Post 9

It has transformed our world through its expressiveness and emotion, poetry is a force to be reckoned with. Not only has it paved the way to strengthen communal ties and liberate people from sufferings, but it has also been used as a powerful tool to rebel against oppression. This form of expression has granted us the ability to explore a perception of our world contrary to the mainstream ideology. Analyzing poetry can allow us to have an enhanced understanding of our society, however in order to accomplish that it is necessary to examine the technique in which poetry is conveyed. There are a multitude of styles used in poems, however the most expressive and communicative ones are sonnets, ghazals, and ballads.

Sonnets

               

          One of the most prevalent forms of poetry, sonnets originated in Europe, mainly Provence and Italy. Usually sonnets consist of 14 lines. By the thirteenth century sonnets came to be known as a poem of fourteen lines that follows a strict rhyme scheme, which is a pattern of rhyming between lines of a poem. The structure of a typical Italian sonnet has two parts that together formed a compact form of "argument". The first part forms the proposition which describes a problem, followed by the second part which proposes a resolution. In the ninth line the poem usually reaches a turn and signals a change in the mood, tone, or stance of the poem.  One of the most renowned sonnet writers was William Shakespeare, who is widely regarded as one of the best writers in the English language. Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets which were his non-dramatic works. One of Shakespeare’s most popular works is “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” This poem uses a very strong tool of expression which is comparison. Shakespeare compares the woman’s beauty to a summer day, however he also points out “Thou art more lovely and more temperate,” meaning her beauty exceeds that of a summer day. He also says “But thy eternal summer shall not fade,” meaning the woman’s beauty will last forever despite the fact that summer comes and goes. This example portrays how in sonnets the authors use expression in different forms such as comparison in order to increase the effectiveness of the text.

Ghazals

       A Ghazal is a poetic form originating in 6th century Arabia, they consist of rhyming couplets and a chorus with each line having the same meter. The concept of Ghazal can be defined as expressing the pain one goes through while experiencing the loss or separation of love. It also defines the beauty of love in spite of the pain one endures. Ghazals were written by Persian mystics and poets such as Rumi in the 13th century.  Ghazals traditionally deal with one subject, which is love, to be more specific unattainable love. In the Indian subcontinent the Ghazals have an influence from Islamic mysticism, in which love can be interpreted for a divine being or a mortal beloved. Love is portrayed in Ghazals as something that will complete a human being, and if achieved it will one into the ranks of the wise and learned, and bring an intense satisfaction into the soul of the poet. The Ghazal is always written in the point of view of a lover whose beloved is unattainable. Usually the beloved does not return the love or returns it without sincerity, and the lover is aware of their inevitable fate but continues loving nonetheless.  The lyrical motivation derives from this tension in which the lover is unable to resist his feelings for his beloved. In one of Rumi’s poems from his collection called the fountain of fire he says “The night is generous, it can give you a gift of the full moon it can bless your soul with endless treasure.” In this poem something Inanimate like the night is given human characteristics such as being generous. Instead of just saying the night has the full moon, it says it is generous and the moon is a gift. By incorporating these human qualities to lifeless objects, the poem increases the effectiveness of its communicative properties, by relating the text back to the reader.

Ballads.

          Ballads are poems that are in a form of narratives set to music. Ballads were popular in British and Irish poetry form the later medieval period until the 19th century and used in a large amount amongst the Europeans. Ballads may have originated from Scandinavian and German traditions of storytelling for example the story of Beowulf. European Ballads have been generally classified into three groups traditional broadside and literary. Traditional Ballads originated with street poets of late medieval Europe, in their poems they incorporated stories which told of existing or imaginary historical events. In the end of the 15th century you will find printed Ballads which would suggest a rich tradition of popular music, also Ballads such as Robin Hood were sung in the 14 century. Traditional Ballads can also be separated into different themes such as religious, love, historic, and humorous. Broadside Ballads were typically a product of cheap print in the 16th century, being printed on a large sheet of poor quality paper. In the first half of the 17th century the alluring poems were printed in black gothic type letters, they also included unique illustrations which caught the reader’s glance. They were produced in large quantities with over 400,000 being sold in England annually by the 1660s. Among the topics were drinking-songs, early journalism, which was comprised of disasters, and political events and wonders. In the 18th century Literary Ballads were increasingly popular among the social elites and intellectuals, when they derived an interest in the ballad form. Some writers would collect and form their own ballad in order to create an artistic product; Ballads are significant in the world because they define cultural values and alter people’s perceptions about social norms creating a more intellectual society. Here is an excerpt from the Ballad of Robin hood and little John, “Tho he was called little, his limbs they were large, and his stature was seven foot high, where-ever he came they quak’d at his name, for soon he would make them to fly. In order to give an informative description of little John this Ballad uses the communicative tool of rhyming. Through rhyming the author increases the ability of the reader to ingest information, therefore making the piece easier to read.

          Poetry has led society to reflect on its wisdom, and has shaped our society’s way of thinking by its Expressiveness and communicative properties. Whether it be sonnets, Ghazals, or Ballads, these poetic styles have influenced human emotions through their unique methods of communication. Overall through its expression we have evolved as humans, and have gained consciousness of the reality we had no knowledge of. When poetry is written about racism it sheds light on its ignorance, and when it is written the reality of human misery in this world its emotion enables us to have a sense of morality. Poetry certainly has granted us the knowledge that the pen is mightier than the sword.