Poetry and Drama

• Poetry is a type of literature that conveys a thought, describes a scene, or tells a story in a concentrated, lyrical arrangement of words
• Poetry is structured with rhyming lines and meter, the rhythm and emphasis of a line based on syllabic beats
• Poetry is Can also be freeform, with no formal structure
• The basic building block is a verse known as stanza. It is a grouping of lines related to the same topic and can be subdivided based on the number of lines it contains.
• Meter. It is the basic rhythmic structure of a line within a work. It consists of two components: The number of syllables and a pattern of emphasis on those syllables
• Stanza. The main building block of a poem that composes of lines that relate to a similar thought like a paragraph in prose or verse
• Rhyme Scheme. There are different types of rhymes: Internal rhymes, Slant rhymes, Eye rhymes, Identical rhymes
• Blank Verse. A poetry written with a precise meter almost always iambic pentameter— that does not rhyme.
• Rhymed Poetry. It is divided into stanzas or verses in which all or some of the lines have a rhyme word at the end.
• Free Verse. A poetry that lacks a consistent rhyme scheme, metrical pattern, or musical form.
• Epics. A lengthy, narrative work of poetry, typically detailing extraordinary feats and adventures of characters from a distant past.
• Narrative Poetry. Like an epic but it tells a story. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “the Midnight Ride of Paul Revere” and Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” exemplify this form.
• Haiku. A three-line poetic form originating in Japan. The first line has five syllables, the second line has seven syllables, and the third line again has five syllables.
• Pastoral Poetry. One that concerns the natural world, rural life, and landscapes, it has preserved from Ancient Greece (in the poetry of Hesiod) to Ancient Rome (Virgil) to the present day (Gary Snyder).
• Sonnet. A 14-line poem, typically concerning the topic of love, contains internal rhymes within their 14 lines; the exact rhyme scheme depends on the style of a sonnet.
• Elegies. It reflects upon death or loss. Traditionally, it contains themes of mourning, loss, and reflection. However, it can also explore themes of redemption and consolation.
• Ode. Much like an elegy, an ode is a tribute to its subject, although the subject need not be dead or even sentient, as in John Keats’ “Ode on a Grecian Urn”.
• Limerick. A five-line poem that consists of a single stanza, an AABBA rhyme scheme, and whose subject is a short, pithy tale or description.
• Lyric Poetry. Refers to the broad category of poetry that concerns feelings and emotion. This distinguishes it from two other poetic categories: epic and dramatic
• Ballad. A form of narrative verse that can be either poetic or musical. It typically follows a pattern of rhymed quatrains.
• Soliloquy. A monologue in which a character speaks to him or herself, expressing inner thoughts that an audience might not otherwise know. Not definitionally poems, although they often can be – most famously in the plays of William Shakespeare.
• Villanelle. A nineteen-line poem consisting of five tercets and a quatrain, with a highly specified internal rhyme scheme.
• Drama. A mode of fictional representation through dialogue and performance.
• Comedy. Lighter in tone than ordinary works and provide a happy conclusion. The intention of dramatists in comedies is to make their audience laugh. Hence, they use quaint circumstances, unusual characters, and witty remarks.
• Tragedy. Use darker themes, such as disaster, pain, and death: Protagonists often have a tragic flaw – a characteristic that leads them to their downfall.
• Melodrama. An exaggerated drama, which is sensational and appeals directly to the senses of the audience. The characters are of a single dimension and simple or may be stereotyped.
• Musical Drama. Dramatists not only tell their stories through acting and dialogue, but through dance as well as music. Often the story may be comedic, though it may also involve serious subjects.