Three Genres of Poetry

The great philosopher Aristotle suggested that poetry is divided into three genres: comedy, tragedy and epic. Aristotle
claimed comedy is an imitation of what is inferior in a way that is laughable. He then said that both tragedies and epics are
made to portray suffering in a way to produce certain effects with the only difference between the two being epics used a
one-verse form and is narrative.

lyric, narrative, dramatic. Each form can then

Today, poetry is still considered the owner of the three main poetic forms:
be divided into many subdivisions, each consisting of a rhyme scheme, rhythm and/or style.

Lyric
An emotional writing focusing on thought and emotion - can consist of a song-like quality. Subdivisions include
poems include the works
elegy, ode and sonnet. Lyric poetry does not attempt to tell a story. Popular lyric
of Sappho, "Go, lovely Rose" by Edmund Waller and the many sonnets of William Shakespeare.

Read more about lyric poetry.

Narrative
A poem which tells a story. Includes the subdivision epic, a long story which tells of the heroic ideals of a
particular society, and ballad, which generally tell of an event of interest such as a crime. Ballads were originally
Geoffrey Chaucer,
intended to be sung while dancing. Popular narrative works are "The Canterbury Tales" by
"The Divine Comedy" by Dante, "Hiawatha" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "Raven" by Edgar Allan
Poe, "The Rape of Lucrece" by Shakespeare and "The Rape of Lock" by Alexander Pope.

Read more about narrative poetry.

Dramatic
Any drama written in verse which is meant to be spoken, usually to tell a story or portray a situation. The
majority of dramatic poetry is written in blank verse. Other forms of dramatic poetry include, but are not limited
to, dramatic monologues, rhyme verse and closet drama. Important dramatic works include those by
Shakespeare, Ben Jonson and Christopher Marlowe.

These three genres--lyrical, narrative, and dramatic--create an important presence in writing around the world and make
up every type of poetry ever created.

Acrostic: In acrostic poems, the first letters of each line of the poem are aligned vertically to form a word. Generally,
the word formed thus, is the subject of the poem.

Ballad: Ballads are narrative poems that are supposed to be sung. The narrator usually starts with a dramatic scene
and relates the narrative with dialog and actions.

Blank verse
 A poem written in unrhymed iambic pentameter and is often unobtrusive. The iambic pentameter form often
resembles the rhythms of speech

Read more about 55 Types of Poetry Forms by www.poemofquotes.com

.
Cinquain: Cinquain poems are five lines long. They do not rhyme.

Classicism:Poetry which holds the principles and ideals of beauty that are characteristic of Greek and Roman art,
architecture, and literature

Concrete: In this kind of poetry, the topographical arrangement of words supports the meaning conveyed by the
poem. The poems form a picture of the topic on which they are centered.

Couplet: It is a very simple form of a verse, which contains two rhyming lines.

Diamante: This type of poetry is one of the simplest ones to write. The first line of a diamante is a single word; the
second line consists of two adjectives describing that word, the third line contains three words about the subject while
the fourth line contains four. The fifth line and the lines that follow consist of a similar pattern of words describing the
idea opposite to the subject of the poem. It seems this kind of poetry writing is simple and interesting.

Dramatic Poetry: A drama that is written in the form of verses to be recited or sung refers to the dramatic genre of
poetry. This form of poetry has evolved from Greek and Sanskrit literature.

Epic Poetry: This genre of poetry is a type of narrative literature that narrates stories of mythological heroes. Homer's
Iliad and Odyssey and the great Indian epics of Mahabharata and Ramayana are a few of the noteworthy examples of
epic poetry.

Free Verse: Free verses refer to the different styles of poetry, wherein the poems do not carry a specific meter. Free
verses are a poet's expressions, which are free from any rules or restrictions pertaining to the rhyme schemes of the
poem.

Iambic Pentameter: It is a relatively complex form of poetry that uses syllables to bring in a musical element to the
poems.

Limerick: Limerick is one of the very popular kinds of poetry. A limerick is a funny little poem with a rhyme scheme of
'aabba'.

Lyric Poetry: Lyric poetry is of a personal nature, wherein a poet expresses his/her perceptions and ideas through
poetry. Lyric poems deal with subjects like love, peace, loss and grief. T. S. Eliot is one of the prominent names in lyric
poetry..
Narrative Poetry: This is a genre of poetry that involves story-telling and is one of the very old forms of poetry. The
content of these types of poems is intended to appeal the masses. Ovid, William Langland, Alexander Pope and
Shakespeare are some of the notable figures in the field of narrative poetry.

Nursery Rhymes: It is one of the most popular types of poetry, especially a favorite of the kids. Nursery rhymes are
short poems written for children and are usually handed over from one generation to another.

Ode: Originally developed by Greek and Latin poets, Odes soon began to appear in different cultures across the
world. Odes possess a formal poetic diction and deal with a variety of subjects.

Pantoum: It is composed of quatrains, where the second and fourth lines of each verse are repeated as the first and
third lines of the next stanza.

Pastourelle: It refers to an old French lyrical form. The poems in this category have the romance of a shepherdess as
their central idea.

Prose Poetry: This genre of poetry blends prose and poetry. It is very similar to a short story. However, its concise
nature and the use of metaphor in it are sufficient to classify it as a poetical form.

Ruba'i: This form of poetry is written as a four-line verse. It is written by the poets in Arabia and Persia.

Satirical Poetry: Sarcasm serves as a very powerful means of expressing criticism. An insult can most strongly be
expressed through poetry. Romans have been using satirical poetry for political purposes.

Sestina: In this kind of poetry, there are six stanzas, each consisting of six lines without an element of rhyme. The
words that appear at the end of the lines in the first stanza are repeated in other stanzas. A concluding stanza of three
lines wherein the repeating words reappear in a peculiar way is an important characteristic of Sestina.

Sonnet: Derived from Occitan and Italian words meaning 'a little song', Sonnet was originally a fourteen-line song
that was based on a strict rhyme scheme and structure. Shakespeare, who wrote 154 sonnets, was one of the most
important figures in the field of sonnets.

Verse Fable: The poems that belong to this genre of poetry consist of stories set into verses. Fables involving natural
elements and inanimate objects carrying a moral or message for the masses are expressed through verses. Verse
fables use different types of rhyming schemes.

Villanelle: The poems of this type consist of nineteen lines made up by five triplets and a concluding quatrain. This
form of poetry has received impetus since the late 19th century, giving rise to poets like Elizabeth Bishop and Dylan
Thomas.

Children and Teen Poetry: They constitute poems about and for children and teenagers. They describe the various
facets of the two important phases in life; childhood and teenage.