In the previous section you explored the syntactic structure of poems. You learned how to divide the verses of a poem into poetic syllables, how to count the poetic syllables, how to determine the rhythm and the rhyme of the poem, and how to classify the poem based on these elements. In this section you will learn about the semantic structure of poetry. Since poetry is built on language, knowledge of literary language (el lenguaje literario) is very important in understanding the deeper meaning of a poem.

Like music, poetry must be listened to, heard, in order to have its greatest impact on the listener. Poems are meant to be emotive; in order to be truly understood, they must have the opportunity to trigger in the listener that emotional reaction sought by the poet. Before studying the elements of literary language, you, the audience, should establish your first impressions of the poems you have been exploring in this chapter. Tasks 1 and 2 of this section will give you the opportunity to do that.

Task 1. Recite.

1.			Find a place in which you feel comfortable and recite the three sample poems out loud, applying all of the "musical" directions you have explored so far (internal stress, rhythm, rhyme, sinalefa, and so forth). Think about how you respond to the poems.
2.			Once you feel comfortable with your own verbal interpretation of the poems, and you could explain why you decided to read them that particular way, meet with your study group. Share your verbal interpretations with each other and see if you reach a consensus on how the poems should be recited. Discuss the emotions, images, and reactions evoked while you listen to and read the poems.

Task 2. Brainstorm.

3.			Once you have listened to the sample poems and discussed your reactions to them, use one word wheel per poem (see Appendix) to document all of the language in the poem that evoked emotions, images, and reactions. You will use these word wheels in a later task.

Task 3. Scan for Information.

4.			According to the first paragraph on page 138 of the text, what are the two most important resources writers need in order to make their writing "artistic creations"?