Basics of English poetry

[Shakthiprabha.]

LEt us try and learn some basic terms which may be used
while we attempt writing a poetry.

I invite fellow hubber and friend, QUERIDA to be an active participant here, to educate us to know better, develop finer tastes for poetries.

I invite all poets wellversed in ENGLISH POETRIES to enlighten us with their knowledge and share their peace of work here AND TO DISCUSS about it.

[Shakthiprabha.]

I shall post some terms(glossary) now which may be USEFUL in understanding AND APPRECIATING some OLDEN ERA'S WORKS TOO

Lets take it step by step.

Alexandrine
A line of poetry that has 12 syllables. The name probably comes from a medieval romance about Alexander the Great that was written in 12-syllable lines.

Alliteration
The repetition of the same or similar sounds at the beginning of words. Some famous examples of alliteration are tongue twisters such as She sells seashells by the seashore and Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

Lets share some examples if we can.

Else tommorrow we shall POST GLOSSARY (anybody else who is well versed PLEASE FEEL FREE to use this thread and EDUCATE US)

[Designer]

SP : thnx for the invite, but I am not well versed with such methods used in writing poetry, except that some poems are rhyming and others are not. :) But am glad to see a topic like this where novices like me can learn from others about forms of poetry. :)

[Shakthiprabha.]

Same pinch.

Its just a joint effort to learn :)

Lets make it happen.

Alliteration says...

rhyming of first syllable of every world

Can u try any on ur own?

[Designer]

.
SP : I am copying below one such poem posted at my thread 'Whiplashes' :).

FATE :

Fate is a fishy fellow,
with fickle fingers
not foolish fancies.
his wanton whims
wipe out wondrous joys
wasting them
with whiplash of worries.

.

[Shakthiprabha.]

:)

good

Ive read it as ur sig :)

would visit ur thread soon

[sundararaj]

Congrats for the new thread on the basics of Eng poetry. At the moment, I am struggling to learn the basics of thamizh poetry.

[Shakthiprabha.]

Sundarraj,

If u feel we need one for learning tamizh, PLEASE START ONE THREAD, some other proficient poets may come to help us out

[Shakthiprabha.]

Journey
______

Beastly bashes broke him bare
Bent and bowed with broken back
Games of life had left him sore,
couldn't ask for anything more.
Cluelessly clandestine is destiny's catch
which left him no nuts to crack.
Yes, he weathered well with skimpy whines
smiles and gaiety all went fine
yet, sat alone at night to pine.


(just tried this now, for using little ALLITERATION :oops: )

[Designer]

SP : very well written :thumbsup: , btw i am a bit partial to Alliteration and Rhyming :)

[Shakthiprabha.]

hehe thanks :oops:

btw, me 2 :D

[Designer]

hehe thanks :oops:

btw, me 2 :D

no mention SP !!

[Designer]

.
Here's one more alliterative poem :

NOW

Rapid ravishes raced through his life
diseases, deaths, damsels & devils
eager to effect effervescent evils
Ad nauseum, ad infinitum
recurring whorls of this world
but God's gift of grace & guidance
shone on shambled & shackled shores
brightening life with living light
rescueing, repleneshing, rejenuvating
speaking soothing sounds
those pearls of wisdom
more than earls in a kingdom
will they only be seldom ?

[Tia]

wow! the poems are amazing!

i wish i could write poems like that :oops:

[Tia]

can anyone here write a sonnet? :D

i'v wrote one sonnet for skl but its like the worst one ever! shakespear would strangle/haunt me if he read it as a ghost :roll:

[Wibha]

sonnet-a :yessir:

poems r one of the few things in the world i can never understand :oops:

i SUCK at poertry and sonnets :ashamed:

cha whoever rote poems :hammer:

[pavalamani pragasam]

:lol:
One man's meat is another man's poison!

[madhu]

:lol:
One man's meat is another man's poison!

:notthatway:

we are purrre vegetarians :noteeth:

[Wibha]

:lol:
One man's meat is another man's poison!

:notthatway:

we are purrre vegetarians :noteeth:

:lol: :yes:

[pavalamani pragasam]

ayyE! ethukku intha Ottaippal sirippu? :rotfl2:

'meat' is short for 'sweetmeat' which in the dictionary means=piece of sweet-tasting food(usu. made of sugar or chocolate); fruit preserved in sugar.

aamaa, theriyaathavangkaLukkuththaanE viLakkaNum? :confused2:

ennai maathiri EV-yai Ottuvathu alwaa saappiduvathu maathiri? :lol:

[Shakthiprabha.]

I thought we can talk bout basic terms in alphabetical order.

Since the talk is now shifted to SONNET.

LEts c what a sonnet is!

Sonnet

A lyric poem that is 14 lines long.

Italian (or Petrarchan) sonnets are divided into two quatrains and a six-line "sestet," with the rhyme scheme abba abba cdecde (or cdcdcd).

English (or Shakespearean) sonnets are composed of three quatrains and a final couplet, with a rhyme scheme of abab cdcd efef gg. English sonnets are written generally in iambic pentameter.
:|

14 lines anyone wanna try :D

[Designer]

WANNA TRY ?

she asked anyone wanna try
so i begin without a cry
a few thoughts to fry
some garnishing wry
but dont say oh my my
i warned you didnt i ?
rhyming is my crime
more worth than a dime
am not gonna pay a fine
but if the judge is gonna pine
here are my five pence and nine
this is my first sonnet
not my bee in the bonnet
and not equal to a Monnet !

[Shakthiprabha.]

This is not a sonnet des (as far as IVe understood :? )

it should rhyme the foll way

a
b
a
b

c
d
c
d

e
f
e
f

g
g

[Designer]

PL : well, maybe others can clarify more. i will try again after they do :)

[Shakthiprabha.]

yeah... I am sorry if i am wrong but thats what ive understood.

Did u write that :D

its good :D

[Designer]

yeah... I am sorry if i am wrong but thats what ive understood.

Did u write that :D

its good :D

PL : its ok. and ya i wrote it just now, thnx :D

[Wibha]

talking bout sonnets....

please help me by explaining IAMBIC PENTAMETER

and i think basics v should put up all the Literary Devices.......mainly Figurative Language

[Tia]

iambic pentameter is the natural way in which we speak isn't it? wel...the syllables are....

cant really believe shakespear wrote more than 100 or so sonnets....:shock: have to read them one by one every english lesson :cry:

unstressed - stressed - unstressed - stressed - unstressed - stressed - unstressed - stressed - unstressed - stressed

[Tia]

and oh yahh...also the last two lines (gg) summarise or give an ending to the whole poem....

[Shakthiprabha.]

iamb

A metrical foot of two syllables, one short (or unstressed) and one long (or stressed). There are four iambs in the line “Come live/ with me/ and be/ my love,” from a poem by Christopher Marlowe. (The stressed syllables are in bold.)

tia is right.

iambic pentameter

A type of meter in poetry, in which there are five iambs to a line. (The prefix penta- means “five,” as in pentagon, a geometrical figure with five sides. Meter refers to rhythmic units. In a line of iambic pentameter, there are five rhythmic units that are iambs.) Shakespeare's plays were written mostly in iambic pentameter, which is the most common type of meter in English poetry. An example of an iambic pentameter line from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is “But soft!/ What light/ through yon/der win/dow breaks?” Another, from Richard III, is “A horse!/ A horse!/ My king/dom for/ a horse!” (The stressed syllables are in bold.)

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It all depends on HOW WE PRONOUNCE AND WHERE WE STRESS AINT NOT? :? :? :confused2:

tia,

I did not get u regarding 'gg' finishing the whole poem :?

[Tia]

you know the rhyming couplet gg at the end as you posted...ababcdcdefefGG.....gg lines summarise the ending of the poemm....so its like an ending to the whole poem ......a solution or endinggg....i dunno how to explain it :S

[Shakthiprabha.]

ah ! I think I got u now :)

[Tia]

:D kewl!

[sundararaj]

:clap: :clap: Good goin indeed. :clap: :clap:

[Wibha]

This is not a sonnet des (as far as IVe understood :? )

it should rhyme the foll way

a
b
a
b

c
d
c
d

e
f
e
f

g
g

Only Shakespearean or Italian sonnets have a particular rhyme scheme. A poem with 14 lines (usually a love poem) can be considered a sonnet.

the Italian sonnet has a different rhyme scheme
abba abba cdecde.

[sarna_blr]

great thread :clap: :clap:

[Querida]

I feel so embarrassed...you have mentioned my name and yet i am not here for you...please forgive me for this horrendously late appearence :ashamed: :sigh2: :oops:

Alliteration is an addictive instrument...and you find it popping up in your everyday speech and writing...to the point that when you sit down to write something more to heart...your alliterative troll jumps to attention and starts singing off his at the moment painfully unwanted suggestions:

such as when thinking of the
pain that you wish to express
you understand it pricks and panics
and sends pinching pecks of pulsating
paralysis and yet that is not what you
want to say.

I have to confess when it comes to metres and sonnets...i run for the wavering, untamed hills! I only know to read them and dissect them...all of which makes for interesting chat or over analytical drivel.

There is one humble question I want to ask...is this thread to help others write poetry or to understand how poetry has been written and what tools have and can be employed?

Either we can discuss the rules and traditions that have been used or we can introduce different tools or avenues as i like to think of them to enrich our own writing.

[P_R]

There is one humble question I want to ask...is this thread to help others write poetry or to understand how poetry has been written and what tools have and can be employed?

The second first and the first next :-)

[P_R]

This is not a sonnet des (as far as IVe understood :? )

it should rhyme the foll way

a
b
a
b

c
d
c
d

e
f
e
f

g
g

is that the only rule ?

Friday night I dream of two
Unfettered days that's called weekend
The week was sold for bread and brew
Now all the time is mine to spend

Seductive unread pile of books
(The read pile is a sandclenched fist)
Spring cleaning due the house it looks
Other errands from my mother's list

Unnanounced aunts just happen to drop in
Liberty with my plans they take
'Read later now come with us shopping
He can wait that William Blake'

Possessive pronouns for Time is a blunder
We exist together and not asunder