Understanding & Enjoying Poetry
Poetry can be defined or described as compacted writing that evokes a strong emotional response in the reader/listener. This emotional response gives them an opportunity to view the world in a unique way or consider an idea from a new vantage point. Poetry accomplishes this by the use of vivid sensory detail and various poetic devices (techniques). These devices compress complex ideas into a few words that can create strong emotions in the intended audience.
Unlike novels or short stories, which consist of a series of events leading to a resolution, poems often focus on a single moment. The poet holds the audience's attention on this moment emphasizing the emotional impact of this event or situation. Using a variety of poetic devices, the poet then creates connections that can surprise the reader and force him to re-exam his beliefs and values. The reader may end up seeing the world in a new way as a result of sharing in the experience of a single moment through the art of the poem.
Poetic Devices & Forms
GLOSSARY OF POETIC TERMS from Bob's Byway (A Unique Guide for the Study of Poetry).
LITERARY DEVICES & Poetic Techniques USED BY SHAKESPEARE
Poetry Online
Representative Poetry Online : version 3.0, includes about 2,900 English poems by over 400 poets from Caedmon, in the Old English period, to the work of living poets today. It is based on Representative Poetry, established by Professor W. J. Alexander of University College, University of Toronto, in 1912 (one of the first books published by the University of Toronto Press), and used in the English Department at the University until the late 1960s.
PoetryPoetry - a web site dedicated to audio poetry. The poems on PoetryPoetry are pre-recorded readings by the original artists
300 Tang Poems In Chinese literature, the Tang period (618-907) is considered the golden age of Chinese poetry. Tang Shi San Bai Shou [300 Tang Poems] is a compilation of poems from this period made around 1763 by Heng-tang-tui-shi [Sun Zhu] of the Qing dynasty.
