Structure of Poetry

Poetic forms Along with the line structure of poems there are also content forms. There are certain poetic forms that have a specific rhyme scheme and foot/meter structure. Poetry can also be free-verse and have no structure or specific content As an art poetry should not be viewed as having rigid structure. These conventions of poetry are simply academic short hand that ease the communication of certain trends within the poetic form. Think of tools used for discussing the trade.

Some examples of poetic form Limericks - A short sometimes vulgar, humorous poem consisting of five anapestic lines. Lines 1, 2, and 5 have seven to ten syllables, rhyme and have the same verbal rhythm. The 3rd and 4th lines have five to seven syllables, rhyme and have the same rhythm. Haiku - A Japanese poem composed of three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five morae, usually containing a season word. Ballad - A poem that tells a story similar to a folk tale or legend which often has a repeated refrain. Elegy - A sad and thoughtful poem about the death of an individual Ode - A lengthy lyric poem typically of a serious or meditative nature and having an elevated style and formal stanza structure. Sonnet - A lyric poem that consists of 14 lines which usually have one or more conventional rhyme schemes.

Some other vocabulary Lines - a unit of language into which a poem or play is divided, which operates on principles which are distinct from and not necessarily coincident with grammatical structures, such as the sentence or clauses in sentences. Stanza - a grouped set of lines within a poem, usually set off from other stanzas by a blank line or indentation. Cantos – a principal form of division in a long poem. The use of the canto was described in the 1911 edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica as " a convenient division when poetry was more usually sung by the minstrel to his own accompaniment than read"

Sonnet a poem of fourteen lines using any of a number of formal rhyme schemes, in English typically having ten syllables per line. narrative development.  Deals with love or nature

Elizabethan Sonnet There are three stanzas and one couplet. Each stanza is four lines and called a quatrain. The last two lines are called a couplet. Rhyme Scheme: a b a b c d c d e f e f g g 

The Ballad abab or abcb Traditional motifs: Lost love Death Narrative 4 line stanzas Rhyme abab or abcb Refrains: exact or incremental repetition Traditional motifs: Lost love Death Supernatural seducers Political protest

Literary devices and poetic terms Irony - the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect. Hyperbole - exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally. Alliteration - the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words. Rhyme scheme - the ordered pattern of rhymes at the ends of the lines of a poem or verse. Couplet - two lines of verse, usually in the same meter and joined by rhyme, that form a unit. Figurative language - Figures of speech such as metaphors, similes, allusions go beyond the literal meanings of the words to give the readers new insights.

Vocabulary Apostrophe – addressing an imaginary character or object. “Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee! I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.” Enjambment- continuation of a sentence or clause over a line-break “And we will all the pleasures prove That valleys, groves, hills, and fields, Woods, or steepy mountain yields.” Hyperbole- exaggeration With buckles of the purest gold A thousand fragrant poises