Poetic form
Purpose, audience, subject matter
Ode
Language features
Purpose: to express admiration, to
commemorate
Tone and mood: positive, adoring,
appreciative
Audience: directed towards a general
audience but tends to direct ideas
to the subject of the ode itself (a
technique known as apostrophe)
Evaluative language: Language of
appreciation creates positive representations
of subject matter. Language of affect
describes the emotional responses of the
poet.
Subject matter: people, places,
concepts, objects, animals the poet
sees as being worthy of tribute
Figurative language: alliteration increases
appeal of the poem when read aloud.
Positive imagery used.
Text structures
Consistent rhyming scheme: no set
rhyming scheme attributed to the poetic
form, but there will be consistency within
an individual ode.
Consistent rhythm scheme: no set
rhythm scheme attributed to the poetic
form, but there will be consistency within
an individual ode. Upbeat, epic rhythms
favoured.
Multiple stanzas
A selection of odes
John Keats: To autumn, Ode to a nightingale; Percy Bysshe Shelley: Ode to the west wind, To a skylark; Arthur Guiterman: Ode to
the amoeba.
Elegy
Purpose: to remember and mourn
the loss of a loved person, place,
object or way of life
Audience: general audience
Subject matter: focuses on death
and loss
Tone and mood: sad, grief-stricken,
sombre, serious
Evaluative language: Language of affect
describes emotional pain of poet. Language
of appreciation and judgment build an
idealised image of who or what has been
lost.
Consistent rhyming scheme: often
makes use of the elegiac stanza: a
quatrain with abab rhyming pattern
Slow rhythm favoured
Multiple stanzas
Figurative language: used to build imagery
appropriate to the mood, tone, purpose and
subject matter
A selection of elegies
Thomas Shapcott: Elegy for a bachelor uncle; William Wordsworth: She dwelt among the untrodden ways; W.H. Auden: In
memory of W.B. Yeats; A.E. Housman: To an athlete dying young
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Eng_Y10_U4_SLR_PoeticForm
Ballad
Purpose: to tell an inspirational or
memorable story that needs to be
heard
Audience: general audience
Subject matter: focuses on humans
involved in memorable events often
with characters overcoming adversity.
Many ballads are based on true
stories.
Tone and mood: narrates story in third
person; creates a dramatic tone where the
inspirational deeds of the central characters
are glorified or idealised
Evaluative language: uses all aspects of
evaluative language to construct the central
characters positively and to represent the
antagonists or forces of adversity negatively
Figurative language: adds to the colourful
and dramatic telling of the story and to suit
the tone, mood and purpose of the ballad.
Enjambment: commonly used to maintain
rhythm and advance the plot line.
Structure: organised like a narrative with
orientation, complications, climax and
denouement
Refrain: a repetition of a key word or
phrase that helps emphasise the theme
of the poem
Consistent rhyming scheme: no set
rhyming scheme attributed to the poetic
form but there will be consistency within
the ballad.
Consistent rhythm scheme: no set
rhythm scheme attributed to the poetic
form but there will be consistency within a
ballad.
Multiple stanzas: usually four or eight
lines in a stanza. Ballads are often
lengthy.
A selection of ballads
Dudley Randall: Ballad of Birmingham; Oodgeroo Noonuccal: Ballad of the totems; Banjo Paterson: Clancy of the Overflow;
Sapper Bert Beros: The coloured Digger
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Eng_Y10_U4_SLR_PoeticForm
Sonnet
Purpose: to reflect on a range of
topics that affect people
Audience: general audience with
some poetic knowledge
Subject matter: often includes a
focus on abstract concepts: love,
beauty, memories, fear and human
nature
Tone and mood: an element of formality is
often used, but the emotional perspective of
the poet is made obvious.
Evaluative language: evaluative language
suits tone, mood and purpose. Language of
affect is used with purpose.
Figurative language: is used significantly,
often extended metaphors and symbolism
are deployed. Rich use of poetic language
advances complex ideas in a brief manner.
Set rhyming scheme: ‘abab cdcd efef
gg’
Consistent rhythm scheme: usually
iambic pentameter
Multiple stanzas: 14 lines — three
quatrains and a final couplet. The final
couplet is often used by the poet to
emphasise the theme of the sonnet.
Enjambment: used to maintain rhythm and
advance complex ideas
A selection of sonnets
Donald Davidson: Teach me; William Faulkner: After fifty years; A.E. Stallings: Fairy-tale logic; William Baer: Snowflake; Anne
Hunter: Winter; Percy Bysshe Shelley: To Wordsworth
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Eng_Y10_U4_SLR_PoeticForm
Free
verse
Purpose: to express the poet’s
perspective; to provide ‘stream of
consciousness’ insight into the poet’s
mind
Audience: general audience
Subject matter: all aspects of human
experience. There is a tendency
to look at the intricate details of
everyday situations.
Tone and mood: vary according to
purpose. At times free verse may sound
conversational and informal.
Evaluative language: evaluative language
suits tone, mood and purpose.
Figurative language: Rich, imaginative use
of poetic devices to communicate complex
concepts and to allow the reader or listener
to understand the poet’s perspective. Poetic
language allows the audience to get a
glimpse into the mind of the poet and see the
world through his or her eyes.
No set rhyming scheme: rhyme is
sometimes used, but the poet is free to
arrange end sounds how he or she sees
fit.
No set rhythm scheme: often a freeflow of ideas, fast paced, a stream of
consciousness
Lines of irregular length: lines of
varying length help set the rhythm of free
verse. It is rare to see stanzas that are
arranged according to a set rhythm.
A selection of free verse
Judith Beveridge: The kite; Jan Owen: First love; Geoff Page: Christ at Gallipoli; Peter Boyle: Paralysis; Mary Ruefle: White
buttons; Ali Alizadeh: Your terrorist; Rives: Glaucoma; Bob Randall: My brown skin baby they take him away
Blank
verse
Purpose: to express the poet’s
perspective
Tone and mood: will vary according to
purpose
Audience: general audience
Evaluative language: evaluative language
suits tone, mood and purpose.
Subject matter: wide variety of
subject matter
Figurative language: rich poetic language
used
No rhyme: blank verse is an artful
replication of the natural rhythm of speech
and does not need to ensure end rhymes.
Set rhythm: strict use of iambic
pentameter
Multiple stanzas
Enjambment: conveys the set rhythm
A selection of blank verse
Elizabeth McFarland: The rejection; Richard Lehnert: My soul; Phoebe Cary: Shakespearian readings; Charles Tomlinson: All
afternoon
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Eng_Y10_U4_SLR_PoeticForm