Special Considerations for Reading Poetry Closely

 

Special Considerations for Reading Poetry Closely

Reading poetry and fiction closely requires the same careful attention to language, but when you read poetry closely, you will look at some additional elements of style and structure.

Rhyme

As you know, some poems rhyme and some — those written in free verse — do not. Rhyme at the end of a line is called end rhyme, while rhyme within a line of poetry is called internal rhyme. Eye (or sight) rhymes should be considered in addition to the rhymes you can hear. When an author uses poetic license to rhyme words that do not sound quite the same, it is called near rhyme. Rhyme is usually notated using letters of the alphabet. For instance, a simple quatrain or four-line stanza might rhyme abab, or be arranged as couplets that rhyme aabb. The pattern of rhyme for an entire poem is called its rhyme scheme. It can be useful to consider the effects of rhyme in a poem by charting its rhyme scheme; reading a rhyming poem out loud is also helpful.

Meter

The lines in structured poems often follow a regular pattern of rhythm called a meter. Literally, meter counts the measure of a line, referring to the pattern of stressed or unstressed syllables, combinations of which we call feet. Iambic meter is by far the most common in English. An iamb is a poetic foot of two syllables with the stress, or accent, on the second, as in the word “again,” or the phrase “by far.” The two most common metric patterns are iambic pentameter, in which a line consists of five iambic feet, and iambic tetrameter, which measures four iambic feet. Notice how “To an Athlete Dying Young,” the Housman poem that you read, is in iambic tetrameter. Each of its lines follows a rhythm of four beats, each one an iambic foot with the emphasis on the second syllable:

The time | you won | your town | the race

We chaired | you through | the mar | ket-place.

Notice how odd it would sound if you were to emphasize the first syllable.

The time | you won | your town | the race.

Shakespeare often uses blank verse — that is, unrhymed iambic pentameter. For

example, in Hamlet (p. 720) the ghost speaks chiefly in blank verse. The same blank

verse may be spoken in ten words of one syllable each, as in “To prick and sting her.

Fare thee well at once,” or in as few as three words: “Unhouseled, disappointed, unanealed.”

Form

Poetry is sometimes written in conventional forms that can give you hints about how

the structure relates to the meaning of the poem. When you recognize a traditional

form, consider whether it maintains the conventions or defies them. When you look

at the structure of a poem that is not in a traditional form, try to figure out how it is

organized. Is it a narrative, in which the action dictates the structure? Are the stanzas

chronological, cause and effect, or question and answer? Look for word or sentence

patterns or patterns of imagery that might reveal the relationships among the stanzas.

Ultimately, what you should be on the lookout for is how the structure reinforces

the meaning of the poem.

Although poems have many specialized forms, the most common is the sonnet.

Traditionally written as love poems, the sonnet form has been used for a wide variety

of purposes, including war poems, protest poems, and parodies. Sonnets generally

consist of fourteen lines, usually in iambic pentameter, as you may observe in the opening lines of the Shakespearean sonnet you will read in this chapter (p. 36):

When, in | dis- grace | with For- | tune and | men’s eyes

I all | a- lone | be- weep | my out- | cast state.

There are two classic types of sonnet. The Italian, or Petrarchan, sonnet is divided

into an octave (eight lines) rhyming abba, abba and a sestet (six lines) with a variety

of different rhyme schemes: cdcdcd, cdecde, or cddcdd. Traditionally, the octave

raises an issue or expresses a doubt, and the sestet resolves the issue or doubt.

The shift from the first to the second section is called the “turn.” The English, or

Shakespearean, sonnet consists of three four-line stanzas and a couplet at the end.

This type of sonnet rhymes abab, cdcd, efef, gg. The third stanza usually provides the

turn, and the last two lines often close the sonnet with a witty remark.

Other common traditional forms include:

• Elegy. A contemplative poem, usually for someone who has died.

• Lyric. A short poem expressing the personal thoughts or feelings of a firstperson

speaker.

• Ode. A form of poetry used to meditate on or address a single object or

condition. It originally followed strict rules of rhythm and rhyme, but by the

Romantic period it was more flexible.

• Villanelle. A form of poetry in which five tercets, or three-line stanzas (rhyme

scheme aba), are followed by a quatrain (rhyme scheme abaa). At the end of

tercets two and four, the first line of tercet one is repeated. At the end of tercets

three and five, the last line of tercet one is repeated. These two repeated lines, called

refrain lines, are repeated again to conclude the quatrain. Much of the power of this

form lies in its repeated lines and their subtly shifting sense or meaning over the

course of the poem.

Sound

Sound is the musical quality of poetry. It can be created through some of the techniques

we’ve already mentioned, such as rhyme, enjambment, and caesura. It can

also be created by word choice, especially through alliteration (the repetition of

initial consonant sounds in a sequence of words), assonance (the repetition of vowel

sounds in a sequence of words), and onomatopoeia (use of a word that refers to a

noise and whose pronunciation mimics that noise). Sound can also be created by

rhythm and cadence (similar to rhythm, but related to the rise and fall of the voice).

Like all of the elements of style, the key to analysis is to connect the sound of the

poem to its meaning.

Let’s consider form in “The Red Wheelbarrow,” a famous short poem by William

Carlos Williams.

so much depends

upon

a red wheel

barrow

glazed with rain 5

water

beside the white

chickens.

[1923]

In only sixteen words, this poem demonstrates how form and sound can not only

reinforce an image but can actually create meaning. In this piece, Williams creates a

visual image, analogous to a still-life painting. Instead of treating the text as a sentence,

he breaks it up into four couplets that guide the way we experience the language, and

thus the ideas.

The poem is written in free verse with no capitalization or internal punctuation,

so we approach it word by word. The use of enjambment stops us at each interval as if

Williams is asking us to consider carefully as we go along. He begins, “so much depends,”

stressing the verb and reinforcing how much is at stake by pausing there before continuing

to the next line. By giving the preposition “upon” its own line, he seems to be withholding

the central image of the poem, thus making it even starker when, in the second

stanza, we encounter “a red wheel / barrow.” The monosyllables in the third line give

us a closer perspective and break the image down into its parts. Even the word “wheelbarrow”

is divided, perhaps to remind us that it is a compound — and crafted — word,

just as the wheelbarrow itself is a well-crafted tool (a wheel + a barrow).

In the next stanza, Williams vividly develops the image: the red wheelbarrow is “glazed

with rain / water,” giving us a clearer sense of its texture and appearance. The fourth couplet

adds a contrast of color and movement when the position of the wheelbarrow is

described as “beside the white / chickens” — static red juxtaposed with moving white.

The sounds reinforce the sensuous image being created. Williams unifies the first

and second stanzas with the long o sounds present in the words “so” and “barrow.”

The alliteration of r in “red” and “rain” links the second and third stanzas, as does the

assonance of “glazed” with “rain” and “beside” with “white.” The ch of “much” in the

opening line echoes in the final line’s “chickens,” bringing the poem full circle.

Thus, even a modern poem — one that does not have the formality or strict rules

of a villanelle or sonnet — illustrates the importance of form and sound. By arranging

a series of very simple words, carefully chosen and placed, Williams turns a straightforward

declarative sentence into a vivid image full of subtle shades of meaning.

 

Now that you have some familiarity with the elements of style specific to poetry,

you can use them when reading poetry closely. Here are some questions you can ask

of any text:

Rhyme

• Does the poem have a regular rhyme scheme? If so, what is it?

• What other types of rhymes does the poem include, such as internal rhymes,

sight rhymes, or near rhymes?

• How does the rhyme scheme affect the poem’s sound, tone, or meaning?

Meter

• Does the poem have a regular meter? If so, what is it?

• Read the poem aloud. How does the meter affect the tone of the poem? For

instance, does the meter make the poem seem formal, informal, singsongy,

celebratory, somber?

Form

• Does the poem follow a traditional form? If so, which?

• If the poem follows a traditional form, but has untraditional content, what

might be the poet’s purpose in subverting the traditional form?

• If the poem does not follow a traditional form, what sort of logic structures

the poem? For instance, why are the stanzas broken as they are? What is the

relationship among the stanzas?

Poetic Syntax

• What examples of enjambment can you find? How does the enjambment

affect the sound and meaning of the line?

• What examples of caesura can you find? What is the impact of the caesura?

• If the poem has sentences, are they long or short or a combination of the two?

How does the length of the sentences relate to the meaning of the poem?

Sound

• How does the poem use rhyme, meter, form, and poetic syntax to create sound?

• How does the poem use repetition, such as alliteration and assonance, to create

sound?

• How do the sounds created in the poem connect to the meaning of the poem?