My pleasure to bring to the attention of first year students some introductory notes on poetry. Please be well-acquainted with these terms before we get started tomorrow.
AN INTRODUCTION TO ENGLISH POETRY
To best understand what poetry is one needs to be academically familiar with certain terms idyllically used in literary genres such as poetry, drama, prose, and elsewhere. I am afraid that for most of you English poetry may sound unintelligible of course if you let poetry classes slide. This introductory course is brought to you to help you get a fix on and get a grasp of English Poetry. So do not let the chance slip by. I am dead sure it grows on you by time. You try to acquire a taste for this literary genre so that poetry terms will have a familiar ring. Whenever I read poetry, it rings a bell. I heuristically sense how words are strung together to convey a message going beyond the literal meaning of the poem. You must have bumped into poetry! Poetry [ˈpəʊətri] by definition is piece of literature written by a poet in meter or verse expressing various emotions which are expressed by the use of variety of techniques including metaphors, similes and onomatopoeia. The emphasis on the aesthetics of language and the use of techniques such as repetition, meter and rhyme are what are commonly used to distinguish poetry from prose. Poems often make heavy use of imagery and word association to quickly convey emotions Oversimplified below is a list of figures of speech along with other literary terms that you badly need to get under your belt:
POETRY TERMS
Acrostic [əˈkrɒstɪk] is a poem or piece of writing in which the first or last letter of each line spells a word.
Alliteration [əˌlɪtəˈreɪʃ ə n] is the use of several words together that begin with the same sound or letter in order to make a special effect, especially in poetry. (جناس ناقص)
Anagram [ˈænəɡræm] is a word or phrase that is made by changing the order of the letters in another word or phrase: ‘Silent’ is an anagram of ‘listen’.
Anthology [ænˈθɒlədʒi] is a set of stories, poems, songs etc by different people collected together in one book. An anthology of American literature. (مقتطفات أدبية)
Assonance [ˈæsənəns] is similarity in the vowel sounds of words that are close together in a poem, for example between ‘born’ and ‘warm’ (سجع)
Ballad [ˈbæləd] is a poem – usually a slow love song sung by a balladeer – that tells a story similar to a folk tale or legend and often has a repeated refrain. (أرجوزة)
Bathos [ˈbeɪθɒs] is a figure of speech sensed in writing when a sudden change from a subject that is beautiful, moral, or serious to something that is ordinary, silly, or not important. (التدلي)
Blank Verse is poetry that has a fixed rhythm but does not rhyme. Poetry that is written in unrhymed iambic pentameter. Blank verse is often unobtrusive and the iambic pentameter form often resembles the rhythms of ordinary speech. Shakespeare wrote most of his plays in blank verse. (شعر غير مقفّى)
Bowdlerize [ˈbaʊdləraɪz] is to remove all the parts of a poem, book, play etc that you think might offend someone. A bowdlerized version of ‘Antony and Cleopatra’. (ينقّح)
Burlesque [bɜːˈlesk] is a speech, acting, or writing in which a serious subject is made to seem silly or an unimportant subject is treated in a serious way. (تهكم)
Caesura [sɪˈzjʊərə] [sɪˈʒʊrə] is a pause in the middle of a line of poetry. (وقف)
Cameo [ˈkæmi-əʊ] is a short piece of writing that gives a clear idea of a person, place, or event. (نبذة)
Canon [ˈkænən] all the books that are recognized as being the most important pieces of literature. The Shakespearean canon The Literary Canon
Canto [ˈkæntəʊ] is one of the parts into which a very long poem is divided. (مقطع شعري)
Citation [saɪˈteɪʃ ə n] is a line or a quotation taken from a book, speech etc.
The essay begins with a citation from ‘Hamlet’. (اقتباس)
Coda [ˈkəʊdə] is a separate piece of writing at the end of a work of literature or a speech.
Conceit [kənˈsiːt] is an unusual way of showing or describing something in a play, film, work of art etc. A conceit can be found in Shakespeare's sonnet "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" when an image or metaphor likens one thing to something else that is seemingly very different.
Conceit [ˈkɔːpəs] is a collection of all the writing of a particular kind or by a particular person. The entire corpus of Shakespeare’s works
Couplet [kʌplət] is two lines of poetry, one following the other, that are the same length.
Rhyming couplets
Critique [krɪˈtiːk] is a detailed explanation of the problems of something such as a poem, novel, drama, and the like. A major new critique of his work
Dactyl [ˈdæktɪl] is a repeated sound pattern in poetry, consisting of one long sound followed by two short sounds, as in the word ‘carefully’.
Declamatory [dɪˈklæmətəri] is a speech or writing expresses feelings and opinions very strongly. A declamatory style
Deconstruction [diːkənˈstrʌkʃən] is a method used in the criticism of literature which claims that there is no single explanation of the meaning of a piece of writing.
Dense [dens] a dense piece of writing is difficult to understand because it contains a lot of information and uses a difficult language.
Device [dɪˈvaɪs] is the special use of words in literature, or of words, lights etc in a play, to achieve an effect. Metaphor is a common literary device.
Diction [ˈdɪkʃən] is the choice and use of words and phrases to express meaning, especially in literature.
Digest [ˈdaɪdʒest] is a short piece of writing that gives the most important facts from a book, report etc.
Doggerel [ˈdɒɡərəl] is poetry that is silly or funny and not intended to be serious.
Draft [drɑːft] is a piece of writing a piece of writing or a plan that is not yet in its finished form. The rough draft of his new poem.
Elegy [ˈelədʒi] is a sad poem or song, especially about someone who has died.
Epic [ˈepɪk] is an epic book, poem, or film tells a long poem about brave actions and exciting events. Epic poetry
Epigram [ˈepɪɡræm] is a short sentence that expresses an idea in a clever or amusing way.
Epistolary [ɪˈpɪstələri] is written in the form of a letter or a series of letters. Epistolary poem
Epitaph [ˈepətɑːf] [ˈepɪtɑːf] is a short piece of writing on the stone over someone’s grave.
Eulogy [ˈjuːlədʒi] is a speech or piece of writing in which you praise someone or something very much, especially at a funeral. The minister delivered a long eulogy.
[color=blue]Mohammed Al Daqs
Independent Lecturer & Freelance Translator
British Council
University of Aleppo - Edleb Campus
English Department
