Poetry Forms and Styles Quiz

Literature Classification

• Literature is any written work, etymologically deriving from Latin "writing formed with letters." Some definitions include spoken or sung texts. More narrowly, it's writing with literary merit.
• Literature's creation requires both the power of the individual and the power of the moment; the man isn't sufficient without the occasion.
• Literature is as old as speech, growing out of human need and, in essence, becoming increasingly needed.

Poetry

• A poet is fundamentally a person passionately in love with language.
• A poem often begins with an emotional impulse, a feeling of wrong, homesickness, or lovesickness.
• Poetry originates from emotion reflected upon and refined.
• Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal.

Types: Subjective-Objective

• Subjective Poetry comes from the poet's own thoughts and feelings, expressed directly.
• Objective Poetry uses external objects, events, and observations as subject matter, with the poet acting as a detached observer.

The Lyric

• A lyric poem, typically short, emphasizes simplicity in language and treatment.
• It often focuses on a single emotion, generally expressed in the first few lines, with an emphasis on musicality.
• Employing various poetic devices, lyrics enhance their musical quality.

The Elegy

• Elegies express sorrow, woe, or despair.
• Commonly, they are laments for the dead, but can also mourn lost love, the past, or other losses.
• Elegies require sincerity of emotion and expression.

The Pastoral Elegy

• A specialized form of elegy.
• The word 'pastoral' comes from the Greek word for 'shepherd', and the form often depicts a shepherd mourning the loss of another.
• Ancient Greek poets, like Theocritus, Bion, and Moschus, were significant practitioners. Also, Roman poets like Virgil, and in English literature, Spenser's Astrophel, Milton's Lycidas, Shelley's Adonais, and Arnold's Thyrsis and Scholar Gipsy.

The Ode

• An elevated lyric form, more elaborate than a simple lyric.
• Originating in ancient Greece.
• The Greek poet Pindar is considered the first ode writer, and the Roman poet Horace notably adapted the form.
• Odes typically take the form of a direct address to a person, object, or concept.

The Sonnet

• A fourteen-line lyric poem with a specific rhyme scheme and structure.
• The Petrarchan sonnet divides into an octave and a sestet; typically structured with an abbaabba rhyme scheme in the octave that often introduces a problem, question, or image then the sestet will provide an answer, resolve, or concluding reflection.
• The Shakespearean or English sonnet has three quatrains (four-line stanzas) and a final couplet (two-line stanza). Typically structured with an ABAB CDCD EFEF GG rhyme scheme.
• The Petrarchan form originated in 16th century Italy with the poet Petrarch, while the English form emerged in 16th-century England with poets such as Sir Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey.

The Ballad

• A short story told in verse, stemming from a song performed to accompany dancing.
• Ballads can be further categorized as 'popular ballads' of oral tradition, or 'literary ballads', which are more conscious imitations of older forms.

The Epic

• A long narrative poem, usually about a hero or significant event.
• Epics often involve heroic deeds, national figures, or important issues; supernatural elements are frequently present.
• Homer's Iliad and Odyssey are important examples.

The Mock-Epic

• A parody of an epic, using its conventions (style, tone, structure, etc.) to depict trivial subjects humorously.
• Examples include works by Homer, Swift, and Pope.

The Idyll

• A short work of prose or verse, picturesque and complete in itself.
• Often found as a part of a larger work, or considered as a standalone piece.
• Tennyson's Idylls of the King, Browning's Dramatic Idylls are examples.

Drama

• Drama imitates action through dialogue and performance. Drama forms can be presented on stage, television, film, or radio.
• Drama consists of several different types of plays each with their own characteristics.
• Subgenres include comedies and tragedies, which can be further subdivided.
• The structure of a play typically involves a plot, characters, dialogue, and theme.

Comedy

• A light dramatic work, often humorous, with a happy resolution..
• Subgenres of comedy include farce (emphasizing exaggerated characters, situations, and humor), romantic comedy (often centered on the love story), and satire (focuses on criticising human folly or vice).

Tragedy

• A dramatic work depicting the downfall of a noble character.
• Tragedy often explores themes of fate, flaw, and suffering.
• Characteristics of tragedy include the downfall of a protagonist who is not inherently evil, a "fatal flaw or hamartia" that causes that downfall, along with suffering, and recognition or reversal of fortune.

Types of Drama (Continued)

• Melodrama: highly emotional and sensational, with characters typically of a single dimension, usually simple or stereotypical figures
• Musical drama: uses music, songs, and dance to tell a story.
• Prose: drama written in ordinary language, rather than verse.
• Novel: A long narrative work of fiction in prose form.
• Realistic novel: a realistic portrayal of characters and their lives, emphasizing realistic motivations.
• Picaresque novel: describes the episodic adventures of a disreputable or comedic character.
• Historical novel: sets a narrative in an earlier period.
• Epistolary novel: tells a story through letters.

• **Bildungsroman:** focuses on a character's development from childhood to adulthood.
  

• **Gothic novel:** featuring mysterious settings, supernatural elements, and suspense.
  

• **Autobiographical novel:** is based on the author's personal life.
  

Stream of Consciousness / Psychological Novel

• Focuses on the inner thoughts, feelings, and experiences of characters.
• Often characterized by a lack of traditional plot structure and linear progression of time and events.
• Subgenres under this category will include social, political, dystopian, or crime novels.

Social Fiction/Political Novel

• Depicts the societal and political aspects of a character's life, portraying a social or political commentary or commentary of the social and political context in which the characters operate.
• Often address issues of political power, societal inequalities, and cultural concerns.

Dystopian Novel

• Portrays an oppressive and often futuristic society; depicts a repressive regime.

Short Story

• A brief narrative work, typically focusing on a single plot, central character, and a particular theme.

Test your knowledge on various forms of poetry, including elegies and odes. This quiz covers key historical poets and the characteristics of different poetic styles. Dive into the world of lyricism and narrative poetry.