Analyzing the Elements of Poetry Essay - 849 Words

In my preparation for this essay I thought that there was going to be very little that I would learn about the elements of poetry. This is not because I am an expert and have nothing new to learn, but rather the opposite. I have never really spent the time to break down and appreciate poetry. One of the reasons I think that I haven’t spent the time on poetry is due to my reading habits. I usually read to gather information and poetry is on the other end of the spectrum. Fredrick Gruber sums this up, â€Å"Poetry tends to give general truths while history gives particular facts.† (Gruber) Having said all of this though, I did see a couple of things that I could apply to my own writing. I will first start off with some elements of poetry that I†¦show more content†¦Robert Frost uses assonance in â€Å"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening. He uses the soft i sound repetitively here: â€Å"His house is in the village though† (Frost). Similarly to rhyming al literations and assonances help create a flow and feel for the poem. They also draw the reader in and help them anticipate lines. I have used alliterations before in my writing, but I use them sparingly because I use them very overtly. I do not have the nuance that Robert Frost has so I will continue to use them sparingly. Poems also have rhythm. Rhythm is built from the accent and meter of a poem. Depending on how and when accents hit in words it creates an audible cadence. The pattern that is setup from this creates the meter. This is analogous to music. There are many parallels that can be drawn from music and songs to poetry. I this is why you can consider many songs to be poems that are set to music accompaniment. In fact going all the way back to the Odyssey we discover that many poems were actually meant to be sung instead of read. There are many ways to break down the rhythm and I haven’t spent the time learning what they are nor have I spent the time dissecting poems to discover their rhythm. I only know of rhythm from what I feel when I read a poem with rhythm. Because of my lack of understanding and comprehension I do not purposefully use rhythm in my writing and I do not plan to start either. Poets use words to their full advantage. â€Å"Poets, who must also think ofShow MoreRelatedRule Analysis : Poetry By Poetry1353 Words   |  6 PagesRule Analysis: Poetry Introduction Poetry is a genre that expresses feeling through rhythm and tone, while creating a realistic vision of what the poet is imagining. Poems can either be short or could be lengthy, but they all have a meaning to them. A poem is often read for its message that it carries. The message is usually hidden in the context of the poem. Poetry is difficult because its language that is used is often indirect with the reader. There is no limit of subjects that can be used inRead MoreFigure Of Speech InBallad Of Birmingham, By Dudley Randall1059 Words   |  5 Pagesliterary elements of the poem to get an idea of the time and place the poem was written. Then, analyze the figure of speech of the poem to understand the meaning of the poem. At last, you have to analyze the elements of poetry that assemble the poem to understand its purpose. The poem â€Å"Ballad of Birmingham† by Dudley Randall is a great example for analyzing the elements of literature and poetry and figure of speech that as semble an exceptional poem. The most fundamental part of analyzing a poem suchRead MoreDefining Literature Essay928 Words   |  4 Pageswhether or not they feel that is actually literature or not. Literature is any type of creative writing such as fiction or poetry, for example. 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In an analysis of the poem, Szczepanski states that, â€Å"Wordsworth laments t hat people have come to view nature as a source of material wealth rather than as a good in itself† (Poetry Analysis). He criticizes them for focus more on â€Å"getting and spending† (2) and not on