Studying poetry. Words and meanings

When you ask what interests you or gives you pleasure in a poem, you will find that the answer has something to do with the way the words work. This is what poetry does with words – enriches and deepens their meanings by evoking various connotations.

Connotations are the associations of meaning a word has aquired because of its various uses. When you encounter a striking word, you can look at how in the context, a number of connotations are brought into play. Words in poetry exploit a wide range of associations. You should not ignore ‘little’ words - such as ‘the’, ‘a’, ‘too’, ‘yet’ etc. Sometimes a poet can enrich the simplest and humblest words.
Analysing poetry it is necessary to know not only figures of speech (simile, metaphor, symbol, etc.) but also to show how this or that figure of speech contributes to the poem.

A symbol is a word that stands for, or points to, a reality beyond itself. Sunrise, for instance, is often used for a symbol of a new beginning. Most symbols are traditional: sunset for death; birds for the soul, etc...

The imagery of a poem includes similes, metaphors, conceits, personification and symbols which help to create aesthetic atmosphere of a poem.

A paradox is an apparent contradiction which says something strange yet true. For instance, in Keats’s “ Ode on a Grecian Urn” there are these paradoxical lines on music:
“Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard
Are sweeter...”.

Ambiguity is a very useful term to master when you discuss the richness of meaning in poetry. It is used to indicate many nuances of meaning that can be found in poetic language.

Tasks:
• Read through the poems you have to study for any of the figures of speech. If you find some, try writing about how they help to establish the meaning of the poem.
• Throughout the poem there are images of travelling/love/death. Think about what they mean in the poem, and consider whether the image is a traditional or new one.
• Do all the images of the poem stem from one basic idea, and if so, what is that idea?