12 types of Poetry
Poetry is a form of art which evokes emotions in a reader. It has the power to stimulate the mind, and infuse emotions through the use of imaginative language. It is used to remedy the wrongs in the society, to teach people and inspire those who have lost hope.
Many poets are able to express themselves through many styles based on their thoughts and the message they want to pass along. There are many types of poetry based on their structure. This article will share 12 types of poetry.
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Types of poetry
Ode poetry
Ode comes from the Greek word aeidein, which in essence means to sing. Therefore, Ode poetry is a form of poetry which is written in a way that it gives praise to a person, a place or an event. In the ancient Greece where it has its roots, it was chanted to celebrate the deeds of a heroic person or an extraordinary event.
This form of poetry is in 3 types; Pindaric, Horatian and Irregular.
Pindaric– Attributed to the Greek Poet Pindar, this type is mainly has 3 stanzas of irregular length and rhymes.
Horatian– Named after the Roman poet Horace, it is structured in a way that the stanza lines rhyme and of the same length. Mostly it is used when the poet wants to share feelings or appreciation regarding a subject.
Irregular– It is a poem which has no standard pattern and breaks away from the rules guiding Pindaric or Horatian ode poetry.
Limerick poetry
This is a poem which is made up of a stanza consisting of 5 lines. The cardinal rule is that the first, second and fifth lines should rhyme while the third and fourth lines should do the same. The rhyming scheme is AABBA. The first, second and fifth lines are usually long while the third containing 9 syllables and fourth lines are shorter containing 6 syllables. Limerick poems are mostly used for entertainment and it is usually filled with humor, though the language sometimes might be obscene.
Sonnet poetry
This form of poetry has its origins in Italy and it consists of 14 lines. There are two main types of sonnets, the Shakespearean sonnet and the Italian sonnet. The Italian sonnet consist of an Octave (2 quatrains- a stanza of 4 lines each) and a sestet (a stanza of 6 lines). Shakespearean sonnet is 14 line poem which consist of 3 quatrains (three stanzas of 4 lines each) and a couplet (a stanza of 2 lines). The poet uses rhyming scheme e.g. ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, and GG. It is mainly used to express strong emotions like love, beauty and nature.
Ballad poetry
It is a form of poetry which tells a story in a musical way. Its language is simple and rhythmic. This form originated from Europe around 15th century as a dance song. It consists of four lined stanza (quatrain) where both first and third lines rhyme same as second and fourth, or only second and fourth lines rhyme leaving out the first and third lines, ABAB or ABCB. There are 3 types of ballads namely;
Traditional ballads which recounts stories and heroic deeds through songs. They are normally passed down to generations verbally and have no written form. The original authors may be unknown.
Broadside ballad which is single paper sheet that has writings describing a certain current theme or subject affecting the society and is normally read to the public.
Literally ballad is a form which imitates the traditional ballad with the exception of the author. In traditional ballad the author is mostly unknown.
Free verse poetry
A form of poetry which breaks all the rules; it does not follow the structure of rhyming or meter. This poem allows the poets freedom to use any length of words. It offers room for experimentation as the poets have to narrate naturally from their experiences. It allows poets to exploit their creativity for it lets them write their thoughts freely without the fear of breaking the rules. This is the popular form of poetry because it gives authority to the writer to write poems using their own rules.
Haiku poetry
It is a 3 line poem made up of 5, 7, 5 syllables meaning first and third line have 5 syllables each while the second line has 7 syllables. It has its roots in Japan where it was traditionally used to express joy and reflect on the profound beauty of nature. It is normally unrhymed form of poetry which evokes emotions based on what the poet really experiences rather than how they interpret things in their life. The poem is always written in a first person narration. Though it might not be titled, each stanza tells a different experience.
Elegy poetry
This is a type of poetry which has an emotion behind it. It is mostly used to express feelings of a loss or a sad event in someone’s life. The tone used is always sad because of the dark theme of the content. An elegy poem doesn’t tell a story, it is a written to express feelings which are preceded by a sad incident. It normally mirrors around three stages of a loss, which are lamenting about the dead person, praising the deeds of the dead person and finally consoling oneself that the gone person lives on.
Villanelle poetry
It is a type of poetry made up of 19 lines consisting of 5 tercets (a stanza of 3 lines) and 1 quatrain (a stanza of 4 lines). The tercets follow the rhyme scheme of ABA while the quatrain follows the ABAA rhyme scheme. The first line is repeated in lines 6, 12 and 18 while the third line repeats itself in lines 9, 15 and 19. This form of poetry is mostly used to by poets to express a challenge in their lives or the society.
Slam poetry
It is not only a poem written on paper but it is a poem which can be performed in front of an audience. The poet has a chance to air their views and feelings on a certain subject by performing their works. This gives them the chance to connect with the audience emotionally and trigger a moment of decision making. Normally the poet should perform their original work without reading it. With its origin in 20th century, it has given many poets a platform to inspire many people across the world. This type of poetry uses spoken word.
Lyric poetry
This is a form of poetry which is short and used by the poet to express their emotions regarding a certain theme or subject. The poet has to relate specifically with the experience for them to share their emotions. It can either take a rhyming structure or a non rhyming structure. This type focuses more on the feelings of the poet and not a story about a certain subject. It talks from a personal point of view because the poet has to tap into their feelings for them to express their thoughts.
Acrostic
This is the type of a poem where a letter in a certain position in every new line will form a word when read vertically. Usually it can be the first, middle or the last letter. Normally it is the type of poem used for fun and entertainment.
Epic
It is a lengthy poem which is used to share great feats of a person or people. It is normally written in a narrative form and it gives honor to a hero’s adventures or historical events in the society. The poem involves supernatural beings and is set in a grand geographical area which includes the land, the sea and the space. Epic poem uses a formal style and the narration is normally done in a third- person point of view. Epic poetry has capacity to take the reader into a mystical land where supernatural beings call the shots.
Conclusion
Poetry is an art which is ever evolving but still maintains its original usage of teaching, correcting and inspiriting the world. From the various types of poetry discussed above, it suffices to say that different poets have found different styles of passing their message to the audience and the society.
Poems have a lot of stories they tell and mostly these stories make a major impact on the lives of the readers. More often it changes how their perspective about life and improve on their relationship with others.
Therefore poetry is there to stay because it is a form of art which reaches millions of people with a clear message about the events of the world. Poetry is a mirror to the society, teaching both the old and young generations on the importance of following the norms and rules. It gives the old generation a chance to pass on traditions to the young generations as well as teaching the society about different cultures which exist in the world.