Content of a poem- is what the poem is about: themes, ideas, and storyline
that it contains.
Poetic voice of a poem – to identify the ‘speaker’ of the poem. Whose
`voice' do you hear in the text? Is it the third- person or the first-person? If it
is first-person writing, is it thevoice of the author, or are they taking on a
role? In poems, in particular, writers sometimes write with the voice of an
object (for example a mountain/the wind), an animal, or even a god, as well
as with the voices of people or characters. In many cases the poetic voice
may well be the poet’s, but it may be that the words of the poem are ‘spoken’
through a character that the poet has created or a narrator figure other than
the poet. Identifying the speaker also helps to determine a number of other
aspects f the poem such as tone, mood and the overall intention behind the
poem.
Tone of a poem – the poet’s ‘voice’ , like any other voice, can project a
certain tone that gives the listener certain messages. The tone might be angry
or reflective, melancholy or joyful, bitter or ironic. The tone of the ‘poetic
voice’ tells us a great deal about how the poet or the narrator of the poem
feels.
Mood of the poem- is the atmosphere that the poem creates. Very often tone
and mood in a poem are closely linked and a certain tone produces a certain
mood.
Imagery- an image is language used in such a way as to appeal to the senses
of the reader, to help us see, hear, taste, feel, think about or understand more
clearly or vividly what is being said, or the impression that the writer wishes
to convey. Images can be used literally to describe something.
Figurative images – are used when the thing being described is compared to
something else with which it has something in common to make the
description more vivid to the reader.
The simile – are easy to spot because they make the comparison quite clear
often by using the words ‘as’ or ‘like’. Compared are things from two
different groups.
The metaphor – it creates a comparison as the simile, but it is less direct, as
it doesn’t use ‘as’ or ‘like’. Often the metaphor actually describes the subject
as being the thing to which is compared. Ex.: Mother-nature.
Personification- when poets attribute an inanimate object, animal. Or
abstract idea with human qualities or actions.
Aural imagery – are images that rely not upon the ‘pictures’ that they create
in the mind of the reader but on the effect that they have on the ear, or a
combination of both.
Alliteration – a device that involves the repetition of the same consonant
sound, usually at the beginning of each word, over several words together.
Assonance – a device that involves the repetition of a vowel sound to
achieve a particular kind of effect.
Onomatopoeia – refers to words that by their sound reflect their meaning.
On a simple level words like ‘bang’ or ‘thud’ actually sound like the noise
they describe.
The Sonnet is a very popular form in English poetry. In basic terms a sonnet
is a fourteen- line poem and the lines are usually arranged in one or two
ways. First, there is the Petrarchan or Italian Sonnet( so called simply
because it is named after the Medieval Italian writer, Petrarch). This kind of
sonnet is arranged with a first part that consists of eight lines the octave) and
a second and concluding part of six lines( the sestet). There can be variations
in the rhyme scheme but generally it follows the pattern abbaabba cdecde.
The other form is the Shakespearean or English Sonnet. The
rhyme scheme of this divides up into three quatrains and a concluding
couplet. The rhyme scheme in this kind of sonnet usually follows the abab
cdcd efef gg.
Tones– affectionate, angry, apologetic, arrogant, avuncular, bullying, calm,
cheerful, conciliatory, condescending, cynical, dry, emphatic, fatherly,
flippant, friendly, gentle, gloomy, harsh, impartial, jocular, level, light,
matter-of-fact, nasty, objective, ominous, patronizing, peremptory, petulant,
plaintive, (un)pleasant, pompous, reflective, sarcastic, serious, sharp, sober,
soothing, stern, strident, subdued, sulky, threatening, triumphant, urgent,
welcoming.
Moods - angry, bad, benign, bitter, black, buoyant, cheerful, confident,
depresses, ebullient, euphoric, extravagant, foul, gloomy, good, happy,
jovial, mellow, optimistic, passing, pensive, pessimistic, somber, suspicious.
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