DEFINITIONS OF

POETRY

HOW AND WHAT

ANALYSIS LOOKS FOR
What is Poetry ?
Johnson defines poetry as “metrical composition”, it is
the art of uniting pleasure with truth by calling
imagination to help of reason.
Mill defines poetry as the thought and word in which
emotion spontaneously embodies itself.
McCaulay believes poetry as “the art of employing
words in such a manner as to produce an illusion on
the imagination the art of doing by means of words
what the painter does by means of colors
Carlyle declares poetry as “musical thought” while
Shelley argues that it is the expression of the
imagination
A poet is a person who usually more sensitive
in his/ her view on the sights, sound and
sensation of the world around him/ her; to
the behaviour of people, their follies,
sufferings, their nobility, to the thoughts that
human ask about themselves and their
world.
A poet is a person who is capable of
expressing those things in language with
deep meaning (Murphy,1972:21)
Types of Poems
1. Lyric Poem
Lyrics are usually intended to be accompanied
by music. A Lyric poem is usually fairly short, written in
a simple language, and has an easy-moving and well
defined rhythm.

Ex: The songs in Shakespeare’s plays

Robert Burn’s short poems
 A Red, Red Rose
By Robert Burns
O my Luve is like a red, red rose
That’s newly sprung in June;
O my Luve is like the melody
That’s sweetly played in tune.

So fair art thou, my bonnie lass,

So deep in luve am I; Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear,
And I will luve thee still, my dear, And the rocks melt wi’ the sun;
Till a’ the seas gang dry. I will love thee still, my dear,
While the sands o’ life shall run.

And fare thee weel, my only luve!

And fare thee weel awhile!
And I will come again, my luve,
Though it were ten thousand mile.
Narcissus¹
Karya: Sapardi Djoko Damono

seperti juga aku: namamu siapa, bukan?

pandangmu hening di permukaan telaga dan rindumu
dalam
tetapi jangan saja kita bercinta
jangan saja aku mencapaimu dan kau padaku menjelma

atau tunggu sampai angin melepaskan selembar daun

dan jatuh di telaga: panndangmu berpendar, bukan?
cemaskah aku kalau nanti air hening kembali?
cemaskah aku kalau gugur daun demi daun lagi?

1971
2. Sonnet

Sonnet is a poem of 14 lines. Each line has 5 regular

beats.
There are two popular types its thyme scheme:
(1) The Italian type with the rhyme scheme
abba abba cde cde (the rhyme of the last six line can
vary)
ex: Sonnets by Milton, Spenser and Keats
(2) The English type with the rhyme scheme
abab cdcd efef gg
ex: the sonnets of shakespeare
Bright star, would I were steadfast as thou art! -
Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night,
And watching, with eternal lids apart,
Like Nature's patient sleepless Eremite,
The moving waters at their priestlike task
Of pure ablution round earth's human shores,
Or gazing on the new soft fallen mask
Of snow upon the mountains and the moors -
No -yet still steadfast, still unchangeable,
Pillowed upon my fair love's ripening breast,
To feel for ever its soft fall and swell,
Awake for ever in a sweet unrest,
Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath,
And so live ever -or else swoon to death.

John Keats
Contoh 1 (pola 4-4-3-3):
Pagi-Pagi*
Karya: M. Yamin
Teja dan cerawat masih gemilang,
Memuramkan bintang mulia raya;
Menjadi pudar padam cahaya,
Timbul tenggelam berulang-ulang.
Fajar di timur datang menjelang,
Membawa permata ke atas dunia;
Seri-berseri sepantun mulia,
Berbagai warna, bersilang-silang.
Lambatlaun serta berdandan,
Timbul matahari dengan pelahaan;
Menyinari bumi dengan keindahan.
Segala bunga harumkan pandan,
Kembang terbuka, bagus gubahan;
Dibasahi embun, titik di dahan.
Contoh 2 (Pola 4-4-4-2):
Sonet: Entah Sampai Kapan*
Karya: Sapardi Djoko Damono
entah sejak kapan kita gugup
di antara frasa-frasa pongah
di kain rentang yang berlubang-lubang
sepanjang jalan raya itu; kita berhimpitan
di antara kata-kata kasar yang desak-mendesak
di kain rentang yang ditiup angin,
yang diikat di antara batang pohon
dan tiang listrik itu; kita tergencet di sela-sela
huruf-huruf kaku yang tindih menindih
di kain rentang yang berjuntai di perempatan jalan
yang tanpa lampu lalu lintas itu. Telah sejak lama
rupanya kita suka membayangkan diri kita
menjelma kain rentang koyak-moyak itu, sebisanya
bertahan terhadap hujan, angin, panas, dan dingin.
Contoh Puisi 3 (Pola 4-4-4-2):
Sonet: Kau Bertanya Apa*
Karya: Sapardi Djoko Damono
untuk Wing Kardjo
Kau bertanya apa masih ada harapan. Mungkin masih,
di luar kata. Di dalam kata terdengar, tak putus-putusnya
suara orang berkhotbah, berceramah, dan berselisih.
Sementara kita mengemis, mencuri, berebut jatah,
menjarah, atau menjadi gila; sementara kita menyaksikan
rumah-rumah terbakar, jaringan telepon putus,
pohon-pohon tumbang–di dalam kata masih saja
setiap aksara dipertanyakan asal-usulnya, setiap desis
diusut keterlibatan maknanya. Kono, dulu,
di dalam kata pernah terdengar desau gerimis kecil,
cericit anak-anak burung, siut daun jatuh,
dan langkah kabut pagi. Konon, dulu, pernah terdengar kata
saling berbisik. Kau bertanya apa masih ada harapan.
Ada yang menunggu kita di luar kata, mudah-mudahan.
Contoh 4 (pola 1 bait berisi 14 baris sekaligus):
Sonet: X*
Karya: Sapardi Djoko Damono
siapa menggores di langit biru
siapa meretas di awan lalu
siapa mengkristal di kabut itu
siapa mengertap di bunga layu
siapa cerna di warna ungu
siapa bernafas di detak waktu
siapa berkelebat setiap kubuka pintu
siapa mencair di bawah pandangku
siapa terucap di celah kata-kataku
siapa mengaduh di bayang-bayang sepiku
siapa tiba menjemputku berburu
siapa tiba-tiba menyibak cadarku
siapa meledak dalam diriku
: siapa Aku
(1968)
3. Ballad

the traditional ballad was usually sung. It was written in short

stanzas and usually told a simple story of a blighted love,
battle, death or the supernatural.
The usual form of the stanza is 4 lines riming xaxa
(differentiate from ballade which consist of 3 stanzas and
addressed to a person of importance)
Sometimes for variation two extra riming lines of 4 beats are
added to astanza making the rime scheme xaxa bb. Besides,
there are also other variations
Ex: Coleridge’s Ancient mariner
Keats’ La Belle Dame Sans merci
Wilde’s Ballad of Reading Gaol
1. Balada Terbunuhnya Atmo Karpo
Karya: WS Rendra
2. 2. Balada Orang-orang Tercinta
Karya: W.S. Rendra
3. Jante Arkidam
Karya: Ajip Rosidi
4. Dongeng Marsinah¹
Karya: Sapardi Djoko Damono
4. ODE
It is a poem addressed to a person or thing or written
for special occasion
Originally an ode was a choral song to be sung and
danced at a public occasion such as the
celebration of a victory in the Olympic Games.
The stanzas were arranged in groups of three
Ex: Keats’ Ode to a Nightingale and Ode to Gracian
Urn
Wordsworth’s Ode to Duty
Shelley’s Ode to the Westwind
Ode I and Ode II
karya: Toto Sudarto Bachtiar
5. Narrative Poem

A narrative poem is a verse that tells a story

It was common in EngLit up to the twentieth century
Ex: Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales
Tennyson’s The Princess and Maud
6. Epic Poem
Epic poem is a long narrative poem built up usually
around the adventures of a central hero.
Most nations have their epic

Ex: British: Beowulf

Greek: The Illiad and The Odyssey
French: Le Chanson de Roland
7. Limerick
It is a short humorous poem.
It has 5 anapestic lines riming aabba
The first, second and fifth lines are trimeter and the
third and fourth, diameter

Ex: Hickory, dickory dock

Edwar Lear’s Book of Nonsense
Hickory Dickory dock,
The mouse ran up the clock,
The clock struck one
The mouse ran down,
Hickory Dickory dock.

Hickory Dickory dock,

The mouse ran up the clock,
The clock struck two
And down he flew,
Hickory Dickory dock.
8. Elegy
The term comes from the Greek word “Elegia”
Means “Lament”
It is a mourning poem usually written on the death of
someone

Ex: Milton’s Lycidas

Shelley’s Adonais (on the death of Keats)
 Lycidas
By John Milton
Yet once more, O ye laurels, and once more
Ye myrtles brown, with ivy never sere,
I come to pluck your berries harsh and crude,
And with forc'd fingers rude
Shatter your leaves before the mellowing year.
Bitter constraint and sad occasion dear
Compels me to disturb your season due;
For Lycidas is dead, dead ere his prime,
Young Lycidas, and hath not left his peer.
Who would not sing for Lycidas? he knew
Himself to sing, and build the lofty rhyme.
He must not float upon his wat'ry bier
Unwept, and welter to the parching wind,
Without the meed of some melodious tear.
Derai-Derai Cemara¹
Karya: Chairil Anwar
cemara menderai sampai jauh
terasa hari akan jadi malam
ada beberapa dahan di tingkap merapuh
dipukul angin yang terpendam
aku orangnya bisa tahan
sudah berapa waktu bukan kanak lagi
tapi dulu memang ada suatu bahan
yang bukan dasar perhitungan lagi
hidup hanyalah menunda kekalahan
tambah terasing dari cinta sekolah rendah
dan tahu, ada yang tetap tak diucapkan
sebelum pada akhirnya kita menyerah

1949
9. Nonsense Poem
It is a poem that doesn’t make any logical sense
It is enjoyed for its sound, rhythm, sense of fun and
for its pure nonsense
It is a type of poem in which sense is subordinate to
sound and absurdity is sought for its own sake

Ex: Lear’s The Owl and The Pussy Cat and

The dog with the Luminous Nose
Carrol’s The Mad Garderner’s Song and
The Hunting of the Shark
The Owl and the Pussycat went to
sea
The Owl and the Pussycat went to sea
In a beautiful pea-green boat
They took some honey, and plenty of money
Wrapped up in a five-pound note
 AMUK
Sutardji Calzoum Bahri
….. aku bukan penyair hei Kau dengar manteraku
sekedar Kau dengan kucing memanggilMu
aku depan Izukalizu
depan yang memburu Mapakazaba itasatali
membebaskan kata tutulita
memanggilMu papaliko arukabazaku kodega zuzukalibu
pot pot pot tutukaliba dekodega zamzam logotokoco
pot pot zukuzangga zegezegezezukuzangga zege
kalau pot tak mau pot zegeze zukuzangga zegezegeze zukuzang
biar pot semua pot ga zegezegeze zukuzangga zegezegeze zu
mencari pot kuzangga zegezegeze aahh…..!
pot mama kalian bebas
carilah tuhan semaumu
10. Epigram
A Short, witty and often satirical poem.
It s usually between 2 and 6 lines long.
Although it can be a little longer. It is short, usually
witty statement, graceful in style and ingenious in
thought.

Ex: Man is rational animal who always loses his

temper when he is called upon to act in
accordance with the dictates of reason.
(Wilde’s The Critic as Artist)
Rakyat Adalah Sumber Ilmu²
Karya: WS Rendra

Oleh karena itu rakyat adalah guru.

Adalah sumber ilmu.
Rakyat adalah gua
di mana Kresna dan Arjuna
bertapa.
Rakyat adalah samudera luas
di mana Sang Bima
bertemu dengan Dewa Rucinya.
Janganlah kita menunggu Ratu
Adil.
Ratu Adil bukanlah orang.
Ratu Adil bukanlah lembaga.
Ratu Adil adalah keadaan
di mana ada keseimbangan
antara roh dan badan.
11. Satire
a sarcatic poem that attacks people or institutions
such as organized religion, political parties, etc.
(epigram is often very satirical)
Ex: Pope’s The Dunciad and of the Characters of
Women
(Murphy, 1972:86-89)
Otak Sudah Ke Dengkul

Jika tiba-tiba kami melawan,

itu karena lapar t’lah dibangunkan,
dan perut kami yang lengket
menagih waktu untuk cerewet.

Jika mendadak kami protes,

itu karena minum tinggal setets,
dan kantong kami yang kempes Jika kami serentak berdemo,
tak kuat lagi membeli segelas es. itu karena mata bosan melongo,
dan tampang kami yang bego
ingin juga berlagak sontoloyo.

Jika kami bersegera kumpul,

itu karena otak sudah ke dengkul,
dan logika kami yang tumpul
tidak mau lagi dipaksa mandul.
Juvenalian
This is the strongest type of satire as it attacks a
single target in a vicious way. The most common
form of this satire is political satire, which
attacks politicians and pundits.
Menippean
This type of satire is similar in harshness to
Juvenalian, but it attacks a more general target.
An example is religious satire, which attacks
sacred figures or religious beliefs.
Horatian
This type of satire makes fun of things in a soft or
even loving manner. It’s usually a form of
parody that is intended to make people think.