Poetry is a type of literature where words are intertwined in the play of sounds, rhythm, imagery, and emotion which humans use as an instrument to express thoughts and feelings and even used to explore imaginations. It has elements that serve as building blocks in the text and without these elements, it cannot be a literary piece.
Poetic Line is defined as a unit of words by which the poem is divided. These lines are structured according to rhythm, rhyme, meter, and aesthetic emphasis in the poem. It can be divided according to feet or meter. The foot or feet is the smallest metrical unit of measurement in a verse and is what makes up or is the sequence of a meter.
Monometer – The Greek words “Mono” meaning one and “Metron” which in English is translated to meter means measurement. It is a very rare verse that is composed of only one metrical unit or poetic foot.
Dimeter – “Di” means two which makes dimeter two feet metrical line in the verse. It is also very rare.
Trimeter- From the word “tri” meaning three, trimeter is a three feet metrical line.
Tetrameter – From the word “tetra” meaning four, this is a four feet metrical line.
Pentameter – Consists of 5 metrical feet. It is also described as having ten syllables, where the first syllable is stressed, the second is unstressed, the third is stressed, and so on until it reaches the 10th line syllable.
Hexameter - a metrical line of verses consisting of six feet. It is also known as “Alexandrine” meaning a line with twelve syllables, which came from a book of romances of which Alexander the Great was the hero and all of the lines consisted 12 syllables.
It is important to create a persona or voice in literary pieces because it gives the personality, identity, and characteristics of the characters. It is the writer’s way of giving characters their own way of thinking, intentions, and even reasons behind their actions. It is not the author speaking but the characters. The characters exhibit emotions, expressions, style and have their own persona according to their role and purpose in the poem/story. Through this “voice” we readers are able to justify the character’s intentions and reason and we learn to understand why a character did this and that.
The theme is the underlying message, topic or subject of the literary piece that the writer would like to convey. It may be a theme of love, courage or a mixture of both either way a story/poem may have one or more themes. The moral of the story can even be a theme but the theme cannot be the moral of the story because it doesn’t teach values but is solely focused on conveying the message of the literary piece by which answers are provided to the question “what is the story about?”
The rhythm is described as the beat and pace of the poem by which the stressed and unstressed syllables have a pattern. Poets make use of the natural stresses in language to create a rhythm in poetry in order to strengthen the meaning of the words and ideas in the poem/literary piece.
Rhyme is a literary device defined as the repetition of similar sounds or use of words that sound the same, usually at the end of the line in a literary piece. Poets, writers, singers, and even rappers use rhyme for the aesthetic effect to create a predictable satisfaction. Authors often use rhyme to make their lines more memorable and to signal the ends of lines and in the form of rhyme schemes which are patterns just like A-B-A-B and A-B-B-A.
The meter is the unit of rhythm in poetry or the rhythmic structure in the lines of poetry. It consists of two components which are the number of syllables and the pattern of emphasis on those syllables.
Language or Diction – Language is the system of communication used in order to interact, speak and express meanwhile diction is the selection of words used, and together in poetry, it is called Poetic Diction. It is the term used to refer to the linguistic style, vocabulary, grammar, and metaphors used in writing poetry. Since poetry is complex because it uses figurative language, it is important to be aware and to know the figures of speech.
Simile – It is the direct comparison of two things with the use of “like,” “as” and “than.”
Metaphor – This directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It is compared with simile and other figures of speech but it is distinct because it suggests likeliness or comparison without using the words “like,” “as”, and “than”.
Personification – This is attributing human skills and abilities to nonliving or non-human things.
Apostrophe – It occurs or is used when a character in the story speaks to an object, an idea, or someone who’s nonexistent or absent as if it has feelings. The purpose is to highlight its importance in the story and to inject aesthetic or dramatic effect.
Hyperbole – This is the exaggeration of words and statements used to emphasize emotions, a point, and the like. It is may resemble metaphor but it always uses exaggeration not comparison.
Metonymy – It means “change of name.” As a literary device, it uses a name for an object with another object that is closely associated with it by focusing on emphasizing a specific quality. It acts as a replacement of the name with something related to it instead of stating its actual meaning.
Synecdoche – It is using a part to represent an entirety or represent the whole aspect.
Allusion – It is a reference to a person, object, and place, political or cultural significance. It may or may not be direct and does not describe the details of whom or what it is referring to. The writer or speaker expects the readers/audience to have an understanding of the reference/allusion.
Irony – Usage of contradictory or contrasting words/statements to reveal something that is different from what seems to be true.
Paradox - It is a line or statement that is self-contradictory, or humorous, but includes a truth or reality behind it.
Onomatopoeia - This is defined as imitating natural sounds of things or animals. It is mimicking the sounds of the things described.
Epigram – A brief yet interesting statement that can be humorous or smart.
