Characteristics of Poetry

Introduction:

Poetry is the expression of an imagination in a rhythmic form. Carlyle says ‘Poetry is not merely a criticism of life; it is the very truth of life’. Swinburne says ‘Poetry is the voice of man’s soul’.

Broadly speaking, poetry can be brought under two headings, Subjective and Objective poetry. Subjects which are supplied by the poet’s own thoughts and feelings become subjective poetry. In here the poet brings his own reflections on what he has seen or heard. On the other hand the subject matter supplied by external objects such as events and the things we see around us gives rise to objective poetry. In this case, the poet functions as an objective observer, describing what he has seen or heard. The poet may then be viewing it from outside, confining it to its external structure. The treatment becomes objective. Where as if he views it from within giving expression to their thoughts and feelings it arouses in his mind, the treatment is subjective. Hence the same subject can be treated in an objective or subjective manner. Subjective poetry is personal where as Objective poetry is impersonal, often narrative and descriptive. The poems ‘Youth and Age’ by Shakespeare and Coleridge demonstrate the example of Subjective and Objective poetry.

Crabbed Age and Youth

Cannot live together:

Youth is full of pleasance,

Age is full of care;

Youth like summer morn,

Age like winter weather,

Youth like summer brave,

Age like winter bare:

Youth is full of sport,

Age’s breath is short,

Youth is nimble, Age is lame:

Youth is hot and bold,

Age is weak and cold,

Youth is wild, and Age is tame.

                                                     Shakespeare.

 Shakespeare’s poem is objective, stating a plain fact, where as Coleridge’s poem ‘Youth and old Age’ which is prescribed for your study is, Subjective, Which contains an expression of personal feeling on the subject.(Refer to Coleridge’s poem ‘Youth and old Age’ in the section-Romantic poets, Coleridge.)

Poetry has many different forms such as lyric, Ode, Sonnet, Elegy, Idyll, Epic, Ballad, and Satire.

Lyric poetry is used to denote personal poetry. The subject matter could vary but the deep emotion and the manner in which the emotion is rendered must be harmonious (musical) and vivid. We see this in the example of Herrick’s ‘To Blossoms’.

Ode is a lyric in the form of an address, dignified and exalted in subject matter and style. Look at Keats’s ‘Ode to a Nightingale’ as an example.

Elegy includes all utterances of personal sorrow to speak about sorrow as a memorial to a great person. Please see Milton’s ‘Lycidas’ as an example.

An Elegy can be war songs, love poems, political verses, and lamentations for the dead and other wide range of subjects, both sad and happy. Example, Spenser’s ‘Shepherd’s Calendar’ is a pastoral Elegy.

The Idyll is not a distinct type. It can be a Lyric, a longer poem or sometimes a passage in an Elegy, play, Epic or Ballad. Please see the example of ‘Wordsworth’s ‘Lines written in March’ which depict a spring scene in England.

The Epics are, as we see in the great examples of ‘Iliad’ and ‘Odyssey’ written by the ancient Greek poet Homer. It is a long tale of verse with famous heroes for its principal characters and brings it together, in an artistic form, the many great stories of their adventures.

The ballads arise out of folk literature. Ballad is a short story in verse, intended to be sung to an audience. we have he example in Coleridge’s ‘ The Rime of the ancient Mariner’.

The Satire is found in both prose and poetry. It has no literary form. It can be written as an ode, elegy, a ballad or anything else.

Figures of speech are used in poetry such as Simile, Metaphor, and Personification to formally express one’s thoughts. Imagery is necessary to convey the thoughts and experiences of the writer. In general term Imagery refers to the use of language to represent descriptively, things, actions, or even abstract ideas. The term becomes synonymous with idea or vision. In short it serves as the vehicle for the imaginative thought, the artistic experience which the writer wants to communicate.