Informalizing the formal into a jeopardizing phenomenon to the poetic code : a linguistic and rhetorical study of selected poems of John Keats and William Wordsworth in comparison to selected poems of the 20th century poet Tupac Shakur

Abstract EN

Poetry has always been considered the most magisterial genre of literature for all the beauties of language it renders possible.

The poetical techniques of rhetorical and musical devices, along with the crafty manipulation of words and structures, adopt poetry with unmatchable awe and imposes veneration on the part of the listener and reader.

However, these characteristic elements of poetry have been subjected to a cruel interference of poor writing skills and poetical potentials in the form of informal language.

Maximizing the zone of informal language and hip-hop talk to include poetry jeopardizes poetry majestic nature and underestimates its educational, enlightenment, and cognitive enhancement role.

To best investigate this; the researcher compares selected poems of John Keats and William Wordsworth to selected poems of the 20th century iconic poet Tupac Shakur.

Keats and Wordsworth are particularly chosen for this comparative study for they are both regarded as the most beloved of all English poets.

Their poetry represents a rich material of beauties of language that are devoid of any element of informality.

On the other hand, Shakur’s poetry represents a strong transformation of the poetic code into a new form that is stuffed with informal elements of language even though he is one of the iconic poets of that century and his poetry is amongst the most celebrated all over the world.

The purpose of this research is indeed a call for an awareness of using informal language in writing poetry for it is very likely to devalue and deface that genre and the pristine message it always seeks to present.