This article is about the art form. For other uses, see Poetry (disambiguation).

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!hort story Novella "enres #omedy rama $%ic

$rotic Nonsense Lyric Mytho%oeia &omance !atire Tragedy Tragicomedy Media Performance (%lay) 'oo( Techni)ues Prose Poetry *istory and lists +utline of literature "lossary of terms *istory (modern) 'oo(s ,riters Literary - Poetry a.ards iscussion #riticism Theory !ociology Maga/ines Portal icon Literature %ortal vte 0Poem0, 0Poems0, and 0Poetic0 redirect here. For other uses, see Poem (disambiguation), Poems (disambiguation), and Poetic (disambiguation).

Poetry (from the "ree( %oiesis 1 2345678 1 meaning a 0ma(ing0, seen also in such terms as 0hemo%oiesis09 more narro.ly, the ma(ing of %oetry) is a form of literary art .hich uses aesthetic and rhythmic:;<:=<:>< )ualities of language1such as %honaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre1to evo(e meanings in addition to, or in %lace of, the %rosaic ostensible meaning. Poetry has a long history, dating bac( to the !umerian $%ic of "ilgamesh. $arly %oems evolved from fol( songs such as the #hinese !hijing, or from a need to retell oral e%ics, as .ith the !ans(rit ?edas, @oroastrian "athas, and the *omeric e%ics, the Aliad and the +dyssey. Bncient attem%ts to define %oetry, such as BristotleCs Poetics, focused on the uses of s%eech in rhetoric, drama, song and comedy. Later attem%ts concentrated on features such as re%etition, verse form and rhyme, and em%hasi/ed the aesthetics .hich distinguish %oetry from more objectivelyDinformative, %rosaic forms of .riting. From the midD=Eth century, %oetry has sometimes been more generally regarded as a fundamental creative act em%loying language. Poetry uses forms and conventions to suggest differential inter%retation to .ords, or to evo(e emotive res%onses. evices such as assonance, alliteration, onomato%oeia and rhythm are sometimes used to achieve musical or incantatory effects. The use of ambiguity, symbolism, irony and other stylistic elements of %oetic diction often leaves a %oem o%en to multi%le inter%retations. !imilarly, meta%hor, simile and metonymy:F< create a resonance bet.een other.ise dis%arate images1a layering of meanings, forming connections %reviously not %erceived. Gindred forms of resonance may eHist, bet.een individual verses, in their %atterns of rhyme or rhythm. !ome %oetry ty%es are s%ecific to %articular cultures and genres and res%ond to characteristics of the language in .hich the %oet .rites. &eaders accustomed to identifying %oetry .ith ante, "oethe, Mic(ie.ic/ and &umi may thin( of it as .ritten in lines based on rhyme and regular meter9 there are, ho.ever, traditions, such as 'iblical %oetry, that use other means to create rhythm and eu%hony. Much modern %oetry reflects a criti)ue of %oetic tradition,:I< %laying .ith and testing, among other things, the %rinci%le of eu%hony itself, sometimes altogether forgoing rhyme or set rhythm.:J<:K< An todayCs increasingly globali/ed .orld, %oets often ada%t forms, styles and techni)ues from diverse cultures and languages.

*istory:edit<

Bristotle Main articlesL *istory of %oetry and Literary theory Poetry as an art form may %redate literacy.:M< $%ic %oetry, from the Andian ?edas (;KEEN;=EE '#) and @oroasterCs "athas to the +dyssey (MEENJKI '#), a%%ears to have been com%osed in %oetic form to aid memori/ation and oral transmission, in %rehistoric and ancient societies.:O< +ther forms of %oetry develo%ed directly from fol( songs. The earliest entries in the ancient com%ilation !hijing, .ere initially lyrics, %receding later entries intended to be read.:;E< The oldest surviving e%ic %oem is the $%ic of "ilgamesh, from the >rd millennium '# in !umer (in Meso%otamia, no. Ara)), .hich .as .ritten in cuneiform scri%t on clay tablets and, later, %a%yrus.:;;< +ther ancient e%ic %oetry includes the "ree( e%ics Aliad and +dyssey, the +ld Aranian boo(s the "athic Bvesta and Pasna, the &oman national e%ic, ?irgilCs Beneid, and the Andian e%ics &amayana and Mahabharata. The efforts of ancient thin(ers to determine .hat ma(es %oetry distinctive as a form, and .hat distinguishes good %oetry from bad, resulted in 0%oetics01 the study of the aesthetics of %oetry.:;=< !ome ancient %oetic traditions9 such as, conteHtually, #lassical #hinese %oetry in the case of the !hijing (#lassic of Poetry), .hich records the develo%ment of %oetic canons .ith ritual and aesthetic im%ortance.:;>< More recently, thin(ers have struggled to find a definition that could encom%ass formal differences as great as those bet.een #haucerCs #anterbury Tales and Matsuo 'ashQCs +(u no *osomichi, as .ell as differences in conteHt s%anning Tana(h religious %oetry, love %oetry, and ra%. :;F< ,estern traditions:edit<

Rohn Geats #lassical thin(ers em%loyed classification as a .ay to define and assess the )uality of %oetry. Notably, the eHisting fragments of BristotleCs Poetics describe three genres of %oetry1the e%ic, the comic, and the tragic1and develo% rules to distinguish the highestD)uality %oetry in each genre, based on the underlying %ur%oses of the genre.:;I< Later aestheticians identified three major genresL e%ic %oetry, lyric %oetry, and dramatic %oetry, treating comedy and tragedy as subgenres of dramatic %oetry.:;J<

BristotleCs .or( .as influential throughout the Middle $ast during the Aslamic "olden Bge,:;K< as .ell as in $uro%e during the &enaissance.:;M< Later %oets and aestheticians often distinguished %oetry from, and defined it in o%%osition to %rose, .hich .as generally understood as .riting .ith a %roclivity to logical eH%lication and a linear narrative structure.:;O< This does not im%ly that %oetry is illogical or lac(s narration, but rather that %oetry is an attem%t to render the beautiful or sublime .ithout the burden of engaging the logical or narrative thought %rocess. $nglish &omantic %oet Rohn Geats termed this esca%e from logic 0Negative #a%ability0.:=E< This 0romantic0 a%%roach vie.s form as a (ey element of successful %oetry because form is abstract and distinct from the underlying notional logic. This a%%roach remained influential into the =Eth century.:=;< uring this %eriod, there .as also substantially more interaction among the various %oetic traditions, in %art due to the s%read of $uro%ean colonialism and the attendant rise in global trade.:==< An addition to a boom in translation, during the &omantic %eriod numerous ancient .or(s .ere rediscovered.:=>< =EthDcentury dis%utes:edit<

Brchibald MacLeish !ome =EthDcentury literary theorists, relying less on the o%%osition of %rose and %oetry, focused on the %oet as sim%ly one .ho creates using language, and %oetry as .hat the %oet creates.:=F< The underlying conce%t of the %oet as creator is not uncommon, and some modernist %oets essentially do not distinguish bet.een the creation of a %oem .ith .ords, and creative acts in other media. Pet other modernists challenge the very attem%t to define %oetry as misguided.:=I< The rejection of traditional forms and structures for %oetry that began in the first half of the =Eth century coincided .ith a )uestioning of the %ur%ose and meaning of traditional definitions of %oetry and of distinctions bet.een %oetry and %rose, %articularly given eHam%les of %oetic %rose and %rosaic %oetry. Numerous modernist %oets have .ritten in nonDtraditional forms or in .hat traditionally .ould have been considered %rose, although their .riting .as generally infused .ith %oetic diction and often .ith rhythm and tone established by nonDmetrical means. ,hile there .as a substantial formalist reaction .ithin the modernist schools to the brea(do.n of structure, this reaction focused as much on the develo%ment of ne. formal structures and

syntheses as on the revival of older forms and structures.:=J< &ecently, %ostmodernism has come to convey more com%letely %rose and %oetry as distinct entities, and also among genres of %oetry, as having meaning only as cultural artifacts. Postmodernism goes beyond modernismCs em%hasis on the creative role of the %oet, to em%hasi/e the role of the reader of a teHt (*ermeneutics), and to highlight the com%leH cultural .eb .ithin .hich a %oem is read.:=K< Today, throughout the .orld, %oetry often incor%orates %oetic form and diction from other cultures and from the %ast, further confounding attem%ts at definition and classification that .ere once sensible .ithin a tradition such as the ,estern canon.:=M< $lements:edit<

Prosody:edit< Main articleL Meter (%oetry) Prosody is the study of the meter, rhythm, and intonation of a %oem. &hythm and meter are different, although closely related.:=O< Meter is the definitive %attern established for a verse (such as iambic %entameter), .hile rhythm is the actual sound that results from a line of %oetry. Prosody also may be used more s%ecifically to refer to the scanning of %oetic lines to sho. meter.:>E< &hythm:edit< Main articlesL Timing (linguistics), tone (linguistics), and Pitch accent

&obinson Reffers The methods for creating %oetic rhythm vary across languages and bet.een %oetic traditions. Languages are often described as having timing set %rimarily by accents, syllables, or moras, de%ending on ho. rhythm is established, though a language can be influenced by multi%le a%%roaches. Ra%anese is a moraDtimed language. !yllableDtimed languages include Latin, #atalan, French, Leonese, "alician and !%anish. $nglish, &ussian and, generally, "erman are stressDtimed languages.:>;< ?arying intonation also affects ho. rhythm is %erceived. Languages can rely on either %itch, such as in ?edic !ans(rit or Bncient "ree(, or tone. Tonal languages include #hinese, ?ietnamese, Lithuanian, and most !ubsaharan languages.:>=< Metrical rhythm generally involves %recise arrangements of stresses or

syllables into re%eated %atterns called feet .ithin a line. An Modern $nglish verse the %attern of stresses %rimarily differentiate feet, so rhythm based on meter in Modern $nglish is most often founded on the %attern of stressed and unstressed syllables (alone or elided).:>>< An the classical languages, on the other hand, .hile the metrical units are similar, vo.el length rather than stresses define the meter.:>F< +ld $nglish %oetry used a metrical %attern involving varied numbers of syllables but a fiHed number of strong stresses in each line.:>I< The chief device of ancient *ebre. 'iblical %oetry, including many of the %salms, .as %arallelism, a rhetorical structure in .hich successive lines reflected each other in grammatical structure, sound structure, notional content, or all three. Parallelism lent itself to anti%honal or callDandDres%onse %erformance, .hich could also be reinforced by intonation. Thus, 'iblical %oetry relies much less on metrical feet to create rhythm, but instead creates rhythm based on much larger sound units of lines, %hrases and sentences. :>J< !ome classical %oetry forms, such as ?en%a of the Tamil language, had rigid grammars (to the %oint that they could be eH%ressed as a conteHtDfree grammar) .hich ensured a rhythm.:>K< An #hinese %oetry, tones as .ell as stresses create rhythm. #lassical #hinese %oetics identifies four tonesL the level tone, rising tone, de%arting tone, and entering tone.:>M< The formal %atterns of meter used in Modern $nglish verse to create rhythm no longer dominate contem%orary $nglish %oetry. An the case of free verse, rhythm is often organi/ed based on looser units of cadence rather than a regular meter. &obinson Reffers, Marianne Moore, and ,illiam #arlos ,illiams are three notable %oets .ho reject the idea that regular accentual meter is critical to $nglish %oetry.:>O< Reffers eH%erimented .ith s%rung rhythm as an alternative to accentual rhythm.:FE< Meter:edit< Main articleL !ystems of scansion An the ,estern %oetic tradition, meters are customarily grou%ed according to a characteristic metrical foot and the number of feet %er line.:F;< The number of metrical feet in a line are described using "ree( terminologyL tetrameter for four feet and heHameter for siH feet, for eHam%le.:F=< Thus, 0iambic %entameter0 is a meter com%rising five feet %er line, in .hich the %redominant (ind of foot is the 0iamb0. This metric system originated in ancient "ree( %oetry, and .as used by %oets such as Pindar and !a%%ho, and by the great tragedians of Bthens. !imilarly, 0dactylic heHameter0, com%rises siH feet %er line, of .hich the dominant (ind of foot is the 0dactyl0. actylic heHameter .as the traditional meter of "ree( e%ic %oetry, the earliest eHtant eHam%les of .hich are the .or(s of *omer and *esiod.:F>< Aambic

%entameter and dactylic heHameter .ere later used by a number of %oets, including ,illiam !ha(es%eare and *enry ,ads.orth Longfello., res%ectively. :FF< The most common metrical feet in $nglish areL:FI<

*omer iamb N one unstressed syllable follo.ed by a stressed syllable (e.g. describe, Anclude, retract) trochee N one stressed syllable follo.ed by an unstressed syllable (e.g. %icture, flo.er) dactyl N one stressed syllable follo.ed by t.o unstressed syllables (e.g.annotate anDnoDtate) ana%est N t.o unstressed syllables follo.ed by one stressed syllable (e.g. com%rehend comD%reDhend) s%ondee N t.o stressed syllables together (e.g. eDnough) %yrrhic N t.o unstressed syllables together (rare, usually used to end dactylic heHameter) There are a .ide range of names for other ty%es of feet, right u% to a choriamb, a four syllable metric foot .ith a stressed syllable follo.ed by t.o unstressed syllables and closing .ith a stressed syllable. The choriamb is derived from some ancient "ree( and Latin %oetry.:F>< Languages .hich utili/e vo.el length or intonation rather than or in addition to syllabic accents in determining meter, such as +ttoman Tur(ish or ?edic, often have conce%ts similar to the iamb and dactyl to describe common combinations of long and short sounds.:FJ< $ach of these ty%es of feet has a certain 0feel,0 .hether alone or in combination .ith other feet. The iamb, for eHam%le, is the most natural form of rhythm in the $nglish language, and generally %roduces a subtle but stable verse.:FK< !canning meter can often sho. the basic or fundamental %attern underlying a verse, but does not sho. the varying degrees of stress, as .ell as the differing %itches and lengths of syllables.:FM<

B *oliday illustration to #arrollCs 0The *unting of the !nar(0, .hich is .ritten

mainly in ana%estic tetrameter. There is debate over ho. useful a multi%licity of different 0feet0 is in describing meter. For eHam%le, &obert Pins(y has argued that .hile dactyls are im%ortant in classical verse, $nglish dactylic verse uses dactyls very irregularly and can be better described based on %atterns of iambs and ana%ests, feet .hich he considers natural to the language.:FO< Bctual rhythm is significantly more com%leH than the basic scanned meter described above, and many scholars have sought to develo% systems that .ould scan such com%leHity. ?ladimir Nabo(ov noted that overlaid on to% of the regular %attern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of verse .as a se%arate %attern of accents resulting from the natural %itch of the s%o(en .ords, and suggested that the term 0scud0 be used to distinguish an unaccented stress from an accented stress.:IE< Metrical %atterns:edit< Main articleL Meter (%oetry) ifferent traditions and genres of %oetry tend to use different meters, ranging from the !ha(es%earean iambic %entameter and the *omeric dactylic heHameter to the ana%estic tetrameter used in many nursery rhymes. *o.ever, a number of variations to the established meter are common, both to %rovide em%hasis or attention to a given foot or line and to avoid boring re%etition. For eHam%le, the stress in a foot may be inverted, a caesura (or %ause) may be added (sometimes in %lace of a foot or stress), or the final foot in a line may be given a feminine ending to soften it or be re%laced by a s%ondee to em%hasi/e it and create a hard sto%. !ome %atterns (such as iambic %entameter) tend to be fairly regular, .hile other %atterns, such as dactylic heHameter, tend to be highly irregular.:I;< &egularity can vary bet.een language. An addition, different %atterns often develo% distinctively in different languages, so that, for eHam%le, iambic tetrameter in &ussian .ill generally reflect a regularity in the use of accents to reinforce the meter, .hich does not occur, or occurs to a much lesser eHtent, in $nglish.:I=<

BleHander Push(in !ome common metrical %atterns, .ith notable eHam%les of %oets and %oems .ho use them, includeL Aambic %entameter (Rohn Milton in Paradise Lost, ,illiam !ha(es%eare in his !onnets):I><

actylic heHameter (*omer, Aliad9 ?irgil, Beneid):IF< Aambic tetrameter (Bndre. Marvell, 0To *is #oy Mistress09 Ble(sandr Push(in, $ugene +negin, &obert Frost, !to%%ing by ,oods on a !no.y $vening):II< Trochaic octameter ($dgar Bllan Poe, 0The &aven0):IJ< BleHandrine (Rean &acine, PhSdre):IK< &hyme, alliteration, assonance:edit<

The +ld $nglish e%ic %oem 'eo.ulf is .ritten in alliterative verse and %aragra%hs, not in lines or stan/as. Main articlesL &hyme, Blliterative verse, and Bssonance &hyme, alliteration, assonance and consonance are .ays of creating re%etitive %atterns of sound. They may be used as an inde%endent structural element in a %oem, to reinforce rhythmic %atterns, or as an ornamental element.:IM< They can also carry a meaning se%arate from the re%etitive sound %atterns created. For eHam%le, #haucer used heavy alliteration to moc( +ld $nglish verse and to %aint a character as archaic.:IO< &hyme consists of identical (0hardDrhyme0) or similar (0softDrhyme0) sounds %laced at the ends of lines or at %redictable locations .ithin lines (0internal rhyme0). Languages vary in the richness of their rhyming structures9 Atalian, for eHam%le, has a rich rhyming structure %ermitting maintenance of a limited set of rhymes throughout a lengthy %oem. The richness results from .ord endings that follo. regular forms. $nglish, .ith its irregular .ord endings ado%ted from other languages, is less rich in rhyme.:JE< The degree of richness of a languageCs rhyming structures %lays a substantial role in determining .hat %oetic forms are commonly used in that language.:J;< Blliteration is the re%etition of consonants at the beginning of t.o or more .ords immediately succeeding each other, or at short intervals9 or the recurrence of the same letter in accented %arts of .ords. Blliteration and assonance %layed a (ey role in structuring early "ermanic, Norse and +ld $nglish forms of %oetry. The alliterative %atterns of early "ermanic %oetry inter.eave meter and alliteration as a (ey %art of their structure, so that the metrical %attern determines .hen the listener eH%ects instances of alliteration to occur. This can be com%ared to an ornamental use of alliteration in most Modern $uro%ean %oetry, .here alliterative %atterns are not formal or carried through full stan/as. Blliteration is %articularly useful in

languages .ith less rich rhyming structures. Bssonance, .here the use of similar vo.el sounds .ithin a .ord rather than similar sounds at the beginning or end of a .ord, .as .idely used in s(aldic %oetry, but goes bac( to the *omeric e%ic.:J=< 'ecause verbs carry much of the %itch in the $nglish language, assonance can loosely evo(e the tonal elements of #hinese %oetry and so is useful in translating #hinese %oetry.:J>< #onsonance occurs .here a consonant sound is re%eated throughout a sentence .ithout %utting the sound only at the front of a .ord. #onsonance %rovo(es a more subtle effect than alliteration and so is less useful as a structural element.:J;< &hyming schemes:edit<

ante and 'eatrice see "od as a %oint of light surrounded by angels. B illustration to the ivine #omedy, Paradiso, #anto =M. Main articleL &hyme scheme

orT

An many languages, including modern $uro%ean languages and Brabic, %oets use rhyme in set %atterns as a structural element for s%ecific %oetic forms, such as ballads, sonnets and rhyming cou%lets. *o.ever, the use of structural rhyme is not universal even .ithin the $uro%ean tradition. Much modern %oetry avoids traditional rhyme schemes. #lassical "ree( and Latin %oetry did not use rhyme.:JF< &hyme entered $uro%ean %oetry in the *igh Middle Bges, in %art under the influence of the Brabic language in Bl Bndalus (modern !%ain).:JI< Brabic language %oets used rhyme eHtensively from the first develo%ment of literary Brabic in the siHth century, as in their long, rhyming )asidas.:JJ< !ome rhyming schemes have become associated .ith a s%ecific language, culture or %eriod, .hile other rhyming schemes have achieved use across languages, cultures or time %eriods. !ome forms of %oetry carry a consistent and .ellDdefined rhyming scheme, such as the chant royal or the rubaiyat, .hile other %oetic forms have variable rhyme schemes.:JK< Most rhyme schemes are described using letters that corres%ond to sets of rhymes, so if the first, second and fourth lines of a )uatrain rhyme .ith each other and the third line does not rhyme, the )uatrain is said to have an 0aDaD bDa0 rhyme scheme. This rhyme scheme is the one used, for eHam%le, in the rubaiyat form.:JM< !imilarly, an 0aDbDbDa0 )uatrain (.hat is (no.n as 0enclosed rhyme0) is used in such forms as the Petrarchan sonnet.:JO< !ome ty%es of more com%licated rhyming schemes have develo%ed names of their o.n, se%arate from the 0aDbDc0 convention, such as the ottava rima and ter/a rima.:KE< The ty%es and use of differing rhyming schemes is discussed

further in the main article. Form:edit< Poetic form is more fleHible in modernist and %ostDmodernist %oetry, and continues to be less structured than in %revious literary eras. Many modern %oets esche. recognisable structures or forms, and .rite in free verse. 'ut %oetry remains distinguished from %rose by its form9 some regard for basic formal structures of %oetry .ill be found in even the best free verse, ho.ever much such structures may a%%ear to have been ignored.:K;< !imilarly, in the best %oetry .ritten in classic styles there .ill be de%artures from strict form for em%hasis or effect.:K=< Bmong major structural elements used in %oetry are the line, the stan/a or verse %aragra%h, and larger combinations of stan/as or lines such as cantos. Blso sometimes used are broader visual %resentations of .ords and calligra%hy. These basic units of %oetic form are often combined into larger structures, called %oetic forms or %oetic modes (see follo.ing section), as in the sonnet or hai(u. Lines and stan/as:edit< Poetry is often se%arated into lines on a %age. These lines may be based on the number of metrical feet, or may em%hasi/e a rhyming %attern at the ends of lines. Lines may serve other functions, %articularly .here the %oem is not .ritten in a formal metrical %attern. Lines can se%arate, com%are or contrast thoughts eH%ressed in different units, or can highlight a change in tone.:K>< !ee the article on line brea(s for information about the division bet.een lines. Lines of %oems are often organi/ed into stan/as, .hich are denominated by the number of lines included. Thus a collection of t.o lines is a cou%let (or distich), three lines a tri%let (or tercet), four lines a )uatrain, and so on. These lines may or may not relate to each other by rhyme or rhythm. For eHam%le, a cou%let may be t.o lines .ith identical meters .hich rhyme or t.o lines held together by a common meter alone.:KF<

BleHander 'lo(Cs %oem, 0Noch, ulitsa, fonar, a%te(a0 (0Night, street, lam%, drugstore0), on a .all in Leiden +ther %oems may be organi/ed into verse %aragra%hs, in .hich regular rhymes .ith established rhythms are not used, but the %oetic tone is instead established by a collection of rhythms, alliterations, and rhymes established

in %aragra%h form.:KI< Many medieval %oems .ere .ritten in verse %aragra%hs, even .here regular rhymes and rhythms .ere used.:KJ< An many forms of %oetry, stan/as are interloc(ing, so that the rhyming scheme or other structural elements of one stan/a determine those of succeeding stan/as. $Ham%les of such interloc(ing stan/as include, for eHam%le, the gha/al and the villanelle, .here a refrain (or, in the case of the villanelle, refrains) is established in the first stan/a .hich then re%eats in subse)uent stan/as. &elated to the use of interloc(ing stan/as is their use to se%arate thematic %arts of a %oem. For eHam%le, the stro%he, antistro%he and e%ode of the ode form are often se%arated into one or more stan/as.:KK< An some cases, %articularly lengthier formal %oetry such as some forms of e%ic %oetry, stan/as themselves are constructed according to strict rules and then combined. An s(aldic %oetry, the drUtt(vVtt stan/a had eight lines, each having three 0lifts0 %roduced .ith alliteration or assonance. An addition to t.o or three alliterations, the odd numbered lines had %artial rhyme of consonants .ith dissimilar vo.els, not necessarily at the beginning of the .ord9 the even lines contained internal rhyme in set syllables (not necessarily at the end of the .ord). $ach halfDline had eHactly siH syllables, and each line ended in a trochee. The arrangement of drUtt(vVtts follo.ed far less rigid rules than the construction of the individual drUtt(vVtts.:KM< ?isual %resentation:edit<

?isual %oetry Main articleL ?isual %oetry $ven before the advent of %rinting, the visual a%%earance of %oetry often added meaning or de%th. Bcrostic %oems conveyed meanings in the initial letters of lines or in letters at other s%ecific %laces in a %oem.:KO< An Brabic, *ebre. and #hinese %oetry, the visual %resentation of finely calligra%hed %oems has %layed an im%ortant %art in the overall effect of many %oems.:ME< ,ith the advent of %rinting, %oets gained greater control over the massD %roduced visual %resentations of their .or(. ?isual elements have become an im%ortant %art of the %oetCs toolboH, and many %oets have sought to use visual %resentation for a .ide range of %ur%oses. !ome Modernist %oets have made the %lacement of individual lines or grou%s of lines on the %age an integral %art of the %oemCs com%osition. Bt times, this com%lements the %oemCs rhythm through visual caesuras of various lengths, or creates

juHta%ositions so as to accentuate meaning, ambiguity or irony, or sim%ly to create an aesthetically %leasing form. An its most eHtreme form, this can lead to concrete %oetry or asemic .riting.:M;<:M=< iction:edit<

Brabic %oetry Main articleL Poetic diction Poetic diction treats the manner in .hich language is used, and refers not only to the sound but also to the underlying meaning and its interaction .ith sound and form.:M>< Many languages and %oetic forms have very s%ecific %oetic dictions, to the %oint .here distinct grammars and dialects are used s%ecifically for %oetry.:MF<:MI< &egisters in %oetry can range from strict em%loyment of ordinary s%eech %atterns, as favoured in much lateD=EthD century %rosody,:MJ< through to highly ornate uses of language, as in medieval and &enaissance %oetry.:MK< Poetic diction can include rhetorical devices such as simile and meta%hor, as .ell as tones of voice, such as irony. Bristotle .rote in the Poetics that 0the greatest thing by far is to be a master of meta%hor.0:MM< !ince the rise of Modernism, some %oets have o%ted for a %oetic diction that deDem%hasi/es rhetorical devices, attem%ting instead the direct %resentation of things and eH%eriences and the eH%loration of tone.:MO< +n the other hand, !urrealists have %ushed rhetorical devices to their limits, ma(ing fre)uent use of catachresis.:OE< Bllegorical stories are central to the %oetic diction of many cultures, and .ere %rominent in the ,est during classical times, the late Middle Bges and the &enaissance. Beso%Cs Fables, re%eatedly rendered in both verse and %rose since first being recorded about IEE '.#., are %erha%s the richest single source of allegorical %oetry through the ages.:O;< +ther notables eHam%les include the &oman de la &ose, a ;>thDcentury French %oem, ,illiam LanglandCs Piers Ploughman in the ;Fth century, and Rean de la FontaineCs Fables (influenced by Beso%Cs) in the ;Kth century. &ather than being fully allegorical, ho.ever, a %oem may contain symbols or allusions that dee%en the meaning or effect of its .ords .ithout constructing a full allegory.:O=< Bnother strong element of %oetic diction can be the use of vivid imagery for effect. The juHta%osition of uneH%ected or im%ossible images is, for eHam%le, a %articularly strong element in surrealist %oetry and hai(u.:O>< ?ivid images

are often endo.ed .ith symbolism or meta%hor. Many %oetic dictions use re%etitive %hrases for effect, either a short %hrase (such as *omerCs 0rosyD fingered da.n0 or 0the .ineDdar( sea0) or a longer refrain. !uch re%etition can add a sombre tone to a %oem, or can be laced .ith irony as the conteHt of the .ords changes.:OF< Forms:edit<

!ee alsoL #ategoryLPoetic form !%ecific %oetic forms have been develo%ed by many cultures. An more develo%ed, closed or 0received0 %oetic forms, the rhyming scheme, meter and other elements of a %oem are based on sets of rules, ranging from the relatively loose rules that govern the construction of an elegy to the highly formali/ed structure of the gha/al or villanelle.:OI< escribed belo. are some common forms of %oetry .idely used across a number of languages. Bdditional forms of %oetry may be found in the discussions of %oetry of %articular cultures or %eriods and in the glossary. !onnet

!ha(es%eare Main articleL !onnet Bmong the most common forms of %oetry through the ages is the sonnet, .hich by the ;>th century .as a %oem of fourteen lines follo.ing a set rhyme scheme and logical structure. 'y the ;Fth century, the form further crystalli/ed under the %en of Petrarch, .hose sonnets .ere later translated in the ;Jth century by !ir Thomas ,yatt, .ho is credited .ith introducing the sonnet form into $nglish literature.:OJ< B sonnetCs first four lines ty%ically introduce the to%ic. B sonnet usually follo.s an aDbDaDb rhyme %attern. The sonnetCs conventions have changed over its history, and so there are several different sonnet forms. Traditionally, in sonnets $nglish %oets use iambic %entameter, the !%enserian and !ha(es%earean sonnets being es%ecially notable.:OK< An the &omance languages, the hendecasyllable and BleHandrine are the most .idely used meters, though the Petrarchan sonnet has been used in Ataly since the ;Fth century.:OM< !onnets are %articularly associated .ith love %oetry, and often use a %oetic diction heavily based on vivid imagery, but the t.ists and turns associated

.ith the move from octave to sestet and to final cou%let ma(e them a useful and dynamic form for many subjects.:OO< !ha(es%eareCs sonnets are among the most famous in $nglish %oetry, .ith =E being included in the +Hford 'oo( of $nglish ?erse.:;EE< !hi Main articleL !hi (%oetry) !hi (traditional #hineseL 9 sim%lified #hineseL 9 %inyinL shW9 ,adeN"iles L shih) As the main ty%e of #lassical #hinese %oetry.:;E;< ,ithin this form of %oetry the most im%ortant variations are 0fol( song0 styled verse (yuefu), 0old style0 verse (gushi), 0modern style0 verse (jintishi). An all cases, rhyming is obligatory. The Puefu is a fol( ballad or a %oem .ritten in the fol( ballad style, and the number of lines and the length of the lines could be irregular. For the other variations of shi %oetry, generally either a four line ()uatrain, or jueju) or else an eight line %oem is normal9 either .ay .ith the even numbered lines rhyming. The line length is scanned by according number of characters (according to the convention that one character e)uals one syllable), and are %redominantly either five or seven characters long, .ith a caesura before the final three syllables. The lines are generally endDsto%%ed, considered as a series of cou%lets, and eHhibit verbal %arallelism as a (ey %oetic device.:;E=< The 0old style0 verse (gushi) is less formally strict than the jintishi, or regulated verse, .hich, des%ite the name 0ne. style0 verse actually had its theoretical basis laid as far bac( to !hen Pue, in the Ith or Jth century, although not considered to have reached its full develo%ment until the time of #hen @iCang (JJ;DKE=):;E>< B good eHam%le of a %oet (no.n for his gushi %oems is Li 'ai. Bmong its other rules, the jintishi rules regulate the tonal variations .ithin a %oem, including the use of set %atterns of the four tones of Middle #hinese The basic form of jintishi (lushi) has eight lines in four cou%lets, .ith %arallelism bet.een the lines in the second and third cou%lets. The cou%lets .ith %arallel lines contain contrasting content but an identical grammatical relationshi% bet.een .ords. Rintishi often have a rich %oetic diction, full of allusion, and can have a .ide range of subject, including history and %olitics.:;EF<:;EI< +ne of the masters of the form .as u Fu, .ho .rote during the Tang ynasty (Mth century).:;EJ< ?illanelle

,. *. Buden Main articleL ?illanelle

The villanelle is a nineteenDline %oem made u% of five tri%lets .ith a closing )uatrain9 the %oem is characteri/ed by having t.o refrains, initially used in the first and third lines of the first stan/a, and then alternately used at the close of each subse)uent stan/a until the final )uatrain, .hich is concluded by the t.o refrains. The remaining lines of the %oem have an aDb alternating rhyme.:;EK< The villanelle has been used regularly in the $nglish language since the late ;Oth century by such %oets as ylan Thomas,:;EM< ,. *. Buden,:;EO< and $li/abeth 'isho%.:;;E< Tan(a Main articleL Tan(a Tan(a is a form of unrhymed Ra%anese %oetry, .ith five sections totalling >; onji (%honological units identical to morae), structured in a IDKDI KNK %attern. :;;;< There is generally a shift in tone and subject matter bet.een the u%%er IDKDI %hrase and the lo.er KDK %hrase. Tan(a .ere .ritten as early as the Bsu(a %eriod by such %oets as Ga(inomoto no *itomaro, at a time .hen Ra%an .as emerging from a %eriod .here much of its %oetry follo.ed #hinese form.:;;=< Tan(a .as originally the shorter form of Ra%anese formal %oetry (.hich .as generally referred to as 0.a(a0), and .as used more heavily to eH%lore %ersonal rather than %ublic themes. 'y the tenth century, tan(a had become the dominant form of Ra%anese %oetry, to the %oint .here the originally general term .a(a (0Ra%anese %oetry0) came to be used eHclusively for tan(a. Tan(a are still .idely .ritten today.:;;>< *ai(u Main articleL *ai(u *ai(u is a %o%ular form of unrhymed Ra%anese %oetry, .hich evolved in the ;Kth century from the ho((u, or o%ening verse of a ren(u.:;;F< "enerally .ritten in a single vertical line, the hai(u contains three sections totalling ;K onji, structured in a IDKDI %attern. Traditionally, hai(u contain a (ireji, or cutting .ord, usually %laced at the end of one of the %oemCs three sections, and a (igo, or seasonD.ord.:;;I< The most famous eH%onent of the hai(u .as Matsuo 'ashQ (;JFFN;JOF). Bn eHam%le of his .ritingL:;;J< fuji no kaze ya oogi ni nosete Edo miyage the wind of Mt. Fuji I've brought on my fan! a gift from Edo

Ode

Hora e Main arti !e" Ode Odes were first deve!o#ed by #oets writing in an ient $reek% su h as &indar% and 'atin% su h as Hora e. Forms of odes a##ear in many of the u!tures that were inf!uen ed by the $reeks and 'atins.())*+ ,he ode genera!!y has three #arts" a stro#he% an antistro#he% and an e#ode. ,he antistro#hes of the ode #ossess simi!ar metri a! stru tures and% de#ending on the tradition% simi!ar rhyme stru tures. In ontrast% the e#ode is written with a different s heme and stru ture. Odes have a forma! #oeti di tion% and genera!!y dea! with a serious subje t. ,he stro#he and antistro#he !ook at the subje t from different% often onf!i ting% #ers#e tives% with the e#ode moving to a higher !eve! to either view or reso!ve the under!ying issues. Odes are often intended to be re ited or sung by two horuses -or individua!s.% with the first re iting the stro#he% the se ond the antistro#he% and both together the e#ode.())/+ Over time% differing forms for odes have deve!o#ed with onsiderab!e variations in form and stru ture% but genera!!y showing the origina! inf!uen e of the &indari or Horatian ode. One non01estern form whi h resemb!es the ode is the 2asida in &ersian #oetry.())3+ $haza!

4umi Main arti !e" $haza! ,he ghaza! -a!so ghaze!% gaze!% gaza!% or gozo!. is a form of #oetry ommon in 5rabi % &ersian% ,urkish% 5zerbaijani% 6rdu and 7enga!i #oetry. In !assi form% the ghaza! has from five to fifteen rhyming ou#!ets that share a refrain at the end of the se ond !ine. ,his refrain may be of one or severa! sy!!ab!es% and is #re eded by a rhyme. Ea h !ine has an identi a! meter. ,he ghaza! often ref!e ts on a theme of unattainab!e !ove or divinity.()89+ 5s with other forms with a !ong history in many !anguages% many variations have been deve!o#ed% in !uding forms with a 2uasi0musi a! #oeti di tion in 6rdu.()8)+ $haza!s have a !assi a! affinity with :ufism% and a number of major :ufi re!igious works are written in ghaza! form. ,he re!ative!y steady meter and the use of the refrain #rodu e an in antatory effe t% whi h om#!ements :ufi mysti a! themes we!!.()88+ 5mong the masters of the form is 4umi% a );th0 entury &ersian #oet who !ived in <onya% in #resent0

day ,urkey.()8;+ $enres(edit+

In addition to s#e ifi forms of #oems% #oetry is often thought of in terms of different genres and subgenres. 5 #oeti genre is genera!!y a tradition or !assifi ation of #oetry based on the subje t matter% sty!e% or other broader !iterary hara teristi s.()8=+ :ome ommentators view genres as natura! forms of !iterature. Others view the study of genres as the study of how different works re!ate and refer to other works.()8>+ ?arrative #oetry

$eoffrey @hau er Main arti !e" ?arrative #oetry ?arrative #oetry is a genre of #oetry that te!!s a story. 7road!y it subsumes e#i #oetry% but the term Anarrative #oetryA is often reserved for sma!!er works% genera!!y with more a##ea! to human interest. ?arrative #oetry may be the o!dest ty#e of #oetry. Many s ho!ars of Homer have on !uded that his I!iad and Odyssey were om#osed from om#i!ations of shorter narrative #oems that re!ated individua! e#isodes. Mu h narrative #oetry1su h as : ottish and Eng!ish ba!!ads% and 7a!ti and :!avi heroi #oems1is #erforman e #oetry with roots in a #re!iterate ora! tradition. It has been s#e u!ated that some features that distinguish #oetry from #rose% su h as meter% a!!iteration and kennings% on e served as memory aids for bards who re ited traditiona! ta!es.()8B+ ?otab!e narrative #oets have in !uded Ovid% Cante% Duan 4uiz% @hau er% 1i!!iam 'ang!and% 'uEs de @amFes% :hakes#eare% 5!eGander &o#e% 4obert 7urns% Fernando de 4ojas% 5dam Mi kiewi z% 5!eGander &ushkin% Edgar 5!!an &oe and 5!fred ,ennyson. E#i #oetry Main arti !e" E#i #oetry E#i #oetry is a genre of #oetry% and a major form of narrative !iterature. ,his genre is often defined as !engthy #oems on erning events of a heroi or im#ortant nature to the u!ture of the time. It re ounts% in a ontinuous narrative% the !ife and works of a heroi or mytho!ogi a! #erson or grou# of #ersons.()8*+ EGam#!es of e#i #oems are Homer's I!iad and Odyssey% Hirgi!'s 5eneid% the ?ibe!ungen!ied% 'uEs de @amFes' Os 'usEadas% the @antar de Mio @id% the E#i of $i!gamesh% the Mahabharata% Ha!miki's 4amayana% Ferdowsi's :hahnama% ?izami -or ?ezami.'s <hamse -Five 7ooks.% and the E#i of <ing $esar. 1hi!e the om#osition of e#i #oetry% and of !ong #oems genera!!y% be ame !ess

ommon in the west after the ear!y 89th entury% some notab!e e#i s have ontinued to be written. Cerek 1a! ott won a ?obe! #rize to a great eGtent on the basis of his e#i % Omeros.()8/+ Cramati #oetry

$oethe Main arti !es" Herse drama and dramati verse% ,heatre of an ient $ree e% :anskrit drama% @hinese O#era% and ?oh Cramati #oetry is drama written in verse to be s#oken or sung% and a##ears in varying% sometimes re!ated forms in many u!tures. $reek tragedy in verse dates to the Bth entury 7.@.% and may have been an inf!uen e on the deve!o#ment of :anskrit drama% ()83+ just as Indian drama in turn a##ears to have inf!uen ed the deve!o#ment of the bianwen verse dramas in @hina% forerunners of @hinese O#era.();9+ East 5sian verse dramas a!so in !ude Da#anese ?oh. EGam#!es of dramati #oetry in &ersian !iterature in !ude ?izami's two famous dramati works% 'ay!a and Majnun and <hosrow and :hirin% Ferdowsi's tragedies su h as 4ostam and :ohrab% 4umi's Masnavi% $organi's tragedy of His and 4amin% and Hahshi's tragedy of Farhad. :atiri a! #oetry

Dohn 1i!mot &oetry an be a #owerfu! vehi !e for satire. ,he 4omans had a strong tradition of satiri a! #oetry% often written for #o!iti a! #ur#oses. 5 notab!e eGam#!e is the 4oman #oet Duvena!'s satires.();)+ ,he same is true of the Eng!ish satiri a! tradition. Dohn Cryden -a ,ory.% the first &oet 'aureate% #rodu ed in )B/8 Ma F!e knoe% subtit!ed A5 :atire on the ,rue 7!ue &rotestant &oet% ,.:.A -a referen e to ,homas :hadwe!!..();8+ 5nother master of )*th0 entury Eng!ish satiri a! #oetry was Dohn 1i!mot% 8nd Ear! of 4o hester.();;+ :atiri a! #oets outside Eng!and in !ude &o!and's Igna y <rasi ki% 5zerbaijan's :abir and &ortuga!'s Manue! Maria 7arbosa du 7o age. 'yri #oetry

@hristine de &izan Main arti !e" 'yri #oetry 'yri #oetry is a genre that% un!ike e#i and dramati #oetry% does not attem#t to te!! a story but instead is of a more #ersona! nature. &oems in this genre tend to be shorter% me!odi % and ontem#!ative. 4ather than de#i ting hara ters and a tions% it #ortrays the #oet's own fee!ings% states of mind% and #er e#tions.();=+ ?otab!e #oets in this genre in !ude Dohn Conne% $erard Man!ey Ho#kins% and 5ntonio Ma hado. E!egy Main arti !e" E!egy 5n e!egy is a mournfu!% me!an ho!y or #!aintive #oem% es#e ia!!y a !ament for the dead or a funera! song. ,he term Ae!egy%A whi h origina!!y denoted a ty#e of #oeti meter -e!egia meter.% ommon!y des ribes a #oem of mourning. 5n e!egy may a!so ref!e t something that seems to the author to be strange or mysterious. ,he e!egy% as a ref!e tion on a death% on a sorrow more genera!!y% or on something mysterious% may be !assified as a form of !yri #oetry.();>+();B+ ?otab!e #ra titioners of e!egia #oetry have in !uded &ro#ertius% Dorge Manri2ue% Dan <o hanowski% @hidio k ,i hborne% Edmund :#enser% 7en Donson% Dohn Mi!ton% ,homas $ray% @har!otte ,urner :mith% 1i!!iam @u!!en 7ryant% &er y 7ysshe :he!!ey% Dohann 1o!fgang von $oethe% Evgeny 7aratynsky% 5!fred ,ennyson% 1a!t 1hitman% 'ouis $a!!et% 5ntonio Ma hado% Duan 4amIn DimJnez% 1i!!iam 7ut!er Keats% 4ainer Maria 4i!ke% and Hirginia 1oo!f. Herse fab!e

Igna y <rasi ki Main arti !e" Fab!e ,he fab!e is an an ient !iterary genre% often -though not invariab!y. set in verse. It is a su in t story that features anthro#omor#hized anima!s% #!ants% inanimate obje ts% or for es of nature that i!!ustrate a mora! !esson -a Amora!A.. Herse fab!es have used a variety of meter and rhyme #atterns.();*+ ?otab!e verse fabu!ists have in !uded 5eso#% Hishnu :arma% &haedrus% Marie de Fran e% 4obert Henryson% 7iernat of 'ub!in% Dean de 'a Fontaine% Igna y <rasi ki% FJ!iG MarEa de :amaniego% ,omLs de Iriarte% Ivan <ry!ov and 5mbrose 7ier e.

&rose #oetry

@har!es 7aude!aire% by $ustave @ourbet Main arti !e" &rose #oetry &rose #oetry is a hybrid genre that shows attributes of both #rose and #oetry. It may be indistinguishab!e from the mi ro0story -a.k.a. the Ashort short storyA% Af!ash fi tionA.. 1hi!e some eGam#!es of ear!ier #rose strike modern readers as #oeti % #rose #oetry is ommon!y regarded as having originated in )3th0 entury Fran e% where its #ra titioners in !uded 5!oysius 7ertrand% @har!es 7aude!aire% 5rthur 4imbaud and :tJ#hane Ma!!armJ.();/+ :in e the !ate )3/9s es#e ia!!y% #rose #oetry has gained in reasing #o#u!arity% with entire journa!s% su h as ,he &rose &oem" 5n Internationa! Dourna!%();3+ @ontem#orary Haibun On!ine()=9+ devoted to that genre. :#e u!ative #oetry :#e u!ative #oetry% a!so known as fantasti #oetry% -of whi h weird or ma abre #oetry is a major sub !assifi ation.% is a #oeti genre whi h dea!s themati a!!y with subje ts whi h are 'beyond rea!ity'% whether via eGtra#o!ation as in s ien e fi tion or via weird and horrifi themes as in horror fi tion. :u h #oetry a##ears regu!ar!y in modern s ien e fi tion and horror fi tion magazines. Edgar 5!!an &oe is sometimes seen as the Afather of s#e u!ative #oetryA.()=)+