WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF POETRY?

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From our discussion so far, it is clear that the wave-like recurrence of sound and motion that constitutes poetic rhythm has its foundation or basis in the pattern of stresses and the length of lines of poetry. This aspect of the nature of rhythm necessitates a knowledge of the metrical schemes, be they ‘regular’ (basic metre) or ‘irregular’ (deviation from the basic metre). Metre has been defined “as a repetitive and symmetrical pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables on which a poem is based” and is usually indicated by the symbols or marks: ( ˇ ) for stressed syllables and ( — ) for unstressed syllables.

The following is a table of the four common feet in English poetry with their sounds and examples:

Name of foot Name of metre Sound Example

Iamb Iambic Ďa Dum Return

Trochee Trochaic Du—m Ďa turning, running

anapaest Anapaestic Ďa Ďa Dum resurrect, jubilate

Dactyl Dactylic Dum Ďa Ďa curious, serious, furious

Sound

Sound is one of the most pleasing features in a poem. Along with rhythm, it constitutes the foundation of the musical quality that is associated with poetry as a form of literature. Accordingly, its functions in a poem are similar to those of rhythm which we have discussed in the preceding section on rhythm. The nature or significance of sound in a poem can be better appreciated when the poem is read aloud. This, however, does not mean that the aural qualities are not realised when a poem is read silently: for the experienced reader, these qualities remain and are realised as inherent parts of the total poem; instead of the vocalised realisation that marks reading aloud, these qualities are achieved through a process of sub-vocal enunciation. When effectively deployed in a poem, sound effects enable the reader to achieve a state of mind in which he can more readily appreciate the emotions and meanings conveyed in the poem by the writer. In the words of Heese and Lawton, “much of the delight to be derived from the reading of poetry stems from the pleasure experienced in contemplating patterns which are not only decorative but significant” (33).

Generally, sound effects in poetry not only give aural/auditory pleasure to the reader, they equally give added significance to the words used by the poet. In other words, sound in poetry is used to convey meaning, emotions and pleasure. For example, the poet employs such literary devices as alliteration, assonance, consonance, rhyme, onomatopoeia, repetition, refrain, etc., to place desired emphasis on particular words as well as achieve specific emotions or sensations in his work. It is important that the sound be appropriate to the experience or action presented in a line, stanza or on work in its entirety. The effects produced by sound in a poem could be good or bad depending on how skilful the poet is.

The following examples would illustrate some of the sound effects, such as alliteration, assonance, consonance, repetition, and rhyme, commonly used by poets and their effects when skilfully applied:

  1. I have given you hands which you turn from worship,

I have given you speech, for endless palaver,

I have given you my Law, and you set up commissions,

I have given you lips, to express friendly sentiments,

I have given you hearts, for reciprocal distrust.

I have given you power of choice, and you only alternate

Between futile speculation and unconsidered action.

(Eliot, Choruses from ‘The Rock III’ 115)

  1. The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew,

The furrow follow’d free;

We were the first that ever burst

Into that silent sea.

  1. Swiftly, swiftly flew the ship,

Yet she sailed softly too:

Sweetly, sweetly blew the breeze –

On me alone it blew.

  1. The ice was here, the ice was there,

The ice was all around:

It crack’d and growl’d, and roar’d and howl;d,

Like noises in a swound!

Samuel T Coleridge (Reeves 181, 182, 195)

You should take your time to appreciate these stanzas from the poet’s memorable art/literary ballad “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”. Indeed, you should find a suitable anthology of English poetry and read this poem in its entirety because it is a sort of compendium from which one could draw illustrations of most of the devices and elements studied in this course. In terms of music, there is much sense in Pound’s assertion that “the way to learn the music of verse is to listen to it” (ABC 56). Listening does not just imply listening to someone else read aloud lines of poetry; you can equally listen to yourself as you read just the way you listen to yourself as you sing a song.

Diction

Diction in very simple terms means the use of words in oral or written discourse; the peculiar choice of words used by the poet or his vocabulary considered for their meaning and association rather than for their aural qualities. More expansively, Abrams has defined the term as “the selection of words in a work of literature. A writer’s diction can be analysed under such categories as the degree to which his vocabulary is abstract or concrete, Latinate or Anglo-Saxon in origin, colloquial or formal, technical or common, literal or figurative” (131).

Accordingly, nothing is a clearer indication of the interests, habit of mind and the period of a poet than his diction – the words he uses in his poems. Different periods in English literature have chosen and popularised various forms of poetic diction. In addition to the categories mentioned in Abrams’ definition above, a poet’s diction can also be described as plain or ornate, homely or exotic, contemporary or archaic, familiar or cryptic, etc., and each kind has its attractions as well as its limitations. You should be able to analyse any given poem to determine the dominant pattern of the diction or selection of words employed by a poet in his work.

Compare the following excerpts in terms of the diction used by the poets. You will discover on reading the lines that there is a world of difference between the poets’ peculiar choice of words in their works, as represented in these lines; you should also be able to categorise the diction as well as explain the reasons behind your categories.

  1. It comes so quickly

The bird of death

From evil forests of Soviet technology

A man crossing the road

to greet a friend

is much too slow (Achebe “Air Raid”, BSB 15)

  1. In the greyness

and drizzle of one despondent

dawn unstirred by harbingers

of sunbreak a vulture

perching high on broken

bone of a dead tree

nestled close to his

mate (Achebe “Vultures”, BSB 39)

CONCLUSION

Poetry has been variously defined by different poets and critics over the ages – while some would prefer to see it as the subject or content that is written about by the poet, others emphasise that it is the manner of expressing this contents that should determine the essential nature of poetry. Nonetheless, irrespective of the positions of these schools of thought, there is consensus on the major elements that, by and large, distinguish poetry from other forms of writing, viz: imagery; rhythm; sound; diction.

In this article, we have focused attention on the elements of poetry that differentiate it from the other major genres of literature, drama and the novel. With some suitable examples, we have been able to indicate as well as demonstrate the nature of these elements and their contribution to the effectiveness or quality of a poem. We have learnt that the elements – imagery, rhythm, sound and diction – are the vehicles that the poet utilises to convey his thoughts and emotions as well as delight his readers.

 

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