Poetry and Song Language

Level 6

Poems and songs often use words in layered ways that ordinary prose uses less.

How It Works

Many Hawaiian words have more than one ordinary meaning, and poets use that. Some examples learners know:

  • ola: life, health, to live
  • lau: leaf, and also the number 400
  • lani: sky

Kaona is the name for a hidden or layered meaning. Writers on the subject say that a song can be read plainly by one listener and more deeply by another. The deeper reading usually needs knowledge of places, history and the people involved. For that reason, learners start with the plain meaning and read poems with a teacher or a good set of notes. This course does not quote poems or songs.

Examples (4)

  1. ola

    life, health, to live

    A common word with several meanings.

  2. lau

    leaf, four hundred

    Context tells which one is meant.

  3. lani

    sky

    Its plain meaning is the place to start.

  4. kaona

    a hidden or layered meaning

    The word for what a poem can carry under its plain words.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Poetry and Song LanguageLevel 6

Learn This First

Poetry packs several meanings into a few words, and reading it starts with the plain meaning, as with proverbs.