Elements of Poetry:

Poetry is often described as 'literature in metrical form' or 'compositions forming rhythmic lines'. It has a set of specific features that differentiate it from other forms of literature very clearly. It is not necessary that all the elements are always employed in every poem that is penned. However, the presence of at least two of these elements is noted in most poems. For example, a lot of poets choose to write blank verses which are poems that lack rhyme. However, a blank verse does have a set rhythm and meter pattern that is followed. Now, a free verse will neither have rhyme or rhythm, but these verses are usually opulent in other elements like metaphors, symbols and spectacular word images. So, poetry writing offers a lot of scope for experimentation when it comes to choosing literary elements or devices as per the needs of the poet. Elements of Poetry 1. Stanza: A stanza is to a poem what a paragraph is to a piece of prosaic writing - a fixed number of lines of verse forming a single unit of a poem. A poem is usually composed of multiple stanzas that are separated from each other an empty line in between. Usually, all stanzas are made up of equal number of lines in a single poem. However, there are many examples of poems where this approach has been majorly deviated from. A poem may have a combination stanzas that have varying number of lines. Based on the number of lines present in a stanza, they are assigned different names. They are: A couplet is a stanza that has only 2 lines. A tercet is composed of 3 lines. A quatrain consists of 4 lines. A cinquain has 5 lines. A sestet comprises 6 lines. A sonnet is an entire poem with exactly 14 lines.

2. Rhyme and Rhyme Scheme: Rhyming in poetry is one convention that makes this form of literature recognizably different from prose and drama. Even in this age when free verses are quite popular, rhyme in poesy is what renders it poetic. A very unique quality of rhyme in poetry is that it has the ability to provide a systematic flow to a bundle of thoughts that may seem

absolutely chaotic if put together otherwise. It smoothens out the rough edges and abrupt protrusions. This element can be simplistically defined as the similarity in the sounds of two or more lines. In poetry, this is generally achieved by using similar sounding words at the end of lines. 3. Rhythm and Meter: The primary thing to keep in mind here is that 'rhyme' and 'rhythm' are not the same at all. Rhythm is basically the pattern in which a poet chooses to sequence the stressed and unstressed syllables in every line of a poem, for the creation of oral patterns. The three factors that help determine the rhythm in a poem are: The total number of syllables present in each line. The total count of accented (stressed) syllables in each line. The tally of recurring patterns of two or three syllables - stressed and unstressed - clubbed in every line. Each recurring pattern is individually called a foot. And a number of feet, on identification, can tell us the systematic rhythm or the meter that a poem follows. In poetry, a stressed syllable is tagged with a "/" and an unstressed one is marked with a "U". There are various types of foot and they are named accordingly. One foot: Monometer Two feet: Dimeter Three feet: Trimeter Four feet: Tetrameter Five feet: Pentameter Six feet: Hexameter And there are five different types of constant beat patterns that the feet can occur in: Iamb (Iambic) - One weak syllable followed by one accented syllable. Trochee (Trochaic) - One accented syllable followed by one weak syllable. Anapst (Anapstic) - Two weak syllables followed by one accented syllable. Dactyl (Dactylic) - One accented syllable followed by two weak syllables.

Spondee (Spondaic) - Two consecutive accented syllables. This can usually be found at the end of a line. 4. Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of a particular consonant or a vowel sound in the initial stressed syllables of a series of words or phrases in close succession. This element is not used in every poem. But, when used, it is basically employed because lines with alliteration roll of the tongue in a manner that accentuates the beauty of the thought expressed. It adds to the rhythm of the poetry in ways very pleasing for the reading. 5. Imagery: The figurative painting of a vivid picture in the mind of a reader with words is imagery. This element is most exploited in descriptive poem where the poet has the scope to use ornate adjectives, lofty language and an exquisitely elaborate canvas to give wings to his imagination. Of course, this scope is primarily offered by the dynamic nature of a descriptive poem. Example: In Samuel Coleridge's deft description the gardens in Xanadu in his poem "Kubla Khan: or, A Vision in a Dream" is an appropriate instance of imagery usage. Since imagery can be used to appeal to each of the five human senses, there are five different kinds of it that has been used by poets over the ages. They are: Auditory imagery Gustatory imagery Olfactory imagery Tactile imagery Visual imagery 6. Denotation and Connotation: Word meanings are not only restricted to dictionary meanings. The full meaning of a word includes both the dictionary definition and the special meanings and associations a word takes in a given phrase or expression. For example, a tiger is a carnivorous animal of the cat family. This is the literal or denotative meaning. But we have certain associations with the word: sinuous movement, jungle violence, and aggression. These are the suggestive, figurative or connotative meanings.

7. Figures of speech: Figures of speech are also called figurative language. The most wellknown figures of speech are are simile, metaphor, and personification. They are used to help with the task of "telling, not showing." Simile - a comparison of one thing to another, using the words "like," "as," or "as though." Metaphor - comparing one thing to another by saying that one thing is another thing. Metaphors are stronger than similes, but they are more difficult to see. Personification - speaking as if something were human when it's not.