Examples Of Tone In Poetry
Poetry is a compact language that expresses complex feelings. To understand the multiple meanings of a poem, readers must examine its words and phrasing from the perspectives of rhythm, sound, images, obvious meaning, and implied meaning. Readers then need to organize responses to the verse into a logical, point-by-point explanation.
Tone In Poetry Poem
A good beginning involves asking questions that apply to most poetry.Context of the PoemClear answers to the following questions can help establish the context of a poem and form the foundation of understanding:. Who wrote the poem? Does the poet's life suggest any special point of view, such as a political affiliation, religious sect, career interest, musical talent, family or personal problems, travel, or handicap — for example, H. S feminism, Amiri Baraka's radicalism, T. Eliot's conversion to Anglicanism, William Carlos Williams' career as a physician, A. Ammons' training in chemistry, Amy Lowell's aristocratic background, John Berryman's alcoholism, or Hart Crane's homosexuality?.
When was the poem written and in what country? Knowing something about the poet's life, times, and culture helps readers understand what's in a poem and why. Does the poem appear in the original language?
Examples Of Tone In Poetry Language
If not, readers should consider that translation can alter the language and meaning of a poem. Is the poem part of a special collection or series? Examples of such series and collections include Edna St. Vincent Millay's sonnets, Carl Sandburg's Chicago Poems, or Rita Dove's triad, 'Adolescence — I, II, and III.' .
Does the poem belong to a particular period or literary movement? For example, does the poem relate to imagism, confessional verse, the Beat movement, the Harlem Renaissance, the Civil Rights era, the American Indian renaissance, or feminism?Style of the PoemInto what category does the poem fit — for example, Carl Sandburg's imagism in 'Fog' or Gwendolyn Brooks' epic 'The Anniad'? Readers should apply definitions of the many categories to determine which describes the poem's length and style:. Is it an epic, a long poem about a great person or national hero?. Is it a lyric, a short, musical verse?. Is it a narrative, a poem that tells a story?. Is it a haiku, an intense, lyrical three-line verse of seventeen syllables?.
Is it confessional? For example, does it examine personal memories and experiences?Title of the Poem.
Is the title's meaning obvious? For example, does it mention a single setting and action, such as W. Merwin's 'The Drunk in the Furnace' or James A. Wright's 'Autumn Begins in Martins Ferry, Ohio'?. Does it imply multiple possibilities? For example, Jean Toomer's 'Georgia Dusk,' which refers to a time of day as well as to dark-skinned people.
Does it strike a balance, as in Rita Dove's 'Beulah and Thomas'?. Is there an obvious antithesis, as with Robert Frost's 'Fire and Ice'?. Is there historical significance to the title? For example, Robert Lowell's 'The Quaker Graveyard in Nantucket.' Repetition in the PoemReaders should read through a poem several times, at least once aloud.
A woman once rushed up to Rachmaninov after a performance of his famous C sharp minor Prelude. Did he not think that the music portrayed a man who, discovering that he’s been buried alive, struggles to escape from his coffin, reaches a frenzy of despair, then falls back in resignation to await his end?Rachmaninov thought for a moment, then replied, ‘No’.Hearing that story the first time I laughed dutifully. But surely there have been times when many of us have felt a similar perplexity? That Prelude not only evokes powerful feelings, it does so in a sequence that cries out for more than abstract formal explanation.The tone poem, or symphonic poem, is a work that wholeheartedly acknowledges that need. It has a title that suggests a storyline, or at least a mood-sequence, with perhaps a helpful literary or pictorial parallel: Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet, Liszt’s Tasso: Lament and Triumph and Rachmaninov’s own Isle of the Dead are classic examples.The tone poem as a form is an invention of the Romantic era.