POETRY

 

·    Oldest language art form

   *Oral history; epic poetry—mnemonic device

   (Ex:  Epic of Gilgamesh—the oldest written story on Earth; from ancient Sumeria, written on 12 clay tablets in cuneiform, 2150-2000 B.C.E.)

   *Others:  Iliad, Odyssey, Theogony, Beowulf

·    Needs to be read ALOUD:  Sounds! (emotion)

·    Requires a dictionary to get double entendre

   *Ex:  Hence=Therefore AND Later

·    Offers an experience while telling of one (757)

·    Combines rhythm, word choice, and images

 

Poetry is a melding of two things:

 

THEME:  *Theme is the universal message 

·    You may not relate to the content, but you will relate to the emotion (Ex: 981).

·    Often the theme of a poem is not the subject but what the subject is able to convey.

   *Ex:  brand new, white tennis shoes. 

 

ELEMENTS:  *Elements are temporal

·                Form, language (rhythms; word play), & imagery