Poetry PDF

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very in depth notes of all understanding poetry lectures and seminars from semester 1. includes prosody and breath, poetic diction, Homer's Odyssey, Milton's Paradise Lost, early modern lyric, sonnets, romantic lyric, victorian dramatic, modernist dramatic, postwar experimentalism and assessment hel...

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Wednesday 9th October Introduction to Understanding Poetry (Prosody and Breath)  Close reading (500 words) 25% 25th November  Essay (1500 words) 75% 13th January (Assessment Q&A thurs 24thoct 4-5 weds 30th 1-2 58AD02) Poetics: the theoretical study of principles of poetry  

Poetry comes from the Ancient Greek ‘poiesis’, meaning a ‘making’ – a verb Poetry was originally spoken, meaning it had strong audible devices, but with the rise of printing, it became visual and concrete poems were designed for the eye.

Prosody: the systematic study of versification, covering principles of metre, rhythm, rhyme and stanza forms. It is also known as metrics and is applied to the patterns of stress and intonation in speech, stress is the relative emphasis given in the pronunciation of a syllable, in loudness, pitch or duration. Verse and metre    

All (English) language is rhythmic Metre: the rhythmic patterning of a poem. It’s about the relationship between accents and syllables Scansion: the metrical identification and analysis of a line of verse You mark the metre by counting the number of feet and the kind of feet in a line

Accent: a stressed syllable, they tend to fall on lexical words (nouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives) Three types of metre 

Accentual (strong- stress metre): a regular number of stressed syllables in the line or group of lines, regardless of the number of unstressed syllables, found in old English and in later English popular verse.

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Syllabic: a fixed number of syllables in a line, regardless of their stress.

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Accentual-syllabic: a fairly fixed number of stressed syllables arranged within a regular pattern of syllables and stresses, the units that make up this pattern are called feet.

Feet: a metrical unit of a certain number of stressed and unstressed syllables. Types of feet:      

Iambic foot (iamb): unstressed, stressed e.g repeat Trochaic foot (trochee): stressed, unstressed e.g never Anapaestic foot (anapest): two unstressed, stressed e.g interrupt Dactylic foot (dactyl): stressed, two unstressed e.g possible Spondaic foot (spondee): two stressed e.g heartbreak Pyrrhic foot (pyrrhic): two unstressed e.g the top of the morning

Spondees and pyrrhics usually occur as metrical variations.

Scansion: reading poetry in order to discover its metrical pattern. Types of verse: Different verse lengths are defined in terms of the number and type of poetic feet they contain.       

Monometer (one foot) Dimeter (two feet) Trimeter (three feet) Tetrameter (four feet) Pentameter (five feet) Hexameter (six feet) Heptameter (seven feet)

Metrical variation   

Metrical structure: faithful reproduction of metrical pattern. Naturalistic or performance structure: normal rhythms of speech Where the performance structure deviates from metrical structure, the expected kind of foot has been substituted with another kind of foot.

Basic forms of rhyming verse      

Couplet: two lines coupled by rhyme Tercet: three line stanza Quatrain: four line stanza Rime Royal: seven iambic pentameters rhyming ABABBCC Ottava Stanza: nine iambic pentameters with a final hexameter, rhyming ABABBCBCC Sonnet: fourteen iambic pentameters

Different categories of rhyme        

End rhyme: (structuring device) and internal Masculine: rhymes on stressed syllable Feminine: rhymes on unstressed syllable Perfect rhyme: exact correspondence of sound Off-rhyme: vowel differs/concluding consonant Eye rhyme: the spelling is similar but not the sound Vowel rhyme: e.g assonance (bough, town) Para-rhyme: consonants rhyme, vowels don’t

Free verse:      

Unrhymed, unmetrical, irregular length lines Rhythm but not metre The use of para-rhyme, consonance, assonance, etc A use of repetition and parallelism Emphasis on striking imagery and figures of speech Pastiche: a mix of imitations of various sources

Wednesday 16th October Poetic Diction Poetic diction: the choice of words and figures in poetry, its that specialised language specific to poetry that we done see in everyday speech. Why use poetic diction?  

To distinguish poetry itself as special from other literature To distinguish poets from their peers

Things to consider when analysing poetic language        

Word choice/play/placement Lexicon Register Is it literal or figurative (e.g are metaphors and other figures of speech often used?) What are the origins of words? Dialect Context Connotations

A chronological overview of poetic diction throughout the history of English literature, the different approaches and trends.   

What kinds of poetic diction do the poets use? What are the effects of their choices? What are the etymologies and connotations of their word choices?

1. The epithets of Greek epic Epithets: special names for people and things (often an adjective) e.g “grey-eyed Athena”. They are characteristic of Ancient Epic poetry, and used because they are memorable, Grecian poems were delivered orally so characters needed to be easy to remember. They are also used for metrical purposes, you can lengthen or add description to a character’s name to fit your meter. They are a sign of poetic languages distance form everyday dialogue. 2. The word hoard of Anglo Saxon bards The Anglo-Saxons believed strongly that poetry had its own special language, and wrote in sentences that were often embellishments, and not strictly necessary, making it different from everyday speech as it is much lengthier, and takes time in portraying an idea. The Word Hoard is a store or words and phrases that allow individuals and objects to be described from lots of different perspectives, providing them with aesthetic value. Bards were thought of as having collected a verbal treasure of special words for their poetry. 3. The archaisms of Edmund Spencer Deliberately uses archaic language so his poetry can sound distinctively ancient, setting a scene. His reasoning for this is that he claims he is telling a story that comes from old times that have slept in silence until then. He is trying to create language that is different form the everyday, but also

distinctive as poetic diction. It is new in context, however it is an old idea, and not actually a use of new language. 4. Decorum and 18th century poetry The importance of the classical period and archaism is dominant in 18th century poetics, poets thought of their age as Augustan, and of themselves as heirs to or imitators of classical authors. Comparing themselves to Roman poets such as Virgil, Horace and Ovid. They tended to use distinctive poetic diction reminiscent of classical Greek or Latin poetry, creating work full of Epithets, Latinity, personifications, apostrophes, circumlocution or periphrasis. 5. The language of Gerald Manley Hopkins (1844-1889 Hopkins was fascinated by ideas about poetic language and metre, especially interested in AngloSaxon metre, he created his own metrical form called “sprung rhythm”, feet with variable numbers of syllables, but with the stress always on the first syllable of each foot. The wanted to get away from the repetitive nature of English poetry because a lot of their rhythms/metre were very similar. He was interested in archaic words, linguistic effects like assonance and the construction of unique, vivid images (Russian Formalism, Defamiliarization) by using lots of adjectives. (like the heavy description of Greek Epithets) 6. Russian Formalism and Defamiliarization Shklovsky believed art and literature existed to make the everyday extraordinary, that literariness is defamiliarization. He had the same idea as Aristotle, that “poetic language must appear strange and wonderful; and, in fact is often actually foreign.” Poetic language being foreign, can mean literally or metaphorically, as it creates descriptions not familiar with everyday life, whilst depicting often mundane things. 7. Ezra Pound (1885-1972) One of the most significant and controversial literary figures of the 20th century. He believed that “great literature is simply language charged with meaning to the utmost possible degree” language that is somehow infused with intense expression and history. He also recognized that though a poet may choose their words carefully, there is no universal reading or one meaning that readers will take from it. He created the movement ‘imagism’ which combines the creation of an image (an in intellectual and emotional complex) with rigorous requirements for writing… 1. Direct treatment of something whether subjective or objective, meaning to carefully observe and describe phenomena, whether emotions, sensations or concrete entities, avoiding generalities. 2. To use no word that did not contribute to the presentation, avoiding poetic diction in favour of spoken language and to condense content, expressing it as concisely and precisely as possible. 3. Rejecting conventional metrical forms to create individuality and fit the emotions portrayed. 8. Ginsberg’s ‘Howl’ and the Beat Poets Howl was published in 1956 and is considered to be one of the great works of American literature. It became associated with a group of writers known as the Beat Generation, who celebrated nonconformity and spontaneous creativity in the form of spirituality, sex, language and vision. He wrote with no restrictions, whether formal or linguistic and with his own strong sense of voice and breath. The poem is known for its biographical allusions, its simultaneous flow and abruptness, but

mostly for its explicit content. Those listening when he read it out were left in shock and wonder, but all knowing a barrier had been broken, due to the poem’s honesty. 9. Carol Ann Duffy The UK’s Poet Laureate in 2009-1019, her poetry stages clash between classical and colloquial, plain spoken down to earth English and a move conventionally poetic diction. She alludes to traditional poetic diction only to undermine and juxtapose it with common language and slang, (similar to Wordsworth, using the real language or regular people to make poetry relevant to today) making poetic diction relevant to contemporary culture. Her poems make powerful, political points and do not shy away from ‘taboo’ topics, as she finds the right accessible, impactful language needed to be able to address subjects such as terrorism, 9/11, the death of Princess Diana, anorexia etc. Her poems unmask poetic language in an exploration and sometimes exploitation of everyday speech, through this she is able to find words for topics that seem to have no words, she speaks the unspeakable.

Thursday 17th October Poetic Diction (Seminar) Imagism   

A movement from 1912 Ezra Pound’s ideogrammic or juxtapositional method was highly influenced by the Japanese haiku He translated and re wrote Chinese poems in a way that was unfaithful to the originals and were roughly translated to fit his agenda.

Haiku – (short form of Japanese poetry) can be characterised by three qualities 1. ‘kiru’, a cutting in the poem represented by the juxtaposition of two images or ideas. The ‘kireji’ or cutting word which separates them could appear in the middle or the end of a verse (similar to a caesura or volta) and could be used to create a change in the mood. 2. 17 syllables in 3 verses of 5,7,5 3. Contains a ‘kigo’ or seasonal reference, usually in the form of metonyms. Wednesday 23rd October Homer’s Odyssey and the Epic Themes:        

Heroism Religion (divine intervention) Perception Love/temptation/lust Journey (homecoming and exile) Identity Gender Power

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Storytelling Destiny Natural vs supernatural

The epic: a long narrative poem, celebrating the deeds of one or more legendary heroes who are usually protected or even descended from gods. They perform superhuman exploits in battle or marvellous voyages, often saving or founding a nation. Homers Odyssey is written in Dactylic Hexameter: ‘heroic hexameter’ the metre consists of lines made of six (‘hexa’) feet. Hexameters are normally enjambed, creating long flowing narratives of epic. Concepts of the epic    

Epic is a 16th century term meaning ‘long narrative’ usually in verse Heroic, dealing with deeds of heroes, usually gods This interest in heroism means epic stories are often used as foundation myths (e.g. claimed that the city of Rome was founded by Trojans, giving it ancient authority) Contains ‘epic conventions’ e.g. epithets

Oral epics are not usually written down until they have been circulating for a while. Epic conventions of Homers Work      

The invocation to the muse Beginning in media res meaning in the middle of things, a lot of the tales begin in the middle of the action or as someone looking back in flashbacks The council of warriors The decent to the underworld Deus ex machina meaning supernatural machinery e.g. gods Battle

We know that Homers epics are oral poems because of how much repetition is in them, one in third of the Homeric epics are made up or repeated lines or fragments. The endurance of The Odyssey    

Explores perennial human issues Greek heroic code questioned (glory or home?) A thinking persons hero: resourcefulness and guile A layered, feminised hero: compare Odysseus; resourcefulness with Penelope’s circumspection and Athene’s wisdom

Read for next week: John Milton’s Paradise Lost Wednesday 30th October Paradise Lost

Themes:            

War Pride Obedience vs rebellion Redemption The fall of man Nature Temptation Identity Knowledge Power Religion Innocence vs experience

John Milton: (17th century English poet) 

Milton was consistently a radical writer of his time, he was constantly engaged in disputes about diverse subjects, and spoke out about established religion, the concept of a state dominated church, divorce, polyamory and regicide.

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Paradise Lost was the production of a radical writer and his views on the world, it is a poem about failure rather than triumph, of error, loss of innocence, false starts, disobedience, rebellion.

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All writing for him was a political act, for him religion and politics were heavily linked, the poem reflecting his feelings on the lost cause of the English Republic and his despair at the failure of the revolution.

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The poem problematises sin, it’s not just evil as we and the audience at the time especially, would consider it to be, its more complicated than that. Even Satan himself isn’t straightforwardly evil, he is surprisingly human and layered.

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When Milton became blind, he could still see light, which contributed to the contrasting images of lightness and darkness of the poem. Blindness has literary connotations of prophetical sight, he would wake with whole passages in his mind.

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His blindness would have affected his diction, there is a musicality to his poetry, there is a command of sound, it enhanced his musical sensibility.

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Pretty much everyone wanted him dead because what he wrote was so radical, he turned to poetry to evade the harsh censure laws.

Paradise Lost: 

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An epic poem in blank verse (unrhymed, iambic pentameter) an artistic choice and political statement, saying rhyme was restrictive and supressed freedom of expression, reacting against the other poets at the time, his defining innovation, representing his own pursuit of freedom. Considered one of the greatest literary works in the English language Published in 1667 in 10 books Unites classical allusion, Biblical narrative and historical/socio-political context Concerns the Biblical story of The Fall of Man

It is a ‘fortunate fall’ according to some critics, as it brings Gods son to Earth, allowing humankind to experience fully the mercy, salvation and love of God, it is a kind of light out of darkness situation. Stanley Fish says that “The poem’s centre of reference is its reader” meaning that our knowledge of allusions to Narcissus and the Bible are used by Milton to hep us understand that this is a fortunate fall, in that way the reader is active in how we engage, with the themes. When Eve is looking into her own reflection, it alludes to the myth of Narcissus. ‘Wanton’: This word appears consistently in the poem, it means.. 1. Of a cruel and violent action, deliberate and unprovoked 2. Having many sexual partners 3. Originates from the word ‘wan’ meaning badly trained It is used to describe Eves hair, (unrestrained, unruly) foreshadowing her later rebellion. The garden and branches are also described in this way, (overgrown, lustful disorderly) meaning maybe that Eden itself was destined to be corrupted, as it had a wild, unpredictable nature. It is also used to describe the serpent in the temptation scene. Milton used unusual language and complex grammar, fusing English and Latin. The poems diction, vocabulary, rhythm and syntactic structures are completely alien to regular, everyday speech. Some of the words invented by Milton..       

Satanic Stunning Enjoyable Terrific Sensuous Fragrance Pandemonium

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Self-esteem

These are a few of the many words invented by Milton, but these are particularly interesting in relation the Paradise Lost, as they highlight feelings and qualities that hadn’t been put into words yet, possibly because some of them were taboo. Through them his is able to strongly portray the themes of his poem, and perfectly capture what it is he is describing. Thursday 31st October Paradise Lost (seminar) 

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Milton was a Puritan: The Bible was the ultimate authority but defended divorce and polygamy (god did not serve any king, individuals had personal relationships with God, not one mediated through bishops. Effected by blindness Paradise Lost was published in 1667 Since the story is an=bout humankind, the reader is implicated in and understands the story It has a polyphony of voices The story of creation takes into account a chaotic mass of elements, so materiality plays a part in creation Expresses both religious and political viewpoints (union of God and the State)

It is not simply that something represents just one thing in the poem, there are multitudes of meaning behind the words. It is a dramatization of the challenges of belief, it could be argued to be a parable, revealing new perceptions of meaning. Links with Romanticism:     

The figure of the Hero is prominent is romanticism Rebellious ani-heroes were sought out Satan has feelings of frustrations etc and a unique individuality He talks heavily about the mind, the psychology of a person His soliloquy is very human, it’s in his head

It is argued that Satan is potentially a kind of revolutionary hero. And the poem uses psychological realism to make the reader sympathetic with the character of Satan, as well as all the other devils who have lost their place and power. He is a dichotomous character who represents the tensions between light/darkness, greatness/defeat, the physical/metaphysical. some critics even believe that Satan is a representation of Milton himself – an archangel ruined, blinded, frustrated with current political affairs. In this way devils are represented as failed revolutionaries. Eve to some, is on equal level with Satan in terms of being core to the poem and its controversies.

Wednesday 6th November Early Modern Lyric: Sonnets When written in English, sonnets are classically in Iambic Pentameter. Petrarch (as in, Petrarchan/ Italian sonnet)        

Italian scholar and poet Commonly credited with perfecting the sonnet form ‘Laura’ is the object of most his sonnets ‘Laura’ or the desired, is often mysterious and unreach...