Haiku, Ballad, and Sonnet

Question 1

What is a Haiku?

Answer 1

Traditional Japanese poem
Three lines long
First line is 5 syllables
Second line is 7 syllables
Third line is 5 syllables
These syllable counts are an approximation. Typically, the poems are translated from Japanese to English, so the counts can be slightly different.

Question 2

What is a ballad?

Answer 2

The earliest ballads were stories told in song.
These typically used the voice of everyday people and were passed on orally for audiences to listen.
Early ballads from the medieval period are known as “folk ballads.”
Ballads tell a story and typically have characters, a setting, and can even have dialogue.
Traditional ballads
Are made up of 4 line stanzas with a simple rhyme scheme (often ABAB)
Narrate a single tragic incident through dialogue

Question 3

Sonnets:

Answer 3

14 Lines
Last concluding lines often feature a turning point or clarification of ideas

Question 4

Petrarchan Sonnet:

Answer 4

Divided into 2 sections
First 8 Lines (first octave)
ABBAABBA
Last 6 Lines (final sestet)
CDCDCD
CDECDE

Question 5

English (Shakespearean) Sonnet

Answer 5

Divided into 4 sections
3 Groups of 4 Lines (Quatrains)
ABAB CDCD EFEF
Last 2 lines rhyming (Couplet)
GG