Types of Poetry

Format: Definition
Example
* narrative
A poem that tells a story.
Casey at the Bat is a type of narrative, mock-hero poem.
* ballads
A poem that tells a story about love, death or tragic stuff.
A ballad can be very sad.
* epic
A long poem that tells a story about a hero.
Beowulf is an example of an epic.
* lyric
A poem that expresses deep emotion.
A sad poem can be a lyric one.
* sonnets
A poem consisting of 14 lines with a fixed rhyme scheme
A sonnet can be a-b-b-a rhyme scheme
* odes
An ode is a poem to thank something.
You can write an ode to a friend.
* elegies
An elegy poem talks about the death of someone.
An elegy for Darlene's puppy.
* free verse
A poem that does not have a rhyme.
Free verse poem must follow elements of poetry.