POETRY

Poetry, first of all, looks different from prose on a printed page. It is made up of lines
and ending unevenly on the right-hand margin, while prose works are made up of sentences
put together in paragraph forms. Because it tries to say so much in so compact a form, the
meaning it imparts seems to be more complex and more difficult to grasp than what one
usually finds in prose narratives and essays. Much of the message is implied in its author’s
carefully chosen words and images.
Every poem is an expression of human sentiment, sometimes happy, sometimes bitter,
sometimes casual. Since the poem is an utterance, it has always a speaker and some motivation
or provocation of the utterance. Usually, it has a listener, too, his presence at implied. In a
sense, therefore, a poem is like fiction and drama – it has a story to tell.

THE ELEMENTS OF POETRY

A. SOUND
Poems use rhyme, rhythm, and repetition to create special sound effects.

1. Rhyme is the regular recurrence of similar sounds usually at the end of lines.
Example is the following lines from the poem, Tree. Notice the sounds of the
underlined words at the end of each line.

Trees
BY JOYCE KILMER
I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest

Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in Summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,

 But only God can make a tree.

2. Rhythm, like the beat in music, is the recurrence of pattern of sound. It is the
result of systematically stressing or accenting words and syllables. It is enjoyable
for its own sake. (Young children derive pleasure from nursery rhymes.)

Example:

aLONG CAME the DOCtor!

aLONG CAME the NURSE!
aLONG CAME the LADy
With the BIG FAT PURSE!

3. Meter is the measure with which we count the beat of rhythm. It is taken from
the Greek word “metron” meaning “to measure.” Traditionally, poetry has
measured rhythm, that is, it has a regular verse or line pattern. The terms
dimeter, trimtere, and pentameter indicate the number of measures or feet per
line, and iambic (as in “alone”) and anapestic (as in “overturn”) suggest that the
rhythm rises from one or two unstressed syllables to a stressed syllable in a foot,
while trochaic (as in “harbor”) and dactylic (as in “terrible”) indicate a falling
rhythm, that is, from a stressed syllable to one or two unstressed syllables.

4. Repetition is the repeated use of sound, word, phrase, sentence, rhythmical

pattern, or grammatical pattern. Forms of repetition include the following:

a. Alliteration is the repetition of initial consonant sounds.

Example:
“He clasps the crag with crooked hands.”
b. Consonance is the repetition of internal consonant sounds.
Example:
“The spotted kitten slept quietly on matted mattress fur.”
c. Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds.
Example:
“Do not go gentle into the good night.”
 d. Parallelism is the repetition of grammatical patterns.
Example:
Withered vine,
Rotted tree,
Dark crow,
Little bridge,
Running stream,
Homestead,
Worn-out road,
Western Wind,
Lean horse,
The sun is setting in the West,
The broken-hearted man is at the end the earth.

5. Onomatopeia refers to words that sound like what they mean.

Example:
“Bang!” to the sound of the gun.
“Tic, tac,” of the clock
“Splash” of the water

B. FIGURES OF SPEECH
Unconsciously, we usually use figures of speech in our ordinary conversations, like
“Anong petsa na,” “I will give you the star, the moon…,” “you are my angel,” “I heard
the whisper of the wind.” These are just samples of figurative language uttered not
in its literal sense but imply a deeper sense of meaning to the speaker and the
listener.
Figure of speech is an utterance not in its literal meaning but in its implication.
Most of the figures of speech became idiomatic expressions or idioms because it is
widely used by many and became part of the vocabulary. The following are reason
why speakers, conversationalists, and writers use figures of speech.
1. It makes the language more colorful and interesting.
2. It gives more effect to the listener or to the reader.
3. It gives more vivid and concrete description.
The following are the most commonly used figures of speech.
1. Simile (from the Latin word simile, which means similar) is a stated
comparison between two things that are really very different, but share
some common element. It is introduced by like, as, as if, than, similar to,
resemble, etc.
Example:
a. A poem as lovely as a tree.
b. Little star like a diamond in the sky.
c. His mind is like a sponge.
2. Metaphor (from the Greek verb methaphere, which means to carry over) is a
suggested or implied comparison between two unlike things without the use
of as, as if, like.
Examples:
1. Character is a diamond that scratches every other stone.
2. You are my Angel.
3. He is a walking encyclopedia.
4. “She is the apple of his eyes.”
3. Personification is a figure of speech that gives human qualities or attributes
to an object, an animal, or an idea.
Examples:
a. Only the moon was the witness in the incident.
b. The volcano is very angry.
c. “As I entered my room, mosquitoes were rehearsing their war song.”
d. Time had fallen asleep in the afternoon sunshine.
4. Metonymy (from the Greek prefix meta, which means change + the root
onoma, name + the noun suffix -y) consists of the substitution of the literal
noun for another which it suggests because it is somehow associated with it.
Examples:

a. Lend me your ears. (Listen)

b. The pen is mightier than the sword. (reading materials, armed forces)
c. I give you my heart. (love)
d. Malacanang announced a non-working holiday. (the president)
5. Hyperbole (from the Greek prefix hyper, which means beyond + the root
ballein, to throw) is a deliberate overstatement or exaggeration – not to
deceive, but to emphasize a statement – often for humorous effect.
Examples:
a. She cried forever!
b. He almost died laughing.
c. I’ve been waiting for eternity.
6. Irony is a statement of one idea, the opposite of which is meant.
Examples:
a. For Brutus is an honorable man.
b. You’re so lovely today; you look like a Christmas tree.
c. You’re a great guy! (meant bitterly)
7. Oxymoron is the combining of contraries (opposites) to portray a particular
image or to produce a striking effect.
Examples:
a. Parting is such a sweet sorrow.
b. Less is more.
c. Sound of silence.
8. Apostrophe is a direct address to an inanimate object, a dead person (as if
present), or an idea.
Example:
a. O Death! Where is thy sting?
b. Love, thy will be done.
c. O captain, my captain! Our fearful trip is done.