Anyway, it was recently suggested to me that I should do a post about poetry. I decided that this was a good idea because it encompasses a genre of topics that are seldom discussed on TBCRH, so, seeing how I'm one of the only bloggers who has not restricted their subject material, I decided that a post about poetry would be a welcomed change of pace/topic.
Before I talk about some specific types of poetry, it should be noted that poetry is a very interesting type of literature. It relies on meter, rhyme, lyrical structure, imagery, rhetoric, and a variety of other devices to convey a message. Because of this, poetry can lead to a type of enlightenment that traditional knowledge and learning may not allow one to fully comprehend. Below you will find some of the common types of poetry and descriptions.
Haiku:
One of the older types of poetry, haiku poetry has its roots in hokku, or the opening stance of a renga/renku poem. Haiku poetry was later defined in the 19th century to be a stand alone hokku (i.e. no renga/renku to go with it). Haiku poetry follows a 5-7-5 pattern moras (a unit of sound that dictates a syllabic weight). People commonly say that this an be replicated by a 5-7-5 syllable pattern, but one mora doesn't necessarily translate to one syllable, so this is incorrect.
Haiku poetry is actually very complex. A true haiku follows 4 characteristics:
- Follows a 5-7-5 pattern
- Has a "season word" (Kigo)
- Has a "cut" (Kireji).
- More often than not, it deals with nature (though modern haikus may not necessarily).
This is a lot to include in a small poem; before I go on, I should explain what the "season word" and "cut" are. A kigo is a word the alludes, symbolizes, implies, etc... a season (e.g. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter). If you read an original Japanese haiku, you will find the kigo hard to spot because Japanese poets oftentimes use a kigo that is a figure of speech. A kireji is a word that suggests a parallel between what precedes and what is after the word, or it may disrupt the stream of thought.
Example:
An old silent pond...
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature's changing course untrimmed.
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;
Nor shall death brag thou wand'rest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st,
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
Free Verse:
Free verse is exactly what it sounds like; there is no structure or pattern that one must adhere to. This style of poetry is very popular with modern poets.
Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
His underwear is hanging on the lamp.
His raincoat is there in the overstuffed chair,
And the chair is becoming quite mucky and damp.
His workbook is wedged in the window,
His sweater's been thrown on the floor.
His scarf and one ski are beneath the TV,
And his pants have been carelessly hung on the door.
His books are all jammed in the closet,
His vest has been left in the hall.
A lizard named Ed is asleep in his bed,
And his smelly old sock has been stuck to the wall.
Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
Donald or Robert or Willie or--
Huh? You say it's mine? Oh, dear,
I knew it looked familiar!
by Shel Silverstein
I hope this look at poetry was didactic and entertaining for you. If you liked this post, comment letting me know, so that I'll know that this kind of post is appreciated and wanted.
Professor of the Blog
A frog jumps into the pond,
splash! Silence again.
by Basho Matsuo (First great poet of Haiku).
Sonnet:
The sonnet is one of the original types of lyrical poetry that came from Europe. It is easily one of the most prevalent types of poetry. Sonnets have a strict rhyme scheme and structure to them. There are three main types of sonnets:
- Italian Sonnet (Rhyme scheme: abba abba cde cde)
- Shakespearean Sonnet (Rhyme scheme: abab cdcd efef gg)
- Spenserian Sonnet (Rhyme scheme: abab bcbc cdcd ee)
Sonnets never had any sort of confined subject matter or rules other than the structure of the poem. Sonnets in England were typically written in iambic pentameter (5 sets of unstressed then stressed syllables per line).
Example:
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date.
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date.
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature's changing course untrimmed.
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;
Nor shall death brag thou wand'rest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st,
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
by William Shakespeare
Ballad:
Ballads were very common in Britain and Ireland from the late medieval times until the 19th century. Ballad's were narratives that had a self-contained story and whom primarily relied on imagery. Ballads were typically written in quatrains (4 line stanzas) and followed a sort of unique rhyme scheme. They had a rhyme scheme of a-b-c-b, so the 2nd and 4th lines rhymed. There is a lot of variation in ballads, however, so this is only a sort of general structure, as ballads varied greatly.
Oh the ocean waves may roll,
And the stormy winds may blow,
While we poor sailors go skipping aloft
And the land lubbers lay down below, below, below
And the land lubbers lay down below.
And the stormy winds may blow,
While we poor sailors go skipping aloft
And the land lubbers lay down below, below, below
And the land lubbers lay down below.
by Anonymous
Cinquin:
Cinquin is a class of poetry that employs a 5-line pattern. There are two main types of cinquins: Crapsey and Didactic.
The first type was developed by the American poet Adelaide Crapsey, who was inspired by the Japanese haiku and tanka. The number of syllables started at two and increased by two until the last line which, again, had only two syllables. Lines generally do not rhyme.
The second type is a very simplistic poem. The first line has 1 word that is the title, the second line has two words that describe the title, the third line has three words that describe the action, the fourth line has four words that express the feeling, and the final line is one word that recalls the title.
Example:
Listen…
With faint dry sound,
Like steps of passing ghosts,
The leaves, frost-crisp'd, break from the trees
And fall.
With faint dry sound,
Like steps of passing ghosts,
The leaves, frost-crisp'd, break from the trees
And fall.
by Adelaide Crapsey
Free Verse:
Free verse is exactly what it sounds like; there is no structure or pattern that one must adhere to. This style of poetry is very popular with modern poets.
Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
His underwear is hanging on the lamp.
His raincoat is there in the overstuffed chair,
And the chair is becoming quite mucky and damp.
His workbook is wedged in the window,
His sweater's been thrown on the floor.
His scarf and one ski are beneath the TV,
And his pants have been carelessly hung on the door.
His books are all jammed in the closet,
His vest has been left in the hall.
A lizard named Ed is asleep in his bed,
And his smelly old sock has been stuck to the wall.
Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
Donald or Robert or Willie or--
Huh? You say it's mine? Oh, dear,
I knew it looked familiar!
by Shel Silverstein
I hope this look at poetry was didactic and entertaining for you. If you liked this post, comment letting me know, so that I'll know that this kind of post is appreciated and wanted.
Professor of the Blog
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