English 3201
Poetry
Definitions of Poetic Forms
Free verse: Poetry based on the natural rhythms of phrases and normal pauses rather than the
artificial constraints of metrical feet.
Lyric poem: (1) A short poem (usually no more than 50-60 lines, and often only a dozen lines
long) written in a repeating stanzaic form, often designed to be set to music. It expresses the
feelings, perceptions, and thoughts of a single poetic speaker (not necessarily the poet) in an
intensely personal, emotional, or subjective manner. (2) Any poem having the form and musical
quality of a song
Sonnet: A lyric poem of fourteen lines, usually in iambic pentameter, with rhymes arranged
according to certain definite patterns. It usually expresses a single, complete idea or thought
with a reversal, twist, or change of direction in the concluding lines. There are three common
forms:
(1) Italian or Petrarchan: has an eight line stanza (called an octave) followed by a six line
stanza (called a sestet). The octave has two quatrains rhyming abba, abba, the first of
which presents the theme, the second further develops it. In the sestet, the first three
lines reflect on or exemplify the theme, while the last three bring the poem to a unified
end. The sestet may be arranged cdecde, cdcdcd, or cdedce.
(2) English or Shakespearean: uses three quatrains; each rhymed differently, with a
final, independently rhymed couplet that makes an effective, unifying climax to the
whole. Its rhyme scheme is abab, cdcd, efef, gg. Typically, the final two lines follow a
"turn" or a "volta," (sometimes spelled volte, like volte-face) because they reverse,
undercut, or turn from the original line of thought to take the idea in a new direction.
(3) Miltonic: similar to the Petrarchan sonnet, but it does not divide its thought
between the octave and the sestet--the sense or line of thinking runs straight from the
eighth to ninth line. Also, Milton expands the sonnet's repertoire to deal not only with
love as the earlier sonnets did, but also to include politics, religion, and personal
matters.
Ode: Ode is a literary technique that is lyrical in nature, but not very lengthy. In an ode, poets
praise people, natural scenes, and abstract ideas. Ode is derived from a Greek word which
means to chant or sing. It is highly solemn and serious in its tone and subject matter, and
usually is used with elaborate patterns of stanzas. However, the tone is often formal.
English 3201
Poetry
Narrative: Narration is the act of telling a sequence of events, often in chronological order.
Alternatively, the term refers to any story, whether in prose or verse, involving events,
characters, and what the characters say and do.
Elegy: An elegy is an expression of grief. It is a song of mourning. It was originally the form of
poetry on the subject of sadness, especially 'complaints about love'. But now the word normally
refers to the poems written on the subject of death of someone or great loss of any kind.
Elegies are of two kinds: Personal Elegy and Impersonal Elegy. In a personal elegy the poet
laments the death of some close friend or relative, and in impersonal elegy in which the poet
grieves over human destiny or over some aspect of contemporary life and literature. In this way
we get his philosophy of life and death
Ballad: In common parlance, song hits, folk music, and folktales or any song that tells a story
are loosely called ballads. Common traits of the ballad are that (a) the beginning is often
abrupt, (b) the story is told through dialogue and action (c) the language is simple or "folksy,"
(d) the theme is often tragic--though comic ballads do exist, and (e) the ballad contains a refrain
repeated several times.
Epic: The word epic is derived from an Ancient Greek word for a poetic story. In literature, an
epic is a long narrative poem, which is usually related to heroic deeds of a person of an unusual
courage and unparalleled bravery. In order to depict this bravery and courage, the epic uses
grandiose (grand, flamboyant, or ambitious) style.
NOTE: A ballad and an epic both are poems which narrate stories. However, a ballad is
shorter in length than an epic, while it is composed to be sung on some occasions, and
not narrated. On the other hand, an epic poem tells a story, but about the heroic ideals
of a specific society. The actual difference between the two is the length and the fact
that one is usually meant to be sung, while the other is to be narrated.