Poetry Report

Table of Contents

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About Poetries........................................................................................................................3 Types of Poetry ......................................................................................................................4 Reference ...............................................................................................................................5

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 Outline I. INTRODUCTION II. Poetry Types A. Metaphor B. Personification III. Reference

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 Patrick Choe Mr. Steigner Poetry Report 8 August 2012

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About Poetries What come through mind when the word poetry is heard? How about the word science, more specifically biologists and physicians? While people easily see the benefits of science throughout the society, including medicines and many mechanical devices, the roles of poetry is often overlooked in everyday life. Moreover, common misconceptions about poetry include that poetry is just a mere layout of obscure languages to describe abstract and incomprehensible ideas! However, it can be often observed in popular songs, such as one of the Beatles best hit, Across the Universe. This song uses simile, metaphor and personifications in a beautiful melody, which serve as excellent examples for breaking the misconceptions about boring poetry. What are the words often used to describe two unlikely objects? Usually, like or as is used to relate/describe two dissimilar objects which is called simile. Simile is often used to describe synaesthetic feeling, where it relates two different subjects using two or more sensory vocabulary. For example, the phrase As quite as mice is used to describe the loudness of noise with sight (mice) and sound-related (quite) words, using like and as. This type of figurative language is used in the song Across the universe, where it describes two different subjects by using simile, relating two different subject to make them sound similar in unique way. For example, the first line of the song goes: Words are flowing out like Endless rain into a paper cup, which the phrase uses motional and visual words endless rain into paper to describe
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flow of the word. This uses of similes in famous song shows that simile, one of the major type of figurative language in poems, does not require being dull or colorless. A true poet does not bother to be poetical. Nor does a nursery gardener scent his roses, Jean Cocteau. While metaphor may seem obscure at first, in simple words, it is very similar to simile: describing of two objects using two or more sensory vocabulary without using the words like or as. Just like simile, many examples of metaphors can be seen or heard in everyday lives. While it seems uncommon, we often use metaphors like Its raining cats and dogs, where cats and dogs relationship is used to refer how severe the rain falls. As a song that uses rain in the first verse, Across the Universe contains several examples of metaphor, such as Pools of sorrow waves of joy are drifting through my opened mind. It describes sorrow and joy (feeling) as a pool and waves that drifts (motion), where it uses sensory details just like simile to describe two different ideas. Despite the common misconception that metaphor is ambiguous and puzzling, it can be easily understood by what type of sensory words the author has used to relate two subjects. Peoples point of view varies, but they sees the world from humans perspective. Since the readers are human, a non-living object is effectively described with human characteristic, as readers can easily relate themselves to the subject. In the literature, humanlike quality is often given to non-human things, which is called technique of personification. The song Across the Universe contains few examples of personification, such as Pools of sorrow waves of joy are drifting through my opened mind Possessing and caressing me, where the pools of sorrow and waves of joy are possessing and caressing the narrator like human. While the phrase pools of sorrow, an obscure metaphor, may confuse the reader at the first time, action verbs of possessing and caressing gives a clear impression by giving a human-like characteristics.
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Any healthy man can go without food for two days - but not without poetry, Charles Baudelaire. Although poetry easily noticed, it is present in anywhere, serving as a basis of life. There is a common misconception that poetry is unworldly and hard to understand, unlike easily observable effects of science. However, the lyrics of popular music mostly composed with poetry, such as the lyric of the song Across the Universe. In this Beatles famous song, it uses simile, metaphor and personification with lyrical melodies, contrasting from common model of boring poetry! These examples supports that the song Across the Universe is an excellent example for the poetical songs. Reference Focus, Hocus. "Share Your Poem." Poetry.com. Poetry.com, Jan.-Feb. 2001. Web. 18 Aug. 2012. <http://www.poetry.com/>.