About Poetry

I love poetry.

English poetry is built around Rhyme and Meter:

Ti-	ger,	ti-	ger,	bur	ning	bright
In	the	fo-	rests	of	the	night,
What	imm-	or-	tal	hand	or	eye
Could	frame	thy	fear-	ful	symme-	try?

Hebrew poetry has a whole different set of rules.

Parallelism or Thought-Rhythm

Parallelism refers to using elements in sentences that are grammatically similar or identical in structure, sound, or meaning.
Example:

• Easy come, easy go.
• “My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” - John F. Kennedy
• “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” - Jesus

Chiasmus (or Antimetabole)

Chi is the Greek letter X. Chiasmus is an inverted Parallelism - the 2 (or more) concepts criss-cross like an X. The chiasmus reverses grammatical structure or ideas of sentences but does not necessarily repeat the same words and phrases - like it does in the Antimetabole.
Examples:

• “Never let a Fool Kiss You or a Kiss Fool You.”
• “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

Progression of Ideas

In each line the verb and/or nouns builds in intensity to show a progression from one stage to the next.
Examples:
1 

• Shout for joy, all the earth. 
• Worship the Lord with gladness;  
• Come before him with joyful songs.
• Shout -> Worship -> Come

Alliteration

Alliteration is the repetition of the same sounds or of the same kinds of sounds at the beginning of words.  These are sometimes harder to find because of the translation from Hebrew to English.
Examples:

• Let Us Burst their Bonds
• Why do the People Plot