Poetry: types of poems Flashcards
Lyric
subjective, reflective poetry with regular rhyme scheme and meter which reveals the poet’s thoughts and feelings to create a single, unique impression
Narrative
nondramatic, objective verse with regular rhyme scheme and meter which relates a story
Sonnet
a rigid 14-line verse form, with variable structure/rhyme scheme, according to type:
Shakespearean/English sonnet
abab cdcd efef gg (or abba…) rhyme scheme and iambic pentameter
rhyme sheme is 3 quatrains and concluding couplet
Spenserian sonnet
abab bcbc cdcd ee (LINKING rhyme scheme)
similar to Shakespearean
Italian/Petrarchan
an octave and sestet, between which a break in thought occures
abba abba cde cde
Ode
elaborate lyric verse which deals seriously with a dignified theme
Blank verse
unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter
ex: Mending Wall
Free Verse
unrhymed lines without regular rhythm
ex: Plath
Epic
a long, dignified narrative poem about a hero
Dramatic monologue
a lyric poem in which the speaker tells a story about themself, revealing their character
Elegy
a poem of lament, mediating about death of an individual
Ballad
simple, narrative verse; usually sung or recited
Idyll
lyric poetry describing the life of the shepherd in pastoral, bucolic, idealistic terms
Villanelle
a French verse form, strictly calculated to appear simple and spontaneous; five tercets and a final quatrain (aba aba aba aba aba abaa)
Refrained lines 1, 6, 12, 18 and 3, 9, 15, 19
