Last updated on October 14th, 2021 at 05:50 pm
CLASS: SENIOR FOUR
CONTENTS
UNIT 1: REVIEW THE KEY ASPECTS OF PROSE
UNIT 2: INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN LITERARY TRADITIONS
UNIT 3: LITERARY TECHNIQUES IN NOVELS
UNIT 4: THEMES AND MESSAGES IN A NOVEL
UNIT 5: HAIKU AND TANKA
UNIT 6: SONNET AND RHYME
UNIT 7: EPIGRAMS
UNIT 8: DIFFERENT FORMS OF DRAMA
UNIT 9: KEY ASPECTS OF DRAMA
UNIT 10: PERIODS OF AFRICAN DRAMA
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UNIT V. HAIKU AND TANKA
V.1. HAIKU
Definition
A haiku is traditionally a Japanese poem consisting of three short lines that do not rhyme. The origins of haiku poems can be traced in the 13th century. The haiku is considered to be more than a type of poem because it is a way of looking at the physical world and seeing something deeper, like the very nature of existence. It should leave the reader with a strong feeling or impression.
A haiku poem generally presents a single and concentrated image or emotion. Haiku is considered a fixed poetic form and is associated with brief, suggestive imagery intending to evoke emotion in the reader.
Example1:
The sky is so blue,
The sun is so warm up high,
I love the summer.
Example2: With my Father
With my father
I would watch dawn
over green fields.
by Issa Kobayashi
Example3: The Old Pond
An old silent pond
A frog jumps into the pond—
Splash! Silence again.
by Matsuo Bashō
Example4: Toast
I really like toast,
It’s yummy when it’s hot,
I like it best cold
Example5: A butterfly
The falling flower thought I,
Fluttering back to the branch –
was a butterfly.
Example5: Lighting One Candle
The light of a candle
Is transferred to another candle—
Spring twilight
by Yosa Buson
Example6:
From across the lake,
Past the black winter trees,
Faint sounds of a flute.
by Richard Wright
The haiku usually has seventeen syllables. A syllable is a segment of a spoken word usually made up of one or two sounds and spoken as one unit. The lines of the haiku rarely rhyme.
Beans
Beans are kind to hearts,
I like to eat them daily,
And then do big farts.
Haikus usually focus on nature. They use language that appeals to the senses to capture feelings or images in nature. The poet does not give you the emotion he/she feels, but instead shows the details in the subject that cause that emotion.
For instance, this haiku talks about the sky:
The sky is so blue,
The sun is so warm up high,
I love the summer.
Characteristics of a haiku
A haiku
- contains three lines;
- has five syllables – sound units (moras)– in the first line, seven in the second and five in the last line
- contains seventeen syllables in total
- does not rhyme/rarely rhyme.
- frequently has seasonal reference
- usually focuses on nature or natural phenomenon
- has two juxtaposed subjects that are divided into two contrasting parts. In English, this division between two parts can be shown by a colon or dash.
How to write a haiku
- Write two sentences about nature. Focus on details of the environment that are similar to the human condition.
- Write a third sentence about something that is seemingly different from what you were writing in the first two sentences. You are shifting your focus from the first two lines and the ideas to something that may look as if it is different. Maybe you are looking outside and thinking about beautiful flowers and trees. Then you think of a hot cup of milky tea. The flowers and trees are growing, healthy and strong. The milk is a gift of healthy nature; the grass the cows eat, but someone could ask: What have trees and flowers to do with cows?
- Combine the three sentences and see whether the lines have any connection. Use language that appeals to the senses. This is what we mean by imagery. Let your reader see, smell, taste, touch and hear nature. You may not need to involve all the senses all the time. You could think of words that strongly appeal to one or two senses. Remember, you are showing not telling. Don’t tell the reader the maize is healthy; show them that it is healthy without even mentioning the word ‘healthy’.
- Next rewrite the lines in the form of 5-7-5 syllables.
Remember the poem does not need to have rhyme.
V.2. TANKA
Definition
A tanka is another form of Japanese poems, like the haiku. It is also called waka or uta. Tanka means a short song. It is an unrhymed Japanese verse form of five lines containing five, seven, five, seven, and seven syllables respectively. All tankas have five lines and each line follows a pattern: the first line has five syllables, the second line has seven syllables, the third line has five syllables, the fourth line has seven syllables, and the fifth line has seven syllables. This form of poem has a total of 31 syllables.
These poems are made up of five units which after translation into English, usually take the form of five lines. They follow a syllable pattern of 5-7-5-7-7, similar, and yet longer than a haiku. There are two parts, the initial 5-7-7 known as the kami-no-ku or upper phrase, and the second half, 7-7, known as the shimo-no-ku or the lower phrase. Together, the poem is thirty-one syllables long.
Example1:
The bucket’s water
poured out and gone,
drop by drop
dew drips like pearls
from the autumn flowers.
by Masaoka Shiki
Example2:
Her hair at twenty
Flowing long and black
Through the teeth of her comb
Oh beautiful spring
Extravagant spring
by Yosano Akiko
Example3:
The man
I used to meet in the mirror
Is no more
Now I see a wasted face.
It dribbles tears
Example4:
tree with lush leaves
at an outdoor fair
giving shade
to a goldfish seller
as summer begins
by Masaoka Shiki
Example5: For Satori
In the spring of joy
When even the mud chuckles
My soul runs rabid
Snaps at its own bleeding heels
and barks: “What is happiness?”
Example6: Sombre Girl
She never saw fire
from heaven or hotly fought
with God; but her eyes
smolder from Hiroshima
and the cold death of Budha
Characteristics of the tanka
- The tanka is longer than the haiku. It has two additional lines that have seven syllables each. In total, it has 31 syllables. Its structure is 5-7-5-7-7.
- A tanka does not have end punctuation.
- It also does not use rhymes.
- The third line of the tanka acts like a pivot that divides the poem into two parts.
- The tanka uses imagery to convey its meaning. Remember, an imagery is a word that creates mental pictures. Examples include similes, metaphors and personification, though it could be any word that makes a reader smell, touch, hear, taste or see what the poet intends.
Let’s look at the following tanka.
Crash at two A.M.
I opened my bedroom door
A white cat ran by
Startled by the clanging fall
Of the treat jar’s metal lid
In this poem, we ‘hear’ the noise from the use of ‘crash’, and ‘clanging’. The cat becomes more visible when we are told it is ‘white’, instead of just a cat. Therefore, imagery makes the poem more alive. Note how the line on the cat is a pivot. We understand why the persona woke up, even without the last two lines. We also understand why the cat is hurrying by even without the first two lines.
How to write a tanka
You pass through the following steps:
- Think of a funny or amusing situation.
- Write down a few sentences that describe the situation.
- Think of powerful words that can appeal to the senses of the reader, and use them to describe the situation.
- Once you are done, think of how you can create the pattern 5-7-5-7-7.
V.3. ATMOSPHERE/MOOD
As a literary term, atmosphere means feelings that readers get from a narrative. These feelings are based on details, such as setting, background, objects and foreshadowing.
Atmosphere refers to the feeling, emotion, or mood a poet conveys to a reader through the description of setting and objects. It also refers to the emotions invoked/applied in the reader as he/she reads a poem. Simply, atmosphere/mood is the feeling the audience gets as they read or listen to a poem.
Although mood and atmosphere are used interchangeably, there is a small difference. Mood is narrow as it concerns with the internal feelings of individual(s), without incorporating the feelings/emotions radiating throughout the venue. On the other hand, atmosphere is usually those feelings/emotions felt by more people or applied to a certain spot or venue.
While describing atmosphere/mood, we use adjectives:
Examples
- Angry
- Anxious
- Bored
- Joyful
- Embarrassed
- Excited
- Frustrated
- Guilty
- Happy
- Heartbroken
- Irritated
- Mournful
- Disappointed
- Offended
- Optimistic
- Passionate
- Relaxed
- Relieved
- Restless
- Sad
- Scared
- Flattered
Identifying atmosphere in haikus and tankas
The sky is so blue,
The sun is so warm up high,
I love the summer.
When you read the above haiku, there is the feeling you get. That feeling is the atmosphere. In this case, it is a feeling of joy (joyful atmosphere). This is expressed by the blue sky and the sun – which is warm. The blue sky and the sun are therefore images. They help create the atmosphere which enables us to understand this haiku.
With my father
I would watch dawn
over green fields.
by Issa Kobayashi
This haiku creates an atmosphere of calmness/serenity in the reader as you imagine someone nestling next to a parent enjoying a pleasant morning.
Her hair at twenty
Flowing long and black
Through the teeth of her comb
Oh beautiful spring
Extravagant spring
by Yosano Akiko
In the above tanka, the atmosphere suggests beauty and romance. A lover is admiring the object of his desire and we ‘feel’ the long hair and associate it with the beautiful springtime when nature is blooming again after a harsh winter. We almost ‘hear’ the spring in the heart.
The man
I used to meet in the mirror
Is no more
Now I see a wasted face.
It dribbles tears
by Masaoka Shiki
The tanka is about disappointment and the resulting pain. The woman is regretful that the man has changed so much, that it is not the man whom she fell in love with. The poem creates an atmosphere of deep and sad pain.
tree with lush leaves
at an outdoor fair
giving shade
to a goldfish seller
as summer begins
by Masaoka Shiki
This tanka is about a seller sitting under a tree, selling goldfish. The tanka communicates the beauty of nature as shown by a tree with a lot of leaves and the lovely colour of the goldfish. It creates a peaceful relaxed atmosphere. Summer is a time to look forward to when everything is bright and appealing.
She never saw fire
from heaven or hotly fought
with God; but her eyes
smolder from Hiroshima
and the cold death of Budha
It is important to explain that Hiroshima is one of the cities in Japan where the first atomic bomb was dropped killing almost the whole city. The poet is bitter and angry that an innocent child who never participated in the war and had not offended the creator suffered the undeserved consequences. Not even the eastern revered figure, Buddha, could protect her, and he appears as if he also died in the destruction. The short poem is like a mourning of the loss of faith, for the Creator and His servants could not protect the child’s innocence. The atmosphere is bitter and angry.
V.4. THEME
A theme is the poem’s main idea about life in general. This is the central idea in a literary work. It refers to the suggestions the story makes about the life that it depicts. A theme is what the author intends to reveal in relation to the subject of the story. In other words, themes are insights of life that the poem exposes to the reader.
In few words, a theme can be explained as:
- a central/main idea of the poem.
- an opinion expressed on the subject.
- what a poet is saying about a certain subject.
- a poet’s opinion or perspective about a certain issue in society.
- a controlling idea that is continuously developed throughout the poem.
- a central and unifying concept of a poem.
- a main or an underlying meaning of a literary work.
There are two types of themes:
- Minor theme: It is an idea that appears in a poem briefly or an idea that appears once in a while in a poem. It is less important and may appear for a part of the poem to be replaced by another. It doesn’t cover the whole poem.
- Major theme: It refers to an idea that a poet repeats in his/her work making it the most significant idea in a literary work. The whole poem revolves around it.
Examples of themes may include compassion, courage, friendship, love, good vs bad, honesty, loyalty, loneliness, grief, perseverance, benefits of hardworking, importance of family…
The themes may also be: – Implicit/implied
– Explicit
- Implicit themes
Implicit themes are the ones which are hidden. They are implied or communicated indirectly or suggested. To get them, the reader has to use his/her intelligence and analysis. They are also called hidden themes.
- Explicit themes
These are the themes which are stated or communicated directly or clearly. The reader does not have to think deeply to find them. They are fully and clearly expressed leaving nothing implied. They are also called fully stated themes.
Identifying themes in haikus and tankas
The man
I used to meet in the mirror
Is no more
Now I see a wasted face.
It dribbles tears
by Masaoka Shiki
The tanka is about disappointment and the resulting pain. The woman is regretful that the man has changed so much, that it is not the man whom she fell in love with.
V.5. MESSAGE
A message is the point the poet wants a reader to get. This is the lesson that the poet hopes the reader will get after reading a literary work. For example, the message could be that the writer wants the reader to consider conserving the environment. He/she could do this by showing the consequences of destroying the environment
In few words, a message can be explained as:
- a lesson the poet wishes to convey to the society through his/her poem.
- what a poet wants the society to learn from his/her literary work.
- a kind of a lesson that the reader learns after reading the poem.
- a moral in the poem.
- something the poem aims to teach the reader.
- a lesson the poet wishes the society to learn from his/her poem.
Messages can be about respecting elders, not fighting, caring for your loved ones, cooperating, avoiding drugs…..
The two types of messages are:
– Implicit/implied
– Explicit
- Implicit messages
Implicit messages are the ones that are hidden. They are implied or communicated indirectly or suggested. To get them, the reader has to use his/her intelligence and analysis. They are also called hidden messages.
- Explicit messages
These are the messages which are stated or communicated directly or clearly. The reader does not have to think deeply to find them. They are fully and clearly expressed leaving nothing implied. They are also called fully stated messages.
Identifying messages in haikus and tankas
The man
I used to meet in the mirror
Is no more
Now I see a wasted face.
It dribbles tears
by Masaoka Shiki
The message found in this tanka is that sometimes you can be disappointed by your loved one (s) and then this disappointment causes you much pain. The woman is regretful that the man has changed so much, that it is not the man whom she fell in love with.
She never saw fire
from heaven or hotly fought
with God; but her eyes
smolder from Hiroshima
and the cold death of Budha
This tanka teaches us that war is blind and comes with uncalled destruction. It destroys both the warring people and the clueless innocents. Humanity should avoid wars, as they serve no useful purpose.
tree with lush leaves
at an outdoor fair
giving shade
to a goldfish seller
as summer begins
by Masaoka Shiki
The tanka communicates that summer is a time to look forward to when everything is bright and appealing.
V.6. POETIC DEVICES
Poetic devices are techniques used by a poet/author/playwright to communicate an idea with an audience. They are stylistic techniques that a poet employs in order to influence the way a poem sounds when read aloud and the overall mood created by sound patterns. Poetic devices are also tools that a poet uses to create rhythm, enhance a poem’s meaning, or intensify a mood or a feeling.
Poets choose their language carefully for them to pass the message in the fewest words. To achieve this, they deliberately apply certain forms of style or poetic devices. Some of those devices include alliteration, assonance,consonance, imagery, simile, metaphor, personification, onomatopoeia, repetition, synecdoche, rhyme and rhythm
- Alliteration
Alliteration refers to the repetition of initial consonant sounds in a line of poetry. It is the repetition of same consonant sounds at the beginning of words. Alliteration is especially used in poetry to create pleasing, musical sounds (rhythm), as well as to emphasize and link words.
Example1: A butterfly
The falling flower thought I,
Fluttering back to the branch –
was a butterfly.
Example2:
With my father
I would watch dawn
over green fields.
Example3
When the cock crows,
The lazy man smacks his lips and says:
So is it day light again, is it?
From “The lazy man” by Yoruba
Example4:
If we must die, let it not be like hogs
Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot
While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs
Making their mocks at our accused lot
From “If we must die” by Claude McKay
Example5:
He says we from the bush
don’t understand civilized ways
for we tell our women
to keep the hem of their dresses
below the knee
From “I Speak for the Bush” by Everett Standa
Example6:
On his watch
Bleeds black blood
Brothers broken backs
Creature craving for crunches
They snarl.
Farewell for fools
He says
Highly delicate diplomatic duties you know,
And friend,…….
From “Building the Nation” by Christopher H. M. Barlow
Example7:
Plain plan pronounced
Sincere since seventh sabbath
Sweet smell of success
Bigger and better
- Assonance
Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds within words in a line or lines of a poem. It is the repetition of vowel sounds in nearby words.
Example1:
Fleet feet them
Looting hoofers of Bloomington
Blood and blooming
Footing and glooming.
Example2:
“Hey, wait! Don’t blame me! Nate and
James are the perpetrators”
Example3:
Thou still unravished bride of quietness,
Thou foster child of silence and slow time.
From “Ode on a Grecian Urn” by John Keats
Example4:
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore
While I nodded nearly napping suddenly there came a tapping,
As of someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
From “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe
Example5:
I wondered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’ er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
From “I wondered lonely as a cloud” by William Wordsworth
Example6:
Though why should I whine,
Whine that the crime was other than mine? –
Since anyhow you are dead.
From “The mother” by Gwendolyn Brooks
N.B: In order to identify “assonance”, you must be very sure of the pronunciation of words. They may seem similar yet they are pronounced differently.
- Consonance
Consonance is defined as a repetition of consonant sounds within lines/ verses of a poem. This pleasing sound caused by the repetition of similar consonant sounds within groups of words often occurs at the end of words, but may also be found within words. Remember that when consonant sounds are repeated only at the beginning of words, it becomes “alliteration”.
Example1:
Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;
For those whom you think’st thou dost overthrow
From “Death, be Not Proud” by John Donne
Example2:
A fellow jumped off a high wall,
And had a most terrible fall.
Example3:
When the cock crows,
The lazy man smacks his lips and says:
So is it day light again, is it?
From “The lazy man” by Yoruba
Example4:
Telling a story on our peace tunnel
Evoking the hard-works of their hands-
A good way to get it strongly secured
From “My island is in need of a poem” by Jean de Dieu Bavugempore
Example5:
That my hair style
Makes him sick
Because I am dirty.
From “The graceful giraffe cannot become a monkey” Okot p’ Bitek
Example6:
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
From “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost
Example7:
“Pitter patter- what’s the matter?
Can’t go out and play?
Pitter patter – get your madder –
Hate this rainy day;…..”
“Tumbling like a waterfall
Down the window pane;
Something sort of comforting
Listening to the rain-“
From “Ode to a Rainy Day” by Linda Ori
- Imagery
Imagery entails the use of words that create mental pictures in the reader’s mind. It helps the reader to visualize more realistically the author’s writings. This makes use of particular words that create visual representation of ideas in our minds. Imagery enables us to see, taste, hear, smell and touch what the poet says – in our minds. This one needs the aid of simile, metaphor, personification, allusion, hyperbole and onomatopoeia in order to appeal to the bodily senses.
Example1:
I gazed: her hair was like the wool of a mountain sheep,
Her eyes, a pair of brown-black beans floating in milk.
Juicy and round as plantain shoots
Her legs, arms and neck,
And like wine – gourds her pillowy breasts;
Her throat uttered fresh banana juice
Matching her face – smooth and banana ripe
From “I Met a Thief” by Austin Bukenya.
The writer uses imagery in the poem to show how a girl is beautiful. He is describing her hair as soft as “the wool of a mountain sheep.” Her eyes are compared to “a pair of brown-black beans floating in milk.” Her breasts are smooth and warm like a pillow. Her voice is sweet as “fresh banana juice.” By using those words, we get an image of that girl-he illustrates her appearance as a beauty.
Example2:
I wondered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
From “I wondered lonely as a cloud” by William Wordsworth
Imagery was used throughout the following words: a host, of golden daffodils; beside the lake, beneath the trees, fluttering and dancing in the breeze. We can see the ‘vales and hills’ through which the speaker wanders, and the daffodils which are there. The poet uses the sense of sight to create a host of golden daffodils beside the lake. The rich golden colour is also appealing to our senses.
Example3:
She’s my little girlzina,
That much hotter that a jalapeno.
Tender like a night in June,
Sweeter than a honeymoon,
Brighter than a silver spoon,
Just as crazy as a loon.
Softer than a lullaby,
Deeper than the midnight sky,
Soulful as a baby’ s cry,
My sweet potato pie.
From Sweet Potato Pie by James Taylor
In the above verses, we can imagine nature, months and seasons with the help of visual imagery. The words ‘tender, sweeter, brighter, softer, deeper and baby’s cry’ can also appeal our senses.
- Metaphor
Metaphor is a figure of speech which compares two unlike/different things without using ‘as’, ‘like’ or ‘than’. It says that one thing is another. It is a comparison between two objects-essentially different but with some commonalities- in which one object is used to give clear meaning to the other.
Example1:
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
that cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
From “Dreams” by Langston Hughes
In the first stanza, Hughes compares life to a bird with broken-wings while in the second one the life is compared to a barred field. He says that this happens when one’s dreams are lost or not achieved.
Example2:
Hope is the thing with feather
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all.
From “Hope is the thing with feathers” by Emily Dickinson.
- In this poem, “hope” is compared to a bird.
Example3:
Love is a walk in the rain at night’
Two hands holding onto each other tight;
Love is honey on a pair of lips,
Onto a tender heart it drips…
Example4:
I am one of many
Small branches of broken tree,
Always looking to the ones above…
- In the above lines, someone compares himself/herself to a small branch.
A metaphor can be implicit or explicit.
Explicit metaphor: It is a metaphor which is clear about the two things being compared.
Examples:
That child is a burden to her parents.
Laughter is the best medicine
His brain is a computer
Her smile was a ray of sunshine.
The stars were diamonds in the sky.
Our teacher is a walking dictionary.
He couldn’t stand because his legs were rubber.
Jamal was a pig at dinner
The snow is a white blanket
You are my sunshine
The sun is a golden ball
Books are the keys to your imagination
Implicit/implied metaphor: It is a metaphor which compares two unlike things without mentioning one of them.
Examples:
His anger grew until it erupted. (compares anger to a volcano)
John barked at the girl. (compare John to a dog)
She flies at him. (compares her to a bird)
The ants orbited the snail before attacking it. (they are being compared to planets)
The teacher will roar if he finds that you have poured water in his documents. (the teacher is compared to a lion)
- Simile
Simile is a comparison between two unlike things by using the words ‘like’, ‘as’ or ‘than’. It is a poetic device which uses the words ‘like’, ‘as’ or ‘than’ to show the resemblance between two things which are different. This comparison which shows similarities between two different things by words ‘like’, ‘as’ or ‘than’, is used to create an image in our mind and hence enables us understand the subject under comparison. Sometimes the verbs ‘appear’, ‘resemble’ or ‘seem’ are also used to compare.
Example1:
What did we say to each other
that now we are as the deer
who walk in single file
with heads high…..
From “A Simile” by N. Scott Momaday
Example2:
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore—
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over—
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
From “Harlem” by Langston Hughes
Example3:
My husband’s tongue
Is bitter like the roots of the lynno lily
It is hot like the penis of the bee,
Like the sting of the kalang!
Ocol’s tongue is fierce like the
arrow of the scorpion,
Deadly like the spear of the
buffalo-hornet.
It is ferocious
Like the poison of a barren woman
And corrosive like the juice of the gourd.
From “Song of Lawino” by Okot p’ Bitek.
Example4:
O my Luve is like a red, red rose
That’s newly sprung in June;
O my Luve is like the melody
That’s sweetly played in tune.
From “A Red, Red Rose” by Robert Burns
Example5:
The day was as hot as the sun
He could swim like a fish
Her sneeze was as loud as a train whistle
I felt like a fish out of water
Example6:
I counted the ribs on his concertina chest
bones protruding as if chiselled
by a sculptor’s hand of famine.
He looked with glazed pupils
seeing only a bun on some sky-high shelf.
The skin was pale and taut
Like a glove on a doctor’s hand.
His tongue darted in and out
Like a chameleon,
snatching a confetti of flies.
Oh! child,
your stomach is a den of lions
roaring day and night.
From “The Face of Hunger” by Oswald Mbuyiseni Mtshali
Example7:
Love is like a painting
Filled with all colours and shades
Love is like a bleeding heart
Cut with many sharp blades.
Example8:
During Christmas
We gather as a mass
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The drums go as we hum.
Like a wild hyena
We laugh in the dance arena
The children graceful as Mary
And together we make merry:
Example9:
Friends are like chocolate cake
You can never have too many.
Chocolate cake is like heaven-
- Personification
It is a figure of speech in which a thing, an idea or an animal is given human attributes or behaviours. Personification refers to giving or assigning animals, ideas, or inanimate objects human abilities.The non-human objects are portrayed in such a way that we feel they have the ability to act like human beings. Personification helps to make abstracts things become more alive and easy to understand.
Example1:
“Africa of whom my grandmother sings
On the banks of the distant river
I have never known you
But your blood flows in my veins
Your beautiful black blood that irrigates the fields
The blood of your sweat
The sweat of your work
The work of your slavery
The slavery of your children
Africa tell me Africa
Is this you this back that is bent
This back that breaks under the weight of humiliation
This back trembling with red scars
And saying yes to the whip under the midday sun…”
From “Africa” by David Diop
In this poem the poet addresses Africa as if it is a human being. He says that he has never known it as if it is a person who has blood that flows in the veins, can sweat while working, and has children as human beings.
Example2:
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
that cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
From “Dreams” by Langston Hughes
In those lines dreams have been personified. They have been considered as persons who die and who can go.
Example3:
The rays of the new-born sun
search under the branches
the breast of ripe pomegranate
and bite it till it bleeds.
Discreet and shuddering kiss
hard and scalding embrace,
Soon the pure thrust
will draw purple blood.
Its taste will be sweeter,
because it was pregnant with desire
And with fearful love
and scented blossoms-
Pregnant by lover sun.
From “Pomegranate” by Rabiarivelo
Example4:
Pretty little bottles of perfume
Stood at attention on the dresser.
“Which one of us will she choose today?”
And they each took turns being the guesser.
“She’ll choose me,” the first one said,
“Because I smell like roses.”
“Not likely today,” the second bottle said.
“You’ll stink up everyone’s noses.”
“She’ll choose me,” the third bottle said.
“She loves how I smell like sandalwood.”
The second bottle replied again,
“She won’t choose you. I know I never would.”
The woman came in, looked at her perfumes,
Sniffed bottle two and choosed her.
Bottle two cried, “Yes! She chose me, the best;
I guess you other two are the losers!
From “Perfume Bottles” by Kelly Roper
- Repetition
Repetition refers to the deliberate use of a word or a group of words over and over again or recurrently in a poem. It is a poetic device that is commonly used. It is the repeating of a word, a phrase, line, stanza or idea in a poem. Repetition not only creates rhythm in a poem but also establishes unity in the poem as well as helping the poet to emphasize certain ideas.
When repetition is used in the poem, it creates rhythm, and lays emphasis on the main theme in a poem. It also emphasizes the poet’s message and keeps it constantly stuck in the mind of the reader or audience.
Example1:
You art slave to fate, chance, king and desperate men,
And dost your poison and sickness dwell;
And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well
And better than thy stroke. Why swell’st thou then?
From “Death, be Not Proud” by John Donne
Example2:
The blood of your sweat
The sweat of your work
The work of your slavery
The slavery of your children
From “Africa” by David Diop
Example3:
They say she smiled at me
I will not slaughter my only cock
I will not throw a party
I will not bring down my flute
I will not compose a song
I will not change my walking style
From “Smile” by Mark Chetambe
Example4:
None on earth is like her,
She that made me breathe.
None on earth is like her,
She that filled my stomach.
None on earth is like her,
She that knew why i cried.
None on earth is like her,
She that protected me.
None on earth is like her,
She that gave me my first lessons.
None on earth is like her,
She whose death orphans me.
From “The Stem of the Branch” by L.M. Asiedu
Example5:
Atieno washes dishes,
Atieno plucks the chicken,
Atieno gets up early,
Beds her sacks down in kitchen,
Atieno eight years old,
Atieno yo.
From “A Freedom song” by Marjorie Macgoye
Example6:
So fair art thou, my bonnie lass,
So deep in luve am I;
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
Till a’ the seas gang dry.
Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rocks melt wi’ the sun;
I will love thee still, my dear,
While the sands o’ life shall run.
And fare thee weel, my only luve!
And fare thee weel awhile!
And I will come again, my luve,
Though it were ten thousand mile.
From “A Red, Red Rose” by Robert Burns
Example7:
It was the best of times,
it was the worst of times,
it was the age of wisdom,….
From “A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens
Example8:
What did we say to each other
that now we are as the deer
who walk in single file
with heads high
with ears forward
with eyes watchful
with hooves always placed on firm ground
in whose limbs there is latent flight
From “A Simile” by N. Scott Momaday
Example9:
Africa my Africa
Africa of proud warriors in the ancestral savannahs
Africa of whom my grandmother sings
On the banks of the distant river
I have never known you
From “Africa” by David Diop
Example10:
Words Words Words
words without wind
words without end
without care what action
we stand and watch
on fireless fireplaces.
From “The end begins: Words” Kalungi Kabuye.
Remember that there are many types of repetition like anadiplosis, anaphora, epistrophe, refrain among others
- Anadiplosis is the repetition in which the last word, phrase of a verse begins the next verse.
- Anaphora is the repeating of words at the beginning of close lines/verses.
- Epistrophe/epiphora refers to repeating of words at the end of close lines/verses.
- Refrain: is the repetition of same line/lines at regular intervals throughout a poem or song, usually after every stanza or a chorus.
- Onomatopoeia
It is the use of words that imitate the sounds. Onomatopoeia as a poetic device includes words that imitate, resemble or suggest the sounds of the things they describe. It is referred to a word that imitates/duplicates or sounds like the natural sounds of objects. Onomatopoeia words help the readers to hear the sounds of the words they reflect, and the writers use them to bring their stories to life in the readers’ minds.
Categories of onomatopoeic words
Sounds of animals: Meow, moo, tweet, oink, baa, bleat, bark, buzz, coo, click, cuckoo, cock-a-doodle-doo, croak, growl, gibber, hiss, howl, hum, maa, neigh, quack, trumpet, roar, snort, snarl, shriek, squeal, squawk, squeak, tweet, whistle, whine, whimper, woof, yowl, …
Sounds made by people: Ahem, argh, bawl, blab, blurt, brrr, burp, chomp, chortle, chuckle, chatter, cough, clap, eek, gag, gargle, gasp, giggle, guffaw, groan, grumble, growl, grunt, ha-ha, hiccup, huh, hum, hush, humph, munch, murmur, mutter, mumble, moan, mmm, phew, slurp, snore, snort, sob squeal sniff, tsk, whisper, yawn,
Sounds of things: of water such as -plop, splash, gush, sprinkle, drizzle, drip. Sounds of wind include swish, swoosh, whiff, whoosh, whizz, whisper. Others are bam, bang, beep, boom, bubble, bump, clang, clash, clatter, click, clink, crash, croak, ding dong, drip, flick, honk, jingle, poof, pop, pow, puff, ring, rumble, slap, smash, splatter, squish, sputter, thud, thump, thwack, tick, tock, vroom, whack, wham, whip, whir, whiz, whoop, zap, zip, zoom, …
Example1:
Thunder, lightning – it’s so frightening!
Let’s go run and hide,
Find a place that’s warm and cozy –
Leave the storm outsider;
Splish splash – lightning flash!
From “Ode to a Rainy Day” by Linda Ori
Example2:
Dance, dance!
With the muse of Africa;
Tap, tap!
With the rhythm of Africa
Moving your body and,
Moving your steps;
To the sounds and cultures of the various tribes in Africa.
From “Dance, dance!” by Edward Kofi Louis
Example3:
Kwa!kwa!kwa!
Our hands sore
Our head ache
Our knees numb
Our back break
Breaking stones
Kwa!kawa!kwa!
From “Song of the worker” by E.Songoyi
Example4:
The rustle of notesAnd the clink of coins
Strange prayer indeed
From “Money- changers” by Richard S.Mabala
Example5:
“When a poem is born
What is the chance
Of words in rain
Drip drop dance
Ping ting sing
Pitter patter rhyme
Rain dance acceleration
Makes my poem climb
Dribble drench drizzle
Thinking on the fence
Sprinkle splish splash
Bring balance to my sense”
From “Rain Dance Poem” by Victoria Reome
- Synecdoche
It is a poetic device in which a part of something is used to refer to the whole thing or the whole thing is used to refer to the part of that thing. This means that the part of something represents the whole or the whole is used to represent the part. Synecdoche may also use smaller groups to stand for larger ones or vice versa.
A synecdoche may use part of something to represent the entire whole.
Examples:
Bread can be used to represent food in general or money.
Sails is often used to refer to a whole ship.
Hired hands can be used to refer to workmen.
Wheels refers to a vehicle.
It may use an entire whole thing to represent a part of it.
Examples:
The “world” is not treating you well. World stands for some people.
The word “society” is often referred to a specific sector of society.
“Police” can be used to represent one or several officers.
“Rwanda” attended the UN conference in New York. Rwanda represents the president
Examples from poems:
Example1:
“There will be time, there will be time
To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet;
There will be time to murder and create”
“I know the voices dying with a dying fall
Beneath the music from a farther room.”
From “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Eliot
- In the above lines, synecdoche was used in “a face”, “faces”, “voices” to represent the people.
Example2:
I heard a Fly buzz – when I died –
The Stillness in the Room
Was like the Stillness in the Air –
Between the Heaves of Storm –
The Eyes around – had wrung them dry –
And Breaths were gathering firm
For that last Onset – when the King
Be witnessed – in the Room –
From “I heard a Fly buzz–when I died” by Emily Dickinson
- In these lines, the poet uses “The Eyes around” to mean “the mourners around the bed of a dying person”- the people in the room who are watching the speaker. Simply, “Eyes” are parts of the body that were used to represent those people.
Example3:
The western wave was all a-flame.
The day was well nigh done!
Almost upon the western wave
Rested the broad bright Sun.
From “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Samuel Coleridge
- In these verses, “wave” represents the whole ocean or a part of the ocean-larger than a wave itself. So, “the western wave” represents “the ocean extending to the west”.
Synecdoche and metonymy resemble one another because they both use a word or phrase to represent something else. They are both considered as forms of metaphor. Either metaphor, or metonymy or synecdoche involves the substitution of one word for another that requires conceptual link. Synecdoche can also be a form of personification when the non-human thing substitutes a human element.
The main difference is that synecdoche uses the part of the thing it represents or the whole thing to mean its part. On the other hand, metonymy doesn’t use the part for the whole or the whole for the part, but rather uses a term that is related to the thing it means.
- Rhyme
Rhyme is a repetition of the same sound at the end of lines in a stanza. Rhyme occurs when two or more words sound similarly at their ends. A rhyme is a tool that uses repeating patterns to create rhythm or musicality in poems. It is used for a specific purpose of giving a pleasing effect to a poem, which makes its recital an enjoyable experience.
Usually, rhyme occurs at the end of lines in a poem, but it can also occur in the middle. If it occurs in the middle, it is called internal rhyme.
Example1:
“There was an Old Man with a beard,
Who said, ‘It is just as I feared!
Two Owls and a Hen,
Four Larks and a Wren,
Have all built their nests in my beard!”
- The poem (limerick) has a rhyming scheme of AABBA.
Example2:
Mama; don’t worry
Your son’s in no hurry
We will not rush to marry
And there make you sorry.
Example3:
“It is the Negro’s tragedy I feel
Which binds me like a heavy iron chain
It is the Negro’s wounds I want to heal
Because I know the keenness of his pain
Only a thorn-crowned Negro and no white
Can penetrate into the Negro’s ken
Or feel the thickness of the shroud of night
Which hides and buries him from other men”
From “The Negro’s Tragedy” by Claude Mckay
- The rhyme scheme is ABAB CDCD.
Example4:
“The gaze of the beauty
When I look at Rwanda
I can’t help it wonder
How like a phoenix, from ashes this nation is rising
When I look at Rwanda, I can’t help it but start praising…..”
“The choice to believe in power of togetherness
The choice to walk hand in hand even through the darkness
The choice to trust the good in others
And the choice to work heart to heart with others
Because we are a summation, one nation
And never shall we betray the foundation…..”
Example5:
There was an Old Person whose habits,
Induced him to feed upon rabbits;
When he’d eaten eighteen,
He turned perfectly green,
Upon which he relinquished those habits.
- This poem (limerick) has a rhyming scheme of AABBA.
Example6:
“In some ways the world we live in
is no different from the world in Christ’s day.
Today just like in the time of Rome people dance and play
and chase after pleasure and sin,
try at almost any cost to win,
do each other mock and betray,
are set on monetary value come what may
and without thought with the next evil we do begin”
From “In Some Ways” by Gert Strydom
The rhyme scheme is ABBA ABBA.
- Rhythm
Rhythm refers to a strong regular repeated pattern of sound in poetry. It is also a series of stressed or accented syllables in a group of words, arranged so that the reader expects a similar series to follow. Rhythm is what we dance to in a song. It is the regular beat that defines the song. Rhythm that can be measured is called meter.
In writing poetry, rhythm acts as a beat in music. It is used to captivate the readers by giving musical effect to a literary piece. Rhythm is created by repetition, sound patterns (repetition of certain sounds in a poem), and length of lines – if of the same length.
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