Transcript Poetic Forms - Rocky View Schools

Poetic Forms
Types Of Poetry
There are two main types of poetry:
 Narrative Poetry
 Lyric Poetry
Narrative Poetry
There are two main types of narrative poetry:
 Epic Poetry
 Ballad
I. Epic Poetry
 The epic is a long narrative poem with a
serious theme of universal significance,
recounting heroic deeds of the past in a
consistently dignified style. Epic heroes,
though fallible, perform deeds requiring
great courage and superhuman
strength.
Characteristics of an Epic Poetry
 Theme is so broad in its scope that it reaches beyond the
affairs of individuals to things concerning an entire
nation or the world (universal theme). Tradition would
make people familiar with the theme.
 Subject is taken from history, religion, legend, or
mythology. The supernatural element is usually
prevalent.
 Action is always on a large scale; powerful forces are in
conflict.
 Character is interesting for the part he plays in the
struggle with opposing forces, but the action is more
important than the individual.
 The same meter is used throughout.
Beowulf
 Is the oldest piece of English Literature in
existence.
 It is the story of a great leader who saves or
tries to save people who are in danger.
 Contains all the characteristics of an Epic
Poem.
II. The Ballad
 The ballad is a folk song or a story in poetic
form. Until the Renaissance, when people
began to write ballads down, they were passed
down orally from one generation to the next.
 Today the term applies to any poem or song
which tells a story.
Ballads: A Brief History in Time
 Ballads come from the works of minstrels and
recites.
 Traditional ballads dated from approximately
1200 - 1700 A.D.
 Ballads were not recorded until the early
1800’s when Sir Walter Scott went into the
more primitive regions of Scotland to write
down the songs the people were singing.
Characteristics of Traditional Ballads
 Ballads were short and simple because they
were originally sung.
 The main characters of Ballads are often
heroes, noblemen, or wealthy people. These
were characters the poor envied and admired.
 Most ballads began abruptly with no
introduction.
 The story is told through dialogue and through
description of the action.
Characteristics of Traditional Ballads
Cont’d
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There is a consistent rhythm.
Stanzas are commonly four lines long.
Lines are two and four rhyme (ABCB)
A line or verse may be repeated throughout the
ballad. (A refrain)
The story usually concerns a great adventure or a
tragic event.
Elements of the supernatural are often present.
Common themes include love, war, hatred, death
and tragedy.
“Magic” numbers such as three (multiples of
three), seven, and thirteen are often used in
ballads.
Characteristics of Modern
or Literary Ballads
 A modern ballad has a known author.
 There is a definite rhyme scheme and
rhythm used.
 A distinct introduction and setting are given.
 It is relatively modern in scope.
 The story is often tragic.
 The supernatural element is usually strong.
Lyric Poetry
 Is the expression of human feelings in
poetic form. The lyric expresses the
poet’s own mood. Emotions, and
reflections in musical language. The
reader looks at life through the poet’s
eyes.
I. The Sonnet
 The sonnet is probably the most
esteemed stanza. It is easy to
locate because it has extremely
rigid rules and is very difficult to
write.
Characteristics of a Sonnet
 The term sonnet refers to a poem of fourteen lines
written in iambic pentameter. In a perfect sonnet
there are 140 syllables.
 The first eight lines of a sonnet form the octave. In
the octave the writer poses a problem, depicts a
situation, or offers an observation.
 The last six lines of a sonnet form the sestet. In the
sestet, the author provides an answer or conclusion.
The author often tells what the meaning of the
octave is.
Iambic Pentameter
 Iambic pentameter is the elemental building
block of a sonnet's poetic line.
 Iambic pentameter is a rhythmical pattern.
The "iambic" part means that the rhythm
goes from an unstressed syllable to a
stressed one. It sounds sort of like a
heartbeat: daDUM, daDUM, daDUM. The
"pentameter" part means that this iambic
rhythm is repeated five times.
Characteristics of a Sonnet
The Form
 The most common type of sonnet is called the English,
Shakespearean or Elizabethan sonnet. The rhyme scheme for
the “perfect Shakespearean sonnet” is as follows:
ABAB
CDCD
EFEF
GG
(Theses last two lines are called the rhyming couplet.)
The Italian Sonnet
(Petrarchan Form)
 The Italian sonnet is divided into two sections by two
different groups of rhyming sounds.
 The Italian sonnet form consists of an "octet" (group
of eight lines) and a "sextet" (you guessed it; a
group of six lines) in one of the following rhyme
schemes:
abbaabba cde cde
abbaabba cc dd ee
abbaabba cdcd ee
The Italian Sonnet
(Petrarchan Form)
Cont’d
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The exact pattern of sestet rhymes (unlike the octave pattern) is
flexible. In strict practice, the one thing that is to be avoided in the
sestet is ending with a couplet (dd or ee), as this was never permitted
in Italy, and Petrarch himself (supposedly) never used a couplet
ending;
in actual practice, sestets are sometimes ended with couplets
(Sidney's "Sonnet LXXI).The point here is that the poem is divided into
two sections by the two differing rhyme groups.
So we should always remember, a change from one rhyme group
to another signifies a change in subject matter.
This change occurs at the beginning of L9 in the Italian sonnet and is
called the volta, or "turn"; the turn is an essential element of the
sonnet form, perhaps the essential element. It is at the volta that the
second idea is introduced.
The Spenserian Sonnet
 The Spenserian sonnet, invented by Edmund Spenser.
abab
bcbc
cdcd
ee
 Here, the "abab" pattern sets up distinct four-line groups, each
of which develops a specific idea.
 The Volta "turn" occurs where the rhyme pattern changes, with
the couplet.
II. Elegy
 The elegy is a lament for the death of
someone dear to the poet. The poem
may also be written to honor the dead.
The expression is usually grave and
controlled.
 Most famous elegy: Thomas gray’s
(1716-1771) “Elegy Written in a Country
Churchyard” it took him 9 years to write
this piece.
III. Pastoral Elegy
 The pastoral elegy represents the poet as a
shepherd mourning the death of another shepherd.
 The setting is rural.
 There are references to nature, to the mythical
gods, etc.
 Part of the pastoral convention is going back to the
ancient Greeks.
 At the end, the hope that the dead person has been
granted importability may be introduced.
Epigram
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A brief, witty statement, usually in the form of
a poem that comments on life and death.
On His Books
When I am dead, I hope it may be said:
His sins were scarlet, but his books were read.
Epitaph
 An elegy for inscription on a monument.
Because it was originally inscribed on a
tombstone it is brief.
On the 22nd of June
On the 22nd of June
Jonathan Fiddle
Went out of tune
IV. The Ode
 The ode is an elaborate lyric which celebrates a
serious theme. In English literature, almost
any poem of fair length and elaborate subject
matter may be called an ode. The ode is often
inspired by an important occasion and it
expresses lofty and exalted feelings.
Special Poetic Forms
Limerick
Parody
Haiku &Tanka
Cinquain
The Diamante
Rondeau
The Villanelle
Limerick
 Is a five line nonsense stanza of anapestic feet.
 The first, second and fifth lines are trimeter
 The third and fourth diameter.
 AABBA
There once was a boy from Quebec
Who was buried in snow to his neck.
When asked, “are you friz?”
He replied,”Yes, I is.
But we don’t call this cold in Quebec.”
Parody
 A piece of writing which achieves a humorous
effect by mimicking the structure or content of
a serious, well-known selection.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star.
How I wonder where you are.
Through the dirty, smog-filled sky.
You can’t be seen by the naked eye.
Haiku
 An ancient Japanese verse form of three
unrhymed lines containing a total of seventeen
syllables. There are five syllables in the first
line, seven in the second, and five in the third.
Usually refers to some aspect of nature.
The falling flower
I saw drift back to the branch
Was a butterfly.
Tanka
 Another Japanese form of poetry . The tanka adds two
lines to the Haiku. Its form is 5,7,5,7 and 5.
 Typically deal with seasons of the year and imagery is of
vital importance.
Adversity
Debris in the wind
Indiscriminately blinds
Eyes searching a path.
To turn one’s back to the wind
Reveals but where one has been.
Cinquain
 It is an English form of Haiku or Tanka.
 The format is 2,4,6,8, and 2
 There is a somewhat elastic effect. The first
four lines stretch and develop and then SNAP
the last line with only two lines makes a
noticeable impact!
Similarities
I touch
Two curving things;
The barrel of this pen
The slow uncertain windings of
This verse.
The Diamante
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It is diamond shaped poem expressing contrast.
May have any number of lines.
It builds sequentially and then collapses.
The middle line introduces the contrast
Last word and first are an oxymoron.
Joy Frisky, buoyant
Warming, sparkling, revealing
Nonsense, comedy - witchery, absurdity
Haunting, piercing, confusing
Doubtful, lonely
Grief.
Rondeau
In Flanders fields the poppies blow A
 French Poetic Form of 15
lines
 Rhyme Scheme
Between the crosses, row on row, A
AABBA
AAB
Refrain
AABBA
Refrain
 Iambic tetrameter
We are the dead; short days ago A
That mark our place, and in the sky, B
The larks, still bravely singing, fly, B
Scarce heard amid the guns below. A
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, A
Loved and were loved, and now we lie B
In Flanders fields. Refrain
Take up our quarrel with the foe! A
To you from failing hands we throw A
The torch; be yours to hold it high! B
If ye break faith with us who die B
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow A
In Flanders fields. Refrain
Villanelle
 The lines are grouped into five tercets and a concluding
quatrain.
 A Villanelle has 19 lines.
 Lines may be of any length.
 The Villanelle has two rhymes. The rhyme scheme is aba, with
the same end-rhyme for every first and last line of each tercet
and the final two lines of the quatrain.
 Two of the lines are repeated:
1.The first line of the first stanza is repeated as the last
line of the second and the fourth stanzas, and as the
second-to-last line in the concluding quatrain.
2.The third line of the first stanza is repeated as the last
line of the third and the fifth stanzas, and as the last
line in the concluding quatrain.
 Thus the pattern of line-repetition is as follows:
"Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night”
By Dylan Thomas
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.