Introduction to Literature: Poetry

GENRE OF LITERATURE: POETRY

 

Meaning

According to Williams Wordsworth, a poem is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings recollected in tranquility. It may also be defined as that part of literature that has rhythm and uses language in a strange way (figurative) to capture the feelings and experience of life. Another definition is that a poem is the arrangement of best words in best order using stanzas and verses/lines which is a structure of poetry.

            It is instructive to stress that a poem is written in stanzas and verses/lines. Additionally, the gap between one stanza and another is called a stanza break.

TYPES OF POEMS

Poems can be lyrical, dramatic or narrative in form.

1.     1.      Lyrical poem: refers to a short poem, often with songlike qualities, that expresses the speaker’s personal emotions and feelings. Historically intended to be sung and accompany musical instrumentation, lyric now describes a broad category of non-narrative poetry, including elegies, dirges, odes, and sonnets. Classical musician-poets from the Archaic Greek period include Sappho, one of the most widely regarded lyric poets of all time. Her lyric, numbered “XII,” begins:

    In a dream I spoke with the Cyprus-born,

  And said to her,

“Mother of beauty, mother of joy,

Why hast thou given to men

“This thing called love, like the ache of a wound

  In beauty's side,

To burn and throb and be quelled for an hour

And never wholly depart?“

2. Dramatic Poem

A dramatic poem is a type of poetry that is written to be performed on stage. It typically features characters who speak directly to the audience, and is designed to convey a story or message through dialogue and action. Some examples of dramatic poetry include plays, operas, and musicals. Put differently, it is type of poem conveying a story that can be acted or spoken directly to the audience. It is characterised by monologues, characters and dialogues. For example: ‘Prometheus Unbound’ by  Percy Bysshe Shelley

3. Narrative Poem

 A narrative poem is a form of poetry that is used to tell stories. The poet combines elements of storytelling like plot, setting, and characters with elements of poetry such as meter, rhyme forms and poetic devices.

The narrative form is the oldest form of poetry and one of the oldest form of literature. Examples of narrative poems include epics and ballads.

A ballad has a simple story-line and uses simple and direct imagery. It is a poem that is usually sung with musical accompaniment and dance. The two popular types of ballad are: the traditional ballad and literary ballad. For example: ‘Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

An epic is a long narrative poem that celebrates the heroic actions of a cultural hero. It is also a poetic account of a nation’s history. For example: the Illiad by Homer.

You may also be interested to read: Introduction to Literature: Drama