Literary Language, Genres, and Poetic Structures Explained
Literary Language: Definition and Characteristics
Literature stands as one of the richest and most compelling demonstrations of a language’s expressive power. It is characterized by the following features:
- Originality: Authors seek novel, unpublished expressions. In many cases, old ideas find new avenues of expression adapted to contemporary times.
- Artistic Intent: Writers aim to build a work of art, much like musicians compose their pieces.
- Connotative Value: Literary language emphasizes the evocative, fundamental value of words. It focuses not only on what the text explicitly states but also on what it suggests.
Exploring Literary Genres
Literary genres are structural models used to classify, group, and create different literary texts.
The Lyric Genre: Expression and Form
Definition: The lyric genre is characterized by the expression of the poet’s intimacy and subjectivity. It is where the poetic function is manifested most clearly, given its systematic and intensive use of the proper elements of literary language.
Key Features of Lyric Poetry
- Tendency to eliminate less important elements to achieve a brief and condensed expression.
- Elevated references to space and time compared to other genres.
- Avoids narrative storylines, focusing on specific aspects.
- Lyric poetry is often associated with the use of verse, though prose can also possess equal poetic value.
- Supports a wide variety of themes, forms, tones, and intentions.
Essential Characteristics of Verse
For verse to speak with brevity and sound, it must possess the following features:
- Rhythm: Produced by the repetition of certain sounds, the distribution of syllables, pauses, and accents, creating an aural synthesis.
- Musicality: Through verse, words approach music. This implies the need for proper reading and intonation.
Major Forms of Lyric Poetry
- Elegy: Expresses grief over the death of a loved one. It often contains lamentations and praise for the deceased.
- Hymn: A poem to honor an outstanding person, celebrate a memorable event, or express joy and enthusiasm.
- Eclogue: The poet expresses feelings of love through the voices of shepherds in an idealized natural landscape.
- Ode: A poem of variable length, often discussing a specific theme. It typically features elevated language and serious content.
- Satire: A composition, in prose or verse, that censures and ridicules faults or defects.
Literary Metrics: Verse and Rhyme
Understanding Verse
Definition: A set of words forming a rhythmic unit, written on a single line. This is the fundamental metric unit.
Types of Rhyme in Poetry
Rhyme: The repetition of sounds at the end of verses, starting from the last accented vowel. Lines may rhyme in two ways:
- Consonant Rhyme: Sounds are repeated from the last stressed vowel in the same order (both vowels and consonants).
- Assonance Rhyme: From the last stressed vowel, the vowels match in the same order, but one or more consonants vary.
Verses Without Rhyme
- Loose Verses: Lines that do not rhyme within a stanza where other lines do.
- Blank Verse: There is no rhyme, but often maintains a regular meter or other structural similarities between the verses.
- Free Verse: Unequal measure without rhyme or regular meter. Free verse often utilizes repetition and other rhetorical figures.
The Stanza: Grouping of Verses
Definition: The grouping of verses, often determined by a fixed pattern of rhyme and meter.
The Narrative Genre
The narrative genre recounts events involving characters over time.
The Dramatic Genre (Theater)
Definition: Theater is a live performance featuring direct dialogue between characters and actions that create a plot, which can be happy or unhappy for the viewer. Its primary purpose is public representation.
Fundamental Theatrical Elements
- Written Text
- Director
- Actors
- Scenography (Set Design)
The Three Unities of Theater
- Action
- Space
- Time
Key Considerations for Dramatic Works
- Text Writing and Representation
- Double Communicative Situation
- Excerpts (or Fragments)
- Plausibility
- Dialogues and Monologues
- Use of Verbal and Nonverbal Codes