is extensive. When a poem is critically discussed we look at the words of a poem. This is called poetic diction. Diction means a writer’s choice of words whether for verse or prose.

Before I proceed with terminology used in poetry, can I go back and consider definitions of poetry. For starters I believe the major difference between English Language poetry and that written in local languages is on language.

Students are familiar with local languages hence are able to comprehend the poems in those languages. But as stated earlier English language is alien therefore difficult to understand. The pattern of analysing the poems is the same in all languages.

Students have to read or study poetry because they have to pass examinations and so they are subjected to discuss themes, structures, poetic techniques and methods of analysis. In so doing there is a necessity of bringing poetry within the folds of students’ experiences.

This leads us to definitions given by a couple of poets. The first reads: “Poetry is emotion recollected in tranquillity.” The other goes, “Poetry, in general sense, may be defined to be ‘the expression of the imagination.’”

On top of the above, that students have to read or study poetry in order to pass examinations, it could also be added that poetry is a source of comfort, strength and happiness.

The list goes on to include that; poetry has therapeutic value, it is a means of discovery about oneself and one’s environment, poetry enables us to become aware of our emotions. Poetry helps us to understand and enrich our experiences, it helps us in confirming and adjusting our values, and poetry is an experience in itself.

“In poetry, ideas and emotions are tightly compressed into a package where everything — the meanings and sounds of words, the line breaks, even the empty spaces — is designed to create an effect or to convey a message or an experience.

Despite vast differences in style, all poems contain some or all of these elements: form, sound, a speaker, figurative language, and imagery.” What do you understand about these elements of poetry?

Form is the distinctive way a poem is laid out on the page. Poems are usually divided into lines, which may or may not be sentences. In most poems these lines are arranged in groups called stanzas. These stanzas may have the same number of lines or varying numbers of lines. Each stanza plays a part in conveying the overall meaning of the poem. Sound — the effect that a poem has on the reader frequently depends on the sound of its words. Here are some techniques used by poets to achieve different sound effects: Rhyme — is a likeness of sounds at the end of words, as in cheat, heat and complete. Internal rhyme is the use of rhyming words within a line; end rhyme is the use of such words at the ends of lines.

A pattern of end rhymes in a poem is called the poem’s rhyme scheme. The easiest method proffered to describe a rhyme scheme is to assign each line a letter of the alphabet, starting with a for the first line and assigning lines that rhyme the same letter. Alliteration is a repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words. Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in non rhyming words.

Consonance is a repetition of vowel sound in words that do not rhyme, like repetition of r and d in “But the father answered never a word.” Onomatopoeia — is the use of words that sound like they refer to, buzz, hiss, crunch and hum. These words echo their meanings.

Speaker — The speaker of a poem is the voice that relates the ideas or story of the poem. The speaker is not necessarily the poet.

Of course, poets sometimes write as themselves, speaking directly to the reader. Imagery is language that appeals to the reader’s sense of sight, hearing, smell, taste or touch.

Figurative language communicates ideas besides the ordinary literal meanings of words.

There are three basic types of figurative language. Personification which is the attribution of human qualities to an object, animal or idea. You can refer to a tree as “he”. A simile is a comparison indicated by the word like or as. As brave as a lion is an example of a simile. A metaphor is a more direct comparison as in, “This room is a war zone.” What various strategies can you use to understand elements of poetry discussed here?

Go over the suggested strategies: For understanding form, observe the arrangement of words. Notice the length and arrangement of lines. Are the lines short, simple phrases, or they resemble sentences? What visual effects do the lines have on you? Note whether the lines are grouped into stanzas. If they are, what idea, emotion or information does each stanza convey?

On analysing sound, read the poem out aloud, listening to how it sounds. Notice any internal or end rhymes. Is there any rhyme scheme?

Look for other sound devices the writer uses, such as alliteration, assonance, consonance, or onomatopoeia. When evaluating the speaker look for clues that reveal something about the speaker. Connect the speaker’s feelings, ideas, and values to you own to form an impression of the speaker.

To understand imagery and figurative language, visualise comparisons that are made, either by means of similes or metaphors.

How do they contribute to the overall effect of the poem? Look for the use of personification. Notice if an animal or object is described as having human features, characteristics, or emotions.

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