Poetry

Poetry is a major genre of literature that uses more concentrated style than other literary forms. It is an art form that
exists for itself as it deals with emotions, ideas, values, and attitudes. When studying poetry, it is useful first of all to
consider the theme and the overall development of the theme in the poem.
Types of Poems
1. Lyric Poems - is a comparatively short, non-narrative poem in which a single speaker presents a state of mind or an
emotional state. For Greeks, the lyric was a song accompanied by a lyre.
A. Ode - a poem addressed in an exalted manner to some object, person, present or absent.
B. Song - a poem intended to be sung.
C. Sonnet - follows a certain verse form of fourteen lines and a fixed rhyme scheme.
i. Petrarchan Sonnet - divided into an octave and a sestet.
ii. Shakespearean Sonnet - divided into three quatrains and a couplet.
D. Elegy - has death or mourning as its theme.
2. Narrative Poems - gives a verbal representation , in verse, of a sequence of connected events, that propels a character
through a plot. Narrative poems might tell of a love story, father and son story, or the deeds of a hero or heroine.
A. Epic - tells the heroic deeds performed by legendary heroes.
B. Ballad - a story-song that is accompanied by a stringed instrument and sang during festivals.
C. Metrical romance - deals with chivalry, love, and religion.
Other classifications of poetry
1. Descriptive - contains detailed descriptions, usually of sceneries or a person.
2. Didactic - a poem meant to teach a lesson.
Elements of Poetry
1. Form - a design, configuration of all its parts. (couplet, tercet, limerick, haiku, tanka, blank verse etc.)
2. Rhyme - the repetition of identical sounds at the end of verses or lines of poetry.
3. Tone - conveys an attitude towards its subject or theme. It may express affection, wonder, humility, amusement,
tenderness, playfulness, humor, sarcasm, contempt, sadness, curiosity, doubt, or grief.
4. Persona/Speaker - a fictitious character created by the poet to serve as the "voice" of the poem.
5. Imagery - an attempt to concretize abstract ideas and emotions. These are words that appeal to any sensory
experience appealing to sight (visual), sound (auditory), touch (tactile), smell (olfactory), and taste (gustatory).
6. Symbols - words or ideas used to represent something else.
7. Figurative Language - statement not to be taken literally. Sometimes, a whole poem may have certain figurative lines,
but at other times, an entire poem may be one extended figure of speech. The more common types are:
A. Simile - expresses a similarity between two different things using like, as, than, resembles, looks etc.
Ex. She looks like a flower but she stings like a bee.
B. Metaphor - an implied/direct comparison.
Ex. All the world's a stage, and men and women merely players.
C. Personification - an expression in which an abstract idea, animal, or thing is made human.
D. Hyperbole - an overstatement or exaggeration of an idea to gain emphasis.
E. Metonymy - when the name of a thing is substituted for that of another term closely associated with it.
F. Synecdoche - uses a part of a whole or vice versa to describe or refer more vividly something.
G. Paradox - a statement that seems to be contradictory but is actually true.
H. Irony - an expression used to mean the opposite.
I. Apostrophe - directly addressing an abstract thing or concept, or a dead person as thought it were alive.
 J. Allusion - a way of describing a present or current condition of a person, event, or place by referring to a
biblical, historical, literary, or mythical event, place, or character.
8. Sound Devices - used for emphasis and for enhancement of memory with the use of repeated sounds.
A. Alliteration - is used to create a pattern of similar consonant sounds that occur in successive words in a verse.
B. Assonance - refers to the repetition of a vowel sound in successive words.
C. Onomatopoeia - refers to the words that represent the actual sound of something.
9. Literary Devices
A. Foreshadowing - clues used to alert the reader about events that will occur later.
B. Cliffhanger - the narrative ends unresolved.
C. Plot Twist - unexpected outcome of the plot.
D. Dramatic Irony - when the reader/audience know something that the characters do not.
10. Theme - the central idea of a poem. It may be stated or implied.
Shakespeare
Drama -is a literary genre that tells a story through dialogues and action acted out on stage.
Dramatic Conventions
1. Monologue - a lengthy speech adressed to other characters on stage, not to the audience.
2. Soliloquy - a lengthy speech in which a character, usually alone on stage, expresses his or her thoughts to an audience.
3. Aside - a brief remark by a character revealing his thoughts or feelings to the audience, unheard by other characters.
Shakespeare -called the "bard of Avon," said to be greatest English playwright. He had a clear understanding of human
nature and created dramatic situations that relate to all human beings (universality). Shakespeare wrote 37 plays and
154 sonnets.
Drama during Shakespeare's time
-Drama is a form of entertainment and not literature. The masses are allowed to sit in front of the stage and eat or jeer
while nobilities occupy the seats at the upper level of the theatre. Women's roles were played by men.
A. Comedy - ends happily. Although most comedies are funny, they may also make us think and question. The characters
usually face humorous obstacles, and problems that are resolved at the end of the play. Comic heroes may be ordinary
people instead of nobility, and eventually overcome their flaws and achieve happiness.
Ex. The Merchant of Venice, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing
B. Tragedy - depicts serious and important events that end unhappily. Most classical tragedies deal with serious subjects
- fate, life, and death - and center on a tragic hero, usually of noble figures and have a tragic flaw.
Ex. Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, King Lear, Othello
Characters
I. Romeo and Juliet
A. Capulets - Lord Capulet, Lady Capulet, Juliet, Tybalt, Nurse
B. Montagues - Lord Montague, Lady Montague, Romeo, Benvolio
C. Others - Mercutio, Paris, Friar John, Rosaline
II. Hamlet - King Hamlet, Prince Hamlet, King Claudius, Queen Gertrude, Horatio, Ophelia, Laertes, Polonius,
Rosencrantz, Guildenstern
III. Merchant of Venice - Antonio, Bassanio, Shylock, Portia, Nerissa, Jessica, Lorenzo