LYRIC:

Lyric poems are normally short and try to convey a single thought or idea because they
are centered around a singular emotion. Generally speaking, lyric poetry is short
compared to an epic poem. Furthermore, it only consists of a single speaker who
expresses his emotions and feelings. Usually, lyrical poetry is based upon a melody and is
written in such a way so that the words could easily fit the melody. They are personal.
Usually, they are designed to be sung or spoken alongside an instrument. In ancient
Greek, lyrical poetry was sung alongside a lyre and it had poems that were written for
special occasions such as weddings or funerals. Nevertheless, lyrical poetry is very vast,
and it covers various different styles.

Now winter nights enlarge

The number of their hours;
And clouds their storms discharge
Upon the airy towers.
Let now the chimneys blaze
And cups o’erflow with wine,
Let well-turned words amaze
With harmony divine.

The incipit: the first line of the poem that also serves as the name of the poem

Lyrical
- Lyric
- Ode
- Sonnet
- Villanelle
- Elegy
Narrative
- Epic
- Ballad
Dramatic
- Dramatic Monologue
Free Poetry
- Free Verse
The Tables Turned
Romantic Movement - Sublime (A response to the grim reality of the world, as observed in the
age before Romanticism – the neoclassical age).
- Nature vs. Books: singular idea
- Challenging the notion that books give you more knowledge than nature (The title is
reflective of that)
- Consistent in tone and expression of ideas: single speaker
- A critical comment on the status quo: singular emotion
- ABAB rhyme scheme with similar metrical length: can be set to a melody
- Only 32 lines/8 stanzas of 4 lines each: short poem

ODE:
1. An ode is a poem in praise of something or someone.
2. An ode can be serious or humorous, but in all instances, it is
thoughtful.
3. The poet is exploring important aspects of the thing being praised
or making keen observations about the person.
4. Often, odes compare the subject of the poem to things and
employ personification.
5. The Ode is usually a lyric poem of moderate length.
6. It has an elevated style (word choice, etc.) and Academic
language.
7. It usually has an elaborate stanza pattern.
8. It employs the approach of addressing the subject of the poem - an
apostrophe.

Ode to a Skylark

1. It is written in praise of the skylark

2. It is very thoughtful, which can be seen in metaphors like ‘cloud of
fire’
3. The skylark has been personified throughout the poem
4. Moderate length, not too long or short
5. Very academic language. Grammatical punctuation in alignment with
poetic style.
What is a Sonnet?
The word sonnet is derived from the Italian word “sonetto,” which
means a “little song” or small lyric. In poetry, a sonnet has 14 lines, and
is written in iambic pentameter. Each line has 10 syllables. It has a
specific rhyme scheme, and a Volta, or a specific turn.
Iambic pentameter:
Pentameter is a literary device that can be defined as a line in verse or
poetry that has five strong metrical feet or beats. This means a line
contains five iambs—two syllable pairs in which the second syllable is
emphasized.
As an example, consider the opening line of Shakespeare’s “Sonnet
130”:
My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun
With proper iambic emphasis, the line would be read aloud in the
following way:
My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun
Rhyme:
A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounding words, occurring at the end
of lines in poems or songs. The rhyme scheme in English is usually
abab–cdcd–efef–gg.
Volta:
A turn of thought or argument in poetry is called the Volta. It is a
rhetorical shift. In some ways, it is a dramatic change in emotions or
thoughts that the poet is expressing in the poem. It has various other
names such as ‘swerve’ or ‘focus’ or ‘emotional pitch’.
Shakespearean sonnet:
A Shakespearean sonnet is generally written in iambic pentameter, in
which there are 10 syllables in each line. The rhyme scheme of the
Shakespearian sonnet is abab–cdcd–efef–gg, which is difficult to follow.
Hence, only Shakespeare is known to have done it.
Shakespearean sonnets feature the following elements:
 They are fourteen lines long.

 The fourteen lines are divided into four subgroups.

 The first three subgroups have four lines each, which makes them
“quatrains,” with the second and fourth lines of each group
containing rhyming words.

 The sonnet then concludes with a two-line subgroup, and these two
lines rhyme with each other.

 There are typically ten syllables per line, which are phrased in
iambic pentameter.

My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun

William Shakespeare
My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damasked, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress when she walks treads on the ground.
     And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
     As any she belied with false compare

Petrarchan Sonnet

- Also called the Italian Sonnet or Renaissance Sonnet

- Contains an octave (eight lines) and a sestet (six
lines)
- The rhyme scheme of the octave has to be
ABBAABBA
- The rhyme scheme of the sestet can vary, but it is
usually CDECDE, CDCCDC, or CDCDCD
- The Volta is found at the junction of the octave and
sestet
- The themes are generally around religion, love, death,
and art

On His Blindness

When I consider how my light is spent

    Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide,
    And that one talent, which is death to hide,
    Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
    My true account, lest he returning chide:
    “Doth God exact day-labor, light denied?”
    I fondly ask; but Patience, to prevent
(VOLTA)
That murmer, soon replies, “God doth not need
    Either man’s work, or his own gifts. Who best
    Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state
Is kingly; thousands at his bidding speed
    And post o’er land and ocean without rest.
    They also serve who only stand and wait.
 Sonnets from the Portuguese 43: How do I love thee? Let me
count the ways 
BY  E L I Z A B E T H BARRETT BROWNING

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height

My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight

For the ends of being and ideal grace.

I love thee to the level of every day’s

Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.

I love thee freely, as men strive for right;

I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.

I love thee with the passion put to use

In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.

I love thee with a love I seemed to lose

With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,

Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,

I shall but love thee better after death.

METAPHORIC/POETIC CRESCENDO

Villanelle:
- The villanelle is a highly structured poem made up of five tercets
followed by a quatrain, with two repeating rhymes and two refrains.
- The first and third lines of the opening tercet are repeated alternately
in the last lines of the succeeding stanzas.
- Then in the final stanza, the refrain serves as the poem's two
concluding lines.
A1 b A2 / a b A1 / a b A2 / a b A1 / a b A2 / a b A1 A2.
(the UPPERCASE represents REFRAIN, the lowercase represents rhyme)
Important Terms:
1) Tercet: a three-lined stanza that often has a distinct rhyme
2) Quatrain: a four-lined rhyming stanza.
3) Refrain: Refrain, phrase, line, or group of lines repeated at
intervals throughout a poem, generally at the end of the stanza.

Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,

Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright

Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,

And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight

Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,

Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Elegy
 Elegy is a form of poetry natural to the reflective mind. It may treat of any subject, but it must
treat of no subject for itself; but always and exclusively with reference to the poet. As he will
feel regret for the past or desire for the future, so sorrow and love became the principal
themes of the elegy. Elegy presents everything as lost and gone or absent in the future.
- Lament for the dead (person, creature, or a mere thing)
- Lyrical, but of a somber tone.
- Usually serious and reflective.

Break, Break, Break

BY  A L F R E D , LORD TENNYSON

Break, break, break,

         On thy cold gray stones, O Sea!

And I would that my tongue could utter

         The thoughts that arise in me.

O, well for the fisherman's boy,

         That he shouts with his sister at play!

O, well for the sailor lad,

         That he sings in his boat on the bay!

And the stately ships go on

         To their haven under the hill;

But O for the touch of a vanish'd hand,

         And the sound of a voice that is still!

Break, break, break

         At the foot of thy crags, O Sea!

But the tender grace of a day that is dead

         Will never come back to me.

Free Verse
 Free verse is a form of poetry that is free from limitations of regular meter or rhythm, and does
not rhyme with fixed forms. Such poems are without rhythm and rhyme schemes, do not follow
regular rhyme scheme rules, yet still provide artistic expression. In this way, the poet can give his own
shape to a poem however he or she desires. However, it still allows poets to use alliteration, rhyme,
cadences, and rhythms to get the effects that they consider are suitable for the piece.
Features of Free Verse

 Free verse poems have no regular meter or rhythm.

 They do not follow a proper rhyme scheme; these poems do not have any set rules.
 This type of poem is based on normal pauses and natural rhythmical phrases, as compared to the
artificial constraints of normal poetry.
 It is also called vers libre, which is a French word meaning “free verse.”

Why?

Free verse is commonly used in contemporary poetry. Some poets have taken this technique as a freedom
from rhythm and rhyme, because it changes people’s minds whimsically. Therefore, free verse is also
called vers libre.

The best thing about free verse is that poets can imagine the forms of any sound through intonations
instead of meters. Free verse gives a greater freedom for choosing words, and conveying their meanings
to the audience. Since it depends upon unpatterned elements like sounds, phrases, sentences, and words, it
is free of artificiality of a typical poetic expression.

Daddy by Sylvia Plath

You do not do, you do not do   
Anymore, black shoe
In which I have lived like a foot   
For thirty years, poor and white,   
Barely daring to breathe or Achoo.

Daddy, I have had to kill you.   

You died before I had time——
Marble-heavy, a bag full of God,   
Ghastly statue with one gray toe   
Big as a Frisco seal

And a head in the freakish Atlantic   

Where it pours bean green over blue   
In the waters off beautiful Nauset.   
I used to pray to recover you.
Ach, du.

Dramatic Poetry
 Dramatic poetry, also known as dramatic verse or verse drama, is a written work that
both tells a story and connects the reader to an audience through emotions or behavior.
A form of narrative closely related to acting, it usually is performed physically and can
be either spoken or sung. Normally, it uses a set rhyming or meter pattern, setting it
apart from prose. It has evolved since its start in ancient Greece, but it still survives
today, especially in opera librettos. A lack of strict guidelines makes it somewhat
debatable what exactly counts as a dramatic poem, but in general, the four main
accepted forms include soliloquy, dramatic monologue, character sketch and dialogue.

Dramatic Monologue:

Dramatic monologue is a type of poetry written in the form of a speech of an individual character. M.H.
Abrams notes the following three features of the dramatic monologue as it applies to poetry:

1. The single person, who is patently not the poet, utters the speech that makes up the whole of the
poem, in a specific situation at a critical moment […].
2. This person addresses and interacts with one or more other people; but we know of the auditors'
presence, and what they say and do, only from clues in the discourse of the single speaker.
3. The main principle controlling the poet's choice and formulation of what the lyric speaker says is to
reveal to the reader, in a way that enhances its interest, the speaker's temperament and character
Ulysses 
BY ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON
It little profits that an idle king,
By this still hearth, among these barren crags,
Match'd with an aged wife, I mete and dole
Unequal laws unto a savage race,
That hoard, and sleep, and feed, and know not me.
I cannot rest from travel: I will drink
Life to the lees: All times I have enjoy'd
Greatly, have suffer'd greatly, both with those
That loved me, and alone, on shore, and when
Thro' scudding drifts the rainy Hyades
Vext the dim sea: I am become a name;
For always roaming with a hungry heart
Much have I seen and known; cities of men
And manners, climates, councils, governments,
Myself not least, but honour'd of them all;
And drunk delight of battle with my peers,
Far on the ringing plains of windy Troy.
I am a part of all that I have met;
Yet all experience is an arch wherethro'
Gleams that untravell'd world whose margin fades
For ever and forever when I move.
How dull it is to pause, to make an end,
To rust unburnish'd, not to shine in use!
As tho' to breathe were life! Life piled on life
Were all too little, and of one to me
Little remains: but every hour is saved
From that eternal silence, something more,
A bringer of new things; and vile it were
For some three suns to store and hoard myself,
And this gray spirit yearning in desire
To follow knowledge like a sinking star,
Beyond the utmost bound of human thought.

         This is my son, mine own Telemachus,

To whom I leave the sceptre and the isle,—
Well-loved of me, discerning to fulfil
This labour, by slow prudence to make mild
A rugged people, and thro' soft degrees
Subdue them to the useful and the good.
Most blameless is he, centred in the sphere
Of common duties, decent not to fail
In offices of tenderness, and pay
Meet adoration to my household gods,
When I am gone. He works his work, I mine.

         There lies the port; the vessel puffs her sail:

There gloom the dark, broad seas. My mariners,
Souls that have toil'd, and wrought, and thought with me—
That ever with a frolic welcome took
The thunder and the sunshine, and opposed
Free hearts, free foreheads—you and I are old;
Old age hath yet his honour and his toil;
Death closes all: but something ere the end,
Some work of noble note, may yet be done,
Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods.
The lights begin to twinkle from the rocks:
The long day wanes: the slow moon climbs: the deep
Moans round with many voices. Come, my friends,
'T is not too late to seek a newer world.
Push off, and sitting well in order smite
The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds
To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths
Of all the western stars, until I die.
It may be that the gulfs will wash us down:
It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,
And see the great Achilles, whom we knew.
Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho'
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

Further Reading: My Last Duchess by Robert Browning

Epics
An epic poem, epic, epos, or epopee is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily involving a time
beyond living memory in which occurred the extraordinary doings of the extraordinary men and
women who, in dealings with the gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal
universe for their descendants, the poet and his audience, to understand themselves as a people or
nation.

Or

Epic is typically a long narrative poem recounting heroic deeds. Outstanding examples of the written
epic include Virgil’s Aeneid and Lucan’s Pharsalia in Latin.

An epic may deal with such various subjects as myths, heroic legends,

histories, edifying religious tales, animal stories, or philosophical or moral theories.
Epic poetry has been and continues to be used by people all over the world to transmit their
traditions from one generation to another, without the aid of writing. These traditions
frequently consist of legendary narratives about the glorious deeds of their national heroes.

Epics have seven main characteristics:

1. The hero is outstanding. They might be important, and historically or legendarily significant.

2. The setting is large. It covers many nations, or the known world.
3. The action is made of deeds of great valour or requiring superhuman courage.
4. Supernatural forces—gods, angels, demons—insert themselves in the action.
5. It is written in a very special style (verse as opposed to prose).
6. The poet tries to remain objective.
7. Epic poems are believed to be supernatural and real by the hero and the villain
8. The language used is noble and exalted, and is befitting of the grandeur of the characters.
Conventions of epics:

1. It starts with the theme or subject of the story.

2. Narrative opens in medias res, or in the midde of things, usually with the hero at his lowest
point. Usually flashbacks show earlier portions of the story.
3. Catalogues and genealogies are given. These long lists of objects, places, and people place
the finite action of the epic within a broader, universal context. Often, the poet is also paying
homage to the ancestors of audience members.
4. Main characters give extended formal speeches.
5. Use of the epic simile.
6. Heavy use of repetition or stock phrases.
7. It presents the heroic ideals such as courage, honour, sacrifice, patriotism and kindness.
8. An epic gives a clear picture of the social and cultural patterns of the contemporary life.
Beowulf thus shows the love of wine, wild celebration, war, adventure and sea-voyages.

- Beowulf
- Paradise Lost
- Homer’s epics
- Faerie Queen
- Aeneid
 - Epic of Gilgamesh

Ballads
Before everything else, it is very important to throw light on the etymology of the word ballad.
Etymologically, the word ballad has been taken from Latin word ballare, which means dancing song.
Ballad is a shorter narrative poem, which comprises of short stanzas. F.B Gum has explained the
definition of ballad as, “a poem meant for singing, quite impersonal in material, probably
connected in its origins with the communal dance but submitted to a process of oral
traditions among people who are free from literary influences and fairly homogeneous in
character.”

Ballad is a short story in verse, which is intended to be sung with the accompaniment of music. It is
opposite to the Epic, which is a lengthy story in verse. It is a popular poem among the common folks
Southern Appalachian Mountains of America.

Characteristics of a ballad are as under:

 Every ballad is a short story in verse, which dwells upon only on one particular episode of
the story. There is certainly only one episode of the story in a ballad and the poet needs to
complete the story within the limits of small number of stanzas. John Keats’s ballad La Belle
Dame sans Merci is an excellent example in this regard.
 Another fundamental characteristic of a ballad is its universal appeal. Every single ballad
touches upon a specific subject, which bears universal significance. It’s not simply restricted to
his personality or his country, rather; it deals with the whole humanity. John Keats’s ballad La
Belle Dame sans Merci convinces the readers that most of the women are perfidious and
double-crossing.
 Use of colloquial language is an indispensable feature of a ballad. The poet has a tendency
to make use of day-to-day and commons words instead of bombastic and flowery language in
the ballad. Read John Keats’s ballad La Belle Dame sans Merci to know how the poet has
used colloquial language in his ballad.
 Unlike other kinds of poems, ballad has an abrupt and unexpected opening. The poem starts
all of a sudden, without providing any details about the subject matter. Similarly, the ending of
many ballads may also be abrupt and unexpected.
 There are no extra details about the surroundings, atmosphere or environment. The poem
starts suddenly and the reader has to visualise the setting himself through the words of the
poet. Thus ballads lack in superfluous details.
 Dialogue is also an indispensable feature of a ballad. The story is mostly told through
dialogues. Look at of John Keats’s ballad La Belle Dame sans Merci, which is a complete
dialogue between the speaker and the knight.
 Generally, in every ballad, there is a refrain. Refrain is a phrase or a line, which is repeated
again and again after a stanza.
 The poet tends to use stock phrases so that it may be easier to be memorized by the
readers. That is why; every ballad is easier than any poem to be memorized.
 Use of ballad stanza is another remarkable characteristic of a ballad. Every ballad is written
a ballad stanza. Ballad stanza is a stanza, which consists of four lines with abcb rhyme
scheme. There are four accented syllables in the first and third line, while in the second and
the fourth lines there are three accented syllables.
 Use of supernatural elements is an imperative feature of a ballad. Johan Keats and
Coleridge’s ballads are best examples in this regard.
 Usually, the themes of most ballads are tragic, but is must be kept in mind that there are
some ballads, which are comic in nature.
  Simplicity is an additional characteristic of a ballad. Approximately, all ballads are simple in
structure, style and diction, which make them the most popular form of poetry. Look at the
ballads of John Keats and Coleridge! They are very easy to be comprehended and
remembered.

Traditional Ballads
Traditional ballads are narrative folksongs - simply put, they are folksongs that tell stories. They tell
all kinds of stories, including histories, legends, fairy tales, animal fables, jokes, and tales of outlaws
and star-crossed lovers. ("Ballad" is a term also used in the recording industry for slow, romantic
songs, but these should not be confused with traditional or folk ballads.) Many traditional ballads
came to North America with settlers from Europe.

Broadside Ballad
A descriptive or narrative verse or song mainly of the 16th and 17th centuries, commonly in a
simple ballad form, on a popular theme (such as the celebration of an event or in praise of or
attack upon a public figure), and sung or recited in public places or printed on broadsides for
sale in the streets

Literary Ballad
The literary ballad is a narrative poem created by a poet in imitation of the old anonymous
folk ballad. Usually the literary ballad is more elaborate and complex; the poet may retain only
some of the devices and conventions of the older verse narrative.