Poetry: Meaning, Types and Forms ..
Meaning and Definition of Poetry:
Poetry is a form of literary art that uses aesthetic qualities of language to evoke meanings.
William Wordsworth describes poetry as "the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings".
Kinds of Poetry:
Functions and role of Poetry:
Forms of
Poetry:
Lyric:
Lyric is a short poem which expresses a single emotion. The most common emotion
in lyric is love, grief, pain etc. It serves as its subjects. The poet reaches
the emotional peak and then slowly comes down to his original mood. During the
romantic period, nature as well as love became major subjects of Lyric.
Example: Wordsworth's The Solitary Reaper
Ode:
The ode is of Greek origin. It is a serious and dignified composition. It is
rhymed lyric often in the form of an address exalted in subjective matter,
feeling and style. It is sometimes used to commemorate an important public
occasion.
According to Edmund Gosse, an ode is “a strain of enthusiastic lyrical verse,
directed to a fixed purpose and dealing progressively with a dignified theme.”
Example: 'Ode To Autumn' of John Keats. It was
composed in September 1819.
Elegy:
Elegy is an important
form of poetry. It is a dignified poem lamenting the death of an individual or of
all men. The theme of an elegy must be sad. It is
written as a tribute to something loved and lost.
Examples:
Milton's Lycidas, Gray's
Elegy, Shelley's Adonais, Tennyson's In Memoriam, Whitman’s O Captain, My
Captain.
Epic: An epic is a
heroic poem that describes a great event in a grand style. An epic poem is long narrative poem that describe
the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters. In epics, we find the
description of gods and supernatural powers. Iliad and Odyssey are the examples of great
epics by Homer. The greatest Indian epics are The Ramayan and The Mahabharata.
Mock-epic: A mock-epic poem is a humorous or satirical work that imitates the style and form of epic poetry, but it addresses a trivial subject instead of grand heroic themes. These poems often exaggerate the importance of their subjects, using elevated language and grandiose descriptions to create a comic effect.
Characteristics of Mock-Epic Poems:
- Epic Style: They mimic the structure and conventions of traditional epics, such as invocation of the muse, epic similes, and heroic characters.
- Trivial Subject Matter: The topics are usually trivial, absurd, or mundane, contrasting the serious tone of traditional epics.
- Satire and Humor: They often critique or parody the conventions of epic poetry or societal norms.
- E.g. "The Rape of the Lock" by Alexander Pope
Ballad: It is a song transmitted orally which tells a story. Ballad are narrative about love.
Satire: Satire can be described as the literary act of diminishing a subject by making it ridiculous and evoking towards its attitude of amusement contempt scorn. It uses laughter as a weapon and against a butt that exist outside the work itself. That butt may be an individual, or any type of person, a class, an institutions or a nation.
Dramatic Monologue: It is a type of poetry written in the form of a speech of an individual character. It was introduced during the Victorian period by Robert Browning.
Literary Devices of Poetry:
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