Carve Your Name Into the Cross
by Elizabeth Cole

He predicted that he would be taken one day, and that he would die for those who had no other means of forgiveness. Unlike the animals that were sacrificed on altars within the Jewish temples, Jesus said his sacrifice was for everyone, including those who were not Jewish. This, along with many of his other teachings, was blasphemous according to the majority of the Pharisees and Sadducees who listened to his teachings. And like the scriptures from the Jewish books (which later became the Christian Old Testament) predicted, Jesus was indeed killed, even though he was innocent. This became an important concept in Christianity. There is even the story of Jesus being hung between two thieves. One of them scoffed at Jesus, but the other one believed that Jesus was the Son of God. The one who believed was told that he would be in heaven with Jesus by the end of the day.

The Day of Resurrection
by Anonymous

Of course, the real story of Easter comes from what happened a few days later. In the same manner that Jesus had predicted his death, he also predicted that he would be raised from the dead. He referred to the story of Jonah, whom God had sent to Ninevah to preach about the people’s sins and to rebuke them for their evil ways. But Jonah refused and went another way. A large fish, perhaps a whale, although it is uncertain, is said to have swallowed Jonah and then spit him out on the shores of Ninevah. He spent three days in the belly of that fish before he was delivered to do as God had commanded him. Jesus said he too would be in the grave the same number of days as Jonah was in the belly of the fish. And so it came to pass, that on that third day, he returned to life and was seen by hundreds of believers. From that day onward, Christians have celebrated his resurrection from the dead by remembering what happened on that Easter Sunday so many years ago.

Pied Beauty
by Gerard Manley Hopkins

So having only touched on the problem of identifying beauty, now comes the equally difficult task of trying to find poetry that talks about it. It isn’t that there isn’t a lot to choose from — just the opposite — there is too much to choose from. There are some very obvious poems that we know from the outset are going to talk about beauty, as it’s in the title. And some of the better known poems like that are popular for a reason — they match the opinion of the majority of people regarding beauty. For instance, Lord Bryon, known for his many romantic escapades, focused mostly on romantic beauty. In fact, his personal behavior and antics were very costly to him. His infatuation with ‘beauty’ cost him his marriage and had a significant impact on her reputation — to the point that he relocated from Europe to North America to avoid some of the scandal that developed as a result of his life style. Many people began avoiding him for that very reason. He moved to Switzerland for a while where he met Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein, and had an affair with her sister as well. Nonetheless, his poem about a woman who is generally believed to be his half sister, August Leigh, has been praised for its romantic qualities. Some have suggested that it is a big ‘sappy’, but many romantics find it worthy of praise.

She Walks in Beauty
by Lord Byron

There are so many things in the world to speculate about their beauty. While Lord Byron pined over his feelings for his beloved half-sister, other people find more beauty in the natural things of life. One of my favorite poets is the renowned Ralph Waldo Emerson. His poems often deal with natural beauty — the things we find out in the woods or along the country lane.

The Rhodora – On Being Asked Whence Is the Flower
by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Motherhood Dreams
by Vidya

Regarding contemporary Malayalam poetry, one of the first names that comes to mind is Kumaran Asan. During the first part of the 20th century, Asan stirred up the traditional forms of Malayalam poetry by focusing much more on lyrical forms of poetry and much less on the more metaphysical themes. Throughout his work, the reader will find a strong spiritual commitment as well as deep moral convictions. His writings demonstrate an eloquent account of highly contextualized drama and an amazing concentration on poetic form and literary devices. His poem, Vina Poovu, which means A Fallen Flower, uses symbolism to depict the way in which so much of human life is filled with tragedy, doing so in a very thought provoking and moving manner. In another of his poems, Asan show great ability and power of thoughtfulness and creativity to depict the story of Usha and Aniruddha. This classic love story is displayed with deep emotional sensitivity. Although the poetic beauty gets lost when translating to English, the story is still a rather intriguing tale of how two people can struggle and through perseverance and pure self determination arrive at a truly happy ending. I’d encourage anyone who has a liking for romantic stories to find the entire tale and give it a read. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed!

Usha and Aniruddha (an excerpt)
by Kumaran Asan

Another contemporary Malayalam poet is Ulloor S. Parameswara Iyer. He has done much to help enrich the Malayalam modern poetry. Ulloor’s writings tend to reflect a very deep admiration and devotion for the great spiritual and moral values, which he contends are the strongest assets of the ancient cultural and social life of India of old.

The Traveler’s Song
by G. Sankara Kurup

As with all of the languages common to India, each region has its own dialect and cultural subsets, which have a great influence on the writings of their people.

Alliteration is essentially the repetition of the beginning sounds of adjoining or neighboring words in a line of verse. Then there is assonance, which is the repetition of the vowel sounds in adjoining or neighboring words. The other related idea is consonance, which is the repetition of the same consonants between adjoining or neighboring words. It is possible to have all three devices found in the same line of verse, although we usually see only two at a time. A carefully crafted poem can make interesting use of these tools, providing a wide range of affects. One poet who frequently uses alliteration in his work is Edgar Allan Poe. This American poet seemed to enjoy the word play and aural pleasure that one received by listening to lines filled with assonance and consonance, as well as they usually ending rhymes.

The Bells (an excerpt)
by Edgar Allan Poe

One might also find another type of repetition within a line of verse which might be similar to alliteration. This is the recurring use of words or phrases. Many different kinds of poetry, from ballads to nonsense rhymes, make use of this type of repetition. Sometimes these repeated syllables or words serve to accentuate the tempo or rhythm of the verses or merely to add an extra beat to help complete the pattern of the line. This type of patter, which can involve alliteration, is given in this wonderful example by William Shakespeare.

A Lover and His Lass
by William Shakespeare

Alliteration is also used in place of rhyme. There are both audible and visual benefits of using alliteration. While we usually consider the sounds that words make as they are spoken, there is something appealing in seeing poems in print that have made use of these wonderful literary devices. Especially among contemporary poets, alliteration has come to be used as a much more broader tool for creating tempos and creative sounds within each line of verse. This becomes especially useful for poets who are fond of free verse. An example of that can be found in Edwin Markham’s use of alliteration in poems which are both unrhymed and utilizing blank verse.

Lincoln, The Man of the People (an excerpt)
by Edwin Markham

As students of poetry learn more and more about the uses of these different techniques and devices, they will begin to gain a much broader appreciation of the purpose and benefits of each one.

Music To Me
by Aleigh Miller

Poems about music don’t necessarily need to be only about the songs themselves. It can also be about the process or experience of music. Consider the first time you hear a particular song — how did it make you feel? Where were you when you first hear it? Who was with you when you heard it? These are all relevant thoughts, and they can be expressed through poems. For anyone who is a musician, it makes sense to write about the experience of playing music. A poem about the way it feels to hold an instrument in your hands, and to feel the vibrations from the strings or from the air passing through the body of a horn or woodwind. Musicians are probably the very first people to have real appreciation for poems about music, and have probably written about their experiences. Perhaps one might right about the first time they played in front of a group of people, or the preparations they went through in order to give their very first recital. In fact, that is the topic of the following poem which I wrote just recently. I am sure that almost any musician can appreciate the story of the combined stress and joy that is felt when getting ready to give a recital — especially that very first one!

The Recital
by Scott Berry

Poems about music are also appreciated by children. Teachers have found that using poetry enhances the learning process, and that poems can serve as mnemonic devices to aid in remembering details. Poems about music can be more than just talking about music, but saying the poems out loud can also help with learning rhythms and styles of music. For instance, the style of the limerick poem can be quiet useful if one were teaching about folk music. In particular, the limerick can be used when learning about different types of jigs. The jig is usually done to a 6/8 tempo, and the bouncing tempo is enjoyed by children as well as adults. An example of such tunes follows, sung to the tune of Cielito Lindo.

Untitled
by Anonymous

Untitled
by Captain Nicholl

Another individual who was instrumental in the popularization of the limerick style of poem is Edward Lear. He is responsible for the publication of The Book of Nonsense as well as other related volumes. Most limericks of the era were considered nonsense, and were written in a style that encouraged that description. Lear himself wrote over 200 limericks, most of which were composed in the ‘nonsense’ style. Another interesting aspect of the limerick was that it was usually accompanied by an equally absurd drawing or illustration. A common practice was to also make the final line, the conclusion, use some similar variation of the opening word or phrase. Here is an example of a limerick that describes the fun of the limerick style of poetry.

Limerick
by Anonymous

Another common practice among writers of the limerick was to play with names, especially those which were exotic sounding geographical locations. In fact, the limerick was used as an unofficial mnemonic device in the classroom. The limerick was also used mostly by educated men, with women being identified as either as victims in the scene, or even as villains. The more desired limericks were those which added a surprising twist to its ending, often developed along with the torturing of rhymes and wordplay. It was also common for the limerick to contain some sort of alliteration, internal rhyming, or assonance. Limericks have also been set to a variety of tunes, usually employing a jig time (6/8) which has a rather natural bouncing rhythm. This style of musical limerick has proven to be very popular, especiall among children, and they are often used in nursery rhymes. An example of that would be the well known nursery rhyme, Hickory Dickory Dock, whose author and origins are debated.

Hickory Dickory Dock
by Unknown

A Sketch
by William Wordsworth

Of equal importance in the early works of Wordsworth was when he met another contemporary poet, Samuel Taylor Coleridge. The two of them worked together to publish the noted work, Lyrical Ballads. These were some of the most significant of his work and they had a huge impact on Western literature; however, it is in the opening of the second edition of these writings that we find a description of Wordsworth’s attitude toward his writings, as well as his perception of his place in the world. There, in the preface of that second edition, Wordsworth writes about the need to use “common speech” when writing poems, and he railed against the standard practice of the period of writing epic poetry versus lyric forms. During his life, Wordsworth continued to emphasize the need for changes in the rules for writing both poetry and prose.

A Gravestone Upon The Floor In The Cloisters Of Worcester Cathedral
by William Wordsworth

Many consider The Prelude to be his most famous work, and it is also thought to be one of the greatest achievements in Romantic English literature. The poem itself is the story of Wordsworth spiritual life and, although it was revised many times, it came to represent a new genre of English poetry. Actually, The Prelude was not published until several months after his death. He had stopped writing after the loss of one of his children, and never seemed to regain interest in his work.

The Prelude (an excerpt)
by William Wordsworth

A very good example of a poem which makes obvious usage of the metaphor is William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18. As you read through this poem, you can see how he uses the metaphor openly to create a meaning that is easily understood by the reader.

Sonnet 18 – Shall I Compare Thee To A Summer’s Day
by William Shakespeare

This poem is, in reality, a riddle. The interesting thing that Shakespeare does not share with us is who “thee” is when they are together at their home, thereby leaving it to the actual metaphor itself to describe or explain it for us. The riddle in this poem is actually rather simple if we just allow the poem to do what Shakespeare intended for it to do. Of course, this is found in the answer to the question about defining that which is immortal and that will grow for eternity. If we look at the opening question, we’ll see that this is the starting point — the ‘set up’, if you will — “Shall I compare thee . . . ?” This type of language is typical of metaphor poetry, as it helps to generate any number of metaphors. It serves as an excellent example of what a metaphor poem really is all about.

As we look deeper into metaphor poems, we will learn that they often do more than just describe an idea or a concept, but that they actually put us in touch with the essence of that idea or concept. Unlike a description, which is a conscious effort, when use attempt to evoke a feeling, then we have succeeded in taking poem and creating a metaphorical reality.

An excellent example of this is John Donne’s poem about two separated lovers who are like the points of compass needle, always apart, yet still always one. Read it for yourself and see if you begin to ‘feel’ the metaphor more than look for an ‘explanation.”

If They Be Two
by John Donne

The first one we will look at is called ‘terza rima’. This is a style of poetry which is comprised of ten or eleven syllabic lines which are organized into three-line ‘tercets’. Dante, who wrote such well known poems as The Divine Comedy has been given credit for developing this particular style of poetry. Several others, who studied Dante’s work, have also made use of this form, including John Milton, Auden, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Geoffrey Chaucer. Here is an example from Shelley’s collection.

Ode to the West Wind (an excerpt)
by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Another form of poetry which is not commonly known is the ‘senryu’ form. This type of poem is a Japanese style that is someone similar to the ‘Haiku’; however, this form of Japanese poetry is different in that it addresses people instead of nature. While the structure is relatively the same, the ‘senryu’ form of poetry is often done as a satire or a humorous piece of writing. While the ‘Haiku’ is generally published along with its author’s name, the ‘senryu’ is printed without identifying the writer.

Untitled

Another unusual form of poetry is the ‘cinquain’. This form of poetry, as you might gather from the title, involves five lines of poetry. It was developed by Adelaide Crapsey and was conceived by imitating the general form of the ‘Haiku’. The first line is composed of just one word, which is, in essence, the title. The second line is comprised of two words, followed by the third and fourth lines, which have three words and four words, respectively. The final line is, once again, a single word, which repeats the meaning of the title (line one).

Cinquain Twelve
by Richard Lamoureux

The word ‘enjambment’ might be familiar to some, but many people who feel they know a lot about poetry have likely never heard of this type of poetry, even though they have seen it many times. ‘Enjambment’ is a French word which means to ‘straddle’ or cross over. It is used to describe how one line of a couplet is completed in the second line.

Legend
by Gillian Clarke

The final poetry form that we will examine is the Cacophany. This is a literary technique which was created and used by Lewis Carroll, who used ‘cacophony’ in Jabberwocky, a poem he wrote to introduce this style. The word ‘cacophony’ has a Greek origin and means ‘unpleasant sound’. Carroll use of it in Jabberwocky is created by arranging consonants that clashed. In literary terms, the word has come to mean any application of words which combine sounds which are hissing, harsh, unmelodious, or sharp.

Jabberwocky
by Lewis Carroll

One poet who comes immediately to mind was the well respected and often quoted Chinese poet, Li Po. Some know him better as Li Bai. Both names are usually accepted in discussions regarding this venerated Chinese poet, however I will continue to use Li Po here in this discussion. He spent much of his life as a poet and as a Taoist student and teacher. He was often sought after by various government leaders, and especially by emperors and their courts. His perceptions on life and on the interactions between people, nature and the universe were considered fascinating and full of wisdom. He was also respected and found favor with the common people with whom he came into contact with. One of the names given to him by the poet and Taoist He ZhiZhang was “Immortal Who Was Exiled From Heaven”. Regarding time, Li Po was a traditionalist, as seen in these few poems about the seasons.

Spring
by Li Po

Summer
by Li Po

Winter
by Li Po

The other perception of time, which is more common in Western thought, is that time is linear — that it moves from one point to another along a finite line. Unlike Eastern beliefs, which included such things as reincarnation and an eternal repeating of life, Western ideals on time indicate that it has a specific beginning and a specific ending. Of course, who better to tell about time in the Western world than the equally respected and renowned poet, Sir William Shakespeare. Much like Li Po, Shakespreare was highly regarded in his day, although he was not elevated to his current status until some time after his passing. Shakespeare’s works have been used throughout schools and universities as a standard upon which to evaluate all other poetry, and so it is no surprise that he would also have some influence on thoughts about time, life and death, which all go hand in hand. A perfect example of this sort of discussion is found in some of his many sonnets. One in particular is this interesting example.

Sonnet 12: When I do count the clock that tells the time
by William Shakespeare

Regardless of whether you maintain a Western or Eastern perspective on time, the idea of using poetry to express ones understandings of time is a universal idea. It is through poetry that one can help others learn about time, life and how to live a fulfilling life.