Poetry
1. Some types of poetry
Narrative poems
Some poems tell stories. These poems tend to be quite long and often rhyme. Before writing and books were common, people used narrative poetry to tell stories. The rhymes and the rhythm made the stories easy to remember and pass on to other people.
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge is a good example of a narrative poem. It tells the story of a sailor left alone on a boat when the rest of the crew dies.
Poems that follow a fixed form (pattern)
Some types of poetry follow a particular pattern. Haiku, for example, is a form of Japanese poetry where there must be only three lines. The first line must have 5 syllables, the second 7 syllables and the third 5 syllables.
Revising English
Learning about poetry
Not all poems rhyme!
Shape (or concrete) poetry
Some poems are written in a shape that shows what the poem is about.
Nonsense poetry
Some poems use made-up words to describe things, or just to make a nice sound.
In the froogle
Did the Boogle
Make a grabjous cheep
Shushup right now
That squalky row
Is keeping me from sleep!
Lewis Carroll, Edward Lear and Spike Milligan are good authors to read if you like nonsense poetry.
2. Features of poetry
There are some particular types of language you can look out for in poetry.
Rhyme
This is where words with the same sound are used.
Shushup right now
That squalky row
Is keeping me from sleep!
Now and row rhyme.
Alliteration
This is when words start with the same sound. You’ll also find this used in advertising and newspaper headlines.
The slippery snake came sliding.
Similes
A simile describes something by comparing it to another thing using like or as.
The snake moved like a ripple on a pond.
It was as slippery as an eel.
Metaphor
A metaphor is a word or a phrase used to describe something as if it were something else.
A wave of terror washed over him.
The terror isn’t actually a wave, but a wave is a good way of describing the feeling.
Metaphors and similes make poetry more descriptive and interesting and are often used in other forms of writing.
Personification
Poets often give human feelings and actions to objects or ideas.
The friendly rain fell gently over the fields.
