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Encyclopedia > Poems
The Chinese poem "Quatrain on Heavenly Mountain" by Emperor Gaozong (Song Dynasty)
The Chinese poem "Quatrain on Heavenly Mountain" by Emperor Gaozong (Song Dynasty)
Poetry Portal

Poetry (from the Greek ποίησις, poesis, "making" or "creating") is a form of art in which language is used for its aesthetic qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its ostensible meaning. Image File history File links Quatrain_on_Heavenly_Mountain. ... Image File history File links Quatrain_on_Heavenly_Mountain. ... Quatrain on Heavenly Mountain by Emperor Gaozong Hand-painted Chinese New Years poetry pasted on the sides of doors leading to peoples homes, Old Town, Lijiang, Yunnan, China. ... Emperor Gaozong (June 12, 1107 – November 9, 1187), born Zhao Gou, was the tenth emperor of the Song Dynasty of China, and the first emperor of the Southern Song. ... The Song Dynasty (Chinese: ) was a ruling dynasty in China from 960-1279. ... Image File history File links Portal. ... The Bath, a painting by Mary Cassatt (1891-1892). ... Kittens are often considered quite cute. ... In linguistics, meaning is the content carried by the words or signs exchanged by people when communicating through language. ...


Poetry has a long history. Early attempts to define it, such as Aristotle's Poetics, focused on the uses of speech in rhetoric, drama, song and comedy.[1] Later attempts focused on features such as repetition and rhyme, and emphasised the aesthetics which distinguish poetry from prose.[2] From the mid-20th century, poetry has sometimes been more loosely defined as a fundamental creative act using language.[3] The history of poetry as an art form predates literacy. ... Aristotle (Greek: Aristotélēs) (384 BC – March 7, 322 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. ... Aristotles Poetics aims to give an account of poetry. ... A rhyme is a repetition of identical or similar sounds in two or more different words and is most often used in poetry. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...


Poetry often uses particular forms and conventions to expand the literal meaning of the words, or to invoke emotional or sensual responses. Devices such as assonance, alliteration and rhythm are sometimes used to achieve musical or incantatory effects. Poetry's use of ambiguity, symbolism, irony and other stylistic elements of poetic diction often leaves a poem open to multiple interpretations. Similarly, metaphor and simile create a resonance between otherwise disparate images—a layering of meanings, forming connections previously not perceived. link titleAssonance is the repetition of vowel sounds within a short passage of verse or prose. ... Alliteration is a stylistic device, or literary technique, in which successive words (more strictly, stressed syllables) begin with the same consonant sound or letter. ... // Rhythm (Greek ρυθμός = tempo) is the variation of the duration of sounds or other events over time. ... Music is a form of entertainment or other human activity that involves organized and audible sounds and silence. ... An incantation is the words spoken during a ritual. ... Look up ambiguity in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Irony is a literary or rhetorical device in which there is a gap or incongruity between what a speaker or a writer says, and what is understood. ... Poetic diction is the term used to refer to the linguistic style, the vocabulary, and the metaphors used in the writing of poetry. ... In language, a metaphor (from the Greek: metapherin) is a rhetorical trope defined as a direct comparison between two or more seemingly unrelated subjects. ... A simile is a figure of speech in which the subject is compared to another subject. ... Resonance structures are diagrammatic tools in organic chemistry to symbolize resonant bonds between atoms in molecules. ...


Some forms of poetry are specific to particular cultures and genres, responding to the characteristics of the language in which the poet writes. While readers accustomed to identifying poetry with Shakespeare, Dante and Goethe may think of poetry as being written in rhyming lines and regular meter, there are other traditions, such as those of Du Fu and Beowulf, which use other approaches to achieve rhythm and euphony. In today's globalized world, poets often borrow styles, techniques and forms from different cultures and languages. Look up genre in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Durante degli Alighieri, better known as Dante Alighieri or simply Dante, (c. ... Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. ... Du Fu or Tu Fu (712–770) was a prominent Chinese poet during the Tang Dynasty. ... The first page of Beowulf This article is about the epic poem. ... Euphony describes flowing and aesthetically pleasing speech. ... Globalisation or globalization is an umbrella term for a complex series of economic, social, technological, cultural and political changes seen as increasing interdependence, integration and interaction between people and companies in disparate locations. ...

Contents

Poetics and history

The Deluge tablet of the Gilgamesh epic in Akkadian, circa 2nd millennium BC.
The Deluge tablet of the Gilgamesh epic in Akkadian, circa 2nd millennium BC.

Poetry as an art form may predate literacy[4] Thus many ancient works, from the Vedas (2500 - 500 BC) to the Odyssey (700 - 500 BC), appear to have been composed in poetic form to aid memorization and oral transmission, in prehistoric and ancient societies.[5] Poetry appears among the earliest records of most literate cultures, with poetic fragments found on early monoliths, rune stones and stelae. The history of poetry as an art form predates literacy. ... Literary theory is the theory (or the philosophy) of the interpretation of literature and literary criticism. ... Deluge Tablet (Babylonian, Gilgamesh) http://www. ... Deluge Tablet (Babylonian, Gilgamesh) http://www. ... The Deluge by Gustave Doré. The story of a Great Flood sent by God or the gods to destroy civilization as an act of divine retribution is a widespread theme in myths. ... The Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem from Babylonia and is arguably the oldest known work of literature. ... Akkadian (lišānum akkadītum) was a Semitic language (part of the greater Afro-Asiatic language family) spoken in ancient Mesopotamia, particularly by the Assyrians and Babylonians. ... (3rd millennium BC – 2nd millennium BC – 1st millennium BC – other millennia) // Events To grasp the spirit of the 2nd millennium BC, we must divide it in two parts, for there is a period of change around its middle so important that it creates two separate sub-millennia. First half (2000... World literacy rates by country The traditional definition of literacy is the ability to use language–to read, write, listen, and speak. ... The Vedas (Sanskrit: वेद) are the main scripture in Hinduism, and are a large corpus of texts originating in Ancient India. ... Odysseus and Nausicaä - by Charles Gleyre The Odyssey (Greek: , Odusseia) is one of the two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to the poet Homer. ... A monolith is a geological or technological feature such as a mountain, consisting of a single massive stone or rock. ... A rune stone in Lund Rune stones are stones with runic inscriptions dating from the early Middle Ages but are found to have been used most prominently during the Iron Age (Viking Age). ... Ancient Egyptian funerary stele Suenos Stone in Forres Scotland A stele (or stela) is a stone or wooden slab, generally taller than it is wide, erected for funerary or commemorative purposes, most usually decorated with the names and titles of the deceased or living—inscribed, carved in relief (bas...


The oldest surviving poem is the Epic of Gilgamesh, from the 3rd millennium BC in Sumer (in Iraq/Mesopotamia), which was written in cuneiform script on clay tablets and, later, papyrus.[6] The Epic of Gilgamesh is based on the historical king Gilgamesh. The oldest love poem, found on a clay tablet now known as Istanbul #2461, was also a Sumerian poem. It was recited by a bride of the Sumerian king Shu-Sin, who ruled from 2037-2029 BC.[7] The oldest epic poetry besides the Epic of Gilgamesh are the Greek epics Iliad and Odyssey and the Indian epics Ramayana and Mahabharata. The longest epic poems ever written were the Tibetan Epic of King Gesar and the Mahabharata. The Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem from Babylonia and is arguably the oldest known work of literature. ... Sumer (or Shumer, Egyptian Sangar, Bib. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...   The cuneiform script is one of the earliest known forms of written expression. ... Papyrus plant Cyperus papyrus at Kew Gardens, London Papyrus is an early form of paper made from the pith of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus, a wetland sedge that grows to 5 meters (15 ft) in height and was once abundant in the Nile Delta of Egypt. ... Gilgamesh, according to the Sumerian king list, was the fifth king of Uruk (Early Dynastic II, first dynasty of Uruk), the son of Lugalbanda, ruling circa 2650 BCE. Legend has it that his mother was Ninsun, a goddess. ... The Sumerian language of ancient Sumer was spoken in Southern Mesopotamia from at least the 4th millennium BCE. Sumerian was replaced by Akkadian as a spoken language around 1800 BCE, but continued to be used as a sacred, ceremonial, literary and scientific language in Mesopotamia until the first century AD... The epic is a broadly defined genre of poetry, and one of the major forms of narrative literature. ... The Iliad (Ancient Greek , Ilias) is, together with the Odyssey, one of two ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer, a supposedly blind Ionian poet. ... Odysseus and Nausicaä - by Charles Gleyre The Odyssey (Greek: , Odusseia) is one of the two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to the poet Homer. ... The ancient Sanskrit epics, the Ramayana and Mahabharata, laid the cornerstone for much of Hindu religion. ... The (DevanāgarÄ«: ) is an ancient Sanskrit epic attributed to the poet Valmiki and is an important part of the Hindu canon (smá¹›ti). ... Manuscript illustration of the Battle of Kurukshetra The (Devanagari: ), is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, the other being the . ... The Tibetan language is spoken primarily by the Tibetan people who live across a wide area of eastern Central Asia bordering South Asia, as well as by large number of Tibetan refugees all over the world. ... The Epic of King Gesar is a Tibetan epic poem about King Gesar, who ruled the mythical Kingdom of Ling. ...


Ancient thinkers sought to determine what makes poetry distinctive as a form and what distinguishes good poetry from bad, resulting in the development of "poetics", or the study of the aesthetics of poetry. Some ancient societies, such as the Chinese through the Shi Jing, one of the Five Classics of Confucianism, developed canons of poetic works that had ritual as well as aesthetic importance. More recently, thinkers struggled to find a definition that could encompass formal differences as great as those between Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales and Matsuo Bashō's Oku no Hosomichi, as well as differences in context that span from the religious poetry of the Tanakh to love poetry to rap.[8] Aristotles Poetics aims to give an account of poetry. ... ShÄ« JÄ«ng (Chinese: è©©ç¶“), translated variously as the Classic of Poetry, the Book of Songs or the Book of Odes, is the first major collection of Chinese poems. ... The Five Classics (五經, WÇ”jÄ«ng) is a corpus of five ancient Chinese books used by Confucianism as the basis of studies. ... Confucianist temple Thian Hock Keng in Singapore Confucianism (Traditional Chinese: , Simplified Chinese: , pinyin: Rúxué [   ], literally The School of the Scholars; or 孔教 Kŏng jiào, The Teachings of Confucius) is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system originally developed from the teachings of the early Chinese sage Confucius. ... Canterbury Tales Woodcut 1484 The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century (two of them in prose, the rest in verse). ... A statue of Bashō in Ogaki, Gifu. ... Statue of Bashō at ChÅ«sonji, Hiraizumi, Iwate Prefecture Oku no Hosomichi (Japanese: 奥の細道, meaning Narrow Road to Oku [the Deep North]) is a major work by Matsuo Bashō. Oku no Hosomichi was written based on a journey taken by Bashō in the late spring of 1689. ... This article is concerned with Biblical poetry, specifically poetry in the Hebrew Bible. ... TaNaKh [תנ״ך] (also Tanach, IPA: or ), is an acronym that identifies the Hebrew Bible. ... Romantic love is a form of love that is often regarded as different from mere needs driven by sexual desire, or lust. ... Popular West Coast rapper Snoop Dogg performing for the US Navy. ...


Context can be critical to poetics and to the development of poetic genres and forms. For example, poetry employed to record historical events in epics, such as Gilgamesh or Ferdowsi's Shahnameh,[9] will necessarily be lengthy and narrative, while poetry used for liturgical purposes in hymns, psalms, suras and hadiths is likely to have an inspirational tone, whereas elegies and tragedy are intended to invoke deep internal emotional responses. Other contexts include music such as Gregorian chants, and formal or diplomatic speech[10] political rhetoric and invective,[11] light-hearted nursery and nonsense rhymes, and even medical texts.[12] The epic is a broadly defined genre of poetry, and one of the major forms of narrative literature. ... The Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem from Babylonia and is arguably the oldest known work of literature. ... Shahnameh Scenes from the Shahnameh carved into reliefs at Tus, where Ferdowsi is buried. ... From the Greek word λειτουργία, which can be transliterated as leitourgia, meaning a public work, a liturgy comprises a prescribed religious ceremony, according to the traditions of a particular religion; it may refer to, or include, an elaborate formal ritual (such as the Catholic Mass), or a daily activity such as... A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a god or other religiously significant figure. ... Psalms (Tehilim תהילים, in Hebrew) is a book of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, and of the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. ... Sura (sometimes referred to as Surah) ( ) is an Arabic term literally meaning picture, evidence, or proof. ... Hadith (Arabic: ‎ translit: ) are traditions relating to the words and deeds of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. ... Elegy was originally used for a type of poetic metre (Elegiac metre), but is also used for a poem of mourning, from the Greek elegos, a reflection on the death of someone or on a sorrow generally. ... In general usage, a tragedy or tragoedy is a drama, movie or sometimes a real world event with a sad outcome. ... Gregorian chant is also known as plainchant or plainsong and is a form of monophonic, unaccompanied singing, which was developed in the Catholic Church, mainly during the period 800-1000. ... A nursery rhyme is a traditional song or poem taught to young children, originally in the nursery. ... Nonsense verse is a form of poetry, normally composed for humorous effect, which is intentionally and overtly paradoxical, silly, witty, whimsical or just plain strange. ...


The Polish historian of aesthetics, Władysław Tatarkiewicz, in a paper on "The Concept of Poetry," traces the evolution of what is in fact two concepts of poetry. Tatarkiewicz points out that the term is applied to two distinct things that, as the poet Paul Valéry observes, "at a certain point find union. Poetry [...] is an art based on language. But poetry also has a more general meaning [...] that is difficult to define because it is less determinate: poetry expresses a certain state of mind." WÅ‚adysÅ‚aw Tatarkiewicz WÅ‚adysÅ‚aw Tatarkiewicz (April 3, 1886, Warsaw – April 4, 1980, Warsaw) was a Polish philosopher, historian of philosophy, historian of art, esthetician, and author of works in ethics. ... For other people of the same name, see Valery. ...


Classical and early modern Western traditions

Classical thinkers employed classification as a way to define and assess the quality of poetry. Notably, Aristotle's Poetics describes the three genres of poetry: the epic, comic, and tragic, and develops rules to distinguish the highest-quality poetry of each genre, based on the underlying purposes of that genre.[13] Later aestheticians identified three major genres: epic poetry, lyric poetry and dramatic poetry, treating comedy and tragedy as subgenres of dramatic poetry. Aristotle's work was influential throughout the Middle East during the Islamic Golden Age,[14] as well as in Europe during the Renaissance.[15] Later poets and aestheticians often distinguished poetry from, and defined it in opposition to, prose, which was generally understood as writing with a proclivity to logical explication and a linear narrative structure.[16] Aristotles Poetics aims to give an account of poetry. ... Aesthetics (or esthetics) (from the Greek word αισθητική) is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty. ... Lyric poetry is a form of poetry that does not attempt to tell a story, as do epic poetry and dramatic poetry, but is of a more personal nature instead. ... Verse drama is any drama written as verse to be spoken; another possible general terms is poetic drama. ... A Seljuk manuscript from the 13th century depicting Socrates (Soqrāt) in discussion with his pupils. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...


This does not imply that poetry is illogical or lacks narration, but rather that poetry is an attempt to render the beautiful or sublime without the burden of engaging the logical or narrative thought process. English Romantic poet John Keats termed this escape from logic, "Negative Capability."[17] This "romantic" approach views form as a key element of successful poetry because form is abstract and distinct from the underlying notional logic. This approach remained influential into the twentieth century. During this period, there was also substantially more interaction among the various poetic traditions, in part due to the spread of European colonialism and the attendant rise in global trade. In addition to a boom in translation, during the Romantic period numerous ancient works were rediscovered. John Keats John Keats (October 31, 1795 – February 23, 1821) was one of the principal poets of the English Romantic movement. ... Negative Capability is a theory of the poet John Keats, expressed in his letter to George and Thomas Keats dated Sunday, 21 December 1817. ... Romantic and romanticism have a number of uses: Titles: Romantic (song) by Karyn White. ...


Twentieth-century disputes

Some 20th-century literary theorists, relying less on the opposition of prose and poetry, focused on the poet as simply one who creates using language, and poetry as what the poet creates. The underlying concept of the poet as creator is not uncommon, and some modernist poets essentially do not distinguish between the creation of a poem with words, and creative acts in other media such as carpentry.[18] Yet other modernists challenge the very attempt to define poetry as misguided, as when Archibald MacLeish concludes his ironic poem, "Ars Poetica," with the lines: "A poem should not mean / but be."[19] To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Literary theory is the theory (or the philosophy) of the interpretation of literature and literary criticism. ... Mountebanks ... Archibald MacLeish Archibald MacLeish (May 7, 1892 – April 20, 1982) was an American poet, writer and the Librarian of Congress. ... Ars Poetica is the name of at least three pieces of literature. ...


Intellectual disputes over the definition of poetry, and over its distinction from other genres of literature, have been inextricably intertwined with the debate over the role of poetic form. The rejection of traditional forms and structures for poetry that began in the first half of the twentieth century, coincided with a questioning of the purpose and meaning of traditional definitions of poetry and of distinctions between poetry and prose. Numerous modernist poets have written in non-traditional forms or in what traditionally would have been considered prose, although their writing was generally infused with poetic diction and often with rhythm and tone established by non-metrical means.[20] While there was a substantial formalist reaction within the modernist schools to the breakdown of structure, this reaction focused as much on the development of new formal structures and syntheses as on the revival of older forms and structures.[21] (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s The 20th century lasted from 1901 to 2000 in the Gregorian calendar (often from (1900 to 1999 in common usage). ... New Formalism is a late-twentieth and early twenty-first century movement in American poetry that has promoted a return to metrical and rhymed verse. ...


More recently, postmodernism has fully embraced MacLeish's concept and come to regard boundaries between prose and poetry, and also among genres of poetry, as having meaning only as cultural artifacts. Postmodernism goes beyond modernism's emphasis on the creative role of the poet, to emphasize the role of the reader of a text, and to highlight the complex cultural web within which a poem is read.[22] Today, throughout the world, poetry often incorporates poetic form and diction from other cultures and from the past, further confounding attempts at definition and classification that were once sensible within a tradition such as the Western canon. Andy Warhols iconic Marilyn Monroe // Postmodernism is an idea that has been extremely controversial and difficult to define among scholars, intellectuals, and historians, as it connotes to many the hotly debated idea that the modern historical period has passed. ... The Western canon is a canon of books and art (and specifically one with very loose boundaries) that has allegedly been highly influential in shaping Western culture. ...


Basic elements

Bust of Homer, one of the earliest European poets, in the British Museum
Bust of Homer, one of the earliest European poets, in the British Museum

Photograph taken of the bust of Homer in the British Museum, London. ... Photograph taken of the bust of Homer in the British Museum, London. ... Homer (Greek Hómēros) was a legendary early Greek poet and rhapsode traditionally credited with the composition of the Iliad and the Odyssey, commonly assumed to have lived in the 8th century BC. However, exact placement of these dates is unsure. ... The centre of the museum was redeveloped in 2000 to become the Great Court, with a tessellated glass roof by Foster and Partners surrounding the original Reading Room. ...

Prosody

Main article: Meter (poetry)

Prosody is the study of the meter, rhythm, and intonation of a poem. Rhythm and meter, although closely related, should be distinguished.[23] Meter is the abstract pattern established for a verse (such as iambic pentameter), while rhythm is the actual sound that results from a line of poetry. Thus, the meter of a line may be described as being "iambic", but a full description of the rhythm would require noting where the language causes one to pause or accelerate and how the meter interacts with other elements of the language. Prosody also may be used more specifically to refer to the scanning of poetic lines to show meter. The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... In linguistics, prosody refers to intonation, rhythm, and vocal stress in speech. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... // Rhythm (Greek ρυθμός = tempo) is the variation of the duration of sounds or other events over time. ... Intonation is a term used to cover particular uses of tones in linguistics and music. ... In literature, meter or metre (sometimes known as prosody) is a term used in the scansion (analysis into metrical patterns) of poetry, usually indicated by the kind of feet and the number of them. ...


Methods of creating rhythm

See also Parallelism, inflection, intonation, foot

The methods for creating poetic rhythm vary across languages and between poetic traditions. Languages are often described as having timing set primarily by accents, syllables, or moras, depending on how rhythm is established, though a language can be influenced by multiple approaches.[24] Japanese is a mora-timed language. Syllable-timed languages include Latin, Catalan, French and Spanish. English, Russian and, generally, German are stress-timed languages. Varying intonation also affects how rhythm is perceived. Languages also can rely on either pitch, such as in Vedic or ancient Greek, or tone. Tonal languages include Chinese, Vietnamese, Lithuanian, and most subsaharan languages.[25] In linguistics, the timing in a language comprises the rhythmic qualities of speech, in particular how syllables are distributed across time. ... It has been suggested that Tonal language be merged into this article or section. ... Pitch accent is a kind of accent system employed in many languages around the world. ... Parallelism means to give two or more parts of the sentences a similar form so as to give the whole a definite pattern. ... Inflection or inflexion refers to a modification or marking of a word (or more precisely lexeme) so that it reflects grammatical (i. ... Intonation is a term used to cover particular uses of tones in linguistics and music. ... In verse, many meters use a foot as the basic unit in their description of the underlying rhythm of a poem. ... In linguistics, the timing in a language comprises the rhythmic qualities of speech, in particular how syllables are distributed across time. ... In linguistics, the timing in a language comprises the rhythmic qualities of speech, in particular how syllables are distributed across time. ... In every language, speech emission is based on a sequence of elementary sound units; some of them play a specific part: through their isochronic recurrence, they produce the rhythm of the sentences. ... In every language, speech emission is based on a sequence of elementary sound units; some of them play a specific part: through their isochronic recurrence, they produce the rhythm of the sentences. ... Latin was the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... Catalan in Europe Catalan IPA: (català ) is a Romance language, the official language of Andorra and co-official in the Spanish autonomous communities of Balearic Islands, Valencia (under the name Valencian) and Catalonia. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Intonation is a term used to cover particular uses of tones in linguistics and music. ... Pitch accent is a kind of accent system employed in many languages around the world. ... It has been suggested that Tonal language be merged into this article or section. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Tone (linguistics). ... Map showing the distribution of Niger-Congo languages The Niger-Congo languages constitute one of the worlds major language families, and Africas largest in terms of geographical area, number of speakers, and number of distinct languages. ...


Metrical rhythm generally involves precise arrangements of stresses or syllables into repeated patterns called feet within a line. In Modern English verse the pattern of stresses primarily differentiate feet, so rhythm based on meter in Modern English is most often founded on the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables (alone or elided). In the classical languages, on the other hand, while the metrical units are similar, vowel length rather than stresses define the meter. Old English poetry used a metrical pattern involving varied numbers of syllables but a fixed number of strong stresses in each line.[26] In verse, many meters use a foot as the basic unit in their description of the underlying rhythm of a poem. ... In music, see elision (music). ... A classical language is a language with a literary tradition that can be judged as classical. According to George L. Hart: [To] qualify as a classical tradition, a language must fit several criteria: it should be ancient, it should be an independent tradition that arose mostly on its own not... In linguistics, vowel length is the perceived duration of a vowel sound. ... Note: This page contains phonetic information presented in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) using Unicode. ...


The chief device of ancient Hebrew Biblical poetry, including many of the psalms, was parallelism, a rhetorical structure in which successive lines reflected each other in grammatical structure, sound structure, notional content, or all three. Parallelism lent itself to antiphonal or call-and-response performance, which could also be reinforced by intonation. Thus, Biblical poetry relies much less on metrical feet to create rhythm, but instead creates rhythm based on much larger sound units of lines, phrases and sentences. Some classical poetry forms, such as Venpa of the Tamil language, had rigid grammars (to the point that they could be expressed as a context-free grammar) which ensured a rhythm.[27] In Chinese poetry, tones as well as stresses create rhythm. Classical Chinese poetics identifies four tones: the level tone, rising tone, falling tone, and entering tone. Note that other classifications may have as many as eight tones for Chinese and six for Vietnamese. Hebrew redirects here. ... This article is concerned with Biblical poetry, specifically poetry in the Hebrew Bible. ... Psalms (Hebrew: Tehilim, תהילים) is a book of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh. ... Parallelism means to give two or more parts of the sentences a similar form so as to give the whole a definite pattern. ... This article is about the musical term. ... In music, a call and response is a succession of two distinct phrases usually played by different musicians, where the second phrase is heard as a direct commentary on or response to the first. ... Intonation is a term used to cover particular uses of tones in linguistics and music. ... Venpa (வெண்பா in Tamil) is a form of classical tamil poetry. ... Tamil (தமிழ் ) is a classical language and one of the major languages of the Dravidian language family. ... In linguistics and computer science, a context-free grammar (CFG) is a formal grammar in which every production rule is of the form V → w where V is a nonterminal symbol and w is a string consisting of terminals and/or non-terminals. ... // Rhythm (Greek ρυθμός = tempo) is the variation of the duration of sounds or other events over time. ... Quatrain on Heavenly Mountain by Emperor Gaozong Hand-painted Chinese New Years poetry pasted on the sides of doors leading to peoples homes, Old Town, Lijiang, Yunnan, China. ... Shi (è©©) is the Chinese word for poem; it can also be used to mean Chinese poetry other than lyrics, or (most commonly) the classical form of poetry developed in the late Han dynasty and which reached its zenith in the Tang dynasty. ... Tones in Chinese derive from the traditional Middle Chinese tone classes, known as Ping Sheng (平聲), Shang Sheng (上聲), Qu Sheng (去聲), and Ru Sheng (入聲), which in English in the linguistic literature, are sometimes called the level, rising, departing and entering tones. ... Entering tone (Simplified Chinese: 入声; Traditional Chinese: 入聲; pinyin: rùshÄ“ng) is one of four tones in the phonology in Middle Chinese. ...


The formal patterns of meter used developed in Modern English verse to create rhythm no longer dominate contemporary English poetry. In the case of free verse, rhythm is often organized based on looser units of cadence than a regular meter. Robinson Jeffers, Marianne Moore, and William Carlos Williams are three notable poets who reject the idea that regular accentual meter is critical to English poetry.[28] Jeffers experimented with sprung rhythm as an alternative to accentual rhythm.[29] Free verse (also at times referred to as vers libre) is a term describing various styles of poetry that are not written using strict meter or rhyme, but that still are recognizable as poetry by virtue of complex patterns of one sort or another that readers can perceive to be... John Robinson Jeffers (January 10, 1887–January 20, 1962) was an American poet, known for his work about the central California coast. ... Marianne Moore photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1948 Marianne Moore (December 11, 1887 - February 5, 1972) was a Modernist American poet and writer. ... William Carlos Williams Dr. William Carlos Williams (sometimes known as WCW) (September 17, 1883 – March 4, 1963), was an American poet closely associated with Modernism and Imagism. ... Sprung rhythm is a poetic rhythm designed to imitate the rhythm of natural speech. ...


Scanning meter

Main articles: Scansion and Systems of scansion

Meters in the Western poetic tradition are customarily grouped according to a characteristic metrical foot and the number of feet per line. For example, "iambic pentameter" is a meter composed of five feet per line in which the kind of feet called iambs predominate. The origin of this tradition of metrics lies in ancient Greek poetry, and poets such as Homer, Pindar, Hesiod, Sappho, and the great tragedians of Athens made use of such a metric system. In literature, meter or metre (sometimes known as prosody) is a term used in the scansion (analysis into metrical patterns) of poetry, usually indicated by the kind of feet and the number of them. ... There are almost as many systems of marking the scansion of a poem as there are books on the topic. ... Iambic pentameter is a meter in poetry. ... // Ancient Greek literature (before AD 300) Main article: Ancient Greek literature Classical Greek Ancient Greek literature refers to literature written in Ancient Greek from the oldest surviving written works in the Greek language until the 4th century and the rise of the Byzantine Empire. ... Homer (Greek Hómēros) was a legendary early Greek poet and rhapsode traditionally credited with the composition of the Iliad and the Odyssey, commonly assumed to have lived in the 8th century BC. However, exact placement of these dates is unsure. ... Pindar Pindar (or Pindarus / Pindaros) (522 BC – 443 BC), considered the greatest of the nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, was born at Cynoscephalae, a village in Thebes. ... Bust, traditionally thought to be Seneca, now identified by some as Hesiod. ... Ancient Greek bust of Sappho the Eresian. ... Athens (Greek: Αθήνα, Athína IPA: ) is the capital and largest city of Greece and the birthplace of democracy. ...


Meter is often scanned based on the arrangement of "poetic feet" into lines.[30] In English, each foot usually includes one syllable with a stress and one or two without a stress. In other languages, it may be a combination of the number of syllables and the length of the vowel that determines how the foot is parsed. For example, in Greek, one syllable with a long unstressed vowel may be treated as the equivalent of two syllables with short vowels. In Anglo-Saxon meter, the unit on which lines are built is a half-line containing two stresses rather than a foot.[31] Scanning meter can often show the basic or fundamental pattern underlying a verse, but does not show the varying degrees of stress, as well as the differing pitches and lengths of syllables.[32] In verse, many meters use a foot as the basic unit in their description of the underlying rhythm of a poem. ... Eduard Sievers developed a theory of the meter of Anglo-Saxon Alliterative verse. ... In linguistics, stress is the relative emphasis given to certain syllables in a word. ... Pitch accent is a kind of accent system employed in many languages around the world. ... In linguistics, vowel length is the perceived duration of a vowel sound. ...


As an example of how a line of meter is defined, in English language iambic pentameter, each line has five metrical feet, and each foot is an iamb, or an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. When a particular line is scanned, there may be variations upon the basic pattern of the meter; for example, the first foot of English iambic pentameters is quite often inverted, meaning that the stress falls on the first syllable.[33] The generally accepted names for some of the most commonly used kinds of feet include: Iambic pentameter is a meter in poetry. ... An iamb is a metrical foot used in various types of poetry. ... In prosody the Inversion of a foot is the reversal of the order of its elements. ...

One of Henry Holiday's illustrations from Lewis Carroll's The Hunting of the Snark, written predominantly in anapestic tetrameter: "In the midst of the word he was trying to say / In the midst of his laughter and glee / He had softly and suddenly vanished away / For the snark was a boojum, you see."
One of Henry Holiday's illustrations from Lewis Carroll's The Hunting of the Snark, written predominantly in anapestic tetrameter: "In the midst of the word he was trying to say / In the midst of his laughter and glee / He had softly and suddenly vanished away / For the snark was a boojum, you see."
  • spondee — two stressed syllables together
  • iamb — unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable
  • trochee — one stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable
  • dactyl — one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables
  • anapest — two unstressed syllables followed by one stressed syllable

The number of metrical feet in a line are described in Greek terminology as follows: Download high resolution version (455x675, 127 KB)An illustration by Henry Holiday from the 19th century. ... Download high resolution version (455x675, 127 KB)An illustration by Henry Holiday from the 19th century. ... Henry Holiday was an English Pre-Raphaelite artist, born on June 17, 1839 in London. ... Lewis Carroll. ... Lewis Carrolls The Hunting of the Snark (An Agony in 8 Fits) is a nonsense poem about a group of adventurers hunting a legendary beast. ... Anapestic tetrameter is a poetic meter that has four anapestic metrical feet per line. ... In poetry, a spondee is a metrical foot consisting of two long syllables. ... An iamb is a metrical foot used in various types of poetry. ... A trochee is a metrical foot used in formal poetry. ... A dactyl (Gr. ... An anapaest is a metrical foot used in formal poetry. ...

There are a wide range of names for other types of feet, right up to a choriamb of four syllable metric foot with a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables and closing with a stressed syllable. The choriamb is derived from some ancient Greek and Latin poetry. Languages which utilize vowel length or intonation rather than or in addition to syllabic accents in determining meter, such as Ottoman Turkish or Vedic, often have concepts similar to the iamb and dactyl to describe common combinations of long and short sounds. In poetry, a dimeter is a metrical line of verse with two feet. ... In poetry, a trimeter is a metre of three metrical feet per line - example: When here the spring we see, Fresh green upon the tree. ... In poetry, a tetrameter is a line of four metrical feet: And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea (Anapaest tetrameter) (Byron, The Destruction of Sennacherib) You who are bent and bald and blind (Iambic tetrameter, except for the first foot which is a trochee) (W... In poetry, a pentameter is a line of verse consisting of five metrical feet: Be what you can if thus your heart so deem, For more the man will less the foible seem. ... Hexameter is a literary and poetic form, consisting of six metrical feet per line as in the Iliad. ... Heptameter is one or more lines of verse containing seven metrical feet (usually fourteen or twenty-one syllables). ... Octameter in poetry is a line of eight metrical feet. ... In Greek and Latin poetry, choriamb refers to a prosodic foot of four syllables, of the pattern long-short-short-long. ... Latin poetry was a major part of Latin literature during the height of the Latin language. ... In linguistics, vowel length is the perceived duration of a vowel sound. ... Intonation is a term used to cover particular uses of tones in linguistics and music. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... The verses of the Vedas have a variety of different meters. ...


Each of these types of feet has a certain "feel," whether alone or in combination with other feet. The iamb, for example, is the most natural form of rhythm in the English language, and generally produces a subtle but stable verse.[34] The dactyl, on the other hand, almost gallops along. And, as readers of The Night Before Christmas or Dr. Seuss realize, the anapest is perfect for a light-hearted, comic feel.[35] Cover of a 1912 edition of the poem. ... Dr. Theodor Seuss Geisel (March 2, 1904 – September 24, 1991), better known by his pen name, Dr. Seuss, was a famous American writer and cartoonist best known for his childrens books, particularly The Cat in the Hat. ...


There is debate over how useful a multiplicity of different "feet" is in describing meter. For example, Robert Pinsky has argued that while dactyls are important in classical verse, English dactylic verse uses dactyls very irregularly and can be better described based on patterns of iambs and anapests, feet which he considers natural to the language.[36] Actual rhythm is significantly more complex than the basic scanned meter described above, and many scholars have sought to develop systems that would scan such complexity. Vladimir Nabokov noted that overlaid on top of the regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of verse was a separate pattern of accents resulting from the natural pitch of the spoken words, and suggested that the term "scud" be used to distinguish an unaccented stress from an accented stress.[37] Robert Pinsky 15 May 2005 Robert Pinsky (born October 20, 1940) is an American poet and former Poet Laureate of the United States (1997-2000). ... Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov (Russian: Влади́мир Влади́мирович Набо́ков, pronounced ) (April 22, 1899 [O.S. April 10], Saint Petersburg – July 2, 1977, Montreux) was a Russian-American author. ...


Common metrical patterns

Main article: Meter (poetry)

Different traditions and genres of poetry tend to use different meters, ranging from the Shakespearian iambic pentameter and the Homerian dactylic hexameter to the Anapestic tetrameter used in many nursery rhymes. However, a number of variations to the established meter are common, both to provide emphasis or attention to a given foot or line and to avoid boring repetition. For example, the stress in a foot may be inverted, a caesura (or pause) may be added (sometimes in place of a foot or stress), or the final foot in a line may be given a feminine ending to soften it or be replaced by a spondee to emphasize it and create a hard stop. Some patterns (such as iambic pentameter) tend to be fairly regular, while other patterns, such as dactylic hexameter, tend to be highly irregular. Regularity can vary between language. In addition, different patterns often develop distinctively in different languages, so that, for example, iambic tetrameter in Russian will generally reflect a regularity in the use of accents to reinforce the meter, which does not occur or occurs to a much lesser extent in English.[38] The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... Iambic pentameter is a meter in poetry. ... Dactyllic hexameter (also known as heroic hexameter) is a form of meter in poetry or a rhythmic scheme. ... Anapestic tetrameter is a poetic meter that has four anapestic metrical feet per line. ... This article or section may be confusing for some readers, and should be edited to be clearer. ... The term feminine ending has several meanings, depending on context. ... In poetry, a spondee is a metrical foot consisting of two long syllables. ... Iambic tetrameter is a meter in poetry. ...


Some common metrical patterns, with notable examples of poets and poems who use them, include:

John Milton, English poet John Milton (December 9, 1608 – November 8, 1674) was an English poet, best-known for his epic poem Paradise Lost. ... Title page of the first edition Paradise Lost (1667) is a poopy epic poem by the 17th century English poet John Milton. ... The Iliad (Ancient Greek , Ilias) is, together with the Odyssey, one of two ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer, a supposedly blind Ionian poet. ... Engraved frontispiece of George Sandyss 1632 London edition of Publius Ovidius Naso (Sulmona, March 20, 43 BC â€“ Tomis, now Constanta AD 17) Roman poet known to the English-speaking world as Ovid, wrote on topics of love, abandoned women, and mythological transformations. ... Cover of George Sandyss 1632 edition of The Metamorphoses by the Roman poet Ovid is a poem in fifteen books that describes the creation and history of the world in terms of Greek and Roman mythology. ... Iambic tetrameter is a meter in poetry. ... Andrew Marvell (March 31, 1621 – August 16, 1678) was an English metaphysical poet, and the son of an Anglican clergyman. ... To His Coy Mistress is a poem written by the British author and Puritan statesman Andrew Marvell (1621 – 1678) either during or just before the Interregnum. ... Iambic tetrameter is a meter in poetry. ... Aleksandr Pushkin by Vasily Tropinin Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin (Russian: Алекса́ндр Серге́евич Пу́шкин ) (June 6 [O.S. May 26] 1799 – February 10 [O.S. January 29] 1837) was a Russian Romantic author whom many consider the greatest Russian poet and the founder of modern Russian literature. ... Eugene Onegin (Russian: Евгений Онегин, BGN/PCGN: Yevgeniy Onegin) is a novel in verse written by Aleksandr Pushkin. ... Trochaic octameter is a poetic meter that has eight trochaic metrical feet per line. ... Hello Steve. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Anapestic tetrameter is a poetic meter that has four anapestic metrical feet per line. ... Lewis Carroll. ... Lewis Carrolls The Hunting of the Snark (An Agony in 8 Fits) is a nonsense poem about a group of adventurers hunting a legendary beast. ... Lord Byron, English poet Lord Byron (1803), as painted by Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, (January 22, 1788 – April 19, 1824) was the most widely read English language poet of his day. ... Don Juan is a long narrative poem by Lord Byron, based on the legend of Don Juan. ... An alexandrine is a line of poetic meter. ... Jean Racine. ... Phèdre was a 1677 play by Jean Racine, based on both the play Hippolytus by Euripides, and a later Roman play Phaedra by Seneca the Younger. ...

Rhyme, alliteration and assonance

The Old English epic poem Beowulf is written in alliterative verse and in paragraph form, not separated into lines or stanzas.
The Old English epic poem Beowulf is written in alliterative verse and in paragraph form, not separated into lines or stanzas.
Main articles: Rhyme, Alliterative verse, and Assonance

Rhyme, alliteration, assonance and consonance are each methods for creating repetitive patterns of sound. These methods may be used as an independent structural element of a poem, to reinforce rhythmic patterns, or as a merely ornamental element of poem.[46] Rhyme consists of identical ("hard rhyme") or similar ("soft rhyme") sounds placed at the end of lines or at predictable locations within lines ("internal rhyme").[47] Languages vary in the richness of their rhyming structures, so that Italian, for example, has a rich rhyming structure where it is possible to maintain a limited set of rhymes throughout a lengthy poem. The richness results from having word endings which follow regular forms. English, with irregular word endings adopted from many other languages, is less rich in rhyme.[48] The richness of rhyming structures in a language plays a significant role in determining what poetic forms are commonly used. Image File history File links Beowulf. ... Image File history File links Beowulf. ... The first page of Beowulf This article is about the epic poem. ... A rhyme is a repetition of identical or similar sounds in two or more different words and is most often used in poetry. ... The Old English epic poem Beowulf is written in alliterative verse. ... link titleAssonance is the repetition of vowel sounds within a short passage of verse or prose. ... Alliteration is a stylistic device, or literary technique, in which successive words (more strictly, stressed syllables) begin with the same consonant sound or letter. ... Consonance is a stylistic device, often used in poetry. ... In poetry, internal rhyme, or middle rhyme, is rhyme which occurs within a single line of verse. ...


Alliteration and assonance played a key role in structuring early Germanic, Norse and Old English forms of poetry. The alliterative patterns of early Germanic poetry interweave meter and alliteration as a key part of their structure, so that the metrical pattern determines when the listener expects instances of alliteration to occur. This can be compared to an ornamental use of alliteration in most Modern European poetry, where alliterative patterns are not formal or carried through full stanzas.[49] Alliteration is particularly useful in languages with less rich rhyming structures. Assonance, where the use of similar vowel sounds within a word rather than similar sounds at the beginning or end of a word, was widely used in skaldic poetry, but goes back to the Homeric epic. Because verbs carry much of the pitch in the English language, assonance can loosely evoke the tonal elements of Chinese poetry and so is useful in translating Chinese poetry. Consonance occurs where a consonant sound is repeated throughout a sentence without putting the sound only at the front of a word. Consonance provokes a more subtle effect than alliteration and so is less useful as a structural element. The skald was a member of a group of courtly poets, whose poetry is associated with the courts of Scandinavian and Icelandic leaders during the Viking age, who composed and performed renditions of aspects of what we now characterise as Old Norse poetry. ...


Rhyming schemes

Main article: Rhyme scheme

In many languages, including modern European languages and Arabic, poets use rhyme in set patterns as a structural element for specific poet forms, such as ballads, sonnets and rhyming couplets. However, the use of structural rhyme is not universal even within the European tradition. Much modern poetry avoids traditional rhyme schemes. Classical Greek and Latin poetry did not use rhyme. Rhyme entered European poetry in the High Middle Ages, in part under the influence of the Arabic language in Al Andalus (modern Spain).[50] Arabic language poets have always used rhyme extensively, most notably in their long, rhyming qasidas. Some rhyming schemes have become associated with a specific language, culture or period, while other rhyming schemes have achieved use across languages, cultures or time periods. Some forms of poetry carry a consistent and well-defined rhyming scheme, such as the chant royal or the rubaiyat, while other poetic forms have variable rhyme schemes. A rhyme scheme is like the pattern of rhyming like lines in a poem or in like lyrics for music. ... A ballad is a story in a song, usually a narrative song or poem. ... Francesco Petrarca or Petrarch, one of the best-known of the early Italian sonnet writers For the Saab automobile, see Saab Sonett, for the Japanese communications company see So-net The term sonnet is derived from the Provençal word sonet and the Italian word sonetto, both meaning little song. ... A couplet is a pair of lines of verse that form a unit. ... A rhyme scheme is like the pattern of rhyming like lines in a poem or in like lyrics for music. ... The cathedral Notre Dame de Paris, a significant architectural contribution of the High Middle Ages. ... The Arabic language (Arabic: ‎ translit: ), or simply Arabic (Arabic: ‎ translit: ), is the largest member of the Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family (classification: South Central Semitic) and is closely related to Hebrew and Aramaic. ... Al-Andalus (Arabic: الأندلس) was the Arabic name given to those parts of the Iberian Peninsula governed by Muslims from 711 to 1492. ... A qasida (also spelled qasidah) in Arabic قصيدة, in Persian قصیده, is a form of poetry from pre-Islamic Arabia. ... The chant royal is a poetic form that consists of five eleven-line stanzas with a rhyme scheme a-b-a-b-c-c-d-d-e-d-E and a five-line envoi rhyming d-d-e-d-E or a seven-line envoi c-c-d-d-e... Rubaiyat is a common shorthand name for the collection of Persian verses known more formally as the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. ...

Dante and Beatrice gaze upon the highest Heaven; from Gustave Doré's illustrations to the Divine Comedy Paradiso Canto 31
Dante and Beatrice gaze upon the highest Heaven; from Gustave Doré's illustrations to the Divine Comedy Paradiso Canto 31

Most rhyme schemes are described using letters that correspond to sets of rhymes, so if the first, second and fourth lines of a quatrain rhyme with each other and the third line does not rhyme, the quatrain is said to have an "a-a-b-a" rhyme scheme. This rhyme scheme is the one used, for example, in the rubaiyat form.[51] Similarly, an "a-b-b-a" quatrain (what is known as "enclosed rhyme") is used in such forms as the Petrarchan sonnet.[52] Some types of more complicated rhyming schemes have developed names of their own, separate from the "a-b-c" convention, such as the ottava rima and terza rima, discussed below. The types and use of differing rhyming schemes is discussed further in the main article. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (858x952, 205 KB) Dante and Beatrice gaze upon the highest Heaven (The Empyrean); from Gustave Dorés illustrations to the Divine Comedy, Paradiso Canto 31. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (858x952, 205 KB) Dante and Beatrice gaze upon the highest Heaven (The Empyrean); from Gustave Dorés illustrations to the Divine Comedy, Paradiso Canto 31. ... Durante degli Alighieri, better known as Dante Alighieri or simply Dante, (c. ... Although the details surrounding the life of Beatrice Portinari, pronounced bay-a-treech-eh, (1266-1290) are subject to much dispute, there is little doubt she was a major influence in Dante Alighieris life, influencing particularly his works of La Vita Nuova and La Divina Commedia. ... Doré photographed by Felix Nadar. ... Dante shown holding a copy of The Divine Comedy, next to the entrance to Hell, the seven terraces of Mount Purgatory and the city of Florence, in Michelinos fresco. ... Enclosed rhyme (or enclosing rhyme) is the rhyme scheme abba (that is, where the first and fourth lines, and the second and third lines rhyme). ... A Petrarchan sonnet, also called the Italian sonnet, is a sonnet comprising an octave and a closing sestet. ... It has been suggested that Sicilian octave be merged into this article or section. ... Terza rima is a rhyming verse stanza form that was first used by the Italian poet Dante Alighieri. ... A rhyme scheme is like the pattern of rhyming like lines in a poem or in like lyrics for music. ...

Ottava rima
The ottava rima is a poem with a stanza of eight lines with an alternating a-b rhyming scheme for the first six lines followed by a closing couplet first used by Boccaccio. This rhyming scheme was developed for heroic epics but has also been used for mock-heroic poetry.
Dante and terza rima

Dante's Divine Comedy[53] is written in terza rima, where each stanza has three lines, with the first and third rhyming, and the second line rhyming with the first and third lines of the next stanza (thus, a-b-a / b-c-b / c-d-c, etc.) in a chain rhyme. The terza rima provides a flowing, progressive sense to the poem, and used skillfully it can evoke a sense of motion, both forward and backward. Terza rima is appropriately used in lengthy poems in languages with rich rhyming schemes (such as Italian, with its many common word endings).[54] It has been suggested that Sicilian octave be merged into this article or section. ... Giovanni Boccaccio (June 16, 1313 - December 21, 1375) was a Florentine author and poet, the greatest of Petrarchs disciples, an important Renaissance humanist in his own right and author of a number of notable works including On Famous Women, the Decameron and his poems in the vernacular. ... Dante redirects here. ... Dante shown holding a copy of The Divine Comedy, next to the entrance to Hell, the seven terraces of Mount Purgatory and the city of Florence, with the spheres of Heaven above, in Michelinos fresco. ... Terza rima is a rhyming verse stanza form that was first used by the Italian poet Dante Alighieri. ... Chain rhyme is the linking together of stanzas by carrying a rhyme over from one stanza to the next. ...


Poetic form

Poetic form is very much more flexible nowadays than ever before. Many modern poets eschew recognisable structures or forms, and write in 'free verse'. However, major structural elements often used in poetry are the line, the stanza or verse paragraph, and larger combinations of stanzas or lines such as cantos. The broader visual presentation of words and calligraphy can also be utilized. These basic units of poetic form are often combined into larger structures, called poetic forms, such as the sonnet. In poetry, a stanza is a unit within a larger poem. ... Verse paragraphs ... (Note: unrelated to The Cantos by Ezra Pound) Cantos (http://www. ... Calligraphy in a Latin Bible of AD 1407 on display in Malmesbury Abbey, Wiltshire, England. ... The Chinese poem Quatrain on Heavenly Mountain by Emperor Gaozong (Song Dynasty) Poetry (from the Greek , poesis, making or creating) is a form of art in which language is used for its aesthetic qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its ostensible meaning. ... Francesco Petrarca or Petrarch, one of the best-known of the early Italian sonnet writers For the Saab automobile, see Saab Sonett, for the Japanese communications company see So-net The term sonnet is derived from the Provençal word sonet and the Italian word sonetto, both meaning little song. ...


Lines

Poetry is often separated into lines on a page. These lines may be based on the number of metrical feet, or may emphasize a rhyming pattern at the ends of lines. Lines may serve other functions, particularly where the poem is not written in a formal metrical pattern. Lines can separate, compare or contrast thoughts expressed in different units, or can highlight a change in tone.


Lines may be combined into couplets, a combination of two lines which may or may not relate to each other by rhyme or rhythm. For example, a couplet may be two lines with identical meters which rhyme or two lines held together by a common meter alone. Lines also may be combined into triplets, or sets of three lines. Lines are often grouped into verses or stanzas, which often have related couplets or triplets within them. A couplet is a pair of lines of verse that form a unit. ... Identical Triplet Sisters A multiple birth results when more than one human baby is born from a single pregnancy. ... In poetry, a stanza is a unit within a larger poem. ...

Enlarge
Alexander Blok's poem Noch, ulica, fonar, apteka, or Night, street, lamp, drugstore, on a wall in Leiden.

Download high resolution version (1577x1180, 228 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (1577x1180, 228 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Blok in 1907 Alexander Blok Alexander Blok (Александр Александрович Блок, November 16, 1880 - August 7, 1921), was perhaps the most gifted lyrical poet that Russia produced after Alexander Pushkin. ... Leyden redirects here. ...

Stanzas and verse paragraphs

Main article: stanza

Related lines of poems are often organized into stanzas, which are denominated by the number of lines included. Thus a collection of four lines is a quatrain, six lines is a sestet and eight lines is an octet. Two lines form a couplet (or distich), three lines a triplet or tercet, and five lines a quintain (or cinquain). Other poems may be organized into a verse paragraphs, in which regular rhymes with established rhythms are not used, but the poetic tone is instead established by a collection of rhythms, alliterations, and rhymes established in paragraph form. Many medieval poems were written in verse paragraphs, even where regular rhymes and rhythms were used. In poetry, a stanza is a unit within a larger poem. ... In poetry, a stanza is a unit within a larger poem. ... A quatrain is a poem or a stanza within a poem that consists of four lines. ... [[]]A Sestet is the name given to the second division of a sonnet, which must consist of an octave, of eight lines, succeeded by a sestet, of six lines. ... Look up octet in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A couplet is a pair of lines of verse that form a unit. ... A tercet is three lines of poetry forming a stanza or complete poem. ... Quintain (O. Fr. ... In poetry, a cinquain or quintain is a five line stanza, varied in rhyme and line, usually with the rhyme scheme ababb. ... Verse paragraphs ...


In many forms of poetry, stanzas are interlocking, so that the rhyming scheme or other structural elements of one stanza determine those of succeeding stanzas. Examples of such interlocking stanzas include, for example, the ghazal and the villanelle, where a refrain (or, in the case of the villanelle, refrains) is established in the first stanza which then repeats in subsequent stanzas. Related to the use of interlocking stanzas is their use to separate thematic parts of a poem. For example, the strophe, antistrophe and epode of the ode form are often separated into one or more stanzas. In such cases, or where structures are meant to be highly formal, a stanza will usually form a complete thought, consisting of full sentences and cohesive thoughts. In poetry (and as the lyrics in songs), the ghazal (Persian/Arabic: ‎, Hindi: , Turkish gazel) is a poetic form consisting of couplets which share a rhyme and a refrain. ... A villanelle (or occasionally villonelle) is a traditional poetic form which entered English-language poetry in the late 1800s from the imitation of French models. ... Strophe (Greek, to turn) is a term in versification which properly means a turn, as from one foot to another, or from one side of a chorus to the other. ... Antistrophe, the portion of an ode which is sung by the chorus in its returning movement from west to east, in response the strophe, which was sung from east to west. ... Epode, in verse, the third part in an ode, which followed the strophe and the antistrophe, and completed the movement. ... The Chinese poem Quatrain on Heavenly Mountain by Emperor Gaozong (Song Dynasty) Poetry (from the Greek , poesis, making or creating) is a form of art in which language is used for its aesthetic qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its ostensible meaning. ...

Enlarge
A fragment from the Qur'an, Sura 33: 73–74

In some cases, particularly lengthier formal poetry such as some forms of epic poetry, stanzas themselves are constructed according to strict rules and then combined. In skaldic poetry, the dróttkvætt stanza had eight lines, each having three "lifts" produced with alliteration or assonance. In addition to two or three alliterations, the odd numbered lines had partial rhyme of consonants with dissimilar vowels, not necessarily at the beginning of the word; the even lines contained internal rhyme in set syllables (not necessarily at the end of the word). Each half-line had exactly six syllables, and each line ended in a trochee. The arrangement of dróttkvætts followed far less rigid rules than the construction of the individual dróttkvætts. Image File history File links Quran_fragment_33,73-74. ... Image File history File links Quran_fragment_33,73-74. ... The Qurān [1] (Arabic: , literally the recitation; also called The Noble Quran; also transliterated as Quran, Koran (the traditional term in English), and Al-Quran), is the central religious text of Islam. ... Sura (sometimes referred to as Surah) ( ) is an Arabic term literally meaning picture, evidence, or proof. ... The skald was a member of a group of courtly poets, whose poetry is associated with the courts of Scandinavian and Icelandic leaders during the Viking age, who composed and performed renditions of aspects of what we now characterise as Old Norse poetry. ... The Old English epic poem Beowulf is written in alliterative verse. ...

Visual presentation

Even before the advent of printing, the appearance of written poetry often added significant meaning or depth. Acrostic poems included clues or meanings in the letters beginning lines or in other specific places in a poem. In Arabic, Hebrew, and Chinese poetry, the presentation of the poems in fine calligraphy has always been an important part of the overall artistic and poetic effect. With the advent of printing, poets gained greater control over the visual presentation of their work. As a result, the use of visual elements became an important part of the poet's toolbox. Modernist poetry tends to take this to an extreme, with the placement of individual lines or groups of lines on the page forming an integral part of the poem's composition. In its most extreme form, this leads to concrete poetry or asemic writing.[55] An acrostic (from the late Greek akróstichon, from ákros, extreme, and stíchos, verse) is a poem or other text written in an alphabetic script, in which the first letter, syllable or word of each verse, paragraph or other recurring feature in the text spells out another message. ... Arabic poetry is poetry composed and written down in the Arabic language either by Arab people or non-Arabs. ... Hebrew poetry is poetry written in the Hebrew language. ... Quatrain on Heavenly Mountain by Emperor Gaozong Hand-painted Chinese New Years poetry pasted on the sides of doors leading to peoples homes, Old Town, Lijiang, Yunnan, China. ... Calligraphy in a Latin Bible of AD 1407 on display in Malmesbury Abbey, Wiltshire, England. ... Modernism is a term which covers a variety of political, cultural and artistic movements rooted in the changes in Western society at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century. ... Concrete poetry is poetry in which the typographical arrangement of words is as important in conveying the intended effect as the conventional elements of the poem, such as meaning of words, rhythm, rhyme and so on. ... Asemic writing is an open semantic form of writing. ...


Poetic diction

Illustration for the cover of Christina Rossetti's Goblin Market and Other Poems (1862), by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Goblin Market used complex poetic diction in nursery rhyme form: "We must not look at goblin men, / We must not buy their fruits: / Who knows upon what soil they fed / Their hungry thirsty roots?"
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Illustration for the cover of Christina Rossetti's Goblin Market and Other Poems (1862), by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Goblin Market used complex poetic diction in nursery rhyme form: "We must not look at goblin men, / We must not buy their fruits: / Who knows upon what soil they fed / Their hungry thirsty roots?"
Main article: Poetic diction

Poetic diction describes the manner in which language is used and refers not only to the sound but also to the underlying meaning and its interaction with sound and form. Many languages and poetic forms have very specific poetic dictions, to the point where separate grammars and dialects are used specifically for poetry. Poetic diction can include rhetorical devices such as simile and metaphor, as well as tones of voice, such as irony.[56] Aristotle wrote in the Poetics that "the greatest thing by far is to be a master of metaphor".[57] Since the rise of Modernism, some poets have opted for a poetic diction that deemphasizes rhetorical devices, attempting the direct presentation of things and experiences and the exploration of tone. On the other hand, Surrealists have pushed rhetorical devices to their limits, making frequent use of catachresis. Image File history File links Rossetti-golden_head. ... Image File history File links Rossetti-golden_head. ... Christina Rossetti Christina Georgina Rossetti (December 5, 1830 – December 29, 1894) was an English poet and the sister of artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti as well as William Michael Rossetti and Maria Francesca Rossetti. ... Goblin Market (1862) is an important moral and philosophical poem by the Victorian poet Christina Rossetti in the guise of a fantasy entertainment for children. ... Dante Gabriel Rossetti (May 12, 1828 - April 10, 1882) was an English poet, painter and translator. ... Poetic diction is the term used to refer to the linguistic style, the vocabulary, and the metaphors used in the writing of poetry. ... Poetic diction is the term used to refer to the linguistic style, the vocabulary, and the metaphors used in the writing of poetry. ... A rhetorical device is a technique, sometimes called a resource of language, used by an author or speaker to induce an emotional response. ... A simile is a figure of speech in which the subject is compared to another subject. ... In language, a metaphor (from the Greek: metapherin) is a rhetorical trope defined as a direct comparison between two or more seemingly unrelated subjects. ... Irony is a literary or rhetorical device in which there is a gap or incongruity between what a speaker or a writer says, and what is understood. ... Surrealism[1] is a movement stating that the liberation of our mind, and subsequently the liberation of the individual self and society, can be achieved by exercising the imaginative faculties of the unconscious mind to the attainment of a dream-like state different from, or ultimately ‘truer’ than, everyday reality. ... Catachresis is the (usually intentional) use of any figure of speech that flagrantly violates the norms of a language community. ...


Allegorical stories are central to the poetic diction of many cultures, and were prominent in the west during classical times, the late Middle Ages and Renaisance.[58] Rather than being fully allegorical, a poem may contain symbols or allusion that deepens the meaning or impact of its words without constructing a full allegory. Another strong element of poetic diction can be the use of vivid imagery for effect. The juxtaposition of unexpected or impossible images is, for example, a particularly strong element in surrealist poetry and haiku. Vivid images are often endowed with symbolism as well. An allegory (from Greek αλλος, allos, other, and αγορευειν, agoreuein, to speak in public) is a figurative mode of representation conveying a meaning other than (and in addition to) the literal. ... Noah and the baptismal flood of the Old Testament (top panel) is typographically linked (prefigured) by the baptism of Jesus in the New Testament (bottom panel). ... Allusion is a stylistic device in which one implicitly references a related object or circumstance that has occurred or existed in an external context. ... An allegory (from Greek αλλος, allos, other, and αγορευειν, agoreuein, to speak in public) is a figurative mode of representation conveying a meaning other than (and in addition to) the literal. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Surrealism[1] is a movement stating that the liberation of our mind, and subsequently the liberation of the individual self and society, can be achieved by exercising the imaginative faculties of the unconscious mind to the attainment of a dream-like state different from, or ultimately ‘truer’ than, everyday reality. ... Haiku ) is a mode of Japanese poetry, the late 19th century revision by Masaoka Shiki of the older hokku ), the opening verse of a linked verse form, haikai no renga. ...


Many poetic dictions will use repetitive phrases for effect, either a short phrase (such as Homer's "rosy-fingered dawn") or a longer refrain. Such repetition can add a somber tone to a poem, as in many odes, or can be laced with irony as the context of the words change. For example, in Antony's famous eulogy to in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, Anthony's repetition of the words "for Brutus is an honorable man" moves from a sincere tone to one that exudes irony.[59] A refrain (from the Old French refraindre to repeat, likely from Vulgar Latin refringere) is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the chorus of a song. ... Ode is a form of stately and elaborate lyrical verse. ... Look up eulogy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is a tragedy by William Shakespeare probably written in 1599. ...


Common poetic forms

Historically, very specific and formalized poetic forms have been developed by many cultures. In more developed, closed or "received" forms, rhyming scheme, meter and other elements of a poem are based on sets of rules, ranging from the relatively loose rules that govern the construction of an elegy to the highly formalized structure of the ghazal or villanelle. Below are described some common forms of poetry widely used across several languages. Additional forms of poetry can be found in the discussions of poetry of particular cultures or periods or in the glossary. Elegy was originally used for a type of poetic metre (Elegiac metre), but is also used for a poem of mourning, from the Greek elegos, a reflection on the death of someone or on a sorrow generally. ... In poetry (and as the lyrics in songs), the ghazal (Persian/Arabic: ‎, Hindi: , Turkish gazel) is a poetic form consisting of couplets which share a rhyme and a refrain. ... A villanelle (or occasionally villonelle) is a traditional poetic form which entered English-language poetry in the late 1800s from the imitation of French models. ... The Chinese poem Quatrain on Heavenly Mountain by Emperor Gaozong (Song Dynasty) Poetry (from the Greek , poesis, making or creating) is a form of art in which language is used for its aesthetic qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its ostensible meaning. ... The Chinese poem Quatrain on Heavenly Mountain by Emperor Gaozong (Song Dynasty) Poetry (from the Greek , poesis, making or creating) is a form of art in which language is used for its aesthetic qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its ostensible meaning. ...


Sonnets

Main article: Sonnet

Among the most common form of poetry through the ages is the sonnet, which, by the thirteenth century, was a poem of fourteen lines following a strict rhyme scheme and logical structure. The conventions associated with the sonnet have changed during its history, and so there are several different sonnet forms. Traditionally, English poets use iambic pentameter when writing sonnets, with the Spenserian and Shakespearean sonnets being especially notable. In the Romance languages, the hendecasyllable and Alexandrines are the most widely used meters, although the Petrarchan sonnet has been used in Italy since the 14th century. Sonnets are particularly associated with love poetry, and often use a poetic diction heavily based on vivid imagery, but the twists and turns associated with the move from octave to sestet and to final couplet make them a useful and dynamic form for many subjects. Shakespeare's sonnets are among the most famous in English poetry, with 20 being included in the Oxford Book of English Verse.[60] Francesco Petrarca or Petrarch, one of the best-known of the early Italian sonnet writers For the Saab automobile, see Saab Sonett, for the Japanese communications company see So-net The term sonnet is derived from the Provençal word sonet and the Italian word sonetto, both meaning little song. ... Poets are authors of poems. ... The Spenserian sonnet was used by Edmund Spenser. ... The Shakespearean sonnet, also called the Elizabethan or English sonnet, is a sonnet comprising three quatrains and a final couplet in iambic pentameter with the rhyme scheme abab cdcd efef gg. ... The Romance languages, a major branch of the Indo-European language family, comprise all languages that descended from Latin, the language of the Roman Empire. ... Hendecasyllable verse (in Italian endecasillabo) is a kind of verse used mostly in Italian poetry, defined by its having the last stress on the tenth syllable. ... An alexandrine is a line of poetic meter. ... The metre, or meter (symbol: m) is the SI base unit of length. ... A Petrarchan sonnet, also called the Italian sonnet, is a sonnet comprising an octave and a closing sestet. ... Title page from 1609 edition of Shake-Speares Sonnets Shakespeares Sonnets, or simply The Sonnets comprise a collection of 154 poems in sonnet form written by William Shakespeare that deal with such themes as love, beauty, politics, and mortality. ...


Jintishi

Main article: Jintishi

The jintishi (近體詩) is a Chinese poetic form based on a series of set tonal patterns using the four tones of the classical Chinese language in each couplet: the level, rising, falling and entering tones. The basic form of the jintishi has eight lines in four couplets, with parallelism between the lines in the second and third couplets. The couplets with parallel lines contain contrasting content but an identical grammatical relationship between words. Jintishi often have a rich poetic diction, full of allusion, and can have a wide range of subject, including history and politics. One of the masters of the form was Du Fu, who wrote during the Tang Dynasty in the 8th century. There are several variations on the basic form of the jintishi. Shi (è©©) is the Chinese word for poem; it can also be used to mean Chinese poetry other than lyrics, or (most commonly) the classical form of poetry developed in the late Han dynasty and which reached its zenith in the Tang dynasty. ... Shi (è©©) is the Chinese word for poem; it can also be used to mean Chinese poetry other than lyrics, or (most commonly) the classical form of poetry developed in the late Han dynasty and which reached its zenith in the Tang dynasty. ... Allusion is a stylistic device in which one implicitly references a related object or circumstance that has occurred or existed in an external context. ... Du Fu or Tu Fu (712–770) was a prominent Chinese poet during the Tang Dynasty. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...


Villanelle

Main article: Villanelle

The Villanelle is a nineteen-line poem made up of five triplets with a closing quatrain; the poem is characterized by having two refrains, initially used in the first and third lines of the first stanza, and then alternately used at the close of each subsequent stanza until the final quatrain, which is concluded by the two refrains. The remaining lines of the poem have an a-b alternating rhyme. The villanelle has been used regularly in the English language since the late nineteenth century by such poets as Dylan Thomas,[61] W.H. Auden,[62] and Elizabeth Bishop.[63] It is a form that has gained heavier use at a time when the use of received forms of poetry has generally been declining. A villanelle (or occasionally villonelle) is a traditional poetic form which entered English-language poetry in the late 1800s from the imitation of French models. ... A villanelle (or occasionally villonelle) is a traditional poetic form which entered English-language poetry in the late 1800s from the imitation of French models. ... Dylan Marlais Thomas, (October 27, 1914 – November 9, 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer. ... Christopher Isherwood and W.H. Auden, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1939 Wystan Hugh Auden (February 21, 1907–September 29, 1973) was an English poet. ... Elizabeth Bishop (February 8, 1911 – October 6, 1979), was an American poet and writer, increasingly regarded as one of the finest 20th century poets writing in English. ...


Tanka

Main article: Tanka

The Tanka is a form of Japanese poetry, generally not possessing rhyme, with five lines structured in a 5-7-5 7-7 patterns. The 5-7-5 phrase (the "upper phrase") and the 7-7 phrase (the "lower phrase") generally show a shift in tone and subject matter. Tanka were written as early as the Nara period by such poets as Kakinomoto no Hitomaro, at a time when Japan was emerging from a period where much of its poetry followed Chinese form. Tanka was originally the shorter form of Japanese formal poetry, and was used more heavily to explore personal rather than public themes. It thus had a more informal poetic diction. By the 13th century, Tanka had become the dominant form of Japanese poetry, and it is still widely written today. Waka (和歌) or Yamato uta is a genre of Japanese poetry. ... Waka (和歌) or Yamato uta is a genre of Japanese poetry. ... Grave of the Japanese poet Yosa Buson The best-known forms of Japanese poetry (outside Japan) are haiku and senryu. ... The Nara period ) of the history of Japan covers the years from about AD 710 to 794. ... Kakinomoto no Hitomaro (from Ogura Hyakunin Isshu) Kakinomoto no Hitomaro (柿本 人麻呂; c. ...


Ode

Main article: Ode

Odes were first developed by poets writing in ancient Greek, such as Pindar,[64] and Latin, such as Horace, and forms of odes appear in many of the cultures influenced by the Greeks and Latins.[65] The ode generally has three parts: a strophe, an antistrophe, and an epode. The antistrophes of the ode possess similar metrical structures and, depending on the tradition, similar rhyme structures. In contrast, the epode is written with a different scheme and structure. Odes have a formal poetic diction, and general dealing with a serious subject. The strophe and antistrophe look at the subject from different, often conflicting, perspectives, with the epode moving to a higher level to either view or resolve the underlying issues. Odes are often intended to be recited or sung by two choruses (or individuals), with the first reciting the strophe, the second the antistrophe, and both together the epode. Over time, differing forms for odes have developed with considerable variations in form and structure, but generally showing the original influence of the Pindaric or Horatian ode. One non-Western form which resemble the ode is the qasida in Arabic and Persian poetry. Ode is a form of stately and elaborate lyrical verse. ... Ode is a form of stately and elaborate lyrical verse. ... Pindar Pindar (or Pindarus / Pindaros) (522 BC – 443 BC), considered the greatest of the nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, was born at Cynoscephalae, a village in Thebes. ... Horace, as imagined by Anton von Werner Quintus Horatius Flaccus, (December 8, 65 BC - November 27, 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace, was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus. ... Strophe (Greek, to turn) is a term in versification which properly means a turn, as from one foot to another, or from one side of a chorus to the other. ... Antistrophe, the portion of an ode which is sung by the chorus in its returning movement from west to east, in response the strophe, which was sung from east to west. ... Epode, in verse, the third part in an ode, which followed the strophe and the antistrophe, and completed the movement. ... A qasida (also spelled qasidah) in Arabic قصيدة, in Persian قصیده, is a form of poetry from pre-Islamic Arabia. ... Arabic poetry is poetry composed and written down in the Arabic language either by Arab people or non-Arabs. ... Persian literature is literature written in Persian, or by Persians in other languages. ...


Ghazal

Main article: Ghazal

The ghazal (Arabic: غزل) is a form of poetry common in Arabic, Persian, Urdu and Bengali poetry among others. In classic form, the ghazal has from five to fifteen rhyming couplets that share a refrain at the end of the second line (which need be of only a few syllables). Each line has an identical meter, and there is a set pattern of rhymes in the first couplet and among the refrains. Each couplet forms a complete thought and stands alone, and the overall ghazal often reflects on a theme of unattainable love or divinity. The last couplet generally includes the signature of the author. Like other forms with a long history in many languages, many variations have been developed, including forms with a quasi-musical poetic diction in Urdu. Ghazals have a classical affinity with Sufism, and a number of major Sufi religious works are written in ghazal form. The relatively steady meter and the use of the refrain produce an incantatory effect, which complements Sufi mystical themes well. Among the masters of the form is the Persian poet Rumi. In poetry (and as the lyrics in songs), the ghazal (Persian/Arabic: ‎, Hindi: , Turkish gazel) is a poetic form consisting of couplets which share a rhyme and a refrain. ... Arabic poetry is poetry composed and written down in the Arabic language either by Arab people or non-Arabs. ... Persian literature (in Persian: ) spans two and a half millennia, though much of the pre-Islamic material has been lost. ... Like other languages, the history of Urdu poetry does not have a firm starting point and shares origins and influences with other linguistic traditions within the Urdu-Hindi-Hindustani mix. ... Like the Bengali language Bengali poetry finds its lineage to Pali and other Prakrit socio-cultural traditions. ... A refrain (from the Old French refraindre to repeat, likely from Vulgar Latin refringere) is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the chorus of a song. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi or Jalal al-Din Muhammad Balkhi Rumi (also known as Mowlavi or Moulana, meaning my guide in Iran, Central and South Asia or Mevlana meaning our guide in Turkey) (September 30, 1207 - December 17, 1273 CE) was a Persian poet and Sufi mystic, who was...


See also

Below is the glossary of poetry terminology. ...

Notes

  1. ^ Aristotle's Poetics, Heath (ed) (1997), further discussed below.
  2. ^ See, for example, Kant's Critique of Judgment, discussed below.
  3. ^ Dylan Thomas, Quite Early One Morning, discussed below.
  4. ^ Many scholars, particularly those researching the Homeric tradition and the oral epics of the Balkans, suggest that early writing shows clear traces of older oral poetic traditions, including the use of repeated phrases as building blocks in larger poetic units. A rhythmic and repetitious form would make a long story easier to remember and retell, before writing was available as an aide-memoire.
  5. ^ For one recent summary discussion, see Frederick Ahl, The Odyssey Re-Formed (1996). Others suggest that poetry did not necessarily predate writing. See, for example, Jack Goody, The Interface Between the Written and the Oral (1987).
  6. ^ N.K. Sanders, "Introduction" to Gilgamesh (1960).
  7. ^ Guinness World Records 2007. Guinness World Records Limited, 2006.
  8. ^ See, e.g., The Message, by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. (1982)
  9. ^ Abolqasem Ferdowsi, Dick Davis trans., Shahnameh: The Persian Book of Kings (2006) ISBN 0-670-03485-1
  10. ^ For example, in the Arabic world, much diplomacy was carried out through poetic form in the 16th century. See Trickster's Travel's, Natalie Zemon Davis (2006).
  11. ^ Examples of political invective include libel poetry and the classical epigrams of Martial and Catullus.
  12. ^ For example, many of Ibn Sina's medical texts were written in verse.
  13. ^ Aristotle's Poetics, Heath (ed) 1997.
  14. ^ Ibn Rushd wrote a commentary on Aristotle's Poetics, replacing the original examples with passages from Arabic poets. See for example, W. F. Bogges, 'Hermannus Alemannus' Latin Anthology of Arabic Poetry,' Journal of the American Oriental Society, 1968, Volume 88, 657-70, and Charles Burnett, 'Learned Knowledge of Arabic Poetry, Rhymed Prose, and Didactic Verse from Petrus Alfonsi to Petrarch', in Poetry and Philosophy in the Middle Ages: A Festschrift for Peter Dronke, 2001. ISBN 90-04-11964-7.
  15. ^ See, for example, Paul F Grendler, The Universities of the Italian Renaissance, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004. ISBN 0-8018-8055-6 (for exapmle, page 239) for the prominence of Aristotle and the Poetics on the Renaissance curriculum.
  16. ^ Immanuel Kant (J.H. Bernard, trans.), Critique of Judgment (2005) at 131, for example, argues that the nature of poetry as a self-consciously abstract and beautiful form raises it to the highest level among the verbal arts, with tone or music following it, and only after that the more logical and narrative prose.
  17. ^ The Challenge of Keats; Christensen, A., Crisafulli-Jones, L., Galigani, G. and Johnson, A. (eds), 2000.
  18. ^ See, for example, Dylan Thomas's discussion of the poet as creator in Quite Early One Morning (1967).
  19. ^ The title of "Ars Poetica" alludes to Horace's commentary of the same title. The poem sets out a range of dicta for what poetry ought to be, before concluding with its classic lines.[1]
  20. ^ See, for example, the Collected Poems of William Carlos Williams or the works of Odysseus Elytis.
  21. ^ See, for example, T. S. Eliot's "The Waste Land."
  22. ^ See, [[Roland Barthes essay "Death of the Author" in Image-Music-Text (1977).
  23. ^ Robert Pinsky, The Sounds of Poetry at 52.
  24. ^ See, for example, Julia Schülter, Rhythmic Grammar (2005).
  25. ^ See Yip, Tone (2002), which includes a number of maps showing the distribution of tonal languages.
  26. ^ Howell D. Chickering, Beowulf: a Dual-language Edition (1977)
  27. ^ See, for exmample, John Lazarus (trans.), Thirukkural (Original in Tamil with English Translation) by W.H. Drew (Translator), ISBN 81-206-0400-8
  28. ^ See, for example, Idiosyncrasy and Technique, Marianne Moore (1966), or, for examples, William Carlos Williams, The Broken Span, New Directions (1941).
  29. ^ Robinson Jeffers, Selected Poems (1965).
  30. ^ Paul Fussell, Poetic Meter and Poetic Form, McGraw Hill, 1965, revised 1979. ISBN 0-07-553606-4.
  31. ^ Christine Brooke-Rose, A ZBC of Ezra Pound, Faber and Faber, 1971. ISBN 0-571-09135-0
  32. ^ The Sounds of Poetry, Robert Pinsky (1998), 11-24.
  33. ^ Robert Pinsky, The Sounds of Poetry
  34. ^ John Thompson, The Founding of English Meter.
  35. ^ See, for example, "Yurtle the Turtle" in Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories, New York: Random House (1958); lines from "Yurtle the Turtle" are scanned in the discussion of anapestic tetrameter.
  36. ^ Robert Pinsky, The Sounds of Poetry at 66.
  37. ^ Vladimir Nabokov, Notes on Prosody (1964).
  38. ^ Nabokov, Notes on Prosody.
  39. ^ Two versions of Paradise Lost are freely available on-line from Project Guttenberg, Project Gutenberg text version 1 and Project Gutenberg text version 2.
  40. ^ The original text, as translated by Samuel Butler, is available at Wikisource.[2]
  41. ^ The full text is available online both in Russian[3] and as translated into English by Charles Johnston.[4] Please see the pages on Eugene Onegin and on Nabokov's Notes on Prosody and the references on those pages for discussion of the problems of tranlation and of the differences between Russian and English iambic tetrameter.
  42. ^ The full text of "The Raven" is available at Wikisource[5].
  43. ^ The full text of "The Hunting of the Snark" is available at Wikisource.[6]
  44. ^ The full text of Don Juan is available on-line.[7]
  45. ^ See the Text of the play in French as well as an English translation, Phaedra, available freely at Project Gutenberg
  46. ^ Rhyme, alliteration, assonance or consonance can also carry a meaning separate from the repetitive sound patterns created. For example, Chaucer used heavy alliteration to mock Old English verse and to paint a character as archaic, and Christopher Marlowe used interlocking alliteration and consonance of "th", "f" and "s" sounds to force a lisp on a character he wanted to paint as effeminate. See, for example, the opening speech in Tamburlaine the Great available online at Project Gutenberg.
  47. ^ For a good discussion of hard and soft rhyme see the introduction of Robert Pinsky's The Inferno of Dante: A New Verse Translation (1994); his translation includes many demonstrations of the use of soft rhyme.
  48. ^ Pinsky (1994).
  49. ^ See the introduction to Burton Raffel, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (1984).
  50. ^ Maria Rosa Menocal, The Arabic Role in Medieval Literary History (2003).
  51. ^ Indeed, in translating the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, Edward FitzGerald sought to retain the scheme in English. The original text is available from the Gutenberg Porject on-line for free.etext #246
  52. ^ Works by Petrarch at Project Gutenberg
  53. ^ The Divine Comedy at wikisource.
  54. ^ See Robert Pinsky's discussion of the difficulties of replicating terza rima in English in The Inferno of Dante: A New Verse Translation, Robert Pinsky, 1994.
  55. ^ A good pre-modernist example of concrete poetry is the poem about the mouse's tale in the shape of a long tail in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, available in Wikisource. [8]
  56. ^ See, for example, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge for a well-known example of symbolism and metaphor used in poetry. The albatross that is killed by the mariner is a traditional symbol of good luck, and its death takes on metaphorical implications.
  57. ^ See The Poetics of Aristotle, available freely at Project Gutenberg at 22.
  58. ^ Aesop's Fables, rendered in both verse and prose repeatedly since first being recorded about 500 B.C., are perhaps the richest single source of allegorical poetry through the ages. Other notables examples include the Roman de la Rose, a 13th-century French poem, William Langland's Piers Ploughman in the 14th century, and Jean de la Fontaine's Fables (influenced by Aesop's) in the 17th century (available in French on wikisource).[9].
  59. ^ See Act III, Scene II in Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Julius Ceasar, available at Wikisource.[10]
  60. ^ Arthur Quiller-Couch (ed), Oxford Book of English Verse (1900). Note that the relative prominence of a poet or a set of works is often measured by reference to the Oxford Book of English Verse or the Norton Anthology of Poetry, with many people counting poems or pages allocated to a given poet or subject.
  61. ^ E.g., "Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night" In Country Sleep (1952).
  62. ^ "Villanelle", Collected Poems (1945).
  63. ^ "One Art," Geography III (1976).
  64. ^ The extant Odes of Pindar as translated by Ernest Myers are freely available on-line from Gutenberg.
  65. ^ In particular, the translations of Horace's odes by John Dryden were influential in establishing the form in English, though Dryden utilizes rhyme in his translations where Horace did not.

Ben Bradshaw moments before breaking the worlds fastest Straitjacket escape title in 50. ... Libel is a verse genre primarily of the Renaissance, descended from the tradition of invective in classical Greek and Roman poetry. ... An epigram is a short poem with a clever twist at the end or a concise and witty statement. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Gaius Valerius Catullus (ca. ... Ibn Sina or Avicenna was a Persian (TājÄ«k) physician, philosopher, and scientist who was born in 980 (370 AH) [1] in Afshana near Bukhara, now in Uzbekistan (then Persia), and died June 1037 (428 AH) [1] in Hamadan, Persia (Iran). ... Averroes (Ibn Rushd) (1126 – December 10, 1198) was an Andalusian-Arab philosopher and physician, a master of philosophy and Islamic law, mathematics, and medicine. ... Dylan Marlais Thomas, (October 27, 1914 – November 9, 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer. ... Ars Poetica is the name of at least three pieces of literature. ... Allusion is a stylistic device in which one implicitly references a related object or circumstance that has occurred or existed in an external context. ... Horace, as imagined by Anton von Werner Quintus Horatius Flaccus, (December 8, 65 BC - November 27, 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace, was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus. ... William Carlos Williams Dr. William Carlos Williams (sometimes known as WCW) (September 17, 1883 – March 4, 1963), was an American poet closely associated with Modernism and Imagism. ... Odysseus Elytis Odysseas Elytis was the pseudonym of Odysseas Alepoudelis (November 2, 1911–March 18, 1996), a Greek poet. ... Thomas Stearns Eliot, OM (September 26, 1888 – January 4, 1965) was an American (naturalised British) poet, dramatist and literary critic, whose works, such as The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, The Waste Land, The Hollow Men, and Four Quartets, are considered defining achievements of twentieth century Modernist poetry. ... T. S. Eliot (by E. O. Hoppe, 1919) The Waste Land (sometimes mistakenly written as The Wasteland) is a highly influential 433-line modernist poem by T. S. Eliot. ... Death of the Author (1968) is an essay by the French literary critic Roland Barthes that appeared in an anthology of his essays, Image-Music-Text (1977), a book that also included From Work To Text. It argues against incorporating the intentions and biographical context of an author in an... Robert Pinsky 15 May 2005 Robert Pinsky (born October 20, 1940) is an American poet and former Poet Laureate of the United States (1997-2000). ... The first page of Beowulf This article is about the epic poem. ... Christine Frances Evelyn Brooke-Rose (born January 16, 1923) is a British writer and literary critic, known principally for her later, experimental novels. ... A ZBC of Ezra Pound (ISBN 0-571-091350) is a book by Christine Brooke-Rose published by Faber and Faber in 1971. ... Robert Pinsky 15 May 2005 Robert Pinsky (born October 20, 1940) is an American poet and former Poet Laureate of the United States (1997-2000). ... Robert Pinsky 15 May 2005 Robert Pinsky (born October 20, 1940) is an American poet and former Poet Laureate of the United States (1997-2000). ... Anapestic tetrameter is a poetic meter that has four anapestic metrical feet per line. ... Eugene Onegin (Russian: Евгений Онегин, BGN/PCGN: Yevgeniy Onegin) is a novel in verse written by Aleksandr Pushkin. ... Notes on Prosody by Vladimir Nabokov was originally Appendix 2 to his Commentary accompanying his translation of Eugene Onegin and was published separately in book form by Pantheon Books in 1964 as number LXXIIa in the Bollingen Series. ... Project Gutenberg (often abbreviated as PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize, archive, and distribute cultural works. ... Chaucer: Illustration from Cassells History of England, circa 1902 Chanticleer the rooster from an outdoor production of Chanticleer and the Fox at Ashby_de_la_Zouch castle Geoffrey Chaucer (ca. ... An anonymous portrait, often believed to show Christopher Marlowe. ... An anonymous portrait, often believed to show Christopher Marlowe. ... Robert Pinsky 15 May 2005 Robert Pinsky (born October 20, 1940) is an American poet and former Poet Laureate of the United States (1997-2000). ... Burton Raffel is a translator, a poet and a teacher. ... Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a late 14th century alliterative romance recorded in a single manuscript, which also contains three other pieces of an altogether more Christian orientation. ... Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam (Persian: رباعیات عمر خیام) The Rubáiyát (Arabic: رباعیات) is a collection of poems (of which there are about a thousand) attributed to the Persian mathematician and astronomer Omar Khayyám (1048-1123). ... Edward Marlborough FitzGerald (March 31, 1809–June 14, 1883) was an English writer, best known as the poet of the English translation of Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám. ... Project Gutenberg (often abbreviated as PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize, archive, and distribute cultural works. ... John Tenniels illustration for A Mad Tea-Party, 1865 Illustration by Arthur Rackham Facsimile page from Alices Adventures Under Ground Alices Adventures in Wonderland is a work of childrens literature by the British mathematician and author, Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, written under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. ... One of a set of engraved metal plate illustrations by Gustave Doré. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is a poem written by the English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1797-1799 and published in the first edition of Lyrical Ballads (1797). ... Samuel Taylor Coleridge, English poet, 1795 Samuel Taylor Coleridge (October 21, 1772 – July 25, 1834) was an English poet, critic, and philosopher who was, along with his friend William Wordsworth, one of the founders of the Romantic Movement in England and one of the Lake Poets. ... Project Gutenberg (often abbreviated as PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize, archive, and distribute cultural works. ... Aesops Fables or Aesopica refers to a collection of fables credited to Aesop (circa 620 BC – 560 BC), a slave and story-teller living in Ancient Greece. ... Mirth and Gladness lead a Dance in this miniature from a manuscript of the Roman de la Rose in the Bodleian Library (MS Douce 364, folio 8r). ... Langlands Dreamer: from an illuminated initial in a Piers Plowman manuscript held at Corpus Christi College, Oxford William Langland is the conjectured author of the 14th-century English dream-vision Piers Plowman. ... Page from a 14th century Psalter, showing drolleries on the right margin and a plowman at the bottom. ... Jean de La Fontaine (July 8, 1621 – April 13, 1695) is the most famous French fabulist and probably the most widely read French poet of the 17th century. ... Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch (November 21, 1863 - May 12, 1944) was a British writer, who published under the pen name of Q. Born in Cornwall, he was educated at Newton Abbot College, at Clifton College, and Trinity College, Oxford and later became a lecturer there. ... Do not go gentle into that good night, a villanelle composed in 1951, is considered to be among the finest works by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas (1914–1953). ... John Dryden John Dryden (August 9, 1631 – May 12, 1700) was an influential English poet, literary critic, and playwright who dominated the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known as the Age of Dryden. ...

References

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Anthologies Image File history File links Portal. ... Image File history File links Poetry. ... Image File history File links Sound-icon. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... April 20 is the 110th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (111th in leap years). ... Image File history File links Sound-icon. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wiktionary is a Wikimedia Foundation project intended to be a free wiki dictionary (hence: Wiktionary) (including thesaurus and lexicon) in every language. ...

Scansion and Form Alfred Corn, The Poem's Heartbeat: A Manual of Prosody (1997) This is a list of anthologies of poetry that have a page about them in Wikipedia. ... Helen Gardner (1909-1986) was an English literary critic. ... The New Oxford Book of English Verse 1250 – 1950 is a poetry anthology edited by Helen Gardner, and published in New York and London in 1972 by the Oxford University Press with ISBN 0198121369, as a replacement for the Quiller-Couch Oxford Book of English Verse. ... Donald Hall (born September 20, 1928) is an American poet. ... Philip Arthur Larkin (9 August 1922 – 2 December 1985) was an English poet, novelist and jazz critic. ... James Laughlin (October 30, 1914 - November 12, 1997) was an American poet, publisher, and man of letters. ... An independent publisher for 70 years, New Directions was founded when president and publisher James Laughlin issued the first New Directions anthology in 1936. ... Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch (November 21, 1863 - May 12, 1944) was a British writer, who published under the pen name of Q. Born in Cornwall, he was educated at Newton Abbot College, at Clifton College, and Trinity College, Oxford and later became a lecturer there. ... A 1907 engraving of Yeats. ...

  • Paul Fussell, Poetic Meter and Poetic Form, New York: Random House (1965).
  • John Hollander, Rhyme's Reason (3rd ed), Yale University Press (2001)
  • James McAuley, Versification, A Short Introduction (1983)
  • Robert Pinsky, The Sounds of Poetry (1998).

Critical and historical works Paul Fussell (born 1924, Pasadena, California) is a cultural historian and a professor emeritus of English literature of the University of Pennsylvania. ... John Hollander (born October 29, 1929) is an American poet and literary critic. ... Robert Pinsky 15 May 2005 Robert Pinsky (born October 20, 1940) is an American poet and former Poet Laureate of the United States (1997-2000). ...

  • Cleanth Brooks, The Well Wrought Urn: Studies in the Structure of Poetry (1947)
  • Cleanth Brooks, Literary Criticism: A Short History (1957)
  • T. S. Eliot, The Sacred Wood: Essays on Poetry and Criticism, London, 1920.
  • George Gascoigne, Certayne Notes of Instruction Concerning the Making of English Verse or Ryme[11]
  • Ezra Pound, ABC of Reading London: Faber, 1951 (first published 1934).
  • Władysław Tatarkiewicz, "The Concept of Poetry," translated by Christopher Kasparek, *Dialectics and Humanism: the Polish Philosophical Quarterly, vol. II, no. 2 (spring 1975), pp. 13-24.
  • John Thompson, The Founding of English Meter

Lnguistics and language Cleanth Brooks (October 16, 1906 - 1994) was an influential American literary critic and professor. ... Cleanth Brooks (October 16, 1906 - 1994) was an influential American literary critic and professor. ... Thomas Stearns Eliot, OM (September 26, 1888 – January 4, 1965) was an American (naturalised British) poet, dramatist and literary critic, whose works, such as The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, The Waste Land, The Hollow Men, and Four Quartets, are considered defining achievements of twentieth century Modernist poetry. ... Ezra Pound in 1913. ... Władysław Tatarkiewicz Władysław Tatarkiewicz (April 3, 1886, Warsaw – April 4, 1980, Warsaw) was a Polish philosopher, historian of philosophy, historian of art, esthetician, and author of works in ethics. ... Christopher Kasparek (born 1945) is a writer and a translator from Polish into English. ...

  • Zhiming Bao, The structure of tone, New York: Oxford University Press (1999) ISBN 0-19-511880-4.
  • Morio Kono, "Perception and Psychology of Rhythm" inAccent, Intonation, Rhythm and Pause(1997).
  • Moria Yip, Tone, Cambridge textbooks in linguistics, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (2202) ISBN 0-521-77314-8 (hbk), ISBN 0-521-77445-4 (pbk).

Other Works

  • Alex Preminger, Terry V.F. Brogan and Frank J. Warnke (Eds): The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics (Princeton University Press; 3rd edition, 1993). ISBN 0-691-02123-6

External links

Reference material and resources

Poetry collections and anthologies Robert Pinsky 15 May 2005 Robert Pinsky (born October 20, 1940) is an American poet and former Poet Laureate of the United States (1997-2000). ...

Major academic and charitable poetry organizations and publications Project Gutenberg (often abbreviated as PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize, archive, and distribute cultural works. ...


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Poets' Corner - Home Page (777 words)
If the poem is past copyright and you would like it included, please E-mail the poem, poet, and publishing date to Steve.
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