Elements of Poetry: Analysis of Kahlil Gibran's "On Friendship"

LINK - http://www.katsandogz.com/gibran/onfriendship.php

TITLE – On Friendship

AUTHOR - Kahlil Gibran

POINT OF VIEW – Second Person POV 

SUBJECT – Friendship

THEME – One of the most wonderful experiences in life is meeting someone who means the world to you. Someone who protects, who cares, and who loves you no matter how harsh life can be. Someone who can offer his hand after you stumbled down. Someone who is simply amazing that no words can help you describe him.

FORM – Gibran’s On Friendship had gone away from traditional poetry that follows very strict forms such as manner and style. It belongs to the kind of poetry called FREE VERSE which means there is a strong tendency to break from the traditional and to become even very unorthodox, unconventional, or even unusual. It is most often used in modern times and presents a multitude of possibilities. Thus, it does not have any structure. The poet uses the free form to make the poem fit the contents and to express the mood or feeling of his work.

LINES – When we talk about the lines of the poem, these are the vehicle of the author’s thoughts and ideas. These are the building blocks with which to create a poem. In Gibran’s poem, I noticed that some lines are not of equal length as the others. There are lines which are longer, there shorter ones, and are even words and phrases only. This has something to do with enjambment also. I think Gibran’s purpose for doing this technique is to let the readers know where the end of the thoughts and where they start. Thus, the PUNCTUATION at the end of each sentence in the poem is also a major tool for the poet. At times, he will want us to make a full stop, other times a gentle or slight pause, and even others perhaps a sudden break, and so on. Ultimately, then, poetry creates sensations, moods, and images in the reader's mind.

STANZAS – The poem was divided into three stanzas. However, each stanza does not have the same number of lines. 

RHYME – Rhyme is the SONIC imitation usually of end syllables of words. Considering that the poem is written in Free Verse, it does not exemplify the most typical and best-known kind of rhyme by young people, the END RHYME, in which the words at the end of a given line rhyme. It does not also follow INTERNAL RHYME. This kind of rhyming is different from the end rhyme in that the rhyming takes place somewhere within the line and not at the end. But most of us find it more natural to use rhyming at the end and not in the middle of our poem's lines. Still, the most widely read and enjoyed poetry artfully combines these and other patterns and techniques for the creation of the poems.

RHYTHM – Perhaps this is the pivot point of all the elements because it is the rhythm that creates a pleasant gliding effect when we read a poem. Although there are no rhyming words in the poem, we can still find a rhythm in it. There is still a soothing effect as we read it properly and sincerely. I guess the words used were just so perfectly combined that they create emotional touch to the readers/audience.

MOOD/TONE – The mood of the poem is somewhat happy and thankful because the persona talks about his feelings towards his friends who mean the world to him. The tempo of this poem is slow because this poem talks about a touching concept of friendship. It also helps us realize the different aspects of friendship which is intense and deep. This poem helps to answer a very general yet deep question asked by youth. Thus, the way the poet phrased it is deep which makes the poem flow slowly. 

IMAGERY – The use of vivid imagery and apt similes by Gibran is heartening and overwhelming. There is also evident use of metaphor in which Gibran compares his friend to certain things.

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PS. Stay tuned for the continuation of this article. :)