Forms of Poetry

Poem Characteristics  Purpose: The goal of the poem; the reason it was written  Subject & Theme: The topic and the message the poem communicates  Tone: The poet’s attitude toward the subject and/or the reader  Rhyme: The use of words that have the same ending vowel & consonant sounds  Rhythm: The arrangement of stressed & unstressed syllables in a line  Lines & Stanzas: The number & arrangement of lines & groups of lines to create an appearance on the page or to group thoughts

The Ballad  Definition: A specific type of narrative poem based on the ancient custom of telling stories in songs  Purpose: To tell a story  S & T: An adventure, romance, or a dramatic event  Tone: Serious & formal  Rhyme: May or may not rhyme  Rhythm: Varies, but use of repetition gives it a songlike quality  L & S: Usually has several lines and stanzas

Annabel Lee Edgar Allan Poe Sample…. It was many and many a year ago, In a kingdom by the sea, That a maiden there lived whom you may know By the name of Annabel Lee; And this maiden she lived with no other thought Than to love and be loved by me. I was a child and she was a child, In this kingdom by the sea, But we loved with a love that was more than love— I and my Annabel Lee— With a love that the wingèd seraphs of Heaven Coveted her and me.

The Concrete Poem  Definition: In a concrete poem, the words are arranged on the page to make a shape that suggests the topic of the poem.  Purpose: To connect ideas & appearance  S & T: Anything  Tone: Often playful or lighthearted  R & R: Doesn’t necessarily rhyme, usually doesn’t have regular rhythm  L & S: The arrangement of lines & groups of lines depends entirely on the shape the poet wishes to make.

Untitled Sample…

The Elegy  Definition: A formal poem that reflects on death or another solemn theme.  Purpose: To memorialize a person or reflect on a serious subject  S & T: The death of a particular person or another serious subject such as war  Tone: Formal & serious  R & R: May or may not have end rhyme; may or may not have a regular rhythm  L & S : Varies, but usually on the long side

O Captain! My Captain! Walt Whitman Sample… O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done, The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won, The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting, While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring; But O heart! heart! heart! O the bleeding drops of red, Where on the deck my Captain lies, Fallen cold and dead.

The Epic  Definition: a long narrative poem that often begins with an appeal to a muse & then begins in medias res - in the middle of the action.  Purpose: To tell an exciting or inspiring story  S & T: Hero of imposing stature & national or international importance  Tone: Serious & elevated  R & R: Usually doesn’t have end rhyme, may or may not have a regular rhythm  S & L: Usually has many lines & stanzas

The Haiku  Definition: Short poem that originated in Japan  Purpose: To reflect on nature  S & T: Anything, but usually nature  Tone: Serious  R & R: Does not rhyme, does not have regular rhythm  L & S: Each haiku has three lines. The first line is five syllables, the second line is seven syllables, & the third line goes back to five syllables.

The Wren Kobayashi Issa Sample… The wren Earns his living Noiselessly.

Limerick  Definition: Short poem that originated in Japan  Purpose: To entertain  S & T: Anything, but usually a person  Tone: Humorous  R & R: aabba rhyme scheme, regular rhythm pattern  L & S: One stanza made up of 5 lines

There was an Old Man… Anonymous Sample… There was an Old Man of Nantucket Who kept all his cash in a bucket. His daughter, called Nan, Ran away with a man, And as for the bucket, Nantucket.

The Lyric  Definition: Expresses the thoughts & feelings of a single speaker, usually very musical  Purpose: To express personal thoughts & feelings about any subject  S & T: Anything, but stays focused on a single idea or image  Tone: Pleasant & harmonious  R & R: Varies  L & S: Varies

The Road Not Taken Robert Frost Sample… …I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.

The Narrative  Definition: Has a plot, setting, & characters  Purpose: To tell a story  S & T: Varies  Tone: Usually formal & serious  R & R: Varies  S & L: Varies, but usually has several lines and is always organized in stanzas

The Raven Edgar Allan Poe Sample… Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore— While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. “’Tis some visitor,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door— Only this and nothing more.”

The Ode  Definition: A single, unified strain of exalted verse with a single purpose & dealing with a single theme  Purpose : To celebrate a single object or idea  Subject & Theme: Any subject & theme  Tone: Elaborate & dignified, the ode glorifies & celebrates its subject with a formal tone  R & R: May or may not have end rhyme or regular rhythm  L & S: Number & length can vary; odes are usually long with varying line lengths

Ode To the West Wind Percy B. Shelley Sample… O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn's being, Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves dead Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing, Yellow, and black, and pale, and hectic red, Pestilence-stricken multitudes: O thou, Who chariotest to their dark wintry bed

The Sonnet  Definition: A 14 line poem that follows a specified rhyme scheme.  Purpose: Varies, but often is praise  S & T: Varies, many are written about love  Tone: Usually formal & serious  Rhyme: Has a definite rhyme scheme; a Shakespearean (English) sonnet has an [abba, abba, cdcd,cd] or an [abab, cdcd, efef, gg] scheme  Rhythm: Iambic pentameter (an unstressed followed by a stressed beat)  L & S: All sonnets have 14 lines. Shakespearean sonnets have 4 stanzas: 3 quatrains followed by a couplet.

Sonnet 18 William Shakespeare Sample… Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer’s lease hath all too short a date; Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimm'd; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm'd; But thy eternal summer shall not fade, Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st; Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st: So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.