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Hyper Poetry

discussions on hyper poetry and its elements

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33 views

Hyper Poetry

discussions on hyper poetry and its elements

Uploaded by

stclarecollege.froilantindugan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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HYPER POETRY

Hyper poetry is a form of digital


poetry that uses links using hypertext
mark-up. It is a very visual form, and is
related to hypertext fiction and visual
arts. The links mean that a hypertext
poem has no set order, the poem moving
or being generated in response to the
links that the reader/user chooses. It can
either involve set words, phrases, lines,
etc. that are presented in variable order
but sit on the page much as traditional
poetry does, or it can contain parts of the
poem that move and / or mutate. It is
usually found online, though CD-ROM and
diskette versions exist. The earliest
examples date to no later than the mid-
1980s.
Description:
Hypertext poetry, is a subgenre of digital poetry. Digital poetry is sometimes
referred to as e-poetry, electronic poetry, and cyberpoetry. The genre
mostly falls into two subgenres: interactive poetry and hypertext poetry
(Poetry Beyond Text).
Hypertext poetry utilizes the components of hypertexts. Hyperlinks are
embedded, throughout, or in some cases "each word, phrase or line." Each
link brings the reader to another page "that defines or expands on the idea
represented by the text of the poem" (Hypertext Poetry And Fiction). The
links most often stem from the "primary text. However, some hypertext
poems that do not have a primary text. In these works, the reader of the
poem choose the way he navigates the poem through the amount and
pattern he chooses with the hyperlinks (Montecino).
Example of Hyper Poetry:
Do You Believe?

I was that kid who has read a lot of fairy tale books
Princess with glass slippers, peter pan who fights captain hook
Fascinated, I remember each story my mom read to me
I believed one day; they will appear for me to see.

We all knew a lady who glows in a white silky dress


The one with pretty wings and a gentle caress
I eagerly wait for her looking out my window,
But she always exchanges my teeth with coins under the pillow.
A big, chubby, good, old man in red
The one who gives us gifts riding his sled
Along with the help of his elves and reindeers
The time for enjoyment is here, let go of your fears!

Now who could’ve forgotten this man with and hourglass?


Nope, he doesn’t come when we sleep in class.
He guards us in our sleep to avoid nightmares
Like the ones with zombies, witches or grizzly bears.

Lastly, the cute little guy who loves a good hunting game
Colorful eggs, baskets… You know him and his name!
In the time of the year called
“Easter” He’s the first one you will
remember.

As the years pass, their story becomes untold


Sweet old myths that’s good as gold
Tooth fairy, Santa Claus, Sandman, and the Easter bunny
Do you believe in them? Do you believe like me?
Elements of Hyper Poetry:
1. Kairos
With the digital revolution, there is a growing number of writers using
electronic media to create and publish their works (Kendall). Many writers in
using electronic format expanded to include the format of the hypertext,
which is interactive in nature. Writers are able to break away from the
restrictions of paper (Kendall) and use content and features to create
nonlinear poems that are associated with the medium. The hypertext also
allows writers to experiment with elements like hyperlinks, images, sounds,
and video (Kendall).
Audience
The audience plays an interactive role in the navigating and reading a hypertext
poem. Astrid Ensslin argues hypertext poetry, which she terms hyperpoetry, is the
"most creative and trans-artistic genre" out of all the hypertext genres because it
offers the most "multisensory textual experience." She argues this because it
incorporates "nomadism" and brings the reader away from the "verbal narrative”
(Ennslin).
Hypertext Poetry is on the trend to become increasingly more popular in the
upcoming years, as more and more writers use digital media to create and publish
their works. The genre attracts users who want to be involved in the reading
experience (Picot).

2. Content
Hypertext poems can include the traditional components of a poem which
are: words, lines, and stanzas. Most are in the form of free verse. However, the
genre also includes other multimedia components including: sounds, visual
images, and three-dimensional letters, which makes it hard to identify most of
the formal poetic conventions (Hypertext Poetry And Fiction).

3. Formal Features
Hypertext poems include "hypertextual features" which are mostly composed of
hyperlinks that lead to a nonlinear reading of the text (Ensslin).
Hypertext poetry also includes hypermedia poetry. It moves beyond linking text
to other websites, and adds features such as, "image, sound, video and animation"
(Millan). An example of these features could be a sound "of a lawn mower" with
words like "'mowing', 'stop', 'Sunday' and 'morning'" in succession across the
readers screen (Hypertext Poetry And Fiction). These types of features, or
multimedia elements, make it hard to link hypertext poetry to any formal poetry
conventions (Hypertext Poetry And Fiction).

4. Ancestral Genres
One ancestral genre to hypertext poetry is the hypertext. Hypertexts allow
a nonlinear reading of the text in which an audience is able to have an interactive
experience with the text through the use of hyperlinks, which when clicked on,
bring the reader to another website (Christopher Funkhouser). Hyperlinks, are
often referred to as simply links, and utilize URLs, HTTPs, and HTMLs, (What are
Hyperlinks?). Usually hyperlinks are in the form of highlighted or "underlined"
(Montecino) words within the text, which when clicked bring the viewer to another
website that provides an expansion on the concept (What are Hyperlinks?).
Christopher Funkhouser expands on the audience's interactive role with the
hypertext, and how based on his, "interest, engagement, and curiosity" he can
control his navigation of the text.
Hypertext also functions as a collaborative text by blurring the roles of author
and reader become (Keep). Hypertexts are seen as electronic texts but
Christopher Keep argues that hypertexts are not restricted to "technology, content,
or medium" (Keep).
Oral poetry shares the nonlinear shape of hypertext poetry. With each reading
of an oral poem it changes shape, which relates to how hypertext poetry changes
for each reader that reads the poem because of the nonlinear interactive
navigation of the text (Ennslin).

Notable Examples of Hypertext Poetry:


• Penetration: Is a well-known example of a hypertext poem. The poem
is from the collection The Seasons, which was published in 2000 by Eastgate.
The collection consists of two poems: Dispossession and Penetration. The
poem is set up so that the reader has choice to begin the poem through
different perspectives. For example, by clicking on "daylight" the poem is in
the perspective of the daughter (Di Rosario). Then the path of the poem is
dictated by the what the reader chooses after each passage, by clicking on
one of the series of choices below the passage (Di Rosario).
• Low Probability of Racoons: Is a website set up by Peter Howard,
a well-known digital poet, for some of his works, some of which includes
hyperlinks his own hypertext poetry.

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