1. Poetry Overview Everything you wished you knew but were afraid to ask…

2. Types of Poetry There are two categories of poetry: –Narrative: stresses story and action –Lyric: stresses emotion and song

3. Narrative Poems Epic Romance Ballad

4. Epic Definition: Long, narrative poem that recorded the adventures of a hero whose exploits are important to the history of a nation.

5. Characteristics of the Epic Long narrative about a serious subject Centered on a quasi-divine figure on whose actions depend the fate of a nation Stories were told by “rhapsodes,” “bards,” or “scops” (storytellers) Begins “en medias res” – “in the middle of things” Invokes the muse at the beginning of the work

6. Characteristics of an Epic Hero Great man who represents the finest values of his civilization – warrior Warrior who always fights fairly His foes & obstacles are extraordinary –Good versus evil

7. Characteristics of an Epic Hero He never loses his humanity Goes on a voyage or quest Names his weapons, ship, horse, etc.

8. Characteristics of an Epic Hero He his responsible for the fate of a great nation.

9. Epic Examples Iliad by Homer –About the Trojan War

10. Epic Examples Aenied by Virgil –About the founding of Rome

11. Epic Examples Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri –One man’s journey through hell, heaven, and purgatory

12. Epic Examples Paradise Lost by John Milton –About the revolt of the angels and man’s creation and fall

13. Ballads Ballad: Song or songlike poem that tells a story. Originally derived from an old French word meaning “dancing song.” Poetry of the people – used as popular entertainment Subjects were predictably popular: domestic tragedy, false love, true love, the absurdity of husband-wife relationships, and the supernatural.

14. Types of Ballads Folk Ballad: Anonymous singers passed these down orally, generation to generation. - Examples: “Barbara Allan” p. 1056 “ Get Up and Bar the Door”

15. Types of Ballads Literary Ballad: Written in the style of folk ballads, composed and written down by a poet. - “La Belle Dame Sans Merci” by John Keats (p. 1132)

16. Characteristics of a Ballad Refrain: a repeated word, phrase, line, or group of lines in a ballad or song. - Contributes to song’s rhythm and often reinforced its theme. - Also allowed singer, who sang from memory and often improvised, time to think of the next verse. Ballad Format: Consists of four line stanzas 2nd and 4th lines rhyme Must have five stanzas

17. Romances Adventure is a central feature Popular in the Middle Ages & Renaissance Plots tend to be complex, with surprising and even magical actions Chief characters are human, but they confront monsters, dragons, and disguised animals in a world that does not adhere consistently to the laws of nature Deals with the marvelous –Example: St. George slays a dragon in a magical forest

18. Lyric Poetry Story is subordinate to song and emotion Subjective poems Characterized by brevity, melody, and emotional intensity Originally designed to be sung to a musical accompaniment (lyric comes from the Greek lyre) Predominant type of poetry in the West for several hundred years.

19. Forms of Lyric Poetry Epigram- Brief, witty poem that is often satirical –“Epigram Engraved on the Collar of a Dog Which I Gave to His Royal Highness ” by Alexander Pope I am his Highness' dog at Kew; Pray tell me, sir, whose dog are you?

20. Forms of Lyric Poetry Elegy: a lament for the dead –Seamus Heaney’s “Mid-Term Break” And tell me they were "sorry for my trouble," Whispers informed strangers I was the eldest, Away at school, as my mother held my hand In hers and coughed out angry tearless sighs. At ten o'clock the ambulance arrived With the corpse, stanched and bandaged by the nurses. Next morning I went up into the room. Snowdrops And candles soothed the bedside; I saw him For the first time in six weeks. Paler now, Wearing a poppy bruise on his left temple, He lay in the four foot box as in his cot. No gaudy scars, the bumper knocked him clear. A four foot box, a foot for every year. I sat all morning in the college sick bay Counting bells knelling classes to a close. At two o'clock our neighbors drove me home. In the porch I met my father crying-- He had always taken funerals in his stride-- And Big Jim Evans saying it was a hard blow. The baby cooed and laughed and rocked the pram When I came in, and I was embarrassed By old men standing up to shake my hand

21. Forms of Lyric Poetry Ode: a long stately poem in stanzas of varied length, meter, and form “Ode to a Grecian Urn”

22. Forms of Lyric Poetry Aubade: a love lyric expressing complaint that dawn means the speaker must part from his lover –Example: “Ode to a Nightingale” by John Keats p. 1145 “The Sun Rising” by John Donne p. 811

23. Sonnet Sonnet: a 14 line lyric poem, usually written in iambic pentameter that has one of several rhyme schemes.

24. Three Types of Sonnets 1.Italian or Petrarchan 2.Spenserian 3.Shakespearean

25. Italian / Petrarchan Sonnet  Divided into 2 parts: - 8 line octave with rhyme scheme (abbaabba) - 6 line sestet with rhyme scheme (cddcee OR cdcdee)  Tip: ABBA=father; Petrarch is the father of sonnets Octave: presents a problem or a question or expresses an idea Sestet: (turn) resolves, answers, or drives home the idea

26. Spenserian Sonnet  Developed by Edmund Spenser  Divided into 3 quatrains and a couplet  Rhyme scheme- abab bcbc cdcd ee  Tip: interlocking rhyme scheme

27. English/Shakespearean Sonnet Has three 4 line units – quatrains Followed by a concluding 2-line couplet Three quatrains often express related ideas or conclusion or message –Rhyme scheme- abab cdcd efef gg –Tip: (Shakespeare is a good guy “gg”) *Group of sonnets of a related theme- Sonnet Sequence or Sonnet Cycle*

28. Sestina Derived from French poetry Consists of six stanzas of six lines each followed by a three-line conclusion or envoy Requires a strict pattern of repetition of six key words that end the lines of the first stanza –Example: Elizabeth Bishop’s “Sestina” on p. 1068

29. Villanelle Derived from French poetry Relies heavily on repetition Composed of five three-line tercets and a final four- line quatrain –1 st and 3 rd lines repeat throughout the poem –1 st line reappears as the final line of the 2 nd and 4 th tercets, and again as the 3 rd line of the third and fifth tercets and the concluding line of the poem –Example: “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” »Dylan Thomas