Elements
The voice behind the poem
What is speaker?
A two-line stanza
What is a couplet?
A lyric poem which is set to music
What is a song?
A concrete object, person, or place that represents an abstract idea beyond its literal meaning.
What is a symbol?
This subject of Africa's Plea focuses on the speaker’s desire to be accepted for who they truly are.
What is identity or individuality?
The fundamental unit in poetry
What is a line?
A six-line stanza
What is a sestet?
A structured lyric poem praising and glorifying an individual, commemorating an event, or describing nature intellectually rather than emotionally
What is an ode?
In literature and poetry, this white bird is a universal symbol for peace or the Holy Spirit.
What is a dove?
This common theme (Latin for "seize the day") encourages readers to live for the present moment
What is Carpe Diem?
A rhyme scheme with 4 quatrains and one couplet
What is Shakespearean rhyme scheme?
A three-line stanza
What is a tercet?
A short, highly musical poem that expresses the personal emotions or thoughts of a single speaker
What is lyric poetry?
Traditional or universal symbols with fixed meanings recognized by a broad audience.
What is conventional symbolism?
The act that transforms a meaningless gesture into a "flower" in the poem The Flower by Kim Chu'un Soo
What is calling a name?
The attitude of the poem's speaker
What is tone?
A seven-line stanza
What is a septet?
A poem that commemorates the dead and are melancholy, mournful and contemplative
What is an elegy?
Symbols whose meaning is established by the author within the specific context of a single literary work or setting.
What is contextual or literary symbolism?
The poem Africa's Plea criticizes this act of forcing others to think, act, and live like someone else.
What is oppression or cultural domination?
The emotional undertone the poet conveys in a poem
What is mood?
A poetic meter consisting of five iambs (metrical feet) per line, with each iamb containing an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable
What is an iambic pentameter?
A poem of 14 lines usually written in iambic pentameter (five pairs of stressed and unstressed syllables) with a rhyme scheme (the pattern of end rhyme)
What is a sonnet?
A universal symbol for romantic love and passion
What is a red rose?
The speaker’s plea in Africa's Plea reflects this larger historical struggle of Africans
What is the fight for independence or freedom from colonialism?