INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE

Literature can be defined as the collected oral and written works of a society that depict the people’s
beliefs, values, mores, and aspirations, as well as their struggles in life.

Before the printing presses were invented or before any system of writing had been established,
there was already, literature. It was part of the ancient people’s way of life. Bards sang or chanted poems
to encourage warriors as they marched to battle. Travelers amused themselves with stories as they went
on their journey. Literature started in the oral tradition. With the passing of time, tales, poems, and other
literary forms were handed down from one generation to another by word of mouth.

LITERARY GENRES

There are basically five literary forms or genres: novel, short story, play or drama, essay, and
poetry. These five genres are classified under two general types of literature: PROSE and POETRY. Prose
refers to literary works in the form of sentences and paragraphs. There are two kinds of prose literature,
fiction and non-fiction. Poetry refers to those literary works in the form of lines and stanzas.

Fiction

Fiction refers to prose narratives containing setting, characters, plot, conflict, climax and
resolution. It is based on the writer’s creative imagination. As one critic has said, “fiction is a lie told in a
manner as to make it seem true.” There are two kinds of fiction, short story and novel.

A short story is a brief narrative that concentrates on one situation and involves two or three
characters. Edgar Allan Poe, American poet, fictionist and literary critic of the Romantic period, is
recognized as the “Father of the Short Story.” Although stories of a shorter length had been written before
Poe’s time, he was the one who laid the foundation for the genre and defined its nature and structure.

The beginnings of the short story could be traced back to ancient times. In one sense, it can be
considered an ancient art rooted in human beings’ propensity to narrate or recount tales. These tales or
narratives came in varied forms, such as the myths, legends, folktales and fables.

A novel is an extended narrative that includes more characters and complicated plot. The word
novel is the 20th century generic term for any type of prose fiction of book length in which characters and
actions are presented in a plot as if representing persons and events in real life. It is to be distinguished in
size both from the novelette, an extended prose fiction of less than book length, and from the short story, a
prose fiction considerably shorter than the novelette and usually representing only a single action.

The word novel is derived ultimately from the Latin adjective novellus, diminuitive of novus,
meaning “new”; hence, when applied to fiction, it means a new tale or story. It was adopted in the 16 th
century by the English language from novella, an Italian word used to describe a short tale portraying the
incidents and often amorous intrigues of everyday living.

There are different types of novels, the following are just some examples:

The mystery novel is a type of novel in which the events are not explained until the plot is resolved.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes is an example of this type.

The historical novel is one in which the setting and some of the events and characters are drawn
from history. Linda Ty-Casper’s historical trilogy, The Peninsulars, The Three-Concerned Sun and Ten
Thousand Seeds are examples of this type. They reflect events and figures in Philippine history.
 The epistolary novel is a type of novel told in a series of letters. Urbana at Felisa, a Filipino
novel written during the Spanish period, is an example.

The adventure novel is one in which the leading character has a series of adventures, and in which
emphasis is on events rather than ideas. Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is an example.

The picaresque novel, which presents the adventures of rogue, (called a picaro in Spanish), is
usually a detailed satiric picture of middle-class life, describing the shrewd manner in which the rogue
triumphs over the less clever members of the middle and upper classes he encounters on his travels.
Because the form originated as a burlesque of the 16th century Spanish tales of chivalric adventures, the
picaro wins one encounter after another, and the novel has a very episodic structure. Don Quixote, by
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, is a novel with a picaresque romance type of plot.

The psychological novel emphasizes the mental and emotional responses of its characters rather
than their outward activities. J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet
Letter and Nick Joaquin’s The Woman Who Had Two Navels, are examples of this type.

The gothic novel is a mystery novel that has elements of horror and the supernatural; usually set
in a gloomy, perhaps haunted, gothic castle or mansion. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is a perfect
example of this, so is Bram Stoker’s Dracula. R.L. Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a gothic novel,
but at the same time psychological.

The science-fiction novels deals with the imaginary results of scientific or technological
developments, such as Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park and The Lost World.

The Roman a’ clef (French for “novel with a key”) uses as its main characters contemporary figures
disguised with false names. For example, D.H. Lawrence appears as Mark Rampion in Aldous Huxley’s
Point Counter Point.

The Roman Flueve (French for “river novel”) is a series of novels having characters, and, usually,
setting and theme, in common. In James Fenimore Cooper’s series of five novels called the Leatherstocking
tales (The Pioneer, The Last of the Mohicans, The Prairie, the Pathfinder, and The Deerslayer)
Natty Bumppo appears in all five, sometimes as Hawkeye.

The Bildungsroman or Erziehungrsroman (German for “novel of development”) deals with

growing up, whereby the hero becomes aware of himself as he relates to the world outside his subjective
consciousness. Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain is a well-known example of this genre. When the
bildungsroman is concerned with the development of the artist, as is James Joyce’s Portrait of the Artist
as a Young Man, it may be termed a kunstleroman (German for “novel of the artist”). This type of work
pays great attention to the mental attitudes of its characters, and may also be called a psychological novel.

Elements of Fiction

There are many approaches that can be used in studying fiction, whether it be a novel or a short
story. The most common of these is called the “formalistic” approach. In analyzing or studying a work of
fiction using this approach, one has to look at the following elements of narration:

Setting and Atmosphere. Setting refers to the time and place of the story, or the “spatial” and
“temporal” environment. It answers the question, “When and where did the story happen?” Atmosphere
refers to the prevailing mood of the story. A story can have a humorous atmosphere, like Mark Twain’s
novels, or a gothic one, like the stories of Edgar Allan Poe.
 Characters. The characters are the persons involved in a story, although in some stories life
fables, the characters are not persons but animals. This element answers the questions “Who are involved
in the story?” and “To whom does the story happen?” Character is a very important element in any work of
fiction. To understand the characters in a story better, the reader must be familiar with the following
methods for delineating characters:

a. by description of physical appearance or mannerism;

b. by analysis of character;
c. by speech;
d. by reaction of other persons; and
e. by action of the character.

Seven Common Character Types (Terry W. Ervin II)

1. Confidante – someone in whom the central character confides, thus revealing the main
character’s personality, thoughts, and intentions. The confidante does not need to be a person.

Example: In a story, Melvin Sanders is a detective on the trail of a serial killer. He travels
with his pet dog, a pug named Chops. Instead of listening to the radio, Melvin talks to Chops, telling
him his theories about the serial killer and his concern he may never discover the killer’s identity.

2. Dynamic Character – a character which changes during the course of a story or novel. The
change in outlook or character is permanent. Sometimes a dynamic character is called a
developing character.

Example: Ebenezer Scrooge, in A Christmas Carol by Dickens, was very stingy with his
money. He worked his employees very hard for little pay. After his experiences with the ghosts that
visited him, he changed his ways, paying his employees a more than fair wage, providing days off
work and actually giving gifts.

3. Flat Character – a character who reveals only one, maybe two, personality traits in a story or
novel, and the trait(s) do not change.

Example: In a story about a friendly teacher named Sandra Smith, Louis Drud is a janitor
in her building. Louis is always tired and grumpy whenever Sandra runs across him and says hello.

4. Foil – a character that is used to enhance another character through contrast. Cinderella’s grace
and beauty as opposed to her nasty, self-centered stepsisters is one clear illustration of a foil
many may recall from childhood.

Example: The main character in a story, a teenager named Sally, is a very honest person.
She always tries to tell the truth and consider everyone’s feelings. The teacher assigns Betty to be
Sally’s science lab partner. Betty enjoys gossip and likes to see people’s reactions, especially if it
involves hurt or embarrassment.

5. Round Character - a well-developed character who demonstrates varied and sometimes

contradictory traits. Round characters are usually dynamic (changes in some way over the course
of a story).

Example: A character in a story named Elaine never cuts anybody a break. She tells her
friends and coworkers that charity and compassion have no place in society. On the other hand,
Elaine can never pass up feeding a stray kitten or puppy, and always tries to find a good home for
lost or abandoned pets.
 6. Static Character – a character that remains primarily the same throughout a story or novel.
Events in the story do not alter a static character’s outlook, personality, motivation, perception,
habits, etc.

Example: Bert, a bumbling salesman, never takes the time to organize his files, properly
record his sales, or follow up with customers. Finally, his boss gets fed up and fires him. Bert
struggles for two months to find a new sales position. During that time, his car is repossessed for
nonpayment and he maxes out his credit cards. Bert finally finds a new sales position but, before a
week passes, he is called into a conference with his new boss. Bert is informed he must get organized
or he’ll be fired. A week later the new boss fires Bert after he fails to follow up with an important
customer.

7. Stock Character – a special kind of flat character who is instantly recognizable to most readers.
Possible examples include the “ruthless businessman”, “shushing old librarian” or “dumb jock.”
They are not the focus nor developed in the story.

Example: The main character in a story, Bernard, is hired by a computer company. His
secretary is a blonde named Gidget, who is cute but forgetful and never gets a joke.

Note: Although the character types are listed separately, characters may be (and often are) a combination.
A foil, for example, could also be a round, flat, or even a stock character. While most protagonists in novels
are dynamic (change over the course of the novel) and round, they don’t have to be, especially if the novel is
plot driven as opposed to character driven. It’s not unheard of for a short story to feature a static protagonist.
Some character types are, by definition, opposite and cannot be considered. For example, one cannot have a
character that is both flat and round, or a character that is both static and dynamic.

Plot. This refers to the significant order in which the action is presented, or the arrangement of
events that make up a story. It is the structure or arrangement of materials in a story that gives it
meaningful continuity. Plot answers the questions, “What happened?” and “How did it happen?”

To understand the plot of a story, one must know the following essential elements of plot:

1. The exposition or beginning furnishes the information necessary to understanding the

situation out of which the problem arises;

2. The conflict is the problem or dilemma, which may be physical or internal, as in the mind of
the character. Conflict is of three kinds: man against himself, man against man, and man against
nature.

3. The complication is a series of tense, dramatic situations climbing to the highest point;

4. The climax is the result of accumulated suspense which stirs the most intense feelings or
emotions;

5. The denouement, or the final resolution, is untying of the plot that clarifies or simplifies the
complications;

6. The anti-climax is a break in the climactic order of events or effect – a falling-off from the
expected intensification of effect;
 7. The conclusion or solution is the phase in the plot that gives the answer, favorable or
unfavorable, to the question that the plot has presented or developed.

Theme. This is often called the central message of the story. It is the author’s statement of purpose,
philosophy, or an attitude toward life. It may be presented explicitly or implicitly.

Point of View. This is the position from which a story is presented or the perspective from which
the story is told. In reference to narration, it is the person who tells the story, who serves as the index of
the action as far as the reader is concerned. Point of view or POV, which is also known as narrative
technique, answers the questions “Who tells the story?” and “What is his/ her relation to the action?”

Let's say we're examining a crime scene. The police may have 10 witnesses who all saw the same
crime. Yet they may give 10 different descriptions of what happened. Because they saw the same crime
from different angles and from different lengths of time, they may have different perspectives on what
happened. These different perspectives are called "points of view." There are different types of point of view.
A story can be told from the first person ("I", "my") or from the third person ("she", "they"). We can get into
the minds of the characters ("omniscient") or we can simply see them from the outside, like real life
("objective"). We can see the story from a main character who is central to the plot, or from a minor character
who is largely just an observer.

Here are the six major types of point of view:

1. 1st Person Central: This perspective is told from the POV of the main character. It allows the
author to bring the reader closer to the character, and create more sympathy for the character's
struggles. However, it also limits the reader to one person's perspective, and we don't have a
broader, more balanced point of view. Nevertheless, this view grants a sense of immediacy: we
see everything through this character's eyes.

2. 1st Person Peripheral: This also uses "I" or '"my," but from the POV of a minor character who
observes - usually in a more neutral and detached manner - the actions of the main characters.
Like with 3rd person objective, the detachment from the main character(s) creates a lack of
knowledge, and heightens the suspense.

3. 2nd Person: This is a relatively rare point of view and is difficult to sustain. It is based upon
the address of one speaker to a second person. It uses the "you" and "your" pronouns throughout,
which, as you can imagine, is difficult to maintain without sounding repetitive. Here's an
example: You will receive the revised essay criteria by Tuesday, September 22. You will have an
opportunity to respond to it in writing before October 17. In fiction, the "you" being addressed is
often a central character, and the effect is to turn the reader into the character. A classic example
of this is Will Baker's "Grace Period".

4. 3rd Person Limited Omniscient: In order to limit the information, and focus the attention of
the reader onto one character, the author will sometimes tell a story by entering the mind of one
key character (usually the protagonist). As in all 3rd person POV's, limited omniscience does not
use "I" or "my".

5. 3rd Person Objective or Dramatic: Here the outside narration is completely bereft of
(lacking) any interior thinking. The author, and the readers, can only observe exterior actions
and dialogue, and from that infer a character's thoughts. In other words, the author must
describe gestures and actions that indirectly show how a character feels, thinks and deals with
internal conflict. Authors will use this POV to achieve a high degree of realism, since it mimics
 how we interact in real-life. It's also useful to shield the reader from the true thoughts and
feelings of the characters, as in Shirley Jackson's suspenseful "The Lottery".

6. 3rd Person Omniscient: Told from the POV of an outside narrator, the "omniscient" author
nevertheless gets inside the thoughts and feelings of any character he or she wishes (in other
words, two or more characters). This POV offers a lot of information, and is suitable for large,
complex novels. This was a common POV in 18th and 19th century novels [authors of the time
often entered the story as all-judging moralists], but it's much less common today.

Style. This refers to the way a writer chooses words, arranges them in sentences and longer units
of discourse, and exploits their significance. Style is the verbal identity of a writer; his/her unique way of
seeing the world.

Irony. This is a technique used to indicate an intention or attitude that is opposite to what is actually
expressed. Irony is often characterized by grim humor and sarcasm, particularly when a writer wishes to
indirectly criticize. There are two kinds of irony, verbal and situational. Verbal irony involves a character
saying the opposite of what he or she means. Situational irony is where an event occurs that contradicts
the expectations of the characters, readers, or audience.

Symbolism. This refers to the use of an object to stand for or represent a person, thing or an idea.
The novel The Scarlet Letter by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne makes use of symbolism. The
scarlet letter “A” in the story, which Hester Prynne is forced to wear, stands for adultery, but at the same
time it can be open, ambiguous symbol.

Drama

A play or drama is a literary work intended to be presented on stage in the form of dialogues. It is
a composition in verse or prose intended to portray life or character or to tell a story, usually involving
conflicts and emotions, through action and dialogue and typically designed for theatrical performance. The
word dram comes from a Greek verb meaning “to do or act”, hence, it is intended to be acted on the stage.

The Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) introduced the concepts of theater in his famous
Theory of Poetry (popularly called the Poetics). He devised a framework for viewing literature, notably
drama, based on his observations of the works of the three great Greek tragedians; Aeschylus (524-456
B.C.), Sophocles (496-406 B.C.) and Euripides (486-406 B.C.), and the great writer of comedy,
Aristophanes (450-385 B.C.).

In his Poetics, Aristotle described two types of drama, tragedy and comedy. Tragedy is the kind of
drama that deals with the more serious aspects of life. It often has a sad or “tragic” ending, because it ends
in the hero’s tragic fall. Comedy is the kind of drama in which the hero or good forces triumph over evil.
Like the tragedy, comedy was rooted in ritual, except that renewal and rebirth defined a happy, as opposed
to darker, purpose. There are two types of comedy, satiric comedy, which portrays characters gently, even
generously.

In recent periods of literary history, other types of drama developed. Today, aestheticians and
scholars recognize a number of generic classifications. The following are now included in the list:

Melodrama is a serious play with a trivial theme. The protagonists are likeable and pleasant rather
than heroic, the villains uncompromisingly nasty. It presents a finite confrontation between good and evil.
It can rarely generate catharsis and typically end with the intellectually empty but theatrically thrilling
victory of the protagonist.
 Farce is a humorous play. Examples are situations of mistaken identity, illicit romance, elaborate
misunderstanding, identical twins, men in women’s costumes or women in men’s costumes, misheard
instructions and the like.

Tragicomedy is an attempt to bridge comedy and tragedy. It may be a tragedy that ends happily
or a serious play which concludes without a violent catharsis.

Dark or Black Comedy is a comedy that ends tragically.

History Genre treats historical events in a serious and respectful manner.

Documentary is a genre of present development. It deals with authentic evidence as a basis for
portraying relatively recent historical events.

Musical Genre relies extensively on music. This is a kind of drama in which the dialogues are not
spoken but sung. A tragedy set to music is a GRAND OPERA. A musical farce is generally called light opera
or operetta.

Elements of Drama

Plot is the structure of a play’s action, the skeletal framework of a play. It encompasses what
happens in a play. The traditional structure of plot consists of the following:

1. exposition, the presentation of background information necessary for the development of the plot;

2. rising action, a set of conflicts and crises;

3. climax, the play’s most decisive crisis;

4. falling action, a follow-up that moves toward the play’s resolution or denouement;

5. denouement (French for untying of a knot) or resolution, the untying of the plot that clarifies or

simplifies the complications.

Character is the vital center of a play. Characters are so vital that they define the art of drama and
distinguish it from all other literary genres. To understand drama better, let one should look at the
following patterns and dynamics of the stage characters:

1. Characters contrast with each other. In Shakespeare’s King Lear, his daughters Regan and
Goneril are heartless antagonists, in contrast to the character of Cordelia, who is genuinely good.

2. Characters are either three-dimensional or one-dimensional, round or flat. A three-dimensional

or round character is one who undergoes change or development as the plot progresses. A one-
dimensional or flat character is one who remains the same throughout the course of the play,
and does not change or undergo development. In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Romeo is an
example of a round or three-dimensional character, while Tybalt is a flat or one-dimensional
character.

3. Characters are either central (pivotal) to the play or supportive (satellite) that is, circulating in
the central character’s orbit. These designations apply to rank as well as spatial relationships
(blocking). In Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, the character of the tragic hero Willy Loman’s
movements are from stage center to upstage to downstage. Being the main character he occupies
these spaces on stage. Supporting characters don’t compete with him.
 4. Characters inspire audience identification. They appeal to humanity. The audience share in the
characters’ emotions, love, defeat, and triumph because they can identify with them.

5. Characters are universal and constant. Examples of this are the Chorus and the Messenger. The
Chorus in Greek tragedies is still used in contemporary theatre, and just like in ancient Greece,
it is regarded as the narrator and conscience of the protagonist. However, while the Chorus in
early Greek theatre was composed of many characters, the chorus in contemporary theatre is
only one. For example, the character of Tom Winfield in Tennessee Williams’ Glass Menagerie
serves as the Chorus – the conscience of the protagonist.

Dialogue refers to the words spoken by the characters. This goes hand in hand with Diction, which
refers not only to the pronunciation of the spoken dialogue but the literary character of a play’s text (tone,
imagery, cadence and articulation).

Dialogue has three main functions: 1) to advance the plot, 2) to establish setting, and 3) to reveal
character. The third is the most important function.

Staging refers to the spectacle a play presents in performance – its visual detail (blocking, stage
business or non-verbal gesture and movements, scenic background, props and costumes, make-up, lighting,
and sound effects) – the over-all look of the theatre on stage.

Theme is a sense of the play’s meaning or significance. It is derived from plot, character, dialogue,
and staging.

Non-fiction

Non-fiction refers to prose literature based on facts, reason and logic. The most common form of
non-fiction prose is the essay, a short literary composition on a given subject, often analytic, speculative or
interpretative. It has the following kinds:

Familiar essay is the most familiar of all essays. It is considered as the nearest literary approach
to a leisurely chat with a friend. It subject is relatively unimportant and may even be trivial.

Descriptive essay usually deals with some aspect of nature or animal life, as the name suggests,
it is a discussion of a given topic in a descriptive way.

Biographical essay (character essay) is a kind of essay whose subject is an individual sketch.

Critical essay has for its subject a work of art, literature, music, drama, motion picture, painting,
sculpture or some other form of creative expressions.

Reflective essay is concerned with serious and profound thoughts about the fundamental values
and problems of life.

Editorial essay is a feature of most newspapers and magazines and it influences public opinion.

Narrative essay (story essay) tells a story and it has characters.

Creative Nonfiction (Lee Gutkind)

Defined simply, succinctly, and accurately as “true stories well told.” It’s a rich mix of flavors, ideas,
and techniques, some which are newly invented and others as old as writing itself.
 Creative nonfiction can be an essay, a research paper, or a memoir; it can be personal or not, or it
can be all of these. The words “creative” and “nonfiction” describe, in essence, the craft and its form. The
word ‘creative’ refers to the use of literary craft, the techniques fictionists, playwrights, and poets employ
to present nonfiction—factually accurate prose about real people and events—in a compelling, vivid,
dramatic manner. “Creative” doesn’t mean inventing what didn’t happen, reporting and describing what
wasn’t there. It doesn’t mean that the writer has a license to lie. The cardinal rule is clear—and cannot be
violated. This is the pledge the writer makes to the reader—the maxim which must be lived by, the anchor
of creative nonfiction: to make nonfiction stories read like fiction so that your readers are as enthralled by
fact as they are by fantasy.

Poetry

Poetry is writing in language chosen and arranged to create a specific emotional effect. There are
many kinds of poetry, but the basic ones are narrative poem, lyric poem and dramatic poem.

A narrative poem is usually a lengthy poem containing a story and it is also an expression of an
emotional state or philosophical reflection. The most common example is an epic, a narrative poem that
tells of the adventures of heroes and heroic deeds.

A lyric poem is a shorter poem that deals with strong emotions and the appreciation of beauty.

A dramatic poem is one in which the poet expresses not his own individual emotion but that of
some person with whom he identifies himself. This type of poem also contains a story, which unfolds
through the narration of a character, but the emphasis is more on emotion rather than on the story itself.

Slam Poetry

Simply put, poetry slam is the competitive art of performance poetry. These performances are
usually judged by five randomly selected members of the audience. Typically, the judges score on a scale of
1–10 (one being the worst, ten being the best). The highest and lowest scores are dropped and the middle
three are kept. The highest score one can receive is a 30 and the lowest is a zero.

In 1984, construction worker and poet Marc Smith started a poetry reading at a Chicago jazz club,
the Get Me High lounge, looking for a way to breathe life into the open mike format. The series, and its
emphasis on performance, laid the groundwork for the brand of poetry that would eventually be exhibited
in slam.

In 1986, Smith approached Dave Jemilo, the owner of the Green Mill (a Chicago jazz club and former
haunt of Al Capone), with a plan to host a weekly poetry competition on Sunday nights. Jemilo welcomed
him, and the Uptown Poetry Slam was born on July 25 of that year. Smith drew on baseball and bridge
terminology for the name, and instituted the basic features of the competition, including judges chosen from
the audience and cash prizes for the winner. The Green Mill evolved into a Mecca for performance poets,
and the Uptown Poetry Slam continues to run every Sunday night.

Former Asheville, N.C. slam master Allan Wolf coined the phrase, “The points are not the point; the
point is poetry” prior to the 1994 National Poetry Slam in Asheville. The phrase has become a mantra of
sorts, reminding poets and organizers that the goal of slam is to grow poetry’s audience.
 New York City poet Taylor Mali, a member of multiple championship teams, has modified the motto
to read, “The points are not the point; the point is to get more points than anyone else,” but we’re pretty
sure he’s got his tongue planted firmly in cheek when he says that.

Spoken Word Poetry

Spoken word is an oral art that focuses on the aesthetics of word play and intonation and voice
inflection. It is a 'catchall' that includes any kind of poetry recited aloud, including hip-hop, jazz poetry,
poetry slams, traditional poetry readings and can include comedy routines and 'prose monologues'

Performance Poetry

Performance poetry is poetry that is specifically composed for or during a performance before an
audience. During the 1980s, the term came into popular usage to describe poetry written or composed for
performance rather than print distribution.

Elements of Poetry

Poetry, just like fiction, has different elements. In analyzing a poem, the reader must be familiar
with these elements.

Voice means the speaker in a poem. This is often referred to as persona. Sometimes, however, the
voice in the poem is not that of a person. It can be the voice of a mountain or a fish or any non-human being
or thing. Even inanimate objects can speak in poetry. “When we hear or read a poem, we hear a speaker’s
voice. It is this voice that conveys the poem’s tone, its implied attitude toward its subject. Tone is an
abstraction we make from the details and exclusion of other kinds; particular choices of words and sentence
pattern, of imagery and figurative language.” (Di Yanni, 1994).

Diction may be defined, as Samuel Taylor Coleridge puts it, as “the best words in the best order.”
It also refers to the author’s choice and use of words in the poem. To understand a poem one must know not
only what the words mean but also what they imply or suggest. Both denotation and connotation of words
must be considered. “Poets use words that convey feelings and indirectly imply ideas rather than state them
outright. They choose a particular word because it suggests what they want to suggest” (Di Yanni)

Imagery refers to the words that are used to describe things in a poem. It is “the element that
produces the effect of vividness … the result of the evocation of mental reproductions, representations, or
imitations of sense of perceptions”.

Figures of Speech. “Language can be conveniently classified as either literal or figurative. When
we speak literally, we mean exactly what each word conveys; when we use figurative language we mean
something other than the actual meanings of the words.” Figures of Speech are expressions or ways of
using words in a nonliteral sense. These are rhetorical devices used by poets in order to evoke imagery.
Rhetoricians have catalogued more than 250 different figures of speech, which include the following:

1. Simile: a comparison of two persons or things which are unlike in most respects; uses like or as
to signal comparison.

Example: “The boat, like some full-breasted swan …”

2. Metaphor: an implied comparison between two persons or things which are unlike in most
respects; does not use like or as.

Example: “My soul is an enchanted boat.”

3. Personification: the transfer of human characteristics to inanimate objects or abstract

qualities.

Example: “Where wasteful time debateth with decay.”

4. Metonymy: the use of one word for another which suggests it.

Example: “The chair presided over the meeting.”

5. Synecdoche: the use of a

part to suggest the whole.
Example: “The factory needs two thousand hands.”

6. Hyperbole: a statement greatly exaggerated for an aesthetic purpose.

Example: “My heart has turned to stone.”

7. Alliteration: the repetition of an initial letter or sound.

Example: “His scepter stretched from the shore to sea.”

8. Assonance: the repetition of vowel sounds within the words.

Example: “The rain in Spain stays mainly on the plain.”

9. Onomatopoeia: the blending of sounds of words with their sense.

Example: “Hear the sledges with the bells,

Silver bells!
What a world of merriment their melody foretells!
How they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle.”

10. Litotes: affirms something by denying its opposite.

Example: “He is not a bad singer.”

11. Apostrophe: addressing absent persons or ideas directly as if they were present.

Example: “Oh, Liberty! How many crimes have been committed in thy name?”

12. Antithesis: a studied contrast of ideas.

Example: “He had no wit, no humor, no eloquence, and yet his writings are likely to be read
as long as the English language exists.”

13. Parable: an extended or elaborate simile.

 14. Allusion: a reference to something outside the poem (in history, mythology or another literary
work) which has built-in emotional association.

Example: “Was this the face that launch’d a thousand ships,

And burnt the topless tower of Ilium?”
--- from Dr. Faustus by Christopher Marlowe

15. Meiosis: (or understatement) consciously underrating something or portraying it as lesser than
it is usually thought to be.

Example: “Being flayed alive is somewhat painful.”

16. Irony: a means of expressing which suggests (humorously or angrily) a different meaning of the
words used.

Example: “He sees no light and therefore cannot fall.”

17. Oxymoron: a combination of contrasts to show a particular image with a striking effect.

Example: “darkness visible” – from Book I of “Paradise Lost” by John Milton

18. Periphrasis: (or circumlocution) deliberate avoidance of the obvious; it circles its subject and
refuses to go straight to the point.

19. Hyperbaton: rearrangement of sentence elements for special effects.

20. Prolepsis: foreshadowing of a future event as if it were already influencing the present.

Symbolism and Allegory. “A symbol is any object or action that means more than itself, any object
or action that represents something beyond itself” (Di Yanni, 1994). A heart shape or the roses are symbols
of love. The dove is a symbol of peace or of the Holy Spirit. The sun is traditionally conceived as a symbol
of man whereas the moon stands for the woman. These are examples of objects and their conventional
meanings or representations. In poetry, objects can be used to symbolize something other their conventional
meanings. Or the poet may choose fresh images, that is, use new objects that have never been conceived of
to represent that particular person, thing or idea. An example is Alfred Lord Tennyson’s use of “sinking
star” to represent knowledge in his poem “Ulysses”. Another example is John Donne’s use of the image of
“compass” to symbolize his relationship with his wife in the poem “A Valediction Forbidding Mourning”.

“Allegory is the more or less extended use of metaphor, symbol, or personification for the purpose
of communicating indirectly a hidden meaning – often a veiled personal identity, political opinion, or
religious or moral doctrine” (Long, 1937).

Syntax is “the order of words in the sentence, phrase, or clause.” It comes from a Greek word
meaning “to arrange together.” Syntax refers to grammatical structure of words in sentences (or lines, as
is the case of poetry) and the development of sentences in longer units throughout the poem. In poetry,
syntax is used to express meaning and convey feeling. A poem’s syntax is an important element of its tone
and a guide to the speaker’s state of mind (Di Yanni, 1994)
 Sound in a poem has something to do with the creative use of a concentrated blend of phonetics and
poetics; of the creative manipulation of the sound element of the lines which improve the overall figurative
effect of the poem.

Sound Devices

Sound devices are resources used by poets to convey and reinforce the meaning or experience of
poetry through the skillful use of sound. The words and their order should evoke images, and the words
themselves have sounds, which can reinforce or otherwise clarify those images. All in all, the poet is trying
to get you, the reader, to sense a particular thing, and the use of sound devices are some of the poet’s tools.

Accent refers to the rhythmically significant stress in the articulation of words, giving some
syllables more relative prominence than others. In words of two or more syllables, one syllable is almost
invariably stressed more strongly than the other syllables. The words in a line of poetry are usually
arranged so the accents occur at regular intervals, with the meter defined by the placement of the accents
within the foot. Accent should not be construed as emphasis.

Alliteration, also called head rhyme or initial rhyme, is the repetition of the initial sounds (usually
consonants) of stressed syllables in neighboring words or at short intervals within a line or passage, usually
at word beginnings, as in "wild and woolly" or the line from the poem, Darkness Lost: From somewhere far
beyond, the flag of fate's caprice unfurled.

Assonance is the relatively close juxtaposition of the same or similar vowel sounds, but with
different end consonants in a line or passage, thus a vowel rhyme, as in the words, date and fade.

Consonance is referred to as the pleasing combination of sounds; sounds in agreement with tone.
Also, the repetition of the same end consonants of words such as boat and night within or at the end of a
line, or the words, cool and soul, as used by Emily Dickinson in the third stanza of He Fumbles at your
Spirit.

Cacophony (cack-AH-fun-ee) is the discordant sounds in the jarring juxtaposition of harsh letters
or syllables, sometimes inadvertent, but often deliberately used in poetry for effect, as in the opening line
of Fences: Crawling, sprawling, breaching spokes of stone.

Sidelight: Sound devices are important to poetic effects; to create sounds appropriate to the content, the poet
may sometimes prefer to achieve a cacophonous effect instead of the more commonly sought-for euphony. The
use of words with the consonants b, k and p, for example, produce harsher sounds than the soft f and v or
the liquid l, m and n.

Euphony (YOO-fuh-nee) refers to the harmony or beauty of sound that provides a pleasing effect to
the ear, usually sought-for in poetry for effect. It is achieved not only by the selection of individual word-
sounds, but also by their relationship in the repetition, proximity, and flow of sound patterns.

Internal Rhyme, also called middle rhyme, a rhyme occurring within the line, as in the poem, The
Matador: His childhood fraught with lessons taught by want and misery.

Meter is the measure of rhythmic quantity, the organized succession of groups of syllables at
basically regular intervals in a line of poetry, according to definite metrical patterns. In classic Greek and
Latin versification, meter depended on the way long and short syllables were arranged to succeed one
another, but in English the distinction is between accented and unaccented syllables. The unit of meter is
the foot. Metrical lines are named for the constituent foot and for the number of feet in the line: monometer
(1), dimeter (2), trimeter (3), tetrameter (4), pentameter (5), hexameter (6), heptameter (7) and octameter
(8); thus, a line containing five iambic feet, for example, would be called iambic pentameter. Rarely does a
metrical line exceed six feet. Although, of course, in modern free verse, meter has become either irregular
or non-existent.

Near Rhyme, also called slant rhyme, off rhyme, imperfect rhyme or half rhyme, a rhyme in which
the sounds are similar, but not exact, as in home and come or close and lose.

Sidelight: Due to changes in pronunciation, some near rhymes in modern English were perfect rhymes when
they were originally written in old English.

Onomatopoeia (ahn-uh-mah-tuh-PEE-uh), strictly speaking, is the formation or use of words

which imitate sounds, like whispering, clang and sizzle, but the term is generally expanded to refer to any
word whose sound is suggestive of its meaning.

Sidelight: Though impossible to prove, some philologists (linguistic scientists) believe that all language
originated through the onomatopoeic formation of words.

Rhyme, in the specific sense, a type of echoing which utilizes a correspondence of sound in the final
accented vowels and all that follows of two or more words, but the preceding consonant sounds must differ,
as in the words, bear and care. In a poetic sense, however, rhyme refers to a close similarity of sound as
well as an exact correspondence; it includes the agreement of vowel sounds in assonance and the repetition
of consonant sounds in consonance and alliteration. Differences as well as identity in sound echoes between
words contribute to the euphonic effect, stimulate intellectual appreciation, provide a powerful mnemonic
device, and serve to unify a poem. Terms like near rhyme, half rhyme, and perfect rhyme function to
distinguish between the types of rhyme without prejudicial intent and should not be interpreted as
expressions of value. Usually, but not always, rhymes occur at the ends of lines.

“The most familiar element of poetry is rhyme, which can be defined as the matching of final vowel
and consonant sounds in two or more words” (DiYanni, 1994). Rhyme is also more commonly known as
ending two or more lines in poetry with words that sound alike.

There are different types of rhyme:

a. Perfect or exact rhyme: occurs when differing consonant sounds are followed by identical stressed
vowel sounds. It involves identity of sound, not spelling.

Example: foe – toe

b. Half-rhyme (or slant-rhyme, approximate rhyme, near-rhyme, off-rhyme): only the final
consonant sounds of the rhyming words are identical; the stressed vowel sounds as well as the
initial consonant sounds differ.

Example: soul – oil, mirth – fourth

c. Eye-rhyme (or visual rhyme): doesn’t really rhyme, it merely looks like rhyme.

Example: cough – bough

 d. Rime riche words that sound exactly the same but have different spellings and meanings.

Example: Knight – night

e. Historical rhyme: rhyme that was perfect when the poem was written but because of changes in
pronunciation, is no longer so. The General Prologue of Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury
Tales is an example of this.

f. Masculine rhyme: the final syllables are stressed, and after their differing consonant sounds, are
identical in sounds.

Example: stark – mark; support – retort

g. Feminine rhyme (or double rhyme): stressed rhyming syllables are followed by identical
unstressed syllables.

Example: revival – arrival

h. Triple rhyme: a kind of feminine rhyme in which identical stressed vowel sounds are followed by
two identical unstressed syllables.

Example: machinery – scenery

i. End-rhyme (or terminal rhyme): corresponding sounds occur at the end of lines.

Example (from “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe):

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,

Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore –
While I nodded nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,

As of someone gently rapping at my chamber door.

“Tis some visitor,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door –
Only this and nothing more.”

j. Internal rhyme: corresponding sounds occur within lines. (See above example.)

k. Beginning rhyme: the first word or syllable rhymes in two or more lines.

Rhythm and Meter. Rhythm is an essential of all poetry, the regular or progressive pattern of
recurrent accents in the flow of a poem as determined by the rise and fall of stress. The measure of rhythmic
quantity is the meter. It is the pulse or beat we feel in a phrase of music or a line of poetry. We derive our
sense of rhythm from everyday life and from our experience with language and music. Poets rely, heavily
on rhythm to express and convey feeling.” (Di Yanni, 1994). Consider the rhythm in the following poem
(“The Sun Rising”) in which the poet John Donne puts words together in a pattern of stressed and
unstressed syllables:

BUsy old FOOL, unRULy SUN

WHY DOST THOU THUS
Through WINdows, and through CURtains, CALL on US?
Sidelight: A rhythmic pattern in which the stress falls on the final syllable of each foot, as in the iamb or
anapest, is called a rising or ascending rhythm; a rhythmic pattern with the stress occurring on the first
syllable of each foot, as in the dactyl or trochee, is a falling or descending rhythm.

Meter may be simply defined as the number of stressed and unstressed syllables in one poetic foot.
It is a count of the stresses we feel in the poem’s rhythm. By convention the unit of poetic meter in English
is the foot, a unit of measure consisting of stressed and unstressed syllables. A poetic foot may be either
iambic or trochaic, anapestic or dactylic. An iambic line is composed primarily of iambs, an iamb being
defined as an unaccented syllable followed by an accented and unaccented syllables we get a trochee, which
is an accented syllable followed by an unaccented one, as in ‘FOOTball’ or ‘LIqour.’ We can represent an

accented syllable by a (‘) and an unaccented syllable by a (ˇ): thus, prevent (ˇ’) an iamb, and liquor (‘ˇ), a
trochee. Because both iambic and trochaic feet contain two syllables per foot, they are called duple (or
double) meters. These duple meters can be distinguished from triple meters (three-syllable meters) like

anapestic and dactylic meters. An anapest (ˇˇ’) consists of two unaccented syllables followed by an accented
one as in compreHEND or interVENE. A dactyl reverses the anapest, beginning with an accented syllable

followed by two unaccented one (‘ˇˇ). DANgerous and CHEERfully are examples. So is the word
ANanpest (Di Yanni, 1994).

The following points about poetic meter must also be noted:

1. First, anapestic (ˇˇ’) and iambic (ˇ’) meters move from an unstressed syllable to a stressed one.

These are called rising meters because they “rise” to the stressed syllable. Trochaic (‘ ˇ) and

dactylic (‘ˇˇ) meters, on the other hand, are said to be falling meters because they begin with a
stressed syllable and decline in pitch and emphasis.

2. Second, the regularity of a poem’s meter is not flexible. Two accented syllables together is called
a spondee (KNICK-KNACK); two unaccented ones, a pyrrhic (of the). Both spondaic and pyrrhic
feet serve as substitute feet for iambic and trochaic feet.

3. Third, names are given to lines of poetry based on the number of feet they contain. For example,
Robert Frost’s poem “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” consists of eight-syllable or

octosyllabic lines. Since the meter is iambic (ˇ’) with two syllables per foot, the line contains four
iambic feet and is hence called tetrameter line (from the Greek word for four). Thus Frost’s poem
is written in iambic tetrameter. For reference, look at the following stanza from the
aforementioned poem.

Thĕ wood / ăre love / lў, dárk / ănd déep./

But I / hăve pro / mĭses / tŏ kéep,

Ănd mĭles / tŏ gó / bĕfóre / Ĭ sléep,

Ănd míles / tŏ gó / bĕfóre / Ĭ sleép.

Five-foot lines, on the other hand, are named pentameters (from the Greek “penta” for five). An
example is Shakespeare’s sonnet “That time of year thou may’st in me behold,” which is in iambic
pentameter.
 Here is a chart of the various meters and poetic feet (Di Yanni, 1994).

FOOT METER EXAMPLE

iamb iambic prevent
Rising or Ascending Feet anapest anapestic comprehend
trochee trochaic football
Falling or Descending Feet dactyl dactylic cheerfully
spondee spondaic knick-knack
Substitute Feet pyrrhic pyrrhic (light) of the (world)

Duple Meters: two syllables per foot: iambic and trochaic

Triple Meters: three syllables per foot: anapestic and dactylic

Number of feet per line

one foot monometer five feet pentameter

two feet dimeter six feet hexameter
three feet trimeter seven feet heptameter
four feet tetrameter eight feet octameter

Structure: Closed Form and Open Form. “When we analyze a poem’s structure,
l (a we focus on its patterns of organization. Form exist in poems on many levels from patterns
of sound and image to structures of syntax and of thought; it is as much a matter of phrase
and line as of stanza and whole poem” (Di Yanni, 1994). Poems can follow a closed or fixed
form or an open or free form. The sonnet (a fourteen-line poem usually written in iambic
l (a pentameter) is an example of the fixed form. The following poem of E.E. Cummings is an
example of the free form:

le

af Poetic Vision is commonly known as the message or underlying philosophy. It is an

“abstraction or generalization drawn from the details of a literary work … it also refers to
fa an idea or intellectually apprehensible meaning inherent and implicit in a work” (Di Yanni,
1994).

ll Poems can have multiple themes. They can be interpreted from more than one
perspective or using different approach. Theories in literary provide us with more than one
s)
way of explaining a poem’s meaning. However, to get the central idea of a poem one must
read carefully and look closely at the poem. This requires great attention and meditation.
one
Finally, the purpose of centering on a poem’s theme is to work “toward understanding a
l poem’s significance – what it says, what it implies, what it means.” When this purpose is
achieved, then and only then can we have that which we call “significant human
iness experience.”

ESOL Department, School of the Arts

College of Arts and Sciences-Undergraduate Studies

(Revision of the notes originally prepared by MRS. LYSTER T. RAMOS, MA)