Poetry Elements Popular Poetry Forms
Epic -The length of a novel -Dramatic story about a hero from history or legend -Tone is usually serious or grand Examples: The Odyssey and Beowulf
Lyric - Short in length - Describes personal feelings of the author - Usually have a musical quality Examples: Emily Dickinson’s poems, including I Took My Power in My Hand
Sonnet -14 line poem -Specific Rhyme Scheme- Shakespearean (abab, cdcd, efef, gg) -Traditionally LOVE poems Example: William Shakespeare Sonnets 1-150
Ballad - Originally written to be sung - Usually features a refrain - Type of lyric poem - Originally written to be sung - Usually features a refrain Example: Love songs
Elegy A poem about a person who died OR death/tragedy Mood is somber or serious Example: Edgar Allen Poe’s Annabel Lee
Haiku Japanese poem Three unrhymed lines Five syllables in the first and third lines and seven in the second. Depicts moments in nature Modern poets use the format, but poems do not depict moments in nature. Example: Matsuo Basho’s A Bee or MIT’s SPAM-KU
Free Verse No predetermined format Most modern poetry is in free verse format Uses figurative/descriptive language to enliven the poem and create rhythm Example: Walt Whitman’s When I heard the Learn’d Astronomer
Limerick A five-line poem written with one couplet and one triplet. The rhyme pattern is a a b b a It is meant to be funny. They often contain hyperbole, onomatopoeia, idioms, puns, and other figurative devices. The last line of a good limerick contains the PUNCH LINE or "heart of the joke." There once was a pauper named Meg, Who accidentally broke her _______. She slipped on the ______. Not once, but thrice Take no pity on her, I __________.