POETRY

• Poetry is a combination of words in lines, rhyme, tone, voice,

theme, language, and emotion which makes it a creative
means to liberate the poet’s thoughts and feelings. While
one can freely write a poem, it is still necessary to know the
different elements of poetry. This is to create a poem that
will make a huge impact on the reader.
• Poetry is a word composition arranged in a rhythmic pattern.
It is used to express one’s creative thoughts and feelings
through a specialized and heightened language.
• It has identifiable characteristics regarding its structure,
form, word arrangement, word choice, and usage.
KINDS OF
POETRY
Acrostic
In acrostic poems, the first letter of each line of the
poem are aligned vertically to form a word. Generally, the
word formed thus, is the subject of the poem.
Ballad
Ballads are narrative that are supposed to be sung. The
narrator usually starts with a dramatic scene and relates
the narrative with dialog and actions.

Example:
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor
Coleridge
Epic
This genre of poetry is a type of narrative literature that
narrates stories of mythological heroes. Longest poetry of
all times is Mahabharata.

Examples:
Mahabharata
Biag ni Lam-ang
Gilgamesh
Haiku
A Japanese poem of seventeen syllables, in three lines
of five, seven, and five, traditionally evoking images of
natural world.
Lyric poetry
Lyric poetry is personal in nature, wherein a poet
expresses his/her perceptions and ideas through poetry.
Lyric poems deal with subject like love, peace, loss and
grief. T.S. Eliot is one of the prominent names in lyric
poetry.

• Sonnets and Ballads are example of Lyric Poetry.

Narrative poetry
This is a genre of poetry that involves story-telling and is
one of the very old forms of poetry. The content of these
types of poems is intended to appeal the masses.
Example:
The Greedy Dog
There once was a dog filled with greed
Who wanted much more than he’s need
When he saw his reflection
Upon further inspection
He ended with nothing, indeed.
Sonnet
Derived from Occitan and Italian words meaning “a little song.” It is a
fourteen-line stanza that was based on a strict rhyme scheme and structure.
Two types of Sonnet
Petrarchan sonnet (Italian)
- this sonnet is split into two parts, an octave and a sestet. The octave
is composed of two envelope quatrains rhyming "abba abba" (Italian octave).
The sestet's rhyme pattern varies, though it is most often either "cde cde"
(Italian sestet) or "cdc dcd" (Sicilian sestet).
 
Shakespearian sonnet (English)
- it has fourteen lines, consisting of three groups of four lines each,
followed by a single rhyming couplet. The rhyme scheme is “abab cdcd efef
gg.”
Couplet
A pair of successive lines of meter in poetry. A couplet usually
consists of two successive lines that rhyme and have the same
meter. A couplet may be formal or run-on. In a formal couplet,
each of the two lines is end-stopped, implying that there is a
grammatical pause at the end of a line of verse.
Example:
Nature’s Shows
Nature puts on little shows
Every time it rains or snows.
CHARACTERISTIC
OF POETRY
Poetry has unique characteristics if compared to other forms of creative writing which include the
following:

1. It expresses creative thoughts in much briefer way than a short story

and novel.
2. It uses elements such as rhythm, imagery, verse and meter, and
poetic devices.
3. It has musical quality.
4. It has structure.
5. It is used to express intense personal emotions and experiences.
6. The content of a poem shows the universal truth and connotes a
deeper meaning.
7. It does not use everyday language.
ELEMENTS OF
POETRY
• Theme – it is the summarized statement containing
the main thought or meaning of the poem.
• Tone – refers to the attitude and mood of the poem.
It is the overall atmosphere of the poem which
influences the emotional response of the reader.
• Rhyme – the link between music and poetry. It adds
music quality to the poem which gives the readers
reading pleasure.
The following are the different types of
rhymes:
Types Characteristics Sample
True rhyme Rhyme that occurs on the “Here Captain! Dear
words Father! This arm beneath
your head!
It is some dream that on
the deck, You’ve fallen
cold and dead.”
(Oh Captain My Captain, Walt
Whitman)
Internal rhyme Rhyme that occur within “Once upon a midnight
the lines dreary, while I pondered,
weak and weary.”
(The Raven, Edgar Allan Poe)

Off rhyme or slant rhyme Not a true rhyme but the “In the sun and in the
sound of the words are snow, Without pleasure,
alike without pain, On the
dead oak tree bough.”
(The Gallows, Edward Thomas)
• Line and Meter – the line is the line of words in poetry. The verse is the
line of a poem arranged in a metrical pattern. Stanza is referred as the
“unit of poetic lines.” There are different stanza forms. Below are the
following:
Forms Number of Lines
Couplet 2
Tercet 3
Quatrain 4
Quintet 5
Sestet 6
Septet 7
Octave 8
The meter is poetry’s measured accents and syllables
arrangement. It is the systematic sound pattern of a
poem.
Metrical Patterns Characteristics
Accentual Meter Lines have the same number of stresses and
varied count of syllables

Syllabic Meter Lines have the same number of syllables

and varied count of stresses

Accentual-Syllabic Lines have the same number of syllables,

Meter both stressed and non-stressed; arranges in
fixed order
Free Verse Lines have irregular number of stresses and
syllables
Genre
The following are the three types of poetry:
Type Characteristics Sample forms

Descriptive Poem Focuses on details Didactic poem

Narrative Poem Tells a story Epic, ballad

Lyric Poem Expresses the Ode, sonnet,

feelings and dramatic monolog
thoughts of the
poet
Literary Devices
The literary devices should also be
incorporated in the poem such as imagery, figures
of speech, and figurative language. This is to make
the poem appealing to the readers.