Poetry has been around for almost four thousand years. Some enjoy reading it, some enjoy writing it. As one of the main types of literature, learning about poetry is of big significance.
In this lesson, we are going to learn about POETRY, and we will discuss:
- Poetry
- Poems
- Elements of poetry
- Forms of poetry
- Greatest poets and poems
What is poetry?
Poetry is a type of literature (writing that is usually considered to be a work of art), or artistic writing, that attempts to stir a reader’s imagination or emotions.
People that write poetry do this by carefully choosing and arranging language for its meaning, sound, and rhythm. They are called poets.
The fundamental unit of poetry is the poem. Poems are a collection of words that express an emotion or idea, sometimes with a specific rhythm. That is why we say that poetry is made of poems, or that poems constitute the art form of poetry.
Some poems are simple and humorous. Other poems can tell a story, talks about life, love, happiness.
Poetry appears in a great many forms and styles. This makes it difficult to define exactly.
One thing that makes poems different from other types of writing is their structure. The words of a poem are arranged in lines and groups of lines, called stanzas. Stanza is used to describe the main building block of a poem. It is a unit of poetry composed of lines that relate to a similar thought or topic. Every stanza in a poem has its own concept and serves a unique purpose.
One more term that is commonly used in poetry is Verse. Verse is a word that was originally used to describe a single line of poetry. But, today it’s used more broadly. It may refer to a single line, a stanza, or the entire poem itself.
Let us understand how a poem looks like from the following example, which shows one of the most famous poems in the world - "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe. This is just a small portion of the total poem: 
***Poe's "The Raven" is a poem of 108 lines divided into eighteen six-line stanzas.
Elements of poetry
A poem can contain many elements to give it structure. The elements of poetry include:
- Meter
Meter is the basic rhythmic structure of a line within a work of poetry, and it consists of two components, the number of syllables, the pattern of emphasis on those syllables.
- Rhyme
A rhyme is a repetition of similar-sounding words.
- Form
Form, in poetry, can be understood as the physical structure of the poem: the length of the lines, their rhythms, their system of rhymes, and repetition.
- Rhythm
The rhythm in poetry refers to how the poem is structured to create flow and beat.
- Imagery
It is painting a vivid picture in the mind.
- Symbolism
Symbolism is the presentation of a tangible object.
- Stanza
Stanza is a unit of poetry composed of lines that relate to a similar thought or topic. Depending on the number of lines, the stanza can be:
- Couplet - Two lines
- Tercet - three lines
- Quatrain - four lines
- Cinquain - five lines
- Sestet - six lines
Different poets use these elements in many different ways. Some poets do not use rhyme at all. Some use couplets, while others may rhyme the second and fourth lines only. The ways that the poem is organized represent the structure and the form of the poem.
Forms of poetry
Form, in poetry, can be understood as the physical structure of the poem: the length of the lines, their rhythms, their system of rhymes, and repetition. There are many forms of poetry. Let's see some of them:
- Free verse
Free verse poetry is poetry that lacks a consistent rhyme scheme, metrical pattern, or musical form.
- Blank verse
Blank verse is poetry written with a precise meter—almost always iambic pentameter—that does not rhyme.
- Rhymed poetry
In contrast to blank verse, rhymed poems rhyme by definition, although their scheme varies.
- Narrative poetry
A narrative poem tells a story.
- Epics
An epic poem is a lengthy, narrative work of poetry. These long poems typically detail extraordinary feats and adventures of characters from a distant past.
- Haiku
A haiku is a three-line poetic form originating in Japan. The first line has five syllables, the second line has seven syllables, and the third line again has five syllables.
- Sonnet
A sonnet is a 14 line poem, usually concerning the topic of love. Sonnets contain internal rhymes within their 14 lines.
- Elegies
An elegy is a poem that reflects upon death or loss and traditionally contains themes of mourning, loss, and reflection, but can also explore themes of redemption and consolation.
- Ode
Much like an elegy, an ode is a tribute to its subject, although the subject need not be dead—or even sentient.
- Lyric poetry
Lyric poetry refers to the broad category of poetry that concerns feelings and emotion. This distinguishes it from two other poetic categories: epic and dramatic.
- Ballad
A ballad (or ballade) is a form of narrative verse that can be either poetic or musical. It typically follows a pattern of rhymed quatrains.
Greatest poets and poems
The following are some of the greatest poets of all time and their most known poems:
- William Shakespeare, poem: "Sonnet 18"
- Sylvia Plath, poem: “Daddy”
- Edgar Allan Poe, poem: ”The Raven”
- Pablo Neruda, poem: “I Do Not Love You Except Because I Love You”
- Rabindranath Tagore, poem: "Friend"
- Dante Alighieri, poem: “Divine Comedy”
- Maya Angelou, poem: ”On the Pulse of Morning”
- Sappho, poem: “Sappho 31”
- Lord Byron, poem: “She Walks in Beauty”
- Li Bai, poem, poem: “Quiet Night Thought”
