The features of poetry

WELCOME, STUDENTS! In this week’s lesson, we will begin our focus on poetry. In Section 2 of Paper 01 in the English A examination, you are required to respond to items based on at least one poem. This requires you to be able to read between the lines and apply the knowledge you have gained from interacting with the different areas of poetry.

We will now explore a definition for poetry, key terms associated with poetry, and literary devices associated with poems.

WHAT IS POETRY?

According to Brittanica.com, this is “literature that evokes a concentrated imaginative awareness of experience or a specific emotional response through language chosen and arranged for its meaning, sound, and rhythm”. Quite simply, poetry uses words to achieve a specific effect.

KEY TERMS

These are terms that are associated with poems. You need to know them so you can fulfil what is required of you when responding to CXC poetry questions/items. They are listed below.

STANZA

This is a recurring pattern of lines within a poem. It often serves as a unit of thought (much like a paragraph), often in recurring patterns of rhyme or line length.

LINE

This is a unit of language into which a poem or play is divided. Its structure may vary grammatically or syntactically (based on how words are ordered).

RHYME

This is a repetition of similar-sounding words occurring at the end of lines in poems or songs.

DICTION

This refers to the word choice in a poem. Here, words are strategically used to achieve the writer’s purpose.

EFFECT

This refers to the impact that a poem or a specific aspect of a poem – like a word, phrase or line – may have on the reader.

WRITER’S PURPOSE

This refers to the aim/intention of the writer. The aim may be to persuade, inform, criticise, explain, compare, commend, and so on.

MAIN IDEA

This is the theme in a literary work or paragraph. After reading an extract, passage or poem, students should be able to identify what the piece of writing is about.

MOOD

This is the dominant feeling evoked by the words, images and other literary devices. Examples: peaceful, reflective, melancholic, cheerful, angry, etc.

TONE

This refers to the writer’s attitude to the subject, person or object he is writing about. The writer usually conveys his attitude by the use of certain words and expressions. Examples of tone: sarcastic, angry, disgusted, disappointed, approving, etc.

IMPRESSION

This is the opinion students may have of a character or situation that is being highlighted in a poem, story or play. It may also refer to the opinion the writer wants the students to form.

COMMENT

This requires the students to evaluate if a device has achieved its purpose. Does it contribute to the overall meaning? How effective is a particular device in communicating a specific point or allowing students to appreciate a specific part of a literary piece? You are expected to use evaluative expressions such as: to highlight/to emphasise/to capture/to reinforce in casting your judgements.

PERSONA

This is a character taken on by a poet to speak in a first-person poem. The persona in a poem often represents the poet’s thoughts or serves as a mouthpiece.

SPEAKER

In poetry, the speaker is the voice behind the poem – the person we imagine to be saying the thing out loud. It’s important to note that the speaker is not the poet.

Now that you are familiar with key terms associated with poetry, let us go through the most common literary devices that are referred to in English A examinations.

COMMON LITERARY DEVICES SIMILE

This is one of the most commonly used literary devices. This is when one thing is compared directly to another by the use of a word such as or ‘like’ or ‘as’.

METAPHOR

Like a simile, a metaphor is used to compare things. It is made or can be identified when the word used for comparison can be associated with another thing or action.

PERSONIFICATION

This consists of giving human attributes to an animal, object or a concept.

ONOMATOPOEIA

It refers to sound words whose pronunciation imitates the actual sound they represent.

ALLITERATION

This is the sound effect of repeating the consonant sound in words that come together. It is usually found at the beginning of words.

IMAGERY

This is the use of language that appeals to our senses. There are five types of imagery you should be aware of: auditory (hearing), visual (sight), olfactory (smell), tactile (touch) and taste (gustatory).

IRONY

This is a device that points to a contrast between what is stated and what is really meant, or between what is expected to happen and what really happens. There is also irony of situation.

SYMBOLISM

This involves using an object or action that means something more than its literal meaning. The phrase ‘a new dawn’ does not talk only about the actual beginning of a new day, but also signifies a new start, a fresh chance to begin and the end of a previous tiring time.

PUN

A word or phrase is a pun when it suggests two or more meanings. It is a play on words.

REPETITION

This involves repeating certain words or phrases for emphasis. A perfect example of this device is in Martin Luther King’s ‘I have a dream’ speech, where he repeats the expression “I have a dream” a number of times. Another example of repetition is: He tried and tried and tried to do his very best.

HYPERBOLE

This is a literary device where specific words and phrases are exaggerated or overemphasised in order to produce a grander, more noticeable effect.

EUPHEMISM

This is the use of expression that makes situation or state of being less offensive and disturbing.

EXAMPLES

For each sentence below, I have identified the literary device that is being used.

1. He is like a mouse in front of his teacher. Simile

2. Seven slippery slugs slid slowly southward. Alliteration

3. The trees of the forest watched sympathetically over the lost child. Personification

4. She was overwhelmed by a sea of homework. Metaphor

5. Reading in the sun makes me well-read. Pun

6. The traffic cop got his licence suspended for unpaid parking tickets. Irony

7. You could have knocked me over with a feather. Hyperbole

8. My aunt has a bun in the oven. (Euphemism) This means she is pregnant.

9. My skin is as pretty as a colouring book. Simile

10. The flowers begged for water. Personification.

11. Many people are not prepared for the journey of life. Metaphor

12. The camera clearly loves Naomi Campbell. Personification

13. Tina wept and wept until her tears flooded the room. Hyperbole

14. I knead flour to make dumplings. Pun

15. Eve: The First Family of Fine Foods. Alliteration

16. The warning on a cigarette box: Smoking is injurious to your health. Irony

Ensure that you go through the information I have provided. It will prove useful when you are expected to engage with poems. Melissa McKenzie teaches at the Old Harbour High School. Send feedback to kerry-ann.hepburn@gleanerjm.com.