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Poetry (from theGreek wordpoiesis, "making") is a form ofliterary art that usesaesthetic and oftenrhythmic qualities oflanguage to evokemeanings in addition to, or in place of,literal or surface-level meanings. Any particular instance of poetry is called apoem and is written by apoet. Poets use a variety of techniques called poetic devices, such asassonance,alliteration,consonance,euphony and cacophony,onomatopoeia,rhythm (viametre),rhyme schemes (patterns in thetype and placement of aphoneme group) andsound symbolism, to producemusical or other artistic effects. They also frequently organize these devices intos, which may be strict or loose, conventional or invented by the poet. Poetic structures vary dramatically by language and cultural convention, but they often rely onrhythmic metre: patterns ofsyllable stress orsyllable (or mora) weight. They may also use repeating patterns ofphonemes,phoneme groups,tones, words, or entire phrases. Poetic structures may even besemantic (e.g. thevolta required in aPetrachan sonnet).
Most written poems are formatted inverse: a series or stack oflines on a page, which follow the poetic structure. For this reason,verse has also become asynonym (ametonym) for poetry. Some poetry types are unique to particularcultures andgenres and respond to characteristics of the language in which the poet writes. Readers accustomed to identifying poetry withDante,Goethe,Mickiewicz, orRumi may think of it as written inlines based onrhyme and regularmeter. There are, however, traditions, such asBiblical poetry andalliterative verse, that use other means to create rhythm andeuphony. Other traditions, such asSomali poetry, rely on complex systems of alliteration and metre independent of writing and have been described as structurally comparable to ancient Greek and medieval European oral verse. Much modern poetry reflects a critique of poetic tradition, testing the principle of euphony itself or altogether forgoing rhyme or set rhythm. In first-person poems, the lyrics are spoken by an "I", acharacter who may be termed thespeaker, distinct from thepoet (theauthor). Thus if, for example, a poem asserts, "I killed my enemy in Reno", it is the speaker, not the poet, who is the killer (unless this "confession" is a form ofmetaphor which needs to be considered in closercontext – viaclose reading).
Poetry uses forms and conventions to suggest differentialinterpretations of words, or to evokeemotive responses. The use ofambiguity,symbolism,irony, and otherstylistic elements ofpoetic diction often leaves a poem open to multiple interpretations. Similarly, figures of speech such asmetaphor,simile, andmetonymy establish a resonance between otherwise disparate images—a layering of meanings, forming connections previously not perceived. Kindred forms of resonance may exist, between individualverses, in their patterns of rhyme or rhythm. (Full article...)
Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard is a poem byThomas Gray, completed in 1750 and first published in 1751. The poem’s origins are unknown, but it was partly inspired by Gray’s thoughts following the death of the poetRichard West in 1742. Originally titledStanza's Wrote in a Country Church-Yard, the poem was completed when Gray was living near St Giles'parish church atStoke Poges. It was sent to his friendHorace Walpole, who popularised the poem among London literary circles. Gray was eventually forced to publish the work on 15 February 1751, to pre-empt a magazine publisher from printing an unlicensed copy of the poem.
The poem is anelegy in name but not inform; it employs a style similar to that of contemporary odes, but it embodies a meditation on death, and remembrance after death. The poem argues that the remembrance can be good and bad, and the narrator finds comfort in pondering the lives of the obscure rustics buried in the churchyard. The two versions of the poem,Stanzas andElegy, approach death differently; the first contains astoic response to death, but the final version contains an epitaph which serves to repress the narrator's fear of dying. With its discussion of, and focus on, the obscure and the known, the poem has possible political ramifications, but it does not make any definite claims on politics to be more universal in its approach to life and death.
The poem quickly became popular. It was printed many times, translated into many languages, and praised by critics even after Gray's other poetry had fallen out of favour. Later critics tended to praise its language and universal aspects, but some felt the ending was unconvincing, failing to resolve the questions the poem raised; or that the poem did not do enough to present a political statement that would serve to help the obscure rustic poor who form its central image.(Full article...)
Hilda "H.D." Doolittle (September 10, 1886 – September 27, 1961) was an American poet, novelist, andmemoirist known for her association with the early 20th centuryavant-gardeImagist group of poets such asEzra Pound andRichard Aldington.
H.D. was born inBethlehem, Pennsylvania in 1886 and moved toLondon in 1911, where her publications earned her a central role within the then emerging Imagist movement. A charismatic figure, she was championed by themodernist poet Ezra Pound, who was instrumental in building and furthering her career. From 1916–17, she acted as the literary editor of theEgoist journal, while her poetry appeared in theEnglish Review and theTransatlantic Review. During theFirst World War, H.D. suffered the death of her brother and the breakup of her marriage to the poetRichard Aldington, and these events weighed heavily on her later poetry. Glenn Hughes, the authority onImagism, wrote that 'her loneliness cries out from her poems. She had a deep interest inAncient Greek literature, and her poetry often borrowed fromGreek mythology and classical poets. Her work is noted for its incorporation of natural scenes and objects, which are often used to emote a particular feeling or mood.
She befriendedSigmund Freud during the 1930s, and became his patient in order to understand and express herbisexuality. H.D. married once, and undertook a number of relationships with both men and women. She was unapologetic about her sexuality, and thus became an icon for both thegay rights andfeminist movements when her poems, plays, letters and essays were rediscovered during the 1970s and 1980s.(Full article...)
| Sonnet 141 byWilliam Shakespeare |
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In faith, I do not love thee with mine eyes, |
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