Forms Of Poetry

Forms of Poetry ·

Narrative: First major literary form. Tells a story from start to finish like a short story or novel. Examples: · Ballad: originally composed to be sung, uses a characteristic stanza form: 4 lines (quatrain) rhyming abcb, the 1st and 3rd lines in iambic triameter (3 iambs to a foot) · Folk Ballad: a story expressed through song, dramatic, handed down through generations: Twa Corbies, Lord Randal · Literary Ballad: more modern; narrative written in ballad form, disguised as folk poetry: The Shooting of Dan McGrew, The Lady of Shallot, Annabel Lee · Many contemporary folk, country, and rock songs are ballads ·

Epic: a long narrative poem relating the exploits of characters of heroic proportions. Eg/ The Illiad, Beowulf, Paradise Lost, The Faerie Queene

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Dramatic Monologue: story is revealed by the words of a single character in the poem. Often another character present who does not speak. The circumstances which bring together the speaker and his/her audience provide an artistic framework, setting, and motivation for psychological analysis. Eg/ My Last Duchess, The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock

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Lyric Poetry (Greek: poetry accompanied by the lyre) The phrase “lyric poetry” is loosely applied to most if not all short poems including, sonnets, songs, odes, as well as poems without a conventional form. Usually, expresses a single feeling or emotion, intense personal response, often in first person. descriptive lyric: the most objective. Describes some natural object or event without stressing the poet’s reaction to it. reflective or meditative lyric: often starts from some concrete object or situation, moves through the poet’s immediate reactions to an attitude of more universal application.

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Examples: · Sonnet; 14 lines (give or take), usually rhymed, usually written in iambic pentameter. · Italian or Petrarchan sonnet: Love sonnets. Octave describes subject or introduces problem, sestet comments on or resolves it. Octave= two quatrains rhyming abba. Two tercets rhyming in various ways= sestet. · English/Shakespearean/Elizabethan: Three quatrains with independent rhymes concluding with a rhyming couplet (abab, cdcd, efef, gg). · (Other types of sonnets include Spensarian and Miltonic) ·

Ode: Usually longer than other lyrics. Often expresses serious thoughts or reflections on a topic, and it is usually stated in elevated language. Eg/ Ode to the West Wind, Ode on a Grecian Urn

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Elegy: A poem of lament or sober reflection. Usually about the death of a person. Highly stylized diction. Expression is grave and controlled rather than passionate.

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Didactic poetry: usually written to teach or state an informative message. The purpose of the poem is to explain rather than express an emotion.

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Free Verse: Doesn’t impose a regular meter, predetermined length of lines, or fixed form for each stanza. Difficult to use well. Demands a knowledge of regular forms, sensitivity to word values, and a well-developed sense of rhythm. Characteristics: short lines, controlled but irregular rhythm, word play.