Epic Poetry Flashcards
Poetics
Aristotle defined 3 broad genres of poetry. Epics, lyrics, dramatics
” imitation… Is one distinct of our nature “ and “ the objects of imitation are men in action.”
Includes both verse and prose
Poetry deals with what could happen, universal truths, human behavious
Epic/narrative
The narrative speaks in first person them lets the characters speak for themselves
Long narrative poems
Features heroic characters /actions
Combines multiple story lines
Can have episodes (side stories)
Lyric
Uttered through the first person
Focuses on personal emotions/thoughts
Often spoken by a single voice (voice of poet)
Shake spears sonnets
Express individual artistic kinds/morals qualities ( tells what poet thinks/feels )
More static /contemplative
Dramatic
The characters do all the talking
Performed rather than narrated
Shows characters in direct action (usually no narrator)
Most complete form according to Aristotle
Tragedy shows fall of noble character (doesn’t have to be sad, just end in death)
Comedy shows human foibles and flaws (doesn’t have to be funny just as to end in a marriage.
Diction
The selection of individual words - the level of speech
Polite
Formal
Elevated/grand
Simple
Informal
Low
Rude
Doggerel
A term that means the poetry is not good
Dog food poetry
Garbage
Detonation
The literal dictionary definition of a word - its most basic and explicit meaning
Objective and widely agreed upon
Found indictionaries
Independent of context or personal interpretation
Connotation
Subjective definition
The implied meaning of the word - including emotional, cultural, personal connections
Develops through use and experience
Can vary between contexts and cultures
Imagery
The use of figurative language to provoke a sensory experience in the reader
Appeals to sense of sight, taste, touch, smell, and sound -external
Appeals to internal senses of feeling-internal often through simile, metaphor, and hyperbole
Visual imagery
Appeals to the sense of sight through the description of colour, light, size, pattern
Auditory
Appeals to the sense of hearing or sound by including melodic sounds, silence, harsh noises (clatcoughory) and even onomatopoeia.
Gustatory
Appeals to the sense of taste by describing whether something is sweet, salty, savoury, spicy, or sour
Tactile imagery
Appeals to the sense of touch by describing how something physically feels, such as its temperature I texture or other sensations
Olfactory imagery
Appeals to the sense of smell by describing something’s fragrance or door
Kinesthetic imagery
Appeals to a readers sense of motion or movement through describing the sensations of moving or the movements of an object
Organic imagery
Appeals to and communicates internal sensations, feelings, and emotions, such as fatigue, thirst, fear, love loneliness, despair
Not how the poem makes you feel, must be contained within the poem
Stanza
A group of lines forming the basic recurring metrical unit in a poem
A verse
Bob and wheel
Bob - just two syllables
Wheel -very organized, precise rhyming and method, short four lines
Syntax
The rules, units, and structure of grammar.
Poetry rubs against these rules, stretches and bends them to its own purposes.
Enjambment
When a sentence, phrase, or clause spills over the end of the line, into the next line.
The line and syntax do not match
Marked with arrow
End-stop
Consists of a pause at the end of a line of poetry. Generally indicated by punctuation . , ;
Can be without punctuation if poetic line ends in logical complete though.
Marked \
Caesura
A rhythmical pause in a poetic line typically indicated by punctuation. Represents a breath in natural speech.
Marked \
Focuses on particular word or phrase
Makes contrast, shows depth of emotion, breaks rhythm of line, creates drama and tension
Imagery
The use of figurative language to provoke A sensory experience in the reader
Appeal to sense of sight, taste
