NARRATIVE POEM

Narrative Poetry
 Narrative poetry is verse that tells a story.
 Two of the major examples of narrative poetry
include:
 Ballads – a song or poem that tells a story. Folk
ballads, which typically tell of an exciting or dramatic
event, were composed by an anonymous singer or
author and passed on by word of mouth for
generations before written down. Literary ballads are
written in imitation of folk ballads, but usually given
an author.
 Epics – a long narrative poem on a great and serious
subject that is centered on the actions of a heroic figure
 Combines the elements of poetry with
elements of storytelling.
 Poetry with a plot; poetry that tells a story
 Characteristics
 Tells a story
 Same elements as fiction ( it has a character,
setting, problem/solution, cause/effect)
 Rhyme
 Rhythm
 Dialogue (talking)
 Point of View (1st person, 3rd person)
 Humor
 What is a narrative poem?
 A narrative poem takes the form of a story.
Narrative poetry originated in the oral tradition,
and its formal meter and rhyme structure made
it easier to memorize and deliver orally to a
crowd. Thus, it is one of the oldest forms of
poetry. Outside of the metered verse, a
narrative poem shares many literary attributes
with short stories and novels including narrator,
characters, setting, plot, conflict and resolution.
 Narrator

 A narrative poem is told from the point of

view of a narrator. This narrator can be a main
character in the story, a character who has
witnessed the particular events of the story, or
a character who is retelling the story he has
heard from someone else.
 Story

 A narrative poem always tells a story. A story is made up of a

setting, characters, events, and a conflict, and, like other forms
of narrative, such as novels and short stories, narrative poems
typically begin with descriptions of characters and setting.
Though most narrative poetry is fictional, it can also be
nonfictional and tell the story of a war or a biography of a real
person. A narrative poem can also be a combination of these
two elements such as the early narrative poem, Homer’s “The
Iliad.” This poem is about the 10-year siege of the city of Troy,
during the Trojan War. The setting of the poem is considered
nonfictional, but story of the quarrel between Achilles and
Agamemnon is considered fictional.
 Structure

 A narrative poem contains a formal meter and

rhyme structure. This structure is not
predictable, but instead uses different poetic
tools and literary devices, in different
combinations throughout the poem.
Furthermore, a narrative poem is typically
broken into stanzas which contain a particular
rhyming pattern, such as rhyming couplets.
 Purpose and Examples
 The main purpose of narrative poetry is to entertain, and it uses
imagery, figurative language and different sound patterns to grab
and hold the audience’s attention. Because its main function is to
entertain, a narrative poem does have any expressions of the poet’s
thoughts or feelings.
 Early examples of narrative poems are “The Epic of Gilgamesh,”

Homer’s “Odyssey” and Virgil’s “Aeneid.” Homer’s work

influenced later narrative poems like “Beowulf,” Chaucer’s “The
Canterbury Tales” and “The Book of the Duchess,” and Dante’s
“Divine Comedy.”
 Though narrative poetry is one of the oldest poetic traditions, it

continues to be relevant because of its ability to tell entertaining and

informative stories.
INTRODUCTION
to
EPIC POETRY
 Epic poem
What in the world is that?
 Epic poem
 An extended narrative poem recounting
actions, travels, adventures, and heroic
episodes and written in a high style (with
ennobled diction, for example).

 It may have twelve books or twenty four

books.
 A long narrative poem on a great and
serious subject, relayed in an elevated
style, and centered on a heroic or
quasi-divine figure on whose actions
depends the fate of a tribe, a nation, or
the human race.
 Epic poetry – oral tradition
 Epic poetry has its roots in oral retelling of the
story. These stories were originally passed on
by bards, or professional poets who made their
living by singing folk tales and epic poems to
audiences.
 What is Epic Poetry?
 Long narrative poem
 Written in an elevated style
 Celebrates the deed of a legendary hero or
god
 Characteristics of Epic Poetry
 Usually contains several books or volumes
 Many epic poems started from “oral
tradition” or spoken poems that were
memorized and recited ceremonially
 In the case of the Odyssey, some scholars
believe that there were “episodes” that were
eventually collaborated into one story
Original text often has rhyme/poetic devices
 Often in rhyming couplets (aa, bb, cc)
 Alliteration

 Digressions (into other stories/myths)

 Epithets – descriptive word or phrase to
accompany or replace a person’s name
“Brave Odysseus” or “wine-dark sea”
 Repetition or reoccurring lines/phrase
 Characteristics of epic poem
 The main character or protagonist is heroically
larger than life, often the source and subject of
legend or a national hero
 Contains a hero with specific characteristics
- Known as an Epic Hero
 The Epic Hero
 The hero is a figure of great national
or even cosmic importance, usually the ideal
man of his culture.
 He often has superhuman or

divine traits.
 He has an imposing physical

stature and is greater in all ways

than the common man.
 The epic hero usually undertakes a
QUEST/ JOURNEY
to achieve something of great value to
themselves or society
 Epic heroes “LIVE ON AFTER DEATH”…

meaning they are forever remembered by

those who live after them… achieving a type
of IMMORTALITY
 The deeds of the hero are presented without
favoritism, revealing his failings as well as his
virtues

 The action, often in battle, reveals the more-

than-human strength of the heroes as they
engage in acts of heroism and courage
 Characteristcs of epic poem
 The hero is a great leader who is identified
strongly with a particular people or society.
 The setting is broad and often includes
supernatural realms, especially the land of
the dead. (will be explained later)
 The hero does great deeds in battle or
undertakes an extraordinary journey or
quest. (eg Odyssey)
 Characteristcs of epic poem
 Sometimes gods or other supernatural or
fantastic beings take part in the action.
( Beowulf, Odyssey)
 Characteristics of epic poem
 The setting covers several nations, the whole
world, or even the universe

 The episodes, even though they may be

fictional, provide an explanation for some of
the circumstances or events in the history of a
nation or people
 Characteristics of epic poem
 The gods and lesser divinities play an active
role in the outcome of actions

 All of the various adventures form an organic

whole, where each event relates in some way
to the central theme
 Characteristics of epic poem
Starts “in media res” or “in the middle”
 Story begins in the middle and flashes back
so that the reader can understand the
current situation
 Narrator invokes a Muse

One of the 9 daughters of Zeus that give

divine inspiration
 Characteristics of epic poem
An epic also contains:
– Battles
– Romance
– A great journey
– Lists/Catalogs
• people, items, genealogies, etc.
– Supernatural influence/intervention
• Called “machinery”
–A descent into the underworld/Rebirth
– Epic Simile (or extended simile)
– Extended formal speeches
 Typical in epics is a set of
conventions
 Poem begins with a statement of the theme ("Arms
and the man I sing")

 Invocation to the muse or other deity ("Sing, goddess,

of the wrath of Achilles")
 Story begins in medias res (in the middle of
things)

 Histories and descriptions of significant items

(who made a sword or shield, how it was
decorated, who owned it from generation to
generation)
 Frequent use of epithets ("Aeneas the true";
"rosy-fingered Dawn"; "tall-masted ship")

 Use of patronymics (calling son by father's

name): "Anchises' son“

 Journey to the underworld

 Examples
 Homer, Iliad
 Homer, Odyssey
 Virgil, Aeneid
 Tasso, Jerusalem Delivered
 Milton, Paradise Lost
 Other epic stories
 Lord of the Rings

 Star Wars

 Harry Potter
 The Iliad
 “written” by Homer around
(c.) 720 B.C.
 Homer did not invent the
story, but transcribed it into
its longest-lasting form
 All versions we read are
translated from ancient
Greek language –
Translations can vary greatly
 Called Iliad because “Ilium”
was the Greek name for Troy
– where the war took place.
“Iliad” = “about Ilium”
The Trojan War (c. 1250 B.C.)
Causes
Nuclear weapons?
No!
Treaty violations?
No!
Imperial aggression?
No!
Trade dispute?
No!

A WOMAN!
 The Trojan War
1184 BC/ 800 BC (written)
 Main topic of The Iliad by Homer and latter The
Aeneid by Virgil
 Achaeans vs. Trojans (10 yrs.)
 Helen of Troy abducted by Paris
 Achilles obtains from war in 10th yr. kills Hector the
Trojan Prince
 Wooden horse
 City captured Helen returned to Menelaus
 The Odyssey
800 BC
 Tale of Odysseus
 10 yrs. in Trojan War
 10 yrs. to get home
 Presumed dead wife Penelope fighting off suitors
 Consists of 24 books
 The Adventures of Beowulf
650 AD
 1st Epic Poem written in English, Old English
 Author Unknown
 Adventure of a great Scandinavian warrior
 1 manuscript survived the monastery
destruction by Henry VIII
 https://www.gutenberg.org/files/16328/16328-
h/16328-h.htm
 ( story of Beowulf)
 Main Characters

 Beowulf - an ideal warrior of the Geats

and the hero of the poem
 Dragon - a fire-breathing, snakelike
monster that terrorizes the Geats
 Grendel - a monster with human
qualities that terrorizes Herot for twelve
years
 Grendel’s Mother - a monster that also
terrorizes Herot
 Higlac - King of Geats and uncle of
Beowulf
 Hrothgar – Danish King and builder of Herot
 Shild - king of the Geats and uncle of Beowulf
 Unferth - a warrior in Hrothgar’s court who
challenges Beowulf’s bravery
 Welthow - Hrothgar’s wife
 Wiglaf - a young warrior and relative of
Beowulf
 Time and Place
 Set in Denmark and Geatland
 6th Century
 Herot- mead
hall
 Why is Epic Poetry Important
today?
 Stories are still being passed down from
generation to generation.
 We see these same plots, heroes, struggles,
archetypes, and events happening in life today.
 References to these epic poems are in our books
and movies today.
The Ballad
Part of the oral tradition

Stories passed down from

generation to generation
 Oral Tradition
 Many people still
illiterate

 Like stained
glass, ballads
were used to
reach illiterate
population
 Ballads
 Ballads are poems that tell a story.

 They are considered to be a form of narrative

poetry.

 They are often used in songs and have a very

musical quality to them.
A narrative folk song, the ballad is traced back to
the Middle Ages.

Balladswere usually created by common people

and passed orally due to the illiteracy of the time.

Subjects for ballads include killings, feuds,

important historical events, and rebellion.

For example, in the international ballad “Lord

Randall,” the young man is poisoned by his
sweetheart, and in “Edward,” the son commits
patricide.
 The basic form for ballads is iambic
heptameter (seven sets of unstressed, stressed
sylables per line), in sets of four, with the
second and fourth lines rhyming.

 This is the standard, but few people use or

even know the standard!

 it should have a smooth, song-like sound when

you speak it aloud.
 Example
I'll tell a tale, a thrilling tale of love beyond compare
I knew a lad not long ago more gorgeous than any I've seen.
And in his eyes I found my self a'falling in love with the swain.
Oh, the glorious fellow I met by the ocean with eyes of deep-sea
green!

He was a rugged sailor man with eyes of deep-sea green,

And I a maid, a tavern maid! Whose living was serving beer.
So with a kiss and with a wave, off on his boat he sailed
And left me on the dock, the theif! Without my heart, oh dear!

And with a heart that's lost at sea, I go on living still.

I still am now still serving beer in that tavern by the sea.
And though the pay check's still the same, the money won't go as far
For now I feed not just myself, but my little one and me!

So let that be a lesson, dear, and keep your heart safely hid.
I gave mine to a sailing thief with gorgeous eyes of green.
Save yours for a sweeter lad who makes the land his home.
Ah me! If only I'd never met that sailor by the sea!
 Notice how "seen" and "green" in the first paragraph
rhyme?

 This rhyming pattern, called abcb, is continued

throughout the poem. "a" stands for one line ending,
"b" for another, and "c" for another still. Because
there are 2 "b"'s, they are the two lines that rhyme.

 Note also, that it does not stay strictly to the iambic

heptameter, this only fits if you speed up and blend
some of the words, which also adds to the flow of it.
 Characteristics
Close to the heart.
 The ballad has always enjoyed a direct
relationship to music. After all, its modern
forebears were musicians – the Provencal
troubadour song-poets and courtly folk
musicians. So, its evolution as a form features
line structure and rhythms that, like its
subjects, stick close to the heart.
The ballad’s storytelling power

 By the time of the Romantic poets, ballad was

as familiar to English readers as the novel is to
readers today. The Romanticists used that
familiarity to their advantage and perfected
both the art and storytelling power of the
ballad.
Playing with structure.
 Some Romantic poets experimented with the
ballad’s core structure, finding the quatrain too
restrictive for their elaborate stories. Byron hit
upon the double-quatrain – an eight-line stanza
– and wrote a broadside at fellow Romanticists
Robert Southey and William Wordsworth that
offers insight into the rivalries that existed
among the greats of the time:
Alternative
By the 15th century, the easy-to-write ballad served
as a commoners’ alternative to the more formal,
Examples of ballads
The Second Coming
(William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)

Turning and turning in the widening gyre

The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,

The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere

The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

Surely some revelation is at hand;

Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi ...
 Ballad of the Cool Fountain
Anonymous Spanish poetess (15th century)
Fountain, coolest fountain,
Cool fountain of love,
Where all the sweet birds come
For comforting–but one,
A widow turtledove,
Sadly sorrowing.
At once the nightingale,
That wicked bird, came by,
And spoke these honied words:
"My lady, if you will,
I shall be your slave."
"You are my enemy:
Begone, you are not true!
Green boughs no longer rest me,
Nor any budding grove.
Clear springs, where there are such,
Turn muddy at my touch.
I want no spouse to love
Nor any children either.
I forego that pleasure
And their comfort too.
No, leave me; you are false
And wicked–vile, untrue!
I’ll never be your mistress!
I’ll never marry you!"
Origin
 Earliest written ballads
date back to 15th
Century England

 Bishop Thomas Percy

rescued an old
manuscript that a
housemaid was about
to burn in the fire
place
 Introduced Rhyme
 Ballads typically contain 4 line stanzas (known
as quatrains)
Roses are red
Violets
 The lines rhyme at theare
end,blue
usually on the
Sugar
second and fourth is sweet
lines
And so are you
 Ballads are narrative poems
meant to be sung
 Narrative means that it
tells a story
 Emphasis is on plot
 Little character
development
 Little expression of
sentiment
 Sometimes suggestive,

offers folk wisdom

Subject Matter
Like songs today,
ballads tell stories
about characters
who faced
challenges in life
and in love
 Common Themes
Tragic Accidents Sudden Disasters

Murderous Acts Desire for Revenge

Suicide Humorous Arguments

Heroic Deeds Quests for Honor

Jealous Sweethearts Unrequited Love

 Characteristics
Ballads often
 dramatize a single
incident
 are based on actual
events
 contain dialogue
 have a refrain or
repeated line
 suggest some folk
wisdom
A Picture of the Times
 Life was ½ over by
age 18
 Because of this, we
sometimes see a
cynical,
unsentimental view
of life reflected in
ballads
Folk Ballads
 American ballads are
often associated with
cowboys, folk heroes,
mountain people of
Tennessee or
Kentucky, or outlaws
such as Jessie James
or Billy the Kid.
 Folk Ballads
 In the 1960’s and
1970’s, folk ballads
gained popularity.

 Singers such as Joan

Baez and Bob Dylan
became known for
their ballads
 Ballad Recipe
 Tells a story, usually tragic
 Quatrains (4 line stanzas), which provide short scenes
of a story
 Rhyme scheme of abcb
 Regular, strong rhythm
 Longer first and third line (6,5,6,5 or 7,6,7,6 syllables)
 May use dialogue and questions
 May end with a moral or address the reader
 Let’s listen
 “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”
 The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
 Let’s Look at an Example
(Tutorial 1) individual
 Open to “Paul Revere’s Ride” by Henry
Wadsworth Longfellow
 read the poem then describe the speaker, the
structure, and tell the story in paragraph form
(in your own words.)
 When you finish doing that, see if you can
identify the rhyme scheme and the meter
(pattern of stressed/unstressed syllables).
 Upload your answers on the stream
 TASK TWO ( group )
 Select a narrative poem , ballad or an epic
poem and upload on the stream . Share your
insights on the poem