Introduction to Poetry

What is Poetry?

Poetry is a type of literature that conveys a thought, describes a scene or tells a story in a concentrated, lyrical arrangement of words. Poems can be structured, with rhyming lines and meter, the rhythm and emphasis of a line based on syllabic beats. Poems can also be freeform, which follows no formal structure.

The basic building block of a poem is a verse known as a stanza. A stanza is a grouping of lines related to the same thought or topic, similar to a paragraph in prose. A stanza can be subdivided based on the number of lines it contains. For example, a couplet is a stanza with two lines.

Poetry is a literary piece that uses rhyme, rhythm and other styles in order to convey strongly, a feeling or an idea. There are 2 types of poetry:

1. Lyric poetry

It is a type of poetry intended to be sung with an instrument. However, the definition has expanded to just be anything that expresses the feelings and emotions of the poetry. 

Different Types of Lyric Poetry 

• Corrido: A corrido is a popular type of poetry or song that typically has a measure of eight. These poems are generally about suppression, historical events and what daily life is like for servants.

• Ode: An ode has no specific structure. However, classic odes typically contain 3 big parts. the strophe, the antistrophe and the epode. (Odes are spent praising an event or an individual in a very emotive and intellectual way).

• Elegy: This is a downcast type of poem. An elegy conveys feelings of sadness, heartache and suffering (generally conveys a theme of death).

• Awit: This generally contains four stanzas with 1-2 syllables in each stanza. Awit translates to a song. It is written with the intent of being sung. An awit tells a story, and each stanza is a grammatically correct sentence.

• Sonnets: A sonnet adheres to a very specific form. They all contain 14 lines. Now there are different types of sonnets, but they each follow a specific rhyme scheme and structure. 

• Folk Songs: Folk songs are made to represent a very specific culture or region. Folk songs are typically songs that are passed down from generation to generation (short poems written about anything).  

2.  Narrative Poetry

It is when a very influential phenomenon or incident is being described. (Something that happened in real life or imagination).  

Different Types of Lyric Poetry:

Epic: An epic is a classical kind of poetry that found its beginning in Greece. Epics contain a legendary heroes, like gods and goddesses.                                                                                                                                                                                     

Ballad: A ballad is actually intended to be a song, but it is a type of narrative poetry because it is driven by a plot and contains multiple characters. A ballad is broken up into 4 lines stanzas and contains a rhyming scheme.                                                                                                

Metrical Tale: A metrical tale is a long story written in verse form. It typically contains a plot, characters, a theme and a setting. 

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/poetry-101-learn-about-poetry-different-types-of-poems-and-poetic-devices-with-examples#what-is-poetry