The Language of Poetry – NDLA
The Language of Poetry
Written by Carol Dwankowski
A draft of “O Captain! My Captain!” in Walt Whitman’s own handwriting.
The poet’s choice of words is extremely important because a lot needs to be said with few words.
Language is the personal or private choice of words the speaker uses to express himself. Poetry makes pictures with words.
- Are there any words that are repeated or that stand out?
- Are the sentences long or short?
Imagery – the words used in a way to create pictures in our minds. These words in turn appeal to our senses: hear, see, taste, and feel. A poet may evoke pictures through:
Symbols – when a word stands not only for itself (a literal meaning), but also stands for something else (a figurative meaning).
Similes – a direct comparison between two things using the words “as” or “like“.
See an example of a simile in the following poem by William Wordsworth,
Metaphors – an indirect comparison between two things without the use of “as” or “like”.
“Robins will wear their feathery fire, Whistling their whims on a low fence-wire;…” (The metaphor of robins that are personified as humans wearing their feathers as coats which keep them warm)
- What sense/senses are evoked (vekket) in the poem?
- Can you find any symbols in the poem?
- What similes or metaphors are used in the poem?
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This article is an excerpt from Engelskspråklig litteratur og kultur (English Language Literature and Culture), from the Norwegian Digital Learning Arena (NDLA).
Image added by EIL staff.
This article was originally published at ndla.no/en/subjects/subject:17/topic:1:184557/resource:1:14882.
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Many classic poems are available in the Poetry category on our EIL site.
You might enjoy Dr. Bartel’s discussion of writing poetry:
Just for fun: The Alarming Spread of Poetry
