INTRODUCTION TO POETRY – WHITLA, 176-185

1. What does Whitla mean by stating that “all reading positions are theoretical, all

readers have assumptions” (p.176)?

People should set aside assumptions to approach each poem as a fresh experience,

with an innocent and uncorrupted eye but being aware of them can increase and

deepen our modes of analysis and increase the scope and pleasure of our

responses.

2. “Despite differences over time”, How is poetry defined? (176)

Poetry is defined as a special form of language and a poem is a concentrated

composition in verse with a lavish use of rhetorical devices and figures of speech.

3. What does Whitla mean by stating that poetic formal conventions are also

ideological conventions? (178)

The decision of particular literary resources is ideological choices. These ideological

considerations involve political and social identification, inclusion, exclusion, and

power positions. Our positions on poetry depend on the culture in which we are

formed.

Furthermore, poetry has continued to elicit detailed readings using traditional

analysis of figures of speech and prosody, it has also been a site of controversy in
developing theory over the past half-century.

4. What have been the consequences of the increasing attention writers other than

canon great poets have been receiving over the last decades? (178-79)

The canon of great poems and poets has continued to receive attention, but the

canon of poetry has been expanded to include new writers, especially female poets.

New poets from different ethnicities and contemporary poets have changed the ways

in which literary history can be read. But it is not only the canon that has had

consequences, the analysis of poetic language and prosody allow much greater

flexibility in reading the cadences of English verse.

5. What does tone indicate?

Tone refers to the suggestions in the language of a text that indicates its attitude

toward both the subject matter and also the auditor. Besides, tone may indicate the

relationship between equals, differences in social status, oy may be formal, intimate,

direct, ironic…

7.-What does intertextuality mean?

Structuralism treats a poem as a structure in language of various kinds of

relationships, oppositions or paradigms, this is where intertextuality comes into play.

It means that one text cites, opposes, reflects, or is a part of the paradigm in which

other texts are placed. Also, each text is related to the structures of a culture as a

whole.

8.-Is it possible to direct access to author´s intention as a critic?

Conventional criticism finds stability for the language of a poem in the biography and

supposed intentions of its author, though direct access either to the author´s
intentions or to an unambiguous historical context are elusive hopes.

9. What steps are suggested by Whitla to “gain familiarity with a poem”?

Some steps are followed to gain sufficient familiarity with a poem at first reading:

-Read through the poem carefully to follow the general train of thought and

meaning on a surface or literal level.

-Read through a second time and begin to mark your text: annotate words

that you don´t understand their meaning; mark the major shifts in the train of

thought or theme, or the divisions of the poem.

-Genre is the classification of texts on the basis of conventional similarities in

theme, structure, and reader expectations.

-Themes and Structure: begin to pin down the details of the theme and the

structure.

-Tone refers to the suggestions in the language of a text that indicates its

attitude toward both the subject matter and also the auditor.

-Characters: descriptions and representations of them.

-Setting: There can be a variety of settings.

POETRY AND RHYTHM, WHITLA (190-196)

1.-Why does Whitla say that ¨prosody is far scientific¨?

Prosody is the science of versification although it is far from scientist because it

includes the theory, principles and practice of verse, encompassing such matters as

rhythm, accent, meter, scansion, rhyme and versification.

2.-What does ¨rising¨ and ¨falling¨ rhythm mean?

If the strong beat falls on the last of the steps, it would be a rising rhythm.

Nevertheless, if the beat were on the first, it would be a falling rhythm. Often, the

final off-beat in falling rhythms is omitted or elided.

The rising or falling units are combined to fill out the line, to complete the measure or

meter.

3.-What does usually happen to the final off-beat in falling rhytms? Why does it happen?

Often, the final off-beat in falling rhythms is omitted or elided. It occurs because each

beat or off-beat occurs on one syllable which is the stable unit of language that holds

the beat in place, and therefore speaker emphasize the beats, and not emphasize

the off-beats.

4.-What is a foot?

First, we should know that rhythm consists of the stresses on the syllables with their

beats and off-beat, repeating more or less regularly. We can now define foot as the

complete pattern before it repeats - “and one” or “one and a”- on stressed and

unstressed beats.

5.-According to Whitla, what does Spondees and Prhyrrics do to rhytm in a line?

The spondee which is a duple foot consisting of two single beats with no off-beats,

and the phyrric which consists of two unstressed or off-beat syllables, they are

inserted into a line as a substitution for emphasis but neither are used repetitively in

a line.
6.-What is Scansion?

Scansion is the method for recording the particular meter of a poem by marking out

its feet and indicating the patterning of beats and off-beats or stressed and

unstressed syllables. It identifies the technical devices used to carry the basic

metrical pattern

Some lines are easy to scan, but most poems are not so regular, so the scansion of

a number of syllables or words, or large parts of lines, can be readily determined,

while other parts are harder to fit to a regular meter.

7.- How does Whitla suggest a detailed work on the prosody of a poem should start?

Whitla suggested two ways of beginning detailed work on the prosody of a poem:

1 - Base scansion marks the meter which underlies a poem, nothing especially the

accented syllables. It will help one perceive whether the meter is rising or falling, and

the line can be divided into a number of feet.

2 - Cadenced scansion marks the accents where they occur in English syntax when

the lines are read aloud fluently with a normal vocal modulation, appropriate to the

meaning of the line.

Base scansion is used to determine the kinds of feet used in the poem, while

cadenced scansion demonstrates the variants from or modifications of the base to

increase the play of counterpoint between the rhythmic pattern of the line and the

adjoining lines with their variant.

8. How are pauses controlled at the end of the lines?

Pauses at the end of the lines are controlled partly by punctuation, partly by the

stress and cadence of the line, and partly by the sense of the line.
9. What are non-stopped and run-on lines?

Lines which conclude with punctuation are called end-stopped, while those which

continue to the next line are run-on.

10. What does ‘caesura’ mean?

Caesura means a pause within a line, marked by a double bar line (II), it divides a

line into two hemistiches. Its location in blank verse is after the second foot, but there

variations. Lastly, it often falls at a different place in successive lines of a poem to

vary the musical and rhythmic effect.

POETRY AND SOUND: WHITLA,197-200.

1.Give an example of the following types:

- Masculine rhyme - cat/sat - fit/hit.

- Feminine rhyme - hitting/sitting - backing/hacking.

- Triple rhyme - tenderly/slenderly - Vanishing/Banishing.

What is thedifference between them?

The rhyme sound is one accented syllable in masculine rhyme, while the rhyme

sound is one accented syllable, followed by one unaccented syllable in feminine

rhyme. Finally, there are three consecutive rhyming syllables in triple rhyme.

2. What is the difference between initial rhyme, internal rhyme and end rhyme?

The rhyming words occur at the beginning of lines in initial rhyme, while it occurs
within a line of verse in internal rhyme. In case it occurs at the end of the line, it

would be an end rhyme. These rhymes are classified according to their position.

3. How many types of end rhyme are there? Can you find an example for each type?

There are various forms of end rhyme:

* Couplet (a pair of rhyming lines).

Double, double, toil and trouble;

Fire burn and cauldron bubble.

These lines from the play Macbeth are an example of a rhyming couplet

*Enclosed rhyme, (a couplet enclosing another couplet, rhyming a b b a.)

How soon hath Time, the subtle thief of youth,

Stolen on his wing my three and twentieth year!

My hasting days fly on with full career

But my late spring no bud or blossom shew'th.

These lines written by John Milton are an example of an enclosed rhyme.

* Alternative rhyme, with rhymes in alternative lines.

Because I could not stop for Death

He kindly stopped for me

The Carriage held but just Ourselves

And Immortality.

These lines written by Dickinson are an example of an enclosed rhyme.

* Interlocking rhyme, in which the rhyme from one section or stanza is carried

forward to the next, as in terza rima, rhyming aba bcb cbc…

Should you be moved to speak in anger, dear,

I ask that first you test your words alone.

You’ll want to be assured your meaning’s clear.

If anger stems from blunder of my own

You know that my concern will be repair.

Let’s neither utter words we can’t disown

These lines from “Tell Me of Your Anger” in Whispers are an example of an enclosed

rhyme.

* Crossed rhyme, the device of rhyming words within lines which words in

subsequent lines.

Thou hast conquered, O pale Galilean;

the world has grown grey from thy breath;

We have drunken of things Lethean,

and fed on the fullness of death.

These lines from “Hymn to Proserpine” in Whispers are an example of an enclosed

rhyme.

4.-How does versification contribute to the meaning of a poem according to Whitla?

Versification is a method of exerting control over a range of poetic conventions.

For this reason, it is part of the meaning of a poem, since it contributes essential

information to a reader about the theme and genre of a text.

5.-What is a stanza?What are the most common stanzas in English?

A stanza is a collection of lines that together make up a verse paragraph. It comprises three or
more lines of verse, with a repeating pattern of meter and scheme that recurs throughout the
poem. The most common structural units used in building stanzas in English poetry are the
couplet, the triplet and the quatrain.

CONVENTIONAL FORMS OF POETRY: WHITLA, 205-212

1.-There are several references to the ballad in pp.205-212. List as many of its

characteristics as you can find in this section.

The ballad stanza suggests certain narrative strategies, and the use of opening

heroic couplets with lines of varying length, accompanied by pastoral imaginary of

shepherds lamenting the loss of one of their number immediately suggests that the

verse form and thematic represent a pastoral elegy.

The ballad stanza was widely used in English and Scottish folk ballads.

The ballad uses a refrain, perhaps for communal singing, with the effect that the

many verses move slowly and inexorably to their conclusion, usually tragic. The

theme exploits lost love, death, or murder, frequently with elements of the

supernatural, such as forebodings, premonitions, and omens, as well as curses,

oaths, and broken vows.

2. What is ‘concrete poetry’? Find an example – English or Spanish poetry.

Concrete poetry is poetry that creates a visual representation that is a major part of

the poem’s meaning. This term is usually restricted to pattern poems of the 1950s

and 1960s.

There are three different kinds of concrete poetry: visual, phonetic and kinetic. From

these types, it is clear that poetry here is related to other art forms, to visual art, to

sounds arts, and to motion pictures or movies/video representations.

One clear example of concrete poetry is “the Altar” by George Herbert.

A broken ALTAR, Lord, thy servant rears,

Made of a heart and cemented with tears:

Whose parts are as thy hand did frame;

No workman's tool hath touch'd the same.

 A HEART alone

Is such a stone,

As nothing but

Thy pow'r doth cut.

Wherefore each part

Of my hard heart

Meets in this frame,

To praise thy name:

That if I chance to hold my peace,

These stones to praise thee may not cease.

Oh, let thy blessed SACRIFICE be mine,

And sanctify this ALTAR to be thine

3. According to Whitla, George Herbert experimented with formal arrangements in

poetry.When did he live?

Concrete poetry is restricted to pattern poems of the 1950s and 1960s, so he lived

during the 1950s and 1960s.

4.-According to Whitla, how does prosody relate to poetic meaning?

A knowledge of prosody allows a reader to describe the formal characteristics of a

poem and is a necessary first step before assessing the role that such techniques

and formal arrangements play in the semiotic, semantic, thematic, and aesthetic

functions of a poem. The analysis of such devices enables a reader to relate sound

to sense, meter to meaning, and facilitates the comparison of one poem with

another. Above all, knowledge of the ways that poem work, and of their conventions

and artifice, reward a reader with surprise, pleasure, and delight.

5.-What is Blank verse?What genre is Blank verse used other than poetry?

Blank verse consists of unrhymed iambic five-beat or iambic pentameter lines,

usually presented in verse paragraphs rather than stanzas. Blank verse is the usual

form in sixteenth-and seventeenth-century drama.

Blank verse, often with a more flexible use of iambic feet and five stresses to the

line, has continued to be used until the present, especially in translations of the

Greek and Latin classics, with echoes of Shakespeare and Milton. The tradition has

continued to be adapted as in the free blank verse often used by T. S. Eliot in The

Waste Land (1922) and in Four Quartets (1943) (Hobsbaum 1996: 96-100; Lennard

1997:23).

FIGUREs OF SPEECH: WHITLA (185-190)

1.-Explain in your own words the main differences between ´tropes´ and ´scheme´.

Tropes use words in a figurative sense, the words don’t use their regular meaning

(e.g. similes, metaphors, symbols…)

Scheme uses the real meaning of words but arranges them to manipulate sounds

(e.g. inversion, parallelism, antithesis…)