What is poetry?

Poetry is a literary work in which special intensity is given to the expression of feelings
and ideas by the use of distinctive style and rhythm.

TYPES OF POETRY
Haiku – a form of poetry that focuses on the beauty and simplicity found in nature and
traditionally are three-line stanzas with a 5/7/5 syllable count.
“Sick on a Journey” by Matsuo Basho

Sick on my journey,
only my dreams will wander
these desolate moors.

Free Verse – is a literary device that can be defined as poetry that is free from limitations
or regular meter or rhythm, and does not rhyme with fixed forms.
“Little Father” by Li-Young Lee

I buried my father
in the sky.
Since then, the birds
clean and comb him every morning
and pull the blanket up to his chin
every night.

I buried my father underground.

Since then, my ladders
only climb down,
and all the earth has become a house
whose rooms are the hours, whose doors
stand open at evening, receiving
guest after guest.
Sometimes I see past them
to the tables spread for a wedding feast.

I buried my father in my heart.

Now he grows in me, my strange son,
my little root who won’t drink milk,
little pale foot sunk in unheard-of night,
 little clock spring newly wet
in the fire, little grape, parent to the future
wine, a son the fruit of his own son,
little father I ransom with my life.

Cinquains – is a five-line poem that was invented by Adelaide Crapsey and are particularly
vivid in their imagery and are meant to convey a certain mood or emotion.
“Snow” by Adelaide Crapsey

Look up . . .
From bleakening hills
Blows down the light, first breath
Of wintry wind . . . look up, and scent
The snow!

Epic Poems – is a long and narrative poem that normally tells a story about a hero or an
adventure.
Here’s an excerpt from the epic poem, “The Song of Hiawatha” by Henry
Wadsworth Longfellow:

By the shore of Gitchie Gumee,

By the shining Big-Sea-Water,
At the doorway of his wigwam,
In the pleasant Summer morning,
Hiawatha stood and waited.

Ballad – are poems or song that tells a story which are often based on legend or folk tale.
“The Mermaid” by an unknown author

'Twas Friday morn when we set sail,

And we had not got far from land,
When the Captain, he spied a lovely mermaid,
With a comb and a glass in her hand.

Oh the ocean waves may roll,

And the stormy winds may blow,
While we poor sailors go skipping aloft
And the land lubbers lay down below, below, below
 And the land lubbers lay down below.
Then up spoke the Captain of our gallant ship,
And a jolly old Captain was he;
"I have a wife in Salem town,
But tonight a widow she will be."

Then up spoke the Cook of our gallant ship,

And a greasy old Cook was he;
"I care more for my kettles and my pots,
Than I do for the roaring of the sea."

Then up spoke the Cabin-boy of our gallant ship,

And a dirty little brat was he;
"I have friends in Boston town
That don't care a ha' penny for me."

Then three times 'round went our gallant ship,

And three times 'round went she,
And the third time that she went 'round
She sank to the bottom of the sea.

Acrostic - are poems also known as name poems, spell out names or words with the first
letter in each line which will described someone or something.
“Alexis” by Nicholas Gordon

Alexis seems quite shy and somewhat frail,

Leaning, like a tree averse to light,
Evasively away from her delight.
X-rays, though, reveal a sylvan sprite,
Intense as a bright bird behind her veil,
Singing to the moon throughout the night.

Sonnets - is a 14-line poem written in iambic pentameter.

“Sonnet 116” by William Shakespeare

Let me not to the marriage of true minds

Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover or remove.
 O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

Lyric Poetry - is a short poem were originally accompanied by music which the mood is
melodic and emotional. The writer uses words that express his or her state of mind,
perceptions, and feelings, rather than tell a story.

“Sonnet Number 18” by William Shakespeare

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date.
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed,
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature's changing course untrimmed.

Dramatic Poetry - is written in blank verse and is meant to be spoken. Its main purpose is
to tell a story or describe an event in an interesting and descriptive way.
“The Law of the Jungle” by Rudyard Kipling’s

Wash daily from nose-tip to tail-tip; drink deeply, but never too deep;
And remember the night is for hunting, and forget not the day is for sleep.
The Jackal may follow the Tiger, but, Cub, when thy whiskers are grown,
Remember the Wolf is a Hunter - go forth and get food of thine own.
Keep peace with the Lords of the Jungle - the Tiger, the Panther, and Bear.
And trouble not Hathi the Silent, and mock not the Boar in his lair.
When Pack meets with Pack in the Jungle, and neither will go from the trail,
Lie down till the leaders have spoken - it may be fair words shall prevail.
 Narrative - include ballads and epics, long stories detailing historic societies, heroic deeds
or interesting events. They can also be very dramatic when re-telling a particular situation
and were originally meant to be performed while dancing.

"The Song of Hiawatha" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is a long epic poem that
tells the tale of the hero Hiawatha in a rhythm that mimics Native American
chants, an excerpt of it:

First he danced a solemn measure,

Very slow in step and gesture,
In and out among the pine-trees,
Through the shadows and the sunshine,
Treading softly like a panther.
Then more swiftly and still swifter,
Whirling, spinning round in circles,
Leaping o'er the guests assembled,
Eddying round and round the wigwam,
Till the leaves went whirling with him,
Till the dust and wind together
Swept in eddies round about him.

How to interpret the poem?

For me there are six ways to analyze a poem. These ways are which follows:
(1) Read - read the poem at least twice, get the structure and rhythm.
(2) Title - think about the title and how it relates to the poem.
(3) Speaker – understand the speaker by getting the speaker’s point of view.
(4) Mood and Tone - it’s important to address the attitude or mood the poem is
attempting to convey. Some can be brooding or grieving; others may have a song-like
cadence and rhyme. Discuss the attitude each speaker or characters give off. Moreover,
talk about if there places where the poem's tone may switch and why.
(5) Paraphrase – translate the phrase into simpler terms.
(6) Theme - The theme of a poem relates to a universal truth, issue, or conflict. To
determine the theme, look over all of your analysis and connect the dots:
What is the subject?
Who is the speaker?
What situation are they in?
What is the mood?