III. TYPES OF POEMS

A. Dramatic poetry - appears in verse plays, such as Shakespeare's ROMEO AND JULIET or HAMLET.

B. Narrative poetry - tells a story (usually a long poem such as an epic poem.)

C. Lyric poetry - the most common type - includes all other verse forms (sonnet, ode, ballad, etc.) Lyrics were originally sung to the accompaniment of a lyre, from which the term was derived.

1- Sonnet - a poem written in fourteen lines, iambic pentameter on a single theme or idea. A sonnet has a definite rhythm pattern and rhyme scheme.

Italian Sonnet Shakespearean Sonnet
  • One octet (8 lines)
  • one sextet (6 lines)
  • 3 quatrain (4 lines each)
  • one couplet (2 lines)

A
B
B
A
A
B
B
A

 

 C
D
C
D
C
D

A
B
A
B

C
D
C
D

 E
F
E
F

G
G

2. Ballad - a poem that tells a story in short stanzas and simple words, with repetition, refrain,etc.

3. Ode - a lyric poem, rhymed or unrhymed, usually addressed to some person or thing and characterized by lofty feeling, elaborate form and dignity of style, but sometimes simple in form and style.

4. Portrait - a poem that describes a person

5. Pastoral - a poem dealing with life in the countryside

6. Elegy - a sad, mournful poem of lament and praise for someone who has died

7. Epic - a long narrative poem depicting the adventures of great heroes. Milton's "Paradise Lost" or Homer's 'Iliad" and "Odyssey are examples.

8. Song - a dramatic and lyrical poem written in honor of someone or some occasion

9. Hymn - lyrics written in praise, honor or glorification of GOD

10. Haiku - a Japanese form, only three non-rhyming lines, very descriptive of a single, momentary event.

  • first line - five (5) syllables
  • second line - seven (7) syllables
  • third line - five (5) syllables

11. Diamond - a simple poem of nine lines that builds on the number of words and then diminishes forming the shape of a diamond. It creates an image describing a single thing or idea.

12. Picture Poem - the words of the poem not only create a mental image, but also a visual image by actually forming the shape of the thing it is describing