KINDS OF POETRY

poetry is broadly divided into two types
1.objective or narrative poetry
2.subjective poetry

OBJECTIVE OR NARRATIVE POETRY
this is the type of poetry that tells a story, that narrates, in this type of poetry,the writer presents his characters and their thoughts ,feelings and actions ,with him self remaining detached. some times,the story told is pure fiction but generally based on facts.
  To this category belongs:
1.the epic
2.the ballad
3.the romance
The epic
The epic is the longest poem in English literature. It celebrates real historical events heroic achievements, heroic figures, civilization and such other subjects. It is usually written in grand style. The epic maybe oral(primary epic)  or written (secondary epic). It sometimes features supernatural characters. An example is "paradise lost" by John Milton.

The Ballad

The Ballad is a song, transmitted orally which tells a story. The story is usually told in a dramatic way. Its subject matter maybe historic, adventurous, fighting deeds of, hatred, love or pity. The most common stanza form known as the Ballad stanza is a quatrain in alternate four and three stress iambic lines, in which only the second and fourth lines rhyme, as seen in ''Sir Patrick spears''. There are three types of Ballad which are

1.       The Popular or folk or traditional Ballad: these are the songs common among the rural community especially of Great Britain and America.

2.       The Literary Ballad: this is a narrative poem written by learned poets deliberately to imitate the form of a popular a Ballad. The greatest of these were composed in the romantic period (1789/1798-1832) an example is Keat’s “la belle dame sands merci”.

3.       The broad side Ballad: this is a ballad printed on one side of a single sheet (called a broad side) dealing with current events or development and sung to a well-known tune. From the 16^th century the broad sides were hawked in the streets in Great Britain.

The Romance

The romance which was originally a word written in French, Latin or Spanish language is a story that deals with chivalry, sword fight, knight errantry, courtly love, and a highly developed manner of civility. In its plot, quest and adventures are usually undertaken by a single knight. It introduces a heroine together with challenges fought and monsters slain for a lady’s sake. This story stresses the ideal of honor, courage and mercifulness to an opponent, it delights in wonders and marvel. An example is Malory’s “Morte d’Arthur” (15^th c).

SUBJECTIVE POETRY

This type of poetry expresses the personal feelings of the poet and they include

Nursery Rhymes or Lullabies:

These are poems for luring babies to sleep

Folk Songs

Folk songs tell stories and often have a chorus and refrain, they differ from fairytale in the sense that they are more firmly based on facts

Sonnets

It’s a short lyric poem which consists of fourteen line whose rhythmic pattern is iambic pentameter; the sonnet has a fixed verse form. There are two standard types of sonnet these are:

1.       The Italian or Petrarchan sonnet: It was named after the 14^th-century Italian poet, Petrarch. This is divided into two parts –the octave and the sestet, with a rhyming scheme of abbaabba cdccde.

2.       the Shakespearean or English sonnet: this was a stanza pattern much used by Shakespeare .it comprised of three quatrains rhyming abab cdcd efef and a concluding couplet rhyming gg.

Lyric

This is a fairly short non narrative poem that presents a single speaker who expresses some intense personal feelings. It is brief and rhythmic or musical. An example is Shelley’s “to night”.

Ode

This is a long lyric poem which is serious in subject, elevated in style, with an elaborate stanzaic structure.it is a poem that addresses itself to a person or thing in which the good qualities of such a person or object are highlighted and commended. An example is John Keat’s “ode on a Grecian Urn”.

Elegy

An elegy is a formal and sustained poem of lament for the death of a particular person. Sometimes, the term is more broadly used for meditative poem. The dirge also expresses grief on occasion of death of a particular person ,but is different from the elegy in the sense that it is short , less formal, and is usually represented as a text to be sung. An example of an elegy is Tennyson’s “In Memoriam”.

Dirge

This is a poem used to express grief on the death of a particular person an example is Kofi Awoonor’s “song of sorrow”.

Limerick

It is an unserious poem of five lines with rhyme scheme aabba. Its language is usually indecent but characterized by wit. It is usually referred to as nonsense verse because its use of rude and indecent words and humor, and as a result, limericks hardly have authors.

Panegyric

this is a poem used to praise the heroic deeds of an individual or a group. It is a type of traditional African poetry. It may even praise animals or entities of outstanding attribute whether good or bad.