about reading poetry:
1. You should understand a poem after reading it one time.
2. Poetry has a code and each detail in the poem means one thing and one thing only.
3. A poem can mean anything the reader wants it to mean.
Poetry Terms
Lyric poetry
Originally was a song
Expresses a person’s feelings,
thoughts, or emotions
Does not tell a story
Example of Lyric poetry
“Theme for English B” by
Langston Hughes
Narrative poetry
Tells a story
Has elements of a story:
characters, setting, plot
Example of a narrative
poem
The Odyssey by Homer
This is a story of a Greek hero, Odysseus, who
goes on a long journey and encounters many
dangerous monsters on a quest for himself and
his country.
Epic poem
A
long narrative poem
About the adventures of a hero
Universal themes such as good and
evil, life and death, sin and
redemption
Example of an epic
poem
The Odyssey by Homer
Ballad
A
song that tells a story
A literary ballad is not sung but has
simple language and regular
rhythms and repetition. These can
be easy to memorize.
Structure of the Ballad




Often a total of 4 stanzas
3 stanzas of 7,8, or 10 lines
4th, shorter stanza, with 4 or 5 lines
All stanzas typically end with the same one-line refrain
Examples of a ballad
Ballad of Jesse James – a folk
ballad
“O What is that Sound” by W. H.
Auden

Fixed form (Sonnet and
Haiku)
A poem that has a set
pattern in lines, meter,
stanzas, or rhythm.
Sonnet
Has
exactly 14 lines
Shakespearean sonnet has a set
end rhyme scheme: abab cdcd efef
gg
Haiku
A
very short poem with 17 syllables –
originated in Japan
Only three lines
Line 1 – 5 syllables; Line 2 – 7 syllables; Line 3
– 5 syllables
Images from everyday life
Often talks about the seasons
Shy little songbird
where is your bright
colour now?
On this dreary day?
Free form
Poetry
without rules
Not an exact rhyme but it does
have rhythm
Does have carefully chosen words
Does have carefully chosen line
breaks
Fog
by Carl Sandburg
The fog comes
on little cat feet.
It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.
Example of free form