English - elements of poetry - Essay Example

Assignment Write a first-person singular one-page summary of what you learned about the Elements of Poetry: http://learn.lexiconic.net/elementsofpoetry.htm. (200 - 300 words) At first, I must admit that it was difficult to gain interest in poetry especially under the impression that by nature it is mostly figurative and thus would take deep level of thinking and significant amount of time. However, since the course has enabled the class to learn a flexible approach in studying poetry, I yield to a degree of appreciation in understanding poems based on the various styles and objectives used by the poets.

On interpreting the meaning of a poem, I have found out that it is often useful to locate literary devices at least the typical ones normally applied such as the simile, metaphor, irony, and personification. Sometimes, it works to look at the poem according to structure and note how one word or an entire line is associated to another within stanzas. In particular, I have observed that a poet’s choice of couplet, tercet, quatrain, cinquain, or sestet has something to do with the manner he would wish to convey the connotative essence of the piece.

It is fascinating to know that poetry at present goes beyond a standard measure or is not confined to follow a limited structure and form for whether a poem is comprised of a lyrical, narrative, or descriptive features would necessarily depend on the main purpose of the author. Rhyme schemes make a good ingredient if the poet opts to express much delight in sound when writing in free verse which is not restricted by metrics. By personal experience, even if I prefer to go for an unrhymed blank verse, I discover significance in the proper application of sound and imagery for these elements effectively communicate the intensity of emotion or idea which the poet desires for the reader to comprehend besides symbolism.

Assignment #2: CLOSELY Review: How to write a poetry explication: http://faculty.shawu.edu/eweil/PoemExplication.htm. (100 - 250 words) Explicating a poem is a way of providing it a literary analysis on the basis of its theme, figurative elements or devices employed during the writing process which may as well include consideration of the poet’s timeframe, historical setting, and other influences from which to draw further clues regarding the objectives and context by which a poem is written.

I have specifically learned that one may not merely explicate a poem at random, stating what is conceived or felt without sufficient basis on the relevant lines of a work. Having read a poem more than once, I have managed to figure that analytical efforts to interpret a poem require profound examination of the techniques as the poet operates between mood and music. Normally, it is convenient to detect the tone at the initial stage for this says much about the subject and thematic development of a piece.

Being engaged in the task of explicating poetry has taught me patterns and means to be able to distinguish between assonance and alliteration for instance and to differentiate treating ‘words’ as either individually or wholly belonging to a certain set of phrases or stanzas.