● Open form: free; no traditional or specific patterns. When looking at an open form poem, the reader must consider the reasons as to why a specific rhyme or rhythm was created.
● Closed form: structured; has specific rules and patterns. Specific poetic structures may repeat throughout the poem.
○ Examples: haiku, tanka, limerick, villanelle
● “Paint a picture with words.”
● Imagery: a type of figurative language that affects the senses of a reader
● This allows the poet or author to provide the reader with internal emotions while reading the literature piece.
● Details that are vivid and descriptive helps bring the work to life
● In poetry, imagery is not only visual images, but the emotions and sensations that the reader is able to experience both mentally and physically
○ Visual imagery: poet appeals to the reader’s sense of sight by describing something they are able to see
■ Colors, brightness, shapes, sizes, patterns
■ Usually in the form of a metaphor, simile, or personification
○ Auditory imagery: poet appeals to the reader’s sense of hearing by including music or other sounds that are pleasant, unpleasant, or silent
■ Usually in the form of onomatopoeia or intimate sounds
○ Gustatory imagery: poet appeals to the reader’s sense of taste by describing something they can taste
■ Sweet, sour, salty, savory, spicy
○ Tactile imagery: poet appeals to the reader’s sense of touch by describing something the speaker of the poem feels
■ Temperatures, textures, etc.
○ Olfactory imagery: poet appeals to the reader’s sense of smell by describing something the speaker inhales
■ Pleasant or unpleasant fragrances/odors
○ Kinesthetic imagery: poet appeals to the reader’s sense of motion
■ Speeding in a vehicle, walking slowly, sudden stop
○ Organic imagery: poet describes internal sensations
■ Fatigue, hunger, thirst, love, fear, despair
● Figure of speech that exaggerates ideas to emphasis on something deeply; exaggeration
○ Example: “It has been ages since I last saw you.”
● Hyperbole has a sort of humorous effect
○ By using a hyperbole in literature, a poet or writer is able to make common feelings and emotions intense, that they no longer seem ordinary.
○ A contrast is developed between a thing that is described normally and another thing that is over exaggerated.
○ Grabs the reader’s attention
● Allusion: when an author or power references something external to their work
○ Historical: allusion to a historical event/period
○ Mythological: allusion to a mythological figure/story
○ Literary: allusion to a literary work
○ Religious: allusion to religious text or figure
■ Biblical allusion: reference within a literary work that is related to the Bible
● Uses stories, characters, places, and motifs from the Bible
● Culture is often influenced heavily by its dominant religious system
○ Writers will include values of the religion in their work
● Religious values show themselves in connection with the individual’s role within society.
■ Christ Figure:
● A character that has characteristics that are similar to Jesus Christ.
○ For instance, if a character in a story is powerful and “rebels” against the norms of their society in order to reveal the greater good, and they lead others in a fair manner; this character can be connected to Jesus, making them a Christ figure in the story.
● A comparison between two different or opposite things that continue throughout sentences or lines in a poem.