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Have you ever attended a lesson or seminar on a topic you don't even have an idea about? Have you researched a concept you don't understand? Have you ever gone the extra mile to get to a full understanding of a complex subject matter?
Though I am a science student, back then in high school, I had an unforgettable memory in the Literature-in-English class. This course was made compulsory for everyone in grade 11. That first day in class, our teacher taught us many things about literature. She told us that literature has made the world a global village. I didn't understand what she meant. The only thing I learned from her class was that literature is divided into three genres: prose, drama and poetry. I can't forget this genre, "poetry" because my teacher pronounced it like "poultry" and everyone laughed. She then told us she pronounced it intentionally so that most of us who kept mean faces would wear some smiles.
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After that day I attended that class, when I went back to the library, I decided to do deeper research into this special genre of literature, Poetry. I saw several definitions of poetry but to let my brain off some loads, I decided to go for a simple definition. Poetry is simply a work of literature that a poet can use to express feelings and ideas, by carefully introducing some styles and rhythm to show intensity. My research made me find out more about poetry. Poetry is as old as history. Poetry has some form of connection with religion. Many religions have spiritual songs which
are works of poetry. Back in the times of the early men, it is believed that they often recited some spells when going for a hunt, a war, or praying for healing or a good harvest.
One special feature of poetry is the diction. I love reading some great works of poetry from popular poets, both the English and African poets. I have found pleasure in reading poems written by this great man, William Shakespeare. He is a born writer and skilled in what he used to do. Poetry uses languages that will need a reader to think critically for clear understanding.
Poetry has some specific elements that make it special, I will list some of them and explain them in simple terms.
There are over ten elements of poetry but I'm going to be sharing only four with everyone.
RHYME: this is simply repeating words that have the same sounds. I will give an example: "Let me be, you busy bee, buzzing around the tree". You get the point right?
It's one of the most important elements of poetry. It helps make the poem captivating and gets the reader engaged.
TONE: this is a very important element of poetry that helps the poet to express his mood and feelings. The role of this element is to help engage the reader just as rhyme.
PERSONIFICATION: This element of poetry is the funniest for me. This element gives inanimate objects features of human thoughts and activities. Simple examples of personification are, "The sun rises from the east". Is the sun a man that it would rise?
"The trees danced to the wind which pushed them to different directions". Can trees dance and do winds have hands to push? Just funny to me.
ALLITERATION: This is the last element I will share and this poetic device is just like rhyme and assonance. It's a repetition of certain consonant sounds in an arrangement to form a pattern. A perfect example: "The man at the counter is a ranter and a popular hunter"
Poetry is a very large concept to consider. I researched till I got tired but I developed a love for poetry more than I ever did before. I have special poets who I love for their poetic works. Some of them are the great Williams Shakespeare, Pablo Neruda, Sapho and many more talented writers whose works are amazing and enjoyable.
/Image is mine/
I developed a great passion for poetry and I had to get my poem book. I wrote a few poems whenever I was free. However since I had to concentrate more on my science courses due to my future profession, I had to kill the overzealousness in me to dive into poetry as a professional writer.
Thanks for reading.
This is my entry for the #juneinleo daily prompts for the day, day #07.
The images are all rightly sourced.