Understanding Poem

Welcome to study English

In this series we will share about Understanding Poem

There are 4 points which we will discuss in this video

·        Distinction between poem, poetry, and prose

·        Structure of the poem

·        The example of the poem

·        Exercises

The distinction between poem, poetry, and prosewill be explained in this order.

To make it clear let's watch this video below!

WHAT IS POEM?

Poem is a piece of writing that partakes of the nature of both speech and song that is nearly always rhytmical, usually methaporical. Jika dalam bahasa indonesia, sajak hampir sama dengan puisi, bahkan banyak yang sulit membedakan antara keduanya. Sejatinya, sajak merupakan suatu bentuk tulisan yang penyajian nya memiliki sifat teratur dan terikat dalam baris antara satu sama lainya.

William Henry Davies

Here’s an example from A Butterfly;
That on a rough, hard rock Happy can lie; 
Friendless and all alone 
On this unsweetened stone.

Now let my bed be hard No care take I; 
I’ll make my joy like this Small Butterfly; 
Whose happy heart has power 
To make a stone a flower.

The rhime sceme of the poem above is AABB (stanza 1) and AACC (stanza 2)

WHAT IS POETRY?

Poetry is literary work in which special intensity is given to the expression of feeling and ideas by the use of distinctive style and rhytm. Dalam bahasa Indonesia, Poetry merupakan suatu bentuk karya tulis yang biasanya merupakan ekspresi jiwa dengan nilai estetika yang berkualitas dan memiliki makna yag mendalam. Poetry dalam bahasa indonesia disebut dengan puisi.

william Shakespear

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?

Thou art more lovely and more temperate.

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,

And summer’s lease hath all too short a date.

Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,

And often is his gold complexion dimmed,

And every fair from fair sometime declines,

By chance, or nature’s changing course untrimmed

WHAT IS PROSE?

Prose is written or spoken language in its ordinary form, without metrical structure. Jika dalam bahasa indonesia, prose disebut dengan prosa dan memiliki arti sebuah bentuk karya tulis dengan ritme yang besar dan biasanya digunakan untuk menuangkan sebuah ide, fakta, pendapat ataupun gagasan.

Charlotte Brontë

The ledge, where I placed my candle, had a few mildewed books piled up in one corner; and it was covered with writing scratched on the paint. This writing, however, was nothing but a name repeated in all kinds of characters, large and small—Catherine Earnshaw, here and there varied to Catherine Heathcliff, and then again to Catherine Linton. In vapid listlessness I leant my head against the window, and continued spelling over Catherine Earnshaw—Heathcliff—Linton, till my eyes closed; but they had not rested five minutes when a glare of white letters started from the dark, as vivid as spectres—the air swarmed with Catherines; and rousing myself to dispel the obtrusive name, I discovered my candle wick reclining on one of the antique volumes, and perfuming the place with an odour of roasted calf-skin.

Perbedaan Antara Poem, Poetry Dan Prose 

• Poem : Merupakan sebuah sajak dalam bahasa inggris yang setiap barisnya saling memiliki keterikatan.
• Poetry : Merupakan sebuah puisi (karya tulis) dalam bahasa inggris yang memiliki sebuah estetika dan makna yang mendalam.
• Prose : Prose atau prosa merupakan karya tulis yang memiliki ritme yang besar dan biasanya digunakan untuk menuagkan ide atau gagasan akan suatu hal.

*Ritme : aksen suara yang teratur (Irama)

STRUCTURE

There are so many! And every culture/language has its own forms! To list them all would be impossible. However, if you are going to start somewhere, I would suggest learning a few basic terms first so that when you encounter complex structures. I would start with the following terms:

Rhythm

·         Stressed syllable

·         Unstressed syllable

rhyme scheme

·         consonant rhyme: when the last two syllables rhyme with the same consonant falling between them.
Example in English: “Humpty Dumpty”

·         assonant rhyme: When the last two vowels of the last two syllables rhyme, but the consonant between them is different. This form of rhyme is pretty rare in English, but is very common in Romance languages. Example in Spanish: “ala / brava”

·         slant rhyme: AKA “half-rhyme” - these are words that can “rhyme” when written, but do not when spoken. For example, “wind / find” when “wind” refers to a gust of air. Otherwise, slant rhyme can be words that are *nearly* alike, but don’t quite rhyme. Emily Dickinson used this with some frequency.

meter: the number of syllables in one poetic verse

·         foot: two syllables make up a foot, and a verse is composed of a number of feet, having a pattern of emphasis (unaccented and accented syllables)

·         Example of a type of meter: iambic pentameter: A metrical line consisting of five feet in unaccented/accented sequence for a total of ten syllables. Much of Shakespeare's plays and poems employ iambic pentameter with consonant rhyme.

stanza: a grouping of any number of individual lines/verses, followed by a break, or that stand on their own as a single poem.

·         couplet: Two verses.

·         tercet: Three verses.

·         quatrain: Four verses.

form: the collection/pattern of stanzas that comprise a poem. Form can be strictly or loosely defined.

·         An example of strict form: the sonnet: A poem with strict form obeys rules of rhyme, meter, and stanzas. The Shakespearean sonnet often consists of fourteen lines: three quatrains and then a couplet. The meter is iambic pentameter. The rhyme scheme is (abab cdcd efef gg) where each letter represents the rhyming of the last syllable(s).)

·         Looser forms of poetry have stanzas that are more intuitive, and lack the formal structures (rhyme, meter, stanzas) as defined by tradition. Free verse is an example of poetry that lacks formal structures, obeying only the logic of the poem's content.

Let's Practice!

SPRING

In the early part of spring

You will hear, many birds sing

They are just letting, the rest of us know

Winter is over, spring melted the snow

You will notice, a beautiful scene

The trees will slowly, begin to turn green

Chipmunks and bunnies will come out and play,

Bears will no longer, sleep during the day

It’s exciting, when spring finally arrives

Bees will make honey, inside their hives

So much to do, so much to see

Insects and animals are happy and free

1.    What is the poem about?

Answer: Spring Time/ The beauty of sring

2.    How many stanzas does the poem have?

Answer: 3 stanzas

3.    What is ‘spring, sing, know, snow’ (stanza 1) called?

Answer: rhyme scheme

4.    How many lines does the poem have?

Answer: 12 lines

5.    What is the rhyme scheme of the poem above?

Answer: Stanza 1: AABB Stanza 2: CCDD Stanza 3 EEFF

Conditional Sentences Type 1

Objectives

• Learners are able to understand the use of conditional if (type I) in sentences
• Learners are able to guess possible result from certain present condition or do logic reasoning.

Learn about it!

Look at the following statements and learn what they mean:

If the voters are not satisfied, the election will likely be repeated.

The above sentence means that re-election will likely be done if the voters are not happy with the result.

If the oil price keeps raising, other prices will increase immediately.

The above sentence means that prices of other products will improve very soon if the oil price keeps raising.

If she keeps studying hard, she will pass the exam with good results.

The above sentence means that she will pass the examination with good results if she keeps studying hard.

Conditional Sentences Type 1 is used to make prediction that may happen in the future when certain condition is fulfilled in the present. 

The predicted situation is as the most possible result to occur. However, when the present condition cannot meet the requirement, the future result won’t exist.

Conditional sentence has two parts: the ‘if clause’ and the main clause. The ‘if clause’ belongs to the present condition that needs to be fulfilled and the main clause belongs to future condition that occurs as the result.

Simple Present Tense		Present Future Tense
Verbal	Nominal	Verbal	Nominal
(+) Subject + Verb 1 (es/s) + Object (-) Subject + do not / does not + Verb 1 + Object (?) Do/Does + Subject + Verb 1 + Object?	(+) Subject + is/am/are + Adjective/ noun/ adverb (-) Subject + is/am/are + not + Adjective/ noun/ adverb (?)is/am/are + Subject + Adjective/ noun/ adverb?	(+) Subject + Will/shall + Verb 1 + Object (-) Subject + Will not / shall not + not + Verb 1 + Object (?) Will/ shall + Subject + Verb 1 + Object?	(+) Subject + Will/ shall + be + Adjective/ noun/ adverb (-)Subject + Will not / shall not + be + Adjective/ noun/ adverb (?)Will/ shall Subject + be + Adjective/ noun/ adverb?

Keypoints

• Conditional If (type I) is used to make prediction that may happen in the future when certain condition is fulfilled in the present.
• The pattern is If + Simple Present for the if clause, and followed by main clause in future tense (will).
• You need to put a comma when the if clause comes first, but you don not need one when the main clause comes first.

UNDERSTANDING SONGS

OBJECTIVES OF STUDY

Understanding the social function and language features of songs to learn the words, feelings, and rhymes in songs, according to the contexts. The objectives of the lesson are students are able to understand the words, feelings, and rhymes of songs.

LEARN ABOUT IT!

We like listening to music in our free time. We can learn English from English songs. In this lesson, we learn words, feelings, and rhymes in songs.
Here are some points to learn:
1. Words in songs.
What does “a certain word” mean?
Songs are similar to poems. There are beautiful words in songs and poems. Some of the words are new for us. To help us understand the songs, we need to know the meanings of the difficult words. Looking up the dictionary will certainly help us know the meanings of the words and enrich our vocabulary.
2. Synonyms and antonyms.
Singing and reading the lyrics of songs will help up enrich vocabulary by trying to find the synonym and antonym of difficult words. We have to check the words in the dictionary and make notes.
3. Rhymes of the songs.
Learning the rhymes of the songs will help us learn how to pronounce the words. Pronunciation is an important aspect to learn when we learn a language. If we miss pronouncing words, others will not understand what we are saying.
4. The feelings of the singer.
Songs and the lyrics show how the singers feel. Songs can suggest happiness, sadness, ignorance, care, hopes, love, friendship, and others.
5. How to understand a complete song.

To understand the songs, we have to able in determining the words in the context of the situation. There is some meaning of the word depend on the context of the situation as example Darling, just dive right in and follow my lead

The word ‘dive’ has some meaning such as ‘jump in’, ‘swim’, ‘ply’, move

DEFINITION

The song is a short poem or other sets of words set to music or meant to be sung or a single work of music intended to be sung by the human voice with distinct and fixed pitches and patterns using sound and silence and a variety of forms that often include the repetition of sections.

SOCIAL FUNCTION

The social functions of the song are:

a.   To entertain the listeners.

b.   To teach moral value through the lyrics of the songs.

c.   To provide a way of managing the relationship between our public and private emotional life.

d.   To express personal feeling and cultural values.

e.   To give someone to not only shares their emotions with others but also to have an emotional connection that just can’t be experienced in any other way.

GENERIC STRUCTURE

The general structure of a song consists of verse-chorus-verse-bridge-chorus. It is better for us to learn more about the complete structure of songs.

a. Intro

The introduction establishes melodic, harmonic, and/or rhythmic related to the main body of the song.

b. Verse

It is the section of the song structure that tells the story. This is the exposition, describing the scene or the person, or an emotion. There are usually two or three verses in a row that have the same musical structure, the same rhyme, and poetic meter, but different words. The second verse builds on the picture painted in the first verse, etc.

c. Chorus of Refrain

A chorus is the most repeated section, so it’s the easiest remembered. A chorus is a summary of the song’s story. All the verses have been leading up to the chorus and are usually the part of the song people sing along with. A chorus can come at the beginning of the song structure; it can also start in the middle, or come at the end. In fact, some songs don’t have choruses at all. Some people are usually confused to differentiate between choruses and refrain. A refrain is any line that repeats in the song lyric, while a chorus is any group of lines that repeat.

d. Break

A break is actually a brief “rest” or “pause” for the core melody within a song used to add further dimension and excitement. It may include a quick instrumental solo or drum interlude or it may be a brief moment of silence or a combination of each of these elements.

e. Bridge

This is the part of the song that shifts. It can suddenly change tempo, or volume, or instrumentation. The bridge is the section that gives the audience time to reflect on the story or gives them the “climax” or conclusion of the story through verses and chorus. Bridges can be used to give the singer a break.

f. Outro or Coda

This is the end of the road for the song. It can repeat the intro, chorus or a refrain as an outro, or a bridge with an instrumental solo.

Below Are Some Forms of Song’s Structure

Intro-verse-verse-chorus-break-verse-verse-break-bridge-break-out

Verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus.

LANGUAGE FEATURES

The following are the language features of songs.

a.   Imagery. Imagery describes about feelings and emotions. Sebuah lagu biasanya berusaha menggambarkan perasaan yang dirasakan si penulis.

b.   Rhythm. Ritme disini digunakan untuk menciptakan mood. Misalnya, apabila kita sedang bersedih dan mendengarkan lagu dengan ritme slow, maka kita akan terbawa suasana dengan lagu tersebut. So, rhythm creates mood! 

c.   Figures of speech

1.            Metaphor, comparing two things that are not alike to suggest that they actually have something in common. Sekilas memang kedua hal yang dibandingkan tidak berkaitan, tetapi sebenarnya ada kesamaan antara dua hal tersebut.e.g. “Time is a thief” or “Her haisr was silk”

2.            Simile, compares two things using “like” or “as’’. Suatu hal digambarkan dengan hal yang mirip dengan menggunakan kata ‘like’ atau ‘as’ e.g. “My love is like a red rose”. 

3.            Hyperbole, a dramatic language. Big exaggeration, usually with humor. Suatu hal digambarkan secara berlebihan, terkadang menggelitik karena terlalu berlebihan.
e.g. “That math homework took me 8 million years to finish”.  

4.            Personification, an object appear like a person. Objek (bukan manusia) memiliki kemampuan seperti manusia. e.g. “The wind whisper” or “The snowflakes danced in the wind”.  

5.            Alli titration, the repetation of the same beginning sound in a series of words. Perulangan bunyi suara yang terdapat di awal setiap kata. e.g. “Peter Parker pick a pack of pants punctually”

EXAMPLE OF THE SONG

For the example of the song which we will be discussed is the song entitle of Perfect- Ed Sheeran

I found a love for me

Darling, just dive right in and follow my lead

Well, I found a girl, beautiful and sweet

Oh, I never knew you were the someone waiting for me

'Cause we were just kids when we fell in love

Not knowing what it was

I will not give you up this time

But darling, just kiss me slow, your heart is all I own

And in your eyes you're holding mine

Baby, I'm dancing in the dark with you between my arms

Barefoot on the grass, listening to our favorite song

When you said you looked a mess, I whispered underneath my breath

But you heard it, darling, you look perfect tonight

Well I found a woman, stronger than anyone I know

She shares my dreams, I hope that someday I'll share her home

I found a love, to carry more than just my secrets

To carry love, to carry children of our own

We are still kids, but we're so in love

Fighting against all odds

I know we'll be alright this time

Darling, just hold my hand

Be my girl, I'll be your man

I see my future in your eyes

Baby, I'm dancing in the dark, with you between my arms

Barefoot on the grass, listening to our favorite song

When I saw you in that dress, looking so beautiful

I don't deserve this, darling, you look perfect tonight

Baby, I'm dancing in the dark, with you between my arms

Barefoot on the grass, listening to our favorite song

I have faith in what I see

Now I know I have met an angel in person

And she looks perfect, no I don't deserve this

You look perfect tonight

There are some skills that we can study from the song.

1.    After reading the script of the song above you can analyze the structure of the song. What is the structure of the song above?

2.    We can improve our skill in term of vocabularies skill. Learn about synonym and also antonym of the words in the song above.

a.   Synonym

·         Deserve=receive

b.   Antonym

·         Give=accept

3.    The ability of doing translation is very essential in understanding the songs. After you able to find the meaning try to translate every single sentence in the song such as I found a love for me= Aku menemukan cinta untukku

4.    The ability in determining the meaning of the whole of the song. After doing translation the reader tries to comprehend the meaning or what is the background story and the objective of the song.

5.    The feeling of the song arises after you understanding the meaning of the song and know the background why this song was presented or made. The feeling deep of love arise by listening this song. Another song songs have other feeling might full of anger, sad, happy and many other. Could you find the song which could make us sad?

Translation of the song

I found a love for me

Ku temukan sebuah cinta untukku

Darling, just dive right in and follow my lead

Kasih,tempuhlah dan ikuti langkahku.

Well, I found a girl, beautiful and sweet

Nah, aku menemukan seorang gadis, cantik dan manis

Oh, I never knew you were the someone waiting for me

Oh, aku tak pernah tau kaulah orangnya yang menantikanku

'Cause we were just kids when we fell in love

Karena kita masih anak anak ketika kita jatuh cinta

Not knowing what it was

Tidak mengerti apa cinta tersebut

I will not give you up this time

Aku tak akan membiarkanmu menyerah kali ini

But darling, just kiss me slow, your heart is all I own

Tapi kasih ,ciumlah aku secara perlahan ,perasaanmulah segalanya yang ku punya

And in your eyes you're holding mine

Dan dalam tatapanmu kaulah milikku

Baby, I'm dancing in the dark with you between my arms

Sayang, aku menari di kegelapan bersamamu pelukanku

Barefoot on the grass, listening to our favorite song

Bertelanjang kaki diatas rumput, mendengarkan lagu kesukaan kita

When you said you looked a mess, I whispered underneath my breath

Ketika kau berkata kau tampak kacau,aku berbisik dengan pelan

But you heard it, darling, you look perfect tonight

Tapi kau mendengarnya,sayang ,kau terlihat sempurna malam ini

Well I found a woman, stronger than anyone I know

aku temukan wanita, lebih tangguh dari siapapun yang ku kenal

She shares my dreams, I hope that someday I'll share her home

dia mimpinya sama denganku ,aku berharap kelak aku bisa satu rumah

I found a love, to carry more than just my secrets

Ku temukan cinta,untuk membawa lebih banyak dari sekedar rahasiaku

To carry love, to carry children of our own

Tuk membawa cinta,tuk membawa anak-anak kita sendiri

We are still kids, but we're so in love

Kita masih anak-anak, tapi kita begitu mencintai

Fighting against all odds

Berjuang menghadapi semua rintangan

I know we'll be alright this time

Aku tau akan menjadi lebih baik saat ini

Darling, just hold my hand

Kasih,peganglah tanganku

Be my girl, I'll be your man

Jadilah kekasihku,aku akan jadi kekasihmu

I see my future in your eyes

Aku melihat masa depanku di matamu

Baby, I'm dancing in the dark with you between my arms

Sayang, aku menari di kegelapan bersamamu pelukanku

Barefoot on the grass, listening to our favorite song

Bertelanjang kaki diatas rumput, mendengarkan lagu kesukaan kita

When I saw you in that dress, looking so beautiful

Ketika aku melihat mu memakai gaun itu,terlihat sangat cantik

I don't deserve this, darling, you look perfect tonight

Aku tidak memungkiri itu,saying kamu telihat sempurna malam ini

Baby, I'm dancing in the dark with you between my arms

Sayang, aku menari di kegelapan bersamamu pelukanku

Barefoot on the grass, listening to our favorite song

Bertelanjang kaki diatas rumput, mendengarkan lagu kesukaan kita

I have faith in what I see

Aku yakin dengan apa yang ku lihat

Now I know I have met an angel in person

Sekarang aku tau aku bertemu malaikat berwujud manusia

And she looks perfect, no I don't deserve this

Dan dia terlihat sempurna, tidak, aku tidak layak

You look perfect tonight

Kamu terlihat sempurna malam ini

KEY POINTS

Song is a short poem or other set of words set to music or meant to be sung.

The social functions of song are:

a.             To entertain the listeners.

b.             To teach moral value through the lyrics of the songs.

c.             To provide a way of managing the relationship between our public and private emotional life.

d.             To express personal feeling and cultural values.

e.             To give someone to not only shares their emotions with others, but also to have an emotional connection that just can’t be experienced in any other way.

The structure of songs: Intro-verse -chorus -verse- Intro-verse -chorus -verse.

The following are the language features of songs.

a.   Imagery

b.   Rhythm

c.   Figure of Speech

·        Metaphor

·        Simile

·        Personification

·        Alli titration

LET'S PRACTICE

Ed Sheeran-Photograph

        

1. Rearrange the song below in good order!

Loving can hurt sometimes. Loving can hurt. It is the only thing that makes us feel alive. When it gets hard. You know it can get hard sometimes. But it's the only thing that I know.

Times forever frozen still. Where our eyes are never closing. We keep this love in a photograph. We made these memories for ourselves. Hearts are never broken.

Wait for me to come home. So you can keep me. Of your ripped jeans. Inside the pocket.
You won't ever be alone. Holdin' me closer. 'Til our eyes meet.

Remember that with every piece of ya. And it's the only thing we take with us when we die.

And it's the only thing that I know (know). I swear it will get easier. Loving can heal. Loving can mend your soul.

Our hearts were never broken. We keep this love in this photograph. Where our eyes are never closing. Times forever frozen still.

Inside the pocket. So you can keep me.

2. It is the only thing that makes us feel alive. The word It refers to ….

3. Identify some modal verbs in the script!

3. What is the translation of the song above?

4. What is the meaning of the song above?

5. What is your feeling after understanding the meaning of the song above?