Poetry and Meter - Literature review Example

Full Poetry and Meter My true love hath my heart, and I have his,  ˘ / ˘ / / ˘ ˘ / ˘ ˘ By just exchange, one for the other givn.  ˘ / ˘ ˘ ˘ / ˘ / ˘ ˘ I hold his dear, and mine he cannot miss:  ˘ / ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ / / ˘ / ˘ There ne ver was a better bargain drivn.  ˘ / ˘ ˘ ˘ / ˘ / ˘ ˘ His heart in me, keeps me and him in one, ˘ / ˘ / / / ˘ / ˘ ˘  My heart in him, his thoughts and senses guides.  ˘ / ˘ / ˘ / ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ He loves my heart, for once it was his own:  ˘ / ˘ ˘ ˘ / ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ I cherish his, because in me it bides.  ˘ / ˘ / ˘ / ˘ ˘ / His heart his wound received from my sight;  ˘ / ˘ / ˘ ˘ ˘ / ˘ ˘ My heart was woun ded, with his wounded heart, ˘ / ˘ ˘ ˘ / ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘   For as from me on him his hurt did light,  ˘ / ˘ / ˘ / ˘ / ˘ / So still methought in me his hurt did smart;  ˘ / ˘ / ˘ ˘ / / ˘ ˘ Both equal hurt, in this change sought our bliss:  ˘ / / ˘ ˘ / ˘ / ˘ ˘ My true love hath my heart, and I have his.  Phillip Sydney’s poem speaks about the love shared between two people devoted to each other. It makes use of poetic meters that help the readers understand its contents, the most dominant of which is the iambic meter. Most of the lines using this specific meter have five feet so that it could be well considered as an iambic pentameter, starting off with an unstressed word and ending in a stressed word or syllable. Reading the poem in such a fashion, words are given the life and passion the author wanted to express, and the concept more easily understood. To make the poem even livelier as it speaks about love, a very interesting subject matter, the author did not concentrate with just one meter but made variations with the use of other meters like trochee, pyrrhic and dactyl. Trochee helps the reader determine the important word that could express much of the author’s feelings like ‘love’ in the first line of the first paragraph, similar to the effects of the iambic meter, emphasizing on the word ‘true’. Using the two meters in a successive manner, the words ‘true love’ are greatly stressed, pointing the reader’s attention to it. Pyrrhic on the other hand is used to vary the poem’s rhythm by giving it a calming effect despite the strong emotions in the poem. the first line of the first paragraph which uses this meter gives an aura of a quiet assurance of the love she has for her partner, knowing that she has the heart of her lover secured in her hands. Dactyl gives more color to the poem as it allows the reader to have a longer rest in stressing syllables by following one stressed syllable with two unstressed syllables instead of one as is the case in trochee. This serves as a platform for incoming stressed words of the same line as a preparation for the next line. An example of such use is the second line of the first paragraph with the use of the phrase ‘one for the’. The word ‘one’ is stressed which suggests that the word is important in giving a more effective drama to the poem in addition to the emphasis the unstressed words add to it, pointing to the aforementioned word. It has an effect which I liken to dancers on the floor if I may, where the word ‘one’ is the star dancer and the words ‘for’ and ‘the’ are back-up dancers who usually stand back to give prominence to the star-dancer. The use of meters generally gives life to the poem, and attracts the reader’s attention. Without which, the poem could be monotonous and unattractive, lessening the meaning of the poem to a mere understanding of words and not the feelings involved in it. The meters give change to the rhythm which in turn affects the meaning of the phrase or sentence. For example, the first line of the first paragraph when seen with the meters used in the above scansion, stresses on ‘true love’ and ‘heart’ as mentioned earlier display strong emotions. The stress on the word ‘I’ implies assurance, a strong conviction from the speaker. For instance, when the words are all unstressed, the rhythm changes from a dynamic voice to an unhappy one. The meaning also changes being understood that there is a burden felt by the speaker. As it is generally known, poems are results of the passions of writers who put their feelings into words so that emotion is really important in considering the reading or the study of a poem. However, the use of only one meter can also have the same effect if there had been no meters used. It could prove the poem to be monotonous as well and ineffective in getting the message through. That is why the use of expressive variations is important in composing poems, a characteristic which Sydney’s poem used, making it a strong emotional literary piece. Kept Burning and Distant is a short poem by Linda Gregg that also uses meter in strengthening the meaning of her thoughts through the stressed and unstressed words. Iamb is dominantly used in the poem especially on the last line, giving the rhythm that marks the end of the poem. The meter is also used in between other meters in the other lines, defining the use of expressive variations though the poem is very short. The author efficiently made use of different meters, achieving a well expressed idea and strengthening its sound. Anapest, dactyl, trochee and pyrrhic are also used in the poem in the expression of various meters to achieve its emotional sound. The words used obviously suggest a love story that is sensual, sexual in nature while the sound of the words are somewhat arranged so that one could trace a pattern which helps evoke mental images. Though repetition of sounds in the poem are not so dominant, there are line which make use of this poetic element that could surely catch a reader’s attention and help paint the picture of what is expressed in the poem. An example of which is the seventh line which makes use of consonance with the repetition of the ‘th’ sound. The poet did not use other sounds like rhymes nor onomatopoeia that could let the reader ‘hear’ the sounds in the poem. The arrangement of the poem in lines is made in manner where the sentences are broken, helping the tune of the poem easily determined. The meters used in the poem also help in deciding its beat and tempo. These elements also work to a reader’s way of reading aloud and understanding of the emotions as well as the depths of the emotions expressed. The end of each line suggests an unstressed last syllable which readies the reader to the next line. Punctuation marks like the period and comma were used, guiding the reader when to stop and where to pause. They also help in deciding the intonation used in oral reading thus, understanding the deeper meanings of the poem. There are no uses of en dashes nor em dashes but the two aforementioned punctuation marks which have been very helpful. For instance, the use of a period in the second line seemed to be out of place but has set the tone to it. It suggested a pause after the sentence even if it ended at the middle of the line and it also indicated that the word ‘rain’ should be unstressed. In addition, the use of commas also suggested stressing and pauses, allowing the reader to breathe before continuing to the next line. The poem uses enjambment through the lines which tell one subject matter, the story of two lovers who so passionately consummate their love through sex but the speaker is more emotionally affected by the separation they meet rather than the enjoyment they experienced. Mimetic syntax was used in the poem, showing imitations in nature with the use of similes like ‘like rain’ and the personification expressed third line of the poem. As a general observation to the two poems we have critiqued, the elements of poetry have been used to the efficiency of the expression of the authors’ thoughts. Emotions were brought into the reader’s mind with the help of the elements mentioned earlier, which I believe are generally observed by poets especially the works which are given tunes, made into songs. Poetry is indeed an interesting thing to study as one reader can see the very soul of a writer especially in critiquing because then, one dissects the deeper thoughts of the poet. Read More