Announcement: Lecture Changes
Please note that the order of our lecture plan is changing. Next week (Week 6: Oct 5-9) will switch with Week 7 (Oct 12-16). Also note that Test 1 scheduled for Week 6 has been moved earlier to Week 5.
Test: Poetic Devices -- Figures of Speech
We will have a test on Thursday, October 1st.
The test will cover the poetic devices and figures of speech we have discussed so far, namely: denotation & connotation, imagery, simile, metaphor, personification, apostrophe, metonymy, synecdoche, symbol, and allegory. You should be able to define these terms, as well as identify examples of these in given poems.
The test will cover the poetic devices and figures of speech we have discussed so far, namely: denotation & connotation, imagery, simile, metaphor, personification, apostrophe, metonymy, synecdoche, symbol, and allegory. You should be able to define these terms, as well as identify examples of these in given poems.
Figurative Language II: Symbol & Allegory
Symbolism
When talking about “symbolism” It is necessary to make a distinction between how the word is generally understood, and how it is understood in poetic studies. Generally, a symbol is anything that represents something else. In poetry, however, a symbol is something that “functions literally and figuratively at the same time” (Sound & Sense, p. 91).
In Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken” we find the speaker (a traveler) recounting a time when he had to make a choice between two roads in a wood. He literally had to make a choice about which road to take. This incident also has a figurative meaning of our daily life choices when we have to make a decision between two (or more) options. Choosing which path to talk becomes a symbol for our choices in life.
Allegory
“Allegory is a narrative [i.e. a story] . . . that has a second meaning beneath the surface. Although the surface story or description may have its own interest, the author’s major interest is in the ulterior meaning” (Sound & Sense, p. 99).
An allegory always has two parts: a story/description and a deeper meaning. While we will not be studying specific allegory poems this semester, some poems have embedded within them some allegorical elements.
When talking about “symbolism” It is necessary to make a distinction between how the word is generally understood, and how it is understood in poetic studies. Generally, a symbol is anything that represents something else. In poetry, however, a symbol is something that “functions literally and figuratively at the same time” (Sound & Sense, p. 91).
In Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken” we find the speaker (a traveler) recounting a time when he had to make a choice between two roads in a wood. He literally had to make a choice about which road to take. This incident also has a figurative meaning of our daily life choices when we have to make a decision between two (or more) options. Choosing which path to talk becomes a symbol for our choices in life.
Allegory
“Allegory is a narrative [i.e. a story] . . . that has a second meaning beneath the surface. Although the surface story or description may have its own interest, the author’s major interest is in the ulterior meaning” (Sound & Sense, p. 99).
An allegory always has two parts: a story/description and a deeper meaning. While we will not be studying specific allegory poems this semester, some poems have embedded within them some allegorical elements.
Some Themes in the Poems of Robert Frost
There are a number of reoccurring themes in the work of Robert Frost.
Youth & Aging/Death
Youth and especially the loss of innocence is a key theme in Frost’s poems. Contrasted with youth is aging and death. Think of the poem “Out, Out—“. How do the themes of youth, loss of innocence, and/or death present in this poem?
Boundaries & Liminality
Another common theme in Frost’s work is the theme of boundaries or barriers. Together with this theme is occurrence of liminal spaces, i.e. “in between” spaces. Look at the poem “Desert Places” and try to identify the boundaries in the poem. Now consider the poem “The Road Not Taken,” where would you say is the liminal space in this poem?
Isolation & Loneliness
A major theme in Frost’s work is the idea of isolation, alienation or loneliness. A regular motif used by Frost is the “solitary traveler” or “lonely wanderer.” Read the poem “Acquainted with the Night” and identify the different ways in which Frost highlighted this theme.
Man & Nature
The mystery of nature is a common theme for Frost. Man’s ability to gain self-knowledge from nature is also prevalent. What do you think does each speaker learn from nature in the poems “Design” and “A Considerable Speck”?
Youth & Aging/Death
Youth and especially the loss of innocence is a key theme in Frost’s poems. Contrasted with youth is aging and death. Think of the poem “Out, Out—“. How do the themes of youth, loss of innocence, and/or death present in this poem?
Boundaries & Liminality
Another common theme in Frost’s work is the theme of boundaries or barriers. Together with this theme is occurrence of liminal spaces, i.e. “in between” spaces. Look at the poem “Desert Places” and try to identify the boundaries in the poem. Now consider the poem “The Road Not Taken,” where would you say is the liminal space in this poem?
Isolation & Loneliness
A major theme in Frost’s work is the idea of isolation, alienation or loneliness. A regular motif used by Frost is the “solitary traveler” or “lonely wanderer.” Read the poem “Acquainted with the Night” and identify the different ways in which Frost highlighted this theme.
Man & Nature
The mystery of nature is a common theme for Frost. Man’s ability to gain self-knowledge from nature is also prevalent. What do you think does each speaker learn from nature in the poems “Design” and “A Considerable Speck”?
Robert Frost (1874-1963)
Robert Frost was born and raised (until the age of eleven) in San Francisco. He attended Dartmouth and Harvard College. For a decade, around the turn of the century, he worked as a farmer in New Hampshire. From 1912 until 1915 he, his wife, and their four children lived in England, where he met the poets Ezra Pound and Edward Thomas, both of whose shrewd reviews helped establish his reputation. Upon his return to America, Frost held a number of teaching appointments, his most enduring association being with Amherst College. In the year following the publication of his second book, North of Boston (1914), Frost became one of the best-known and most celebrated of American poets, and in 1961 he read his poem “The Gift Outright” at President John F. Kennedy’s inauguration. Rooted in the rugged New England landscape, his poems were phrased in plain speech, set to traditional meters made to sound classical forms. Some intellectuals dismissed him as provincial, and modernists who preferred conspicuous difficulty and radical innovation thought him conventional. Even Frost’s adoring public was often hoodwinked by his pithiness into missing the menacing forces at work beneath the surface. Astute readers saw an altogether different sensibility, however, one possessed of propensity toward darkness and terror, in which a poem is “a momentary stay against confusion.” (Biographical Summary from Norton's Anthology of Poetry, 4th Edition.)
Figurative Language I
There are many types of figurative language. In this post we will look at six types, namely: metaphor, simile, personification, apostrophe, metonymy, and synecdoche.
Simile & Metaphor
If I say the sun is like an orange, then an orange becomes a symbol for the sun. They are similar in color and in form (spherical). When I use terms such as "like", "as", "than", "resembles", we call it simile. "The sun is like an orange", is an example of a simile. When I omit such words of reference, and merely say X = Y, it is a metaphor. For example, "The sun is an orange" is a metaphor.
Sound & Sense (p. 72-74) explains that metaphor can take one of four forms, “depending on whether the literal and figurative terms are respectively named or implied.”
Personification
When a thing, animal or something abstract (e.g. Truth), is given the attributes of a human, it is called personification. In Dickinson’s poem “Apparently with no surprise” the flowers are described as “happy”; this is an example of personification.
Apostrophe
Apostrophe is a way of speaking to someone (dead) or something which one does not ordinarily speak to. For example, if I speak to my chair, or if I speak to Elvis Presley, it is called apostrophe. When I speak to my pet cat it would not be considered apostrophe because people often speak to their pets. However, if my cat is dead and I then speak to it, it would be considered apostrophe.
Synecdoche & Metonymy
Sound & Sense (p. 78) explains: “In contrast to the preceding figures that compare unlike things are two figures that rest on congruences or correspondences. Synecdoche (the use of the part for the whole) and metonymy (the use of something closely related for the thing actually meant) are alike in that both substitute some significant detail or quality of an experience for the experience itself.”
If I ask you to give me a hand, your "hand" stands for the whole of you – this is called synecdoche. Similarly if you bought a new car and I compliment your new car by saying “Nice wheels!” then the "wheels", which is a part of the car, represents the whole car. This is another example of synecdoche.
When I describe the library as “a house of pens”, it is metonymy. A library is not a house of pens; rather it is a house of books. However, pens are associated with writing and with books. Pens and books are therefore closely related although not actually part of the same thing. When figures are compared that are closely related (although not part of the same thing), it is called metonymy.
Consider the following questions from the "Reviewing Chapter Five" section in Sound & Sense:
Simile & Metaphor
If I say the sun is like an orange, then an orange becomes a symbol for the sun. They are similar in color and in form (spherical). When I use terms such as "like", "as", "than", "resembles", we call it simile. "The sun is like an orange", is an example of a simile. When I omit such words of reference, and merely say X = Y, it is a metaphor. For example, "The sun is an orange" is a metaphor.
Sound & Sense (p. 72-74) explains that metaphor can take one of four forms, “depending on whether the literal and figurative terms are respectively named or implied.”
Personification
When a thing, animal or something abstract (e.g. Truth), is given the attributes of a human, it is called personification. In Dickinson’s poem “Apparently with no surprise” the flowers are described as “happy”; this is an example of personification.
Apostrophe
Apostrophe is a way of speaking to someone (dead) or something which one does not ordinarily speak to. For example, if I speak to my chair, or if I speak to Elvis Presley, it is called apostrophe. When I speak to my pet cat it would not be considered apostrophe because people often speak to their pets. However, if my cat is dead and I then speak to it, it would be considered apostrophe.
Synecdoche & Metonymy
Sound & Sense (p. 78) explains: “In contrast to the preceding figures that compare unlike things are two figures that rest on congruences or correspondences. Synecdoche (the use of the part for the whole) and metonymy (the use of something closely related for the thing actually meant) are alike in that both substitute some significant detail or quality of an experience for the experience itself.”
If I ask you to give me a hand, your "hand" stands for the whole of you – this is called synecdoche. Similarly if you bought a new car and I compliment your new car by saying “Nice wheels!” then the "wheels", which is a part of the car, represents the whole car. This is another example of synecdoche.
When I describe the library as “a house of pens”, it is metonymy. A library is not a house of pens; rather it is a house of books. However, pens are associated with writing and with books. Pens and books are therefore closely related although not actually part of the same thing. When figures are compared that are closely related (although not part of the same thing), it is called metonymy.
Consider the following questions from the "Reviewing Chapter Five" section in Sound & Sense:
- Distinguish between language used literally and language used figuratively, and consider why poetry is often figurative.
- Define the figures of comparison (simile and metaphor, personification and apostrophe), and rank them in order of their emotional effectiveness.
- Define the figures of congruence or correspondence (synecdoche and metonymy).
- Review the four major contributions of figurative language.
Figurative Language & Figures of Speech
Figurative language is language with a deeper and often aesthetic meaning and “cannot be taken literally” (Compare with connotation); a figure of speech is “any way of saying something other than the ordinary way,” (Sound & Sense, p. 71).
Figurative language contributes to poetry in four major ways (Sound & Sense, p. 79, 80):
Figurative language contributes to poetry in four major ways (Sound & Sense, p. 79, 80):
- Figurative language affords us imaginative pleasure by linking different things in interesting ways.
- Figures of speech bring additional imagery into verse, making the abstract more concrete, and making poetry more sensuous.
- Figures of speech add emotional intensity to otherwise informative statements.
- Because figures of speech are so rich in meaning, they can say more in a small space.
More thoughts on Dickinson and Whitman
Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman are considered the two “original voices” in American poetry. Their themes and styles would become the bedrock of future American poetry. Note, however, how vastly different Dickinson and Whitman are in style. Dickinson’s verses read like hymns. She also made use of unconventional capitalization and the frequent use of the dash, especially at the end of verse lines. Whitman’s verses, on the other hand, are almost prose like and have a strong conversational feel to them. Whitman’s themes also differ in that he focused more on relationships and is considered to have been bisexual – his attraction to both men and women seeps through in his poetry.
For self-study try to answer the following exercise questions:
For self-study try to answer the following exercise questions:
- Read Kamilla Denman’s short essay “About Dickinson’s Use of the Dash” and then in your own words describe how you understand Dickinson’s use of the dash.
- Discuss Dickinson’s unconventional use of capitalization in “Apparently with no surprise”.
- Whitman often uses juxtapositions and paradoxes in his poems. See if you can find juxtapositions or paradoxes in the following poems: “Had I the Choice”, “I Saw in Louisiana a Live-Oak Growing”, and “When I heard the Learn’d Astronomer”.
- Discuss the use of androgynous imagery in Whitman’s poem “To a Stranger”.
Two Great Voices: Dickenson & Whitman
Emily Dickenson (1830-1886)
Emily Dickenson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, to a prominent family. For one year she attended Mount Holyoke Female Seminary (now College), in nearby South Hadley then withdrew and returned to Amherst. Her adult life was as short on external incident as it was long on imagination. Dickenson lived at her family home in Amherst from 1848 on, she rarely received visitors, and in her mature years she never went out. Suffering from agoraphobia (the fear of public place) and perhaps from an eye disorder called exotropia, she became known as “Myth” and “the character of Amherst.” Fewer than a dozen of her poems were published in her lifetime. Such a solitary life hardly dulled her sensibilities, however, for Dickinson’s collected works—nearly two thousand poems, plus voluminous correspondence—brim with intense feeling, from terror to joy. The poems also reveal her intimate knowledge of the Bible, classical myth, and the works of Shakespeare; in addition, she admired the work of Transcendentalists Thoreau and Emerson and read the Brontes, the Brownings, Keats, and George Eliot. In an era marked by its evangelical fervor, Dickinson adopted skepticism—though she did not arrive at it easily—and her poems are remarkable for their irony, ambiguity, paradox, and sardonic wit. She succinctly defined her aesthetic in the epigrammatic lines “Tell the Truth but tell it slant-/ Success in Circuit lies,” and she once told a friend: “If I read a book (and) it makes my whole body so cold no fire ever can warm me I know that is poetry. If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry.” She wrote in the meters of hymns and made masterful use of the ballad stanza, often using slant rhyme. Although her innovations initially baffled critics, the public’s fascination with her life soon extended to her verse. She is, along with Walt Whitman, the most revered and influential of nineteenth-century American poets. (Biographical Summary from Norton's Anthology of Poetry, 4th Edition.)
Walt Whitman (1819-1892)
Walt Whitman was born on Long Island, New York, and raised in Brooklyn. He left school at the age of eleven and worked as an office boy, a printer’s apprentice, and a teacher before establishing himself as a journalist affiliated with several prominent New York newspapers. In 1862, deeply moved by the scenes he witnessed while staying with his brother (a wounded Union soldier) in Washington, D.C., he spent several months visiting and nursing Civil War veterans. After the war, Whitman worked briefly at the Department of the Interior—he was fired for being the author of the “scandalous” Leaves of Grass (1855) – and for several years at the office of the attorney general. After suffering a debilitating stroke in 1873, he moved to his brother’s home in Camden, New Jersey, where he remained until his death. In Leaves of Grass, his masterpiece, Whitman assumed the mantle of the public poet; his preface to the 1855 edition calls “the United States themselves” his subject. Although his poetry offers a Transcendentalist view of the human being as wholly attuned with divine creation, individual poems that celebrated the body and sexuality opened him up to charges of obscenity. His prosody proved as controversial as his subject matter, and one critic stated that he was “as unacquainted with art as a hog is with mathematics.” In fact, Whitman’s refusal to follow the prevailing taste for regular meter, standard forms, and studied artifice was based on long and careful thought. His direct, realistic, intense, and exuberant poems have profoundly influenced modern poetry (for instance, William Carlos Williams’ Paterson and the work of the Beats) as well as American culture. (Biographical Summary from Norton's Anthology of Poetry, 4th Edition.)
Emily Dickenson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, to a prominent family. For one year she attended Mount Holyoke Female Seminary (now College), in nearby South Hadley then withdrew and returned to Amherst. Her adult life was as short on external incident as it was long on imagination. Dickenson lived at her family home in Amherst from 1848 on, she rarely received visitors, and in her mature years she never went out. Suffering from agoraphobia (the fear of public place) and perhaps from an eye disorder called exotropia, she became known as “Myth” and “the character of Amherst.” Fewer than a dozen of her poems were published in her lifetime. Such a solitary life hardly dulled her sensibilities, however, for Dickinson’s collected works—nearly two thousand poems, plus voluminous correspondence—brim with intense feeling, from terror to joy. The poems also reveal her intimate knowledge of the Bible, classical myth, and the works of Shakespeare; in addition, she admired the work of Transcendentalists Thoreau and Emerson and read the Brontes, the Brownings, Keats, and George Eliot. In an era marked by its evangelical fervor, Dickinson adopted skepticism—though she did not arrive at it easily—and her poems are remarkable for their irony, ambiguity, paradox, and sardonic wit. She succinctly defined her aesthetic in the epigrammatic lines “Tell the Truth but tell it slant-/ Success in Circuit lies,” and she once told a friend: “If I read a book (and) it makes my whole body so cold no fire ever can warm me I know that is poetry. If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry.” She wrote in the meters of hymns and made masterful use of the ballad stanza, often using slant rhyme. Although her innovations initially baffled critics, the public’s fascination with her life soon extended to her verse. She is, along with Walt Whitman, the most revered and influential of nineteenth-century American poets. (Biographical Summary from Norton's Anthology of Poetry, 4th Edition.)
Walt Whitman (1819-1892)
Walt Whitman was born on Long Island, New York, and raised in Brooklyn. He left school at the age of eleven and worked as an office boy, a printer’s apprentice, and a teacher before establishing himself as a journalist affiliated with several prominent New York newspapers. In 1862, deeply moved by the scenes he witnessed while staying with his brother (a wounded Union soldier) in Washington, D.C., he spent several months visiting and nursing Civil War veterans. After the war, Whitman worked briefly at the Department of the Interior—he was fired for being the author of the “scandalous” Leaves of Grass (1855) – and for several years at the office of the attorney general. After suffering a debilitating stroke in 1873, he moved to his brother’s home in Camden, New Jersey, where he remained until his death. In Leaves of Grass, his masterpiece, Whitman assumed the mantle of the public poet; his preface to the 1855 edition calls “the United States themselves” his subject. Although his poetry offers a Transcendentalist view of the human being as wholly attuned with divine creation, individual poems that celebrated the body and sexuality opened him up to charges of obscenity. His prosody proved as controversial as his subject matter, and one critic stated that he was “as unacquainted with art as a hog is with mathematics.” In fact, Whitman’s refusal to follow the prevailing taste for regular meter, standard forms, and studied artifice was based on long and careful thought. His direct, realistic, intense, and exuberant poems have profoundly influenced modern poetry (for instance, William Carlos Williams’ Paterson and the work of the Beats) as well as American culture. (Biographical Summary from Norton's Anthology of Poetry, 4th Edition.)
Imagery
When language evoke our senses it is called imagery; everytime a poem makes us imagine something – something we can see (visual imagery), touch (tactile imagery), smell (olfactory imagery), taste (gustatory imagery), or hear (auditory imagery). When we can imagine movement it is known as kinesthetic imagery. Also, when the poetry makes us imagine internal sensations such as thirst, hunger, fatique, even nausea, it is known as organic imagery. Sound & Sense describes imagery as “the representation through language of sense experience” (p. 56).
Try to answer the following questions from the “Reviewing Chapter Four” section in Sound & Sense (p. 59):
1. State the definition of poetic imagery.
5. Draw the distinction between abstract statements and concrete, image-bearing statements, providing examples.
6. Demonstrate that ambiguity and multiplicity of meanings contribute to the richness of poetic language.
Try to answer the following questions from the “Reviewing Chapter Four” section in Sound & Sense (p. 59):
1. State the definition of poetic imagery.
5. Draw the distinction between abstract statements and concrete, image-bearing statements, providing examples.
6. Demonstrate that ambiguity and multiplicity of meanings contribute to the richness of poetic language.
Denotation & Connotation
A word has typically three parts; namely its (1) sound, its (2) denotation, and its (3) connotation.
A word's denotative meaning is its basic meaning as you would typically find in a dictionary. Apart from its denotation(s) a word may also have connotative meaning(s). The denotation for “red” is the color it represents. However, “red” can also remind us of other things like “passion”, “love”, “blood”, and “danger”. These latter meanings are connotations to “red”.
Poets often choose words not only for their sound and denotation, but also for their connotations. “A frequent misconception of poetic language is that poets seek always the most beautiful or noble-sounding words. What they really seek are the most meaningful words, and these vary from one context to another” (Sound & Sense, p. 45).
Exercise Questions:
Make sure that you can answer the following questions from the “Reviewing Chapter Three”-section in Sound & Sense, p. 48:
1. Distinguish between connotation and denotation as components of words.
3. Explore the ways in which a word may have multiple denotations, and multiple connotations, showing that different denotations may gave different connotations.
4. Explore the ways in which the context will determine which denotations and which connotations are relevant in a poem.
5. Show how levels of diction may characterize the speaker in a poem. (Compare with question #2 in the previous post.)
A word's denotative meaning is its basic meaning as you would typically find in a dictionary. Apart from its denotation(s) a word may also have connotative meaning(s). The denotation for “red” is the color it represents. However, “red” can also remind us of other things like “passion”, “love”, “blood”, and “danger”. These latter meanings are connotations to “red”.
Poets often choose words not only for their sound and denotation, but also for their connotations. “A frequent misconception of poetic language is that poets seek always the most beautiful or noble-sounding words. What they really seek are the most meaningful words, and these vary from one context to another” (Sound & Sense, p. 45).
Exercise Questions:
Make sure that you can answer the following questions from the “Reviewing Chapter Three”-section in Sound & Sense, p. 48:
1. Distinguish between connotation and denotation as components of words.
3. Explore the ways in which a word may have multiple denotations, and multiple connotations, showing that different denotations may gave different connotations.
4. Explore the ways in which the context will determine which denotations and which connotations are relevant in a poem.
5. Show how levels of diction may characterize the speaker in a poem. (Compare with question #2 in the previous post.)
The Author is not the Speaker
In a previous discussion we looked at "Narrators and Narrative Layers" and the author-reader/speaker-audience relationship. As readers we are tempted to confuse the speaker (i.e. narrator) with the author. Read the following poem by Emily Dickinson:
Now read another poem, also by Emily Dickinson:
In the first poem the author presents faith (to believe in God) as commendable; however, in the second poem the same author presents “Faith” as something that is not of much importance, especially "In an Emergency". How can we resolve this contradiction? One way is to say that the author changed her opinion about faith in between writing the two poems. A better literary understanding is to read the poems, not as the voice of the author, but as the voices of different speakers.
When studying literature it is good practice not to equate the author with the speaker. Just like Hamlet is not William Shakespeare, so too in poetry the speaker in the poem is not the poet.
Exercise Question:
1. Explain the difference between the author of the poem and the speaker in the poem.
2. It is possible to characterize (i.e. describe the character of) the speaker in the poem "I Never Saw a Moor"; however, it is not possible to use the same characterization and impose it on the author. Why not?
I never saw a moor,
I never saw the sea;
Yet know I how the heather looks,
And what a wave must be.
I never spoke with God,
Nor visited in heaven;
Yet certain am I of the spot
As if the chart were given.
Now read another poem, also by Emily Dickinson:
"Faith" is a fine invention
When Gentlemen can see—
But Microscopes are prudent
In an Emergency.
In the first poem the author presents faith (to believe in God) as commendable; however, in the second poem the same author presents “Faith” as something that is not of much importance, especially "In an Emergency". How can we resolve this contradiction? One way is to say that the author changed her opinion about faith in between writing the two poems. A better literary understanding is to read the poems, not as the voice of the author, but as the voices of different speakers.
When studying literature it is good practice not to equate the author with the speaker. Just like Hamlet is not William Shakespeare, so too in poetry the speaker in the poem is not the poet.
Exercise Question:
1. Explain the difference between the author of the poem and the speaker in the poem.
2. It is possible to characterize (i.e. describe the character of) the speaker in the poem "I Never Saw a Moor"; however, it is not possible to use the same characterization and impose it on the author. Why not?
Edgar Allan Poe and Romanticism
Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) is considered a representative of the (American) Romantic poets. “Romantic” refers to Romanticism – an intellectual and artistic movement during the late 18th and early 19th century. Romanticism revolted against the scientific ideals, especially of the Industrial Revolution, that attempted to rationalize everything and move away from nature and the “spiritual”. Hence, Romanticism attempts to return to “nature” and emphasizes "the individual, the subjective, the irrational, the imaginative, the personal, the spontaneous, the emotional, the visionary, and the transcendental” (Encyclopaedia Britannica).
Exercise Questions:
1. Describe Romantic literature.
2. Explain why Poe's “Sonnet – To Science” is a good example of a poem that reflects Romantic ideas?
“Among the characteristic attitudes of Romanticism were the following: a deepened appreciation of the beauties of nature; a general exaltation of emotion over reason and of the senses over intellect; a turning in upon the self and a heightened examination of human personality and its moods and mental potentialities; a preoccupation with the genius, the hero, and the exceptional figure in general, and a focus on his passions and inner struggles; a new view of the artist as a supremely individual creator, whose creative spirit is more important than strict adherence to formal rules and traditional procedures; an emphasis upon imagination as a gateway to transcendent experience and spiritual truth; an obsessive interest in folk culture, national and ethnic cultural origins, and the medieval era; and a predilection for the exotic, the remote, the mysterious, the weird, the occult, the monstrous, the diseased, and even the satanic.” (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
Exercise Questions:
1. Describe Romantic literature.
2. Explain why Poe's “Sonnet – To Science” is a good example of a poem that reflects Romantic ideas?
Sonnet – To Science3. What Romantic themes are present in Poe's "The Raven"?
Science! true daughter of Old Time thou art!
Who alterest all things with thy peering eyes.
Why preyest thou thus upon the poet's heart,
Vulture, whose wings are dull realities?
How should he love thee? or how deem thee wise?
Who wouldst not leave him in his wandering
To seek for treasure in the jewelled skies,
Albeit he soared with an undaunted wing?
Hast thou not dragged Diana from her car?
And driven the Hamadryad from the wood
To seek a shelter in some happier star?
Hast thou not torn the Naiad from her flood,
The Elfin from the green grass, and from me
The summer dream beneath the tamarind tree?
Types of Poetry
There are basically three types of poetry; i.e. Lyrical Poetry, Epic Poetry and Dramatic Poetry. There is also a special type known as a Ballad.
Lyrical Poetry
"Lyric", derives from the word "lyre" which is a type of stringed instrument. It therefore refers to music. Lyrical Poetry used to be sung. (That is why the words of songs are often referred to as the "lyrics" of the song.) A lyric tends to be relatively short and often convey the feelings and thoughts of a single speaker.
Most of the poems we will discuss in this course falls within the category of lyrical poetry.
Epic / Narrative Poetry
An epic is a type of story. Epic Poetry, also known as Narrative Poetry, are basically "storytelling poems". They tend to be very long, often several hundred lines, and are usually divided into several sections.
In this course we will not be dicussing any epics.
Dramatic Poetry
Dramatic Poetry is poetry that includes drama, i.e. it is theatrical. This means that it can be performed like a play. Sometimes there are many "characters" that are in dialogue. If only one "character" is speaking, it is called a monologue.
Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" is considered a dramatic poem. Can you explain why?
A Ballad
A ballad is a special type of lyric, that tells a story. A ballad is therefore a mixture of lyrical and epic poetry.
Would you say that Edgar Allan Poe's "Eldorado" is a lyric or ballad?
Lyrical Poetry
"Lyric", derives from the word "lyre" which is a type of stringed instrument. It therefore refers to music. Lyrical Poetry used to be sung. (That is why the words of songs are often referred to as the "lyrics" of the song.) A lyric tends to be relatively short and often convey the feelings and thoughts of a single speaker.
Most of the poems we will discuss in this course falls within the category of lyrical poetry.
Epic / Narrative Poetry
An epic is a type of story. Epic Poetry, also known as Narrative Poetry, are basically "storytelling poems". They tend to be very long, often several hundred lines, and are usually divided into several sections.
In this course we will not be dicussing any epics.
Dramatic Poetry
Dramatic Poetry is poetry that includes drama, i.e. it is theatrical. This means that it can be performed like a play. Sometimes there are many "characters" that are in dialogue. If only one "character" is speaking, it is called a monologue.
Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" is considered a dramatic poem. Can you explain why?
A Ballad
A ballad is a special type of lyric, that tells a story. A ballad is therefore a mixture of lyrical and epic poetry.
Would you say that Edgar Allan Poe's "Eldorado" is a lyric or ballad?
Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven"
Below are two readings/interpretations of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven", viewable on YouTube. The first is a dramatic recital by Vincent Price, directed by Johnny Thompson. The second set of videos is an interpretation of the poem, created by a student for a college project. Which recital do you prefer? Why?
Narrators and Narrative Layers
A narrator (sometimes called a speaker), is basically the “voice” that speaks in a text. The word “narrator” comes from “narrate”, which means to tell a narrative; i.e. to tell a story. The narrator of the poem is therefore the “persona” or “entity” that tells the “story”.
Take for example the poem “Eldorado” by Edgar Allen Poe. Who is telling the “story” of the knight in search of Eldorado? Is it the author (Edgar Allen Poe) that is telling this story? It might be, but it is not necessarily. Rather, Poe created another “voice”, i.e. the narrator, to speak on his behalf.
Also, the narrator in this poem is not the only speaker. There are two other speakers as well, namely the knight and the “pilgrim shadow”.
The following diagram shows a depiction of the three basic narrative layers, each with a pair of entities, namely the (1) author and (2) reader, the (3) narrator and (4) addressee, and (5) character 1 and (6) character 2.
(Diagram from the English Department of TTU)
Exercise:
Use the poem “Eldorado” and replace these entities in the diagram with their proxies. For example, replace character 1 with “the knight”.
When trying to understand a poem it helps to identify the speakers, as well as identify who they are speaking to. Ask yourself: Who is the author? When the author wrote this poem, did he have a specific audience/reader in mind? Who is the narrator? Who is the narrator’s audience; i.e. who are the narrator's addressees? Who are the speakers (i.e. characters)?
Sound & Sense (p. 11) gives 21 points and questions that you can use to understand and evaluate a poem.
Take for example the poem “Eldorado” by Edgar Allen Poe. Who is telling the “story” of the knight in search of Eldorado? Is it the author (Edgar Allen Poe) that is telling this story? It might be, but it is not necessarily. Rather, Poe created another “voice”, i.e. the narrator, to speak on his behalf.
Also, the narrator in this poem is not the only speaker. There are two other speakers as well, namely the knight and the “pilgrim shadow”.
The following diagram shows a depiction of the three basic narrative layers, each with a pair of entities, namely the (1) author and (2) reader, the (3) narrator and (4) addressee, and (5) character 1 and (6) character 2.
(Diagram from the English Department of TTU)Exercise:
Use the poem “Eldorado” and replace these entities in the diagram with their proxies. For example, replace character 1 with “the knight”.
...ooOoo...
When trying to understand a poem it helps to identify the speakers, as well as identify who they are speaking to. Ask yourself: Who is the author? When the author wrote this poem, did he have a specific audience/reader in mind? Who is the narrator? Who is the narrator’s audience; i.e. who are the narrator's addressees? Who are the speakers (i.e. characters)?
Sound & Sense (p. 11) gives 21 points and questions that you can use to understand and evaluate a poem.
Reading the Poem
Sound & Sense (p. 24, 25) lists the following five points that may help you when reading a poem:
1. Read a poem more than once.
2. Keep a dictionary by you and use it.
3. Read so as to hear the sounds of the words in your mind.
4. Always pay close attention to what the poem is saying.
5. Practise reading the poem aloud. ("Read it affectionately, but not affectedly" and do not read it in a "monotone" or with "artificial flourishes and vocal histrionics."
(Later in the semester you may be required to do a presentation. Knowing how to read a poem well will then be of benefit.)
Of course, the main reason you read poetry in this course is to understand it better. When you first read a poem, look for the central idea or theme. Also ask yourself, what is the central purpose of the poem? and by what means is that purpose achieved?
1. Read a poem more than once.
2. Keep a dictionary by you and use it.
3. Read so as to hear the sounds of the words in your mind.
4. Always pay close attention to what the poem is saying.
5. Practise reading the poem aloud. ("Read it affectionately, but not affectedly" and do not read it in a "monotone" or with "artificial flourishes and vocal histrionics."
(Later in the semester you may be required to do a presentation. Knowing how to read a poem well will then be of benefit.)
Of course, the main reason you read poetry in this course is to understand it better. When you first read a poem, look for the central idea or theme. Also ask yourself, what is the central purpose of the poem? and by what means is that purpose achieved?
Timeline
This is the timeline that we created in class today for the poets we will discuss this semester. Notice how the bulk of these poets lived between circa 1870 and 1970. In other words, most of the poets we will be discussing for this course on 19th & 20th Century American Poetry lived within the same one hundred year period.
What was special about this period, 1870-1970? What were the most important social, cultural, historical, and political events during this time?
Compare our timeline with this timeline of American history. When did the major wars take place? Also look at the cultural, scientific, and world events that occurred at the same time that "our" poets lived and wrote their poetry. How do you think these events may have influenced the writing of our poets?
You can also visit this portal site on American history.
What was special about this period, 1870-1970? What were the most important social, cultural, historical, and political events during this time?
Compare our timeline with this timeline of American history. When did the major wars take place? Also look at the cultural, scientific, and world events that occurred at the same time that "our" poets lived and wrote their poetry. How do you think these events may have influenced the writing of our poets?
You can also visit this portal site on American history.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)