1. Poetry: forms and features

2. Five types of poetry Lyric Narrative Dramatic Social Commentary
Light Verse

3. Lyric poetry
express the speaker’s deep personal feelings about a specific subject
this is done in a using a form similar to that of a song
an attempt to help readers view common experience differently is often made
intense emotion is expressed
May have patterns of rhythm and rhyme in this type of poetry

4. Types of Lyric poems
idylls (pastoral) which are poems that idealize simple landscapes often rural settings
haikus, odes, sonnets, elegies, hymns, most free verse poems, and song lyrics
Haiku: a three line poem with five syllables in the first line, seven in the second, and five in the third.
Ode: a formal poem often in praise of something or someone.
Sonnet: 14 line poem. Elizabethan (ABAB CDCD EFEF GG) or Petrarchan (ABBAABBA EFGEFG) *variation often exists in the order of the rhyme scheme of the sestet
Elegy: poem of mourning over the death of someone or lamenting the loss of/problems with love
Hymns: respectful religious poem of worship that praises God or God’s works which is meant to be sung

5. Narrative poetry tells a story and is action and plot driven
often focuses on subjects such as history, geography, or mythology
Most common narrative poems are epics and ballads
Epic: lengthy, written in an elevated, formal style and focuses on a heroic character(s) and a vast setting
Ballad: alternating lines of iambic tetrameter and trimeter
-abruptly begins, story is told through dialogue and action, uses simple language, mostly tragic themes, repetition of a refrain

6. Dramatic poetry
meant to be read aloud or performed in front of an audience.
places an emphasis on situation, characterization, and conflict
Examples: dramatic monologues and Shakespeare’s plays

7. Social commentary poetry
comments on society often criticizing social norms, customs, attitudes, or issues in order to change the status quo: bringing about much needed change in individuals and or society
the speaker attempts to facilitate change by making a convincing argument supported by evidence and drawing a conclusion

8. Social commentary poetry
For example: “Dulce et Decorum Est” is an anti-war poem that criticizes the belief that it is honourable to die for one’s country. Owen wants people to see that war enables unnecessary human suffering (Kirkland et al., 67).
Social commentary using comedic elements is called satire.

9. Light Verse Poetry
has the purpose of entertaining the audience through the use of humour
In some cases, a serious purpose lies beneath the comedic form of presentation (social commentary)

10. Light Verse types
Examples include limericks, parodies, epigrams, and satire.
Satire uses sarcasm to ridicule the shortcomings of society (a person, idea or institution) to draw attention to its flaws

11. Light verse examples
Limerick: a humorous five line poem in which the first, second, and fifth lines rhyme and have the same rhythm. The third and fourth lines rhyme with each other and have the same rhythm although they have fewer syllables than the other three lines.
Epigram: A smooth and well written statement that is clever in thought, and in the form of a short poem.
Epigrams are different from epigraphs which are quotations often placed before the start of a novel or a short story, or a saying inscribed on a statue or building. However, an epigram can be used as an epigraph.

12. Light verse: Parody
Parody: imitates something in an exaggerated way to create humour or to mock the original or its author
Can also be used to criticize as well as to make fun of something

13. Weird Al Yankovic

14. Exceptions!! Not every poem neatly fits one category
For example, A. E. Housman’s “Is My Team Ploughing” has elements of both the narrative (a ballad because of its four line rhyming stanzas) and dramatic form, so it cannot be only said to be a narrative or a dramatic poem (71)

15. Works cited
Inside Poetry. “Chapter 4: How Poetry Works.” Kirkland, Glen and
Davies, Richard. Harcourt, Toronto: Print.