Types of Poetry

Narrative Poetry which tells a story – Ie. Epics, ballads, dramatic monologues, myths, legends, fables

Lyric A usually short, personal poem expressing the poet’s emotions and thoughts rather than telling a story. Its distinguishing characteristics are emotion, subjectivity, melodiousness, imagination, description, and sometimes meditation. – Ie. Elegy, ode, and sonnet are forms of lyric poetry

Allegory An extended narrative in prose or verse in which characters, events, and settings represent abstract qualities and in which the writer intends a second meaning to be read beneath the surface of the story – Ie. Golding’s Lord of the Flies

Ballad A simple, fairly short narrative, representing a single dramatic episode, originally designed to be sung

Blank Verse Unrhymed iambic pentameter – Shakespeare’s plays are written in blank verse

Didactic Literature that teaches a lesson – Ie. Fables

Dramatic Monologue A poem in which a single character, overheard speaking to a silent listener, reveals a dramatic situation – Ie. Mother to Son

Elegy A poem of sorrow or mourning for the dead ; also a reflective poem in a solemn or sorrowful mood – Ie. Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard

Epic A long narrative poem in lofty style, set in a remote time and place, dealing with heroic characters and deeds important in the legends and history of a nation or race – Ie. Milton’s “Paradise Lost”

Eulogy A formal composition or speech written in high praise of someone (living or dead) – Ie. Often given at funerals

Euphemism A “nicer” or politer way of saying something – Ie. Passed away instead of dead

Fable A brief narrative, with characters that are often animals, illustrating an explicitly stated moral truth – Ie. The Ant and the Grasshopper – Ie. Animal Farm

Free Verse A poem with irregular meter and no rhyme scheme – Ie. The Shark

Haiku A lyric poem, originating in Japan. It captures the essence of the moment in a simple image, written in present tense, usually arranged in three lines of five, seven and five syllables

Legend A story, part fact and part fiction, about the life and deeds of a saint, folk hero, or historical figure, that is handed down from generation to generation, and is popularly accepted as true – Ie. Robin Hood

Myth An anonymous narrative, originating in the primitive folklore of a race or nation, that explains the origin of life, religious beliefs, and the forces of nature as some kind of supernatural occurrence, or that recounts the deeds of traditional super heroes.

Ode A long and elaborate lyric poem, usually dignified or exalted in tone and often written to praise someone or something or to mark an important occasion – Ie. Ode to a Nightingale – Ie. Ode to the West Wind

Parody Mocking the style or topic of another poet by writing a poem in similar style – Ie. The Passionate Shepherd to his Love The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd is a parody of this poem as it takes the same form and answers the shepherd’s pleas

Rhetoric The art of persuasion in speaking or writing – Ie. An essay

Satire Ridicule of an idea, a person, or type of person, or even mankind, designed to try to improve it – Ie. Gulliver’s Travels

Sonnet See previous notes