What Is Poetry Essay Research Paper Poetry

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What Is Poetry? Essay, Research Paper Poetry is one of the most powerful ways to convey an idea or opinion. Through vivid imagery and compelling metaphors as well as other literary devices, a poem gives the reader the exact feeling the author wanted. Poetry is as universal as language and almost as ancient thus causing poetry to have several different definitions. According to Perrine s Sound and Sense, poetry may be commonly defined as a kind of language that says more and says it more intensely than does ordinary language. But according to Webster, poetry is defined as writing that formulates a concentrated imaginative awareness of experience in language chosen and arranged to create a specific emotional response through meaning, sound, and rhythm. However, the poet Ralph

Waldo Emerson created the best definition of poetry that fits the poems I have read and my view of poetry. Emerson defines poetry as: It is not meters, but a meter-making argument, that makes a poem—a thought so passionate and alive that, like the spirit of a plant or animal, it has an architecture of its own and adorns nature with a new thing. Rather then defining poetry, readers of poetry are more successful at understanding and appreciating it. Therefore, a reader of poetry does not have to define it, in order to understand and enjoy reading it. The poem Dulce et Decorum Est, an descriptive anti-war poem by Wilfred Owen, makes great use of the various literary resources and devices. This poem is very effective because of its excellent manipulation of the mechanical and

emotional parts of poetry. Owen s use of exact diction and vivid figurative language emphasizes his point, showing that war is terrible and devastating. Tone and voice implicitly but passionately express the burning tensions of desperation, suffering, and powerlessness. And flound ring like a man in fire or lime— (8), white eyes writhing in his face (8), and guttering, choking, drowning (8), are some of the images which perfectly support his verbal irony by referring to dulce et decorum est, por partia mori (8) as the old lie. Furthermore, the utilization of extremely graphic imagery adds even more to his argument. Through the effective use of all of these literary tools and devices, this poem conveys a strong meaning and persuasive argument. The poem s use of excellent diction

helps to more clearly define what the author is saying. Words like guttering , choking , and drowning not only show how the man is suffering, but that he is in terrible pain that no human being should endure. Other words like writhing and froth-corrupted say precisely how the man is being tormented. Moreover, the phrase blood shod shows how the troops have been on their feet for days, never resting. Also, the fact that the gassed man was flung into the wagon reveals the urgency and occupation with fighting. The only thing they can do is toss him into a wagon. The fact one word can add to the meaning so much shows how the diction of this poem adds greatly to its effectiveness. Likewise, the use of figurative language in this poem also helps to emphasize the points that are being

made. As Perrine says, people use metaphors because they say …what we want to say more vividly and forcefully… Owen capitalizes greatly on this by using strong metaphors and similes. Right off in the first line, he describes the troops as being like old beggars under sacks (7). This not only says that they are tired, but that they are so tired they have been brought down to the level of beggars who have not slept in a bed for weeks on end. Owen also compares the victim s face to the devil, seeming corrupted and baneful. A metaphor even more effective is one that compares …vile, incurable sores… with the memories of the troops. It not only tells the reader how the troops will never forget the experience, but also how they are frightening tales, ones that the troops will