Poetic Language in Writing

As far back as many moons ago, literature has been expressed in two main forms until now. They are nothing but in verse and in prose. It can be generally estimated that prose writing would have been by far earlier than poetry writing in the world of literature. Nonetheless, lots of ancient literature was found to be full of rhyme and rhythm firmly related to the nature and beauty of poetry to some extent. Thus, poetry writing must not be neglected in the field of linguistic studies by any means.
But poetry and prose are complete opposites to each other, especially in a contextual and structural organization. In the main, strict rules can be distinctively seen in poetry, except for many modern and post-modern poems, while prose can be written quite freely and easily. Nevertheless, most poetry offers a traditionally accepted format for the publication of short but independent literary works of narration, description, or reflection.
Firstly, poetry is often separated into lines based on the number of metrical feet or a rhyming pattern at the end of each line. In a poem, a line is just a word or row of words which may or may not form a complete sentence. Different lines can express diverse, compared, or contrary thoughts or highlight a change in tone. And again, lines of a poem are organized into stanzas, where these lines may or may not relate to one another in accordance with rhyme and rhythm. Hence, a collection of two lines is a couplet or distich, three lines a triplet or tercet, four lines a quatrain, five lines a cinquain, six lines a sestet, seven lines a septet, and eight lines an octet, respectively. Exceptionally, a blank verse is written in unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter, which is a rhythm pattern with five units or feet, each of which has an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one.
As in prose, poetry consists of structure, theme, tone, understatement, word choice, metonymy, synecdoche, and atmosphere.
A poem is usually composed of images, ideas, words, rhythms, rhymes, repetitions, lines, and stanzas, as mentioned above. As always, poetry has a theme that is not subject matter only, but an insight into life or human nature in particular. Such is the theme in poetry that is commonly described indirectly rather than literally and explicitly, as the implied expression of a poem through the use of viewpoints, figures of speech, or symbolism. And tone, which herein means a reflection of the writer's attitude towards poetry, may be communicated through words and details that show particular emotions and evoke an emotional response to the poem's audience. Strangely enough, understatement is also applied in poetry; that is, it is language that makes something seem less important than it really is. Most importantly, the choice of words is the life of a poem simply because it conveys meaning, suggests attitude, and creates images, as well as some words used in great poems are so pretty that they cannot be substituted by other words at all. Moreover, metonymy is something associated with an object or idea that replaces what is actually meant, e.g., `the Blue House for the Korean president´ instead of `the presidential palace´. Similarly, synecdoche is a way of referring to something by which a part simplifies the whole or, conversely, the whole signifies a part, e.g., `There are some new faces in the meeting´ instead of `There are some new people in the meeting´. Lastly, atmosphere means the mood or emotional quality of a poem, often created with all about people and setting to the letter.
In addition, poetic imagery is `word pictures´ appealing to five senses _ sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. Figurative language is writing for descriptive effect, often to imply ideas indirectly, including hyperbole and metaphor. And sound devices are elements of an appeal to the ear, including consonance and alliteration.
After all, a poet is not a commonplace little man but a gifted person. Some writers from every corner of the globe were born to be great poets. Not all writers who compose poems are poets. Additionally, every poem writer or any person who can write poems very well will not become a poet to the core. A poet is a person in a million.
Only poets with good poetic chemistry are able to write poems. In actual fact, poetic chemistry is the ability to write a poem to the extent that the poem can be written orally off the cuff or even sung like a song, grounded on something worth writing as a poem. Not every piece of poetry writing is a poem, even if it is a so-called `poem´, especially when real bards and poem-lovers want none of it. Till nowadays, some of the most acknowledged poet laureates in Myanmar are Shin Maha Rahtathara, Nat Shin Naung, Salay U Pone Nya, Zaw Gyi, Min Thu Wun, Ngwe Ta Yi, Daung Nwe Swe, Aung Chaint, and Mg Chaw Nwe. Throughout the history of world literature, the golden ages of poetry have passed through successfully in many parts of literate nations one after another. For the time being, so-called `modern´ and `post-modern´ poems are still winning popularity among young readers. Long live poets and poems!

gnlm