Poetry: Literary Elements

Dictionaries

Literary Elements

Think of literary elements as the building blocks of the work. These blocks or "elements" can be broken apart and individually examined to give a deeper meaning into a specific aspect of the text. 

Allusion

  • Referring to something indirectly. This subtle reference could be to an idea, a person, a place, or even an event. 

Example: The poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay," by Robert Frost alludes to the biblical story of The Garden of Eden. 

 

Setting

  •  Time and place

  •  Broader setting- the historical period, social environment, etc.
  •  Often directly tied to characters, their actions, ideas, and the plot.
    • How would characters act in a different setting? 
Example: In T. S. Eliot's poem "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock", the dreary and gloomy streets of London serve to alienate the speaker and reflect his inner emotional turmoil and feelings of isolation.

 

Tone

  • Authors' develop tones for their works to portray their attitude of the subject matter. 

  • Assists the reader with understanding the overall message and the authors feelings about it.  
  • Exhibits emotion- can influence the reader.
Example: The poem "Do not go gentle into that good night" by Dylan Thomas is laced with fierce urgency and determination. The repeated plea to "Rage, rage against the dying of the light" creates a powerful, almost furious, tone. 

 

Symbolism

  • Symbolism is often used to bring an abstract idea to the forefront.
  • The idea can be represented in many ways such as a person, an object, or an action to name a few. 
  • Symbolism often has deep meaning and gives substantial meaning to the text.
  • It it is important to examine the surrounding text when analyzing symbolism- put it in context
Example: In poetry, animals often symbolize abstract human concepts. In Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven", the raven is a potent symbol of grief, despair, and the inescapable nature of sorrow, with its repeated "Nevermore" reinforcing this theme. 

 

Imagery

  • The language used to describe and bring readers into the literary world. 

  • Mainly focuses on our five senses. 
  • Critical for setting the mood of the text
    • Look at the adjectives used to set the mood, are they somber, cheerful, etc.?
    • What importance does the mood play with the overall theme of the text?
Example: Golden daffodils and swaying breezes appear in William Wordsworth's poem "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud", where nature imagery is used to show the speaker's progression from lonely to feeling whole.

 

Diction and Syntax

  • Diction focuses on the word choice of the text and the precise meaning of those words.

    • Words that are purposefully left out could also be analyzed. 
  • Syntax analyzes the sentence structure.
Example: In "Because I could not stop for Death" by Emily Dickinson, Death is personified as a polite suitor (notice how Death is capitalized, like the name of a friend). Dickinson's word choice shows there is nothing to fear from Death, as she writes, "He kindly stopped for me."
URL: https://lib.pstcc.edu/poetry