The Ballad The Ode The Sonnet The Lyric The Monologue The Elegy Types of Poetry The Ballad The Ode The Sonnet The Lyric The Monologue The Elegy
The Ballad Is one of the earliest poetic forms, is narrative and has a song-like quality Employs dialogue, repetition, minor characterization Written in quatrains Basic rhyme schemes abcb Two lines of iambic tetrameter (8 syllables) mixed with two lines of iambic trimeter (6 syllables).
The Lyric A lyric is short poem expressing the thoughts and feelings of a single speaker. Often written in the first person, lyric poetry traditionally has a songlike immediacy and emotional force.
The Dramatic Monologue A speaker who is patently not the poet, relates an episode in his life through a conversational format. The conversation reveals the character and temperament of the speaker. The speaker addresses or interacts with one or more persons and relays this information to the reader.
The Ode Ode, dignified and elaborately structured lyric poem praising and glorifying an individual, commemorating an event, or describing nature intellectually rather than emotionally. Odes originally were songs performed to the accompaniment of a musical instrument.
The Elegy A formal lyric poem written in honor of someone who has died. Three stages of loss: First, laments the loss, the speaker expresses grief and sorrow. Then, expresses praise or admiration of the idealized person. Finally, consolation and solace.
The Sonnet A sonnet is a traditional and widely used verse form, especially popular for love poetry. Sonnet comes from the Italian sonnetto: “little song.” The sonnet is a fixed form of fourteen lines, traditionally written in iambic pentameter.There are, however, several variations, most conspicuously the Shakespearean, or English sonnet, which consists of three quatrains and a concluding couplet. Most sonnets turn, or shift in tone or focus, after the first eight lines, although the placement may vary.
English Sonnet The English sonnet has a rhyme scheme organized into three quatrains with a final couplet: abab cdcd efef gg. The poem may turn, that is, shift in mood or tone, between any of the quatrains (although it usually occurs on the ninth line). It is also called a Shakespearean sonnet.
Italian Sonnet An Italian sonnet is a sonnet with the following rhyme pattern for the first eight lines (the octave): abba, abba; the final six lines (the sestet) may follow any pattern of rhymes, as long as it does not end in a couplet. The poem traditionally turns, or shifts in mood or tone, after the octave. It is also called a Petrarchan sonnet.
Spenserian Sonnet Quatrain 1 abab Quatrain 2 bcbc Quatrain 3 cdcd + Couplet ee The shift (Volta) occurs after line 8 and the final conclusion is presented in the couplet
Sidney (Quatorzain) Quatrain 1 abab Quatrain 2 baba Tercet 1 bcc + Tercet 1 bcc Tercet 2 bcc A tercet is a stanza of 3lines always ending in a couplet. The shift (Volta) occurs after line 8 and the final conclusion is presented in the couplet