Week three introduction

Welcome to week three of the course. So far, we’ve looked at the ways in which poets use elements of structure and versification to control the meaning of their poems. We have to remember, however, that virtually all poems are simply made up of words. So this week, we start to dig down into the detail of the words they choose to use, a process that we will continue next week as well. This week, the focus is on three particular areas– voice, verbs, and repetition of structures. This will require some quite forensic investigation. But as we shall see, every element contributes to the overall effect of the poem.