Poetry

Stress story and actionEpic

Adventures of a heroOften related to nation-building

Origins, beliefs, etc.Ex: Homer’s Illiad, Virgil’s Aeneid

BalladMeant to be sung or recitedRepetition, refrains, obvious “poetic” language

RomanceAdventure is central themeHumans that often confront fantasy worldMiddle Ages/Renaissance

Epic and Ballad often intended to be oral narratives

Narrative Poetry

Story subordinate to song, styleSubjectiveConcentration on emotion, thoughtsOften single speakerNot as strict in convention as narrative poetryBriefMelodicEmotional intensityOften intended to be sung

Lyric Poetry

Epigram Brief, witty satire

Elegy Lament for the dead

Ode Long poem organized in variety of stanzas, meters, forms

Aubade Love lyric; often regarding departure from loved one

Sonnet 14 line; expression of emotion or idea Italian or English

Sestina Six stanzas of six lines each followed by three line conclusion

Villanelle Five 3-line tercets and a final four-line quatrain

Types of Lyric Poetry