NOTES

You will be taking Cornell notes. This set of notes will be added to your literary terms definitions pages.

POETRY: TYPES AND TERMS

AN ADDITION TO YOUR LITERARY TERMS LIST

ESSENTIAL QUESTION
What are different types of poetic forms and their characteristics?

LYRIC POEMS
a poem that expresses the thoughts and feelings of the poet

LYRIC POEMS - ODE

Has a serious tone and style May celebrate a person or event OR contain private reflections on a topic Usually of longer length Follow a formal stanza pattern Has a rhyme pattern (ex. abab cdecde) Example (do not copy)
from Ode to a Nightingale by John Keats My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk, Or emptied some dull opiate to the drains One minute past, and Lethe-wards had sunk:

LYRIC POEMS FREE VERSE

Expresses thoughts and feelings Sounds like regular speech Does not have to be any particular length NO rhyme pattern

Example (do not copy)

from Fog by Carl Sandburg

The fog comes on little cat feet. It sits looking over harbor and city on silent haunches and then moves on.

LYRIC POEMS - ELEGY

Mourns a great loss or the death of someone Generally longer length May or may not rhyme Example (do not copy):
from "In Memory of W. B. Yeats In the deserts of the heart Let the healing fountain start, In the prison of his days Teach the free man how to praise.

NARRATIVE POEMS
Tell a story Examples
Napa, California Working Hands

NARRATIVE POEMS - BALLAD

Usually set to music Medium length Contains a rhyme scheme and a refrain (repeated sets of lines) Meant to be sung or recited We now refer to ballads as love songs

NARRATIVE POEMS - EPIC

Tells the story of a hero and his adventures Extremely long (think short story length) Do not generally rhyme

SUMMARY
What are the two main types of poems we have discussed? What are the general characteristics of each?