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Explore the Craft of Writing Poetry Indian Verse Regional Verse IV.Hindi poetry is a descendant of Sanskrit and is found primarily in the North, West and Central India. Hindi is the official language of India. The region is known for its romantic poetry. The Doha is a Hindi stanzaic form employing a rhyming couplet with long syllabic lines.The Doha is also used in Urdu verse. This form often steps away from the Hindi tradition of romantic verse and can also be written as didactic verse or used in longer narrative verse. The elements of the Doha are: stanzaic, written in any number of couplets. syllabic, each line is made up of 24 syllables and is paused by caesura at the end of the 13th syllable, making the line two phrases of 13 and 11 syllables. The couplet can be arranged as a quatrain breaking the line at the caesura. rhymed, aa bb cc commonly used for proverbs, though can be for used for longer narratives, romance or didactic poetry. Vanquished in the Night by Judi Van Gorder The starless night drops down into the silent forest, small creatures scurry to secure safe haven. Peerless predators have eyes accustom to the dark, they stalk weaker prey with guile until craven. or if you choose to break the line at the caesura: The starless night drops down into the silent forest, ----------- small creatures scurry to secure safe haven. Peerless predators have eyes accustom to the dark, ------------ they stalk weaker prey with guile until craven. Isaac's Legacy by Eric Wharton When Isaac Lefever fled from his home in Lorraine, in sixty and nine of century fifteen; all his family wanted was to live by their faith, but jackbooted soldiers arrived unforeseen. His kinfolk lay slaughtered to the beat of a death drum, his parents with three sisters and brothers three; he took naught but a bible tucked away in his arm, and helped by a matron named Madam Ferree. He heard of a land where faith was in high esteem held, at only sixteen he had hopeful intent; to the new world he sailed, a Huguenot refugee, well-girded for what he could not circumvent. As centuries have passed his escape bears repeating, his Bible still rests in a Penn's Wood retreat— there are those who have come to look over it's pages, a testament to his bold faith and his feat. Now heirs of his spirit live under a threat, three thousand were killed in the course of a year— Tortured and dying from hate in a world-wide pogrom, now millions live by the caprice of a spear. Newspaper journalists remain surprisingly mute about faithful who form a martyrs parade, as the bulk of all the world's folks in patience hold on for what Ike’s Bible has said: justice delayed. Regional Verse Forms

Explore the Craft of Writing Arabic Verse Qasida, (purpose poem) sometimes spelled kasida, is an ode that dates back to pre-Islamic Arabia and the Bedouins of the desert. It was originally sung in praise of a tribe or to denigrate an enemy. The poem is made up of a long string of complete couplets called shers and can be as long as 100 couplets. It is a multi-sectional, poly-thematic poem. Over centuries it developed into a courtly poem of praise of a patron and expanded into elegies, satire and more philosophical subjects. The form has endured to the present, although it has taken a back seat to its descendant the shorter, ghazal. It was brought to English literature by Lord Tennyson in Locksley Hall. The elements of the Qasida are: narrative poetry. It tells a story. stanzaic, written in a string of shers (complete couplets), the poem is usually long and may be as long as 100 shers, length is optional. metered optional, the lines should be equal length. rhymed. There are various opinions on rhyme scheme. Some sources say it should be mono-rhymed, all couplets carrying the same rhyme aa aa aa. . . another source shows rhyme scheme aa bb cc dd. . . , it carries a "running incremental refrain" reappearing in each even line, but the most common suggestion is that, the couplets have a running rhyme aa xa xa xa xa xa. . . originally written as a desert poem in 4 units each can be one or several couplets long. opening setting describes or recalls ancient times. tale of lost love or things left behind. the struggles of the journey and its endurance. plea for honor or praise. Inspired by the desert origins of the qasida I wrote a short adaptation: Grit Between My Toes by Judi Van Gorder The gritty grains of sand that seep through cracks of time fall deep. I'm forever severed from the rock of certainty where I've gone to weep. I recall running barefoot on the dunes in days gone, now I can barely creep. Sand shifts beneath my sandaled feet the ascent is weighted, hot and steep. Each ridge conquered leads to descent and another hill, more sand piled in a heap. How many have I climbed this life and how many more are mine to reap? Middle Eastern Poetic Genres and Forms Ghazal Marisya Mukhammas Mussades Muwashsha Nazm Qasida Rubai Shair Sher & its Meters Soaz Urjuza Zajal

Explore the Craft of Writing Poetry Italian Verse Terza Rima, "third rhyme", adapted from the Italian poets of the 13th century is a stanzaic form that employs a pattern of interlocking rhyme. Some connect the form's origins to the three-lined Ritournel, which was an early Italian form of popular poetry, but others to the Sirventes of the Provencal troubadours. It was most likely the Tuscan poets of the 13th century who tended to emulate the metrical patterns of their predecessors, the Provencals. Written in tercets of interlocking rhyme known as the Sicilian tercet, there is no limit on the number of stanzas in the poem, however it is difficult to divide without breaking the continuity of the rhyme. It was Dante's, The Divine Comedy written in 1307, that brought the Terza Rima from folk-verse, to a major poetic form. The Capitolo is framed with the same metric, rhyme and stanzaic structure as the Terza Rima. In 15th century Italy when the Terza Rima adopted didactic subjects, it was called a Capitolo but by the 19th century the term Capitolo was used for a Terza Rima frame with a satirical or light subject. The elements of the Terza Rima and Capitolo are: narrative and/or lyrical poetry. in English usually iambic pentameter but can be written in tetrameter. stanzaic, with any number of tercets that interlock by rhyme. The poem is concluded by a single final line that rhymes with the 2nd line of the preceding tercet. rhymed in an interlocking rhyme scheme aba bcb cdc ded . . . until the conclusion when the end line rhymes with the 2nd line of the last tercet. when written in a satirical tone, is called a Capitolo. The Bridge at Tsavo,1898 by David Parsley The Rishal is a recent invented form which appears to be a chained version of the Terza Rima without a linking rhyme. It was created by Chindarella at All Poetry. The elements of the Rishal are: Stanzaic, written in 3 or more tercets with a concluding single line, the same as the Terza Rima. Syllabic rather than metric, lines of 10 syllables each, (iambic pentameter without the iambic pattern requirement). L1 of each stanza is written in 2 hemistiches. Rhymed, internal rhyme is employed in L2 of each stanza, the 5th syllable of the line rhyming with the end syllable, (I imagine a little flexibility in the placement of the internal rhyme could be overlooked by other than the purist.) Rhyme scheme a (b-b) a / c ( d-d) c / e (f-f) e / etc . The single end line is unrhymed. Written in a chain from stanza to stanza by repeating the 2nd hemistich of L1 of the previous stanza in the 1st hemistich of L1 of the next stanza and so on. . . including the last single line repeating the 2nd hemistich of L1 of the previous stanza as the 1st hemistich of the single line

Explore the Craft of Writing Light Verse The Minute Poem is a 60 syllable verse form, one syllable for each second in a minute. The theme should be an event that is over and done completely, as in a minute. Since the dominant line is short the effect is likely humorous, whimsical or semi-serious. It was created by Verna Lee Hinegardner, once poet laureate of Arkansas. The elements of the Minute Poem are: narrative poetry. a 12 line poem made up of 3 quatrains. syllabic, 8-4-4-4-8-4-4-4-8-4-4-4 rhymed, rhyme scheme of aabb ccdd eeff. description of a finished event (preferably something done is 60 seconds). is best suited to light verse, likely humorous, whimsical or semi-serious. by Judi Van Gorder Heaven's Hues Above the hills. clouds floated by to prink the sky with heaven's mist. The angels kissed the pale wash of lavender, pink and slate. Light sinks below treetops, horizons' props. It plays the sunset's rhapsody in harmony with soft refrain to stay the rain. Mission For the Queen Quickly the tiny ants skitter pesky critters from afar just dots little black spots One staggers with weight of a crumb like a drunken bum it rights itself crawls down the shelf Mission stamped into DNA its life, the pay to feed the queen whom no one's seen. Timer Set on Pop A steady mechanical whir provocateur A snapping pop crackle won't stop Paper container explosion artful fusion Addicting bite crunchy delight Popping corn in the microwave the taste I crave the butter-rich kernels bewitch. Memorial Day

Explore the Craft of Writing Poetry Slavic Verse Ukraine: borders Russia, Belarus, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Black Sea. The history of its poetry begins with liturgical verse in the 11th century. The Mongol invasion of the 12th century all but wiped out poetic endeavors until the 16th century when the Cossaks revived poetry with the epic form. Then in the 17th and 18th centuries, publication in Ukrainian was outlawed and it wasn't until the 19th century that poets once again emerged. The Duma is a 16th century Ukrainian epic poem that is sung. The verse was performed by Cossack bards and later by blind itinerant musicians. The songs were about historical events often about war but it didn't praise courage, it provided a moral message about the relationships in family, community and church. The Duma has religious undertones and tells tales of death and defeat but not of victory. Language is the dominant element of the Duma. The rhythm is persuasive, the stress often falls on a verb at the end of the line. Parallels and repetition are standard as is the use of archaic language. Song of Ihor's Host The Sevenling is an invented form patterned after the poem He Did Love by 20th century, Ukrainian poet, Anna Akhmatova. The verse form was named and first described by Scottish poet Roddy Lumdsten as a teaching exercise. So who is the creator, Akhmatova or Lumdsten?The Sevenling is a heptastich that includes parallels and ends with a narrative summary line similar to the 3rd line of a haiku with a juxtaposed image. The tone should suggest a little mystery, a feeling that only part of the story is being shared. One source suggests the poem should be titled "Sevenling: (first few words of poem). I found 2 English translations of He Did Love by Akhmatova. I am sorry, I don't know the name of the translator of the 1st translation. He did love three things in this world: Choir chants at vespers, albino peacocks, And worn, weathered maps of America. And he did not love children crying, Or tea served with raspberries, Or woman's hysteria. ...And I was his wife. He loved three things alone: White peacocks, evensong, Old maps of America. He hated children crying, And raspberry jam with his tea, And womanish hysteria. ... And he married me. translorD M Thomas From Selected Poems (Penguin) The elements of the Sevenling are: a heptastich, a poem in 7 lines made up of 2 tercets followed by a single line. metered at the discretion of the poet. unrhymed. composed with 3 complimentary images in the first tercet and 3 parallel images in the second tercet. The end line is a juxtaposed summary of the 2 parallels, a sort of "punchline". Belarus Czech Georgia Hungary Latvia Russia

Explore the Craft of Writing American Verse Trenta-sei, (Italian = 36), is a modern day verse form that appears to have taken its cue from the Sestina and the Villanelle. "Like the Sestina it is a strong pattern not likely to get lost in the language of the poem" Miller Williams, Patterns of Poetry. To me it seems less rigid than the other two verse forms. The rotating repetition of lines from the first stanza brings a little feel of the Villanelle but the repetition is less obvious. It is important that each line of the first stanza is strong enough to lead the subsequent stanzas. It is written as if the first stanza is tumbling down onto the top of a stream of stanzas that follow. The Trenta-sei was created by a 20th century American Poet, John Ciardi. The elements of theTrenta-sei are: narrative verse, it tells a story. usually written as accentual verse (the rhythm of today's speech) with 5 stressed syllables per line stanzaic, composed of 6 sixains, 36 lines total. rhymed, with the rhyme scheme of a heroic sestet, aB1A1B2C1C2 / B1dbdee / A1fafgg / B2hbhii / C1jcjkk / C2lclmm composed with each line (with the exception of L1) of the first stanza taking its turn as the first line of the following stanzas.. Game Six, a trenta sei by Judi Van Gorder 10-26-02 written while watching the game unfold. Bonds at bat, Rodrigues paws the mound, no outs, one strike, two balls, two more and a walk? Excited fans react with thunder stick sound the summer sport disciples have come to gawk. Illusive is the rocky road to fame, a national favorite, World Series game. No outs, one strike, two balls, two more and a walk? It's the top of the sixth, no runners on base he swings with quickening speed and powers the rock I watch the ball soar high out into space, he has done it again and jogs home to his fate; his place in history, he won't abdicate. Excited fans react with thunder stick sound, with rattle slap and clatter, the roar won't stop. The noise so loud it rumbles and shakes the ground, a stampede of horses thundering clippity-clop. LA fans wave their mascot monkey on a stick. If the Giants win those Angels will be sick! The summer sport disciples have come to gawk enjoying beer and hot dogs passing around while spectators cheer, others in shock. It's the thrill of the place, the faithful expound, intensity builds increasing the sound in the din Come on San Francisco bring home that big win. Illusive is the rocky road to fame, team in red at home and now down one. My guys on the road with rally monkeys to tame; a hit, the Angels scored, now this is no fun. The top of the ninth, can we pull this one through? My stomach in knots like I just got the flu. A national favorite, World Series game, "strike three" he shouts--and number six is done, tomorrow will tell if dreams go up in flame. Another nine innings and the best team has won, we'll call them the champs and have a parade. I'm praying the Giants will make the grade.

Beyond the droning town and mocking boys with mountain bikes and aerosols. The deaf man led his placid gypsy horse. Between a rubbish tip and high-banked railway tracks. Along the frog-spawned dyke: laid green like some old fetid moat. Past world-war concrete plinths, devoid of guns; long overgrown with masks of bramble and tall grass. Oblivious of crowded trains that screamed to who knows where. They walked into the cattle arch's mouth and vanished: through a portal of sunlight, to saner pastures on the other side.

Another dirty martini, please “Two bottles of Boone's Farm peach wine and he called me to the couch. His head on my thigh, I stroked his hair -- what the Navy let us have! That was all we did on peach wine. “Long watches in the engine room and I called him to the bench. I stood behind him, hips to his back and my arms across his chest. That was all we did on the ship. “I saw his Florida mug shot just last night; his victims were 12 and 16. My heart stopped again, just like the very first time that I was ravished by his eyes.” May 2013

I am posting this now due to the news that his remains are to be exhumed and examined to determine his cause of death; the dictator Pinochet MIGHT have had this poet silenced. (Meridian Hill is a large park in DC.) http://www.euronews.com/2013/04/08/nobel-laureate-naruda-s-remains-to-be-exhumed-in-chile/ I am shocked to learn that you are a Communist: this matters in 1992. El poeta: el, masculine; poeta, feminine; that's something. I bring you to Meridian Hill, near the statue of Jeanne d'Arc, though she might have been too young, even for you. You are a bi-lingual edition, naturally. Mis novios de mis noches did not, cumulatively, teach me very much, it seems. How sad. Only one of the fountains works. Its spray keeps cleanly to itself. There is no wind; the face of the water sleeps. Bright but not oppressive: the weather, and not the Salvadoran hiding in the shade. He is more shadow than he is flesh. Before sitting, I take the view at the rail: the cascade is trim and clean; nothing but foam down the thirteen steps. I sit facing the butt of Jeanne's horse. I see the sword in her hand and I ask, "How Christian is that?" I am in profile to the shady one. He spreads his legs and cups himself, looking through dark bangs and dark eyes. I nod. He stirs at my suggestion, almond eyes and high cheeks. He sees you in my hands and he passes by. Twenty years later I don't now give a fig that you were a Communist, just that you blew my chance for poetry. October 2012

Explore the Craft of Writing Poetry Greek Verse Acritic Verse, Greek-"song of the frontiersmen” is the heroic or epic poetry of 10th century Byzantium. This poetic genre emerged from an almost continuous state of warfare. It was composed as first hand experiences in narratives of recitation, or in a simple, recurring, cadence that was easy to remember and pass on. It set up the beginnings of modern Greek verse. Digenes Akrites is the most famous of the Acritic songs, an epic narrative. I found this fragment with translation at Wikipedia. Below is an excerpt from the translation of the Escorial manuscript, lines 32-42, by E.M. Jeffreys (pp. 241–2): εκαβαλίκευσαν, 'ς τόν κάμπον κατεβαίνουν. Ώς δράκοντες εσύριζαν και ως λέοντες εβρύχουντα και ώς αετοί επέτουντα και εσμίξαν οι δύο. Και τότε να ειδής πόλεμον καλών παλληκαρίων και από της μάχης της πολλής κρούσιν διασυντόμως και από τον κρύπον τον πολύν και από το δός και λάβε οι κάμποι φόβον είχασιν και τα βουνά αηδονούσαν, το αίμαν εκατέρεεν εις τα σκαλόλουρά των και ο ίδρος τους εξέβαινε απάνω απ'τα λουρίκια. Ήτον γάρ του Κωνσταντή γοργότερος ο μαύρος, και θαυμαστός νεώτερος ήτον ο They mounted at once and they came to the battlefield. They hissed like serpents, they roared like lions, They soared like eagles, and the two clashed. And then you could see a fight between fine brave youths. In the heat of the battle they struck continuously, and from the great clashing and the cut and thrust trees were uprooted and the sun was darkened, Blood flowed down over their horse-trappings and their sweat ran out over their breastplates. Constantine’s black horse was speedier, and its rider was a marvellous young man.</table>

Explore the Craft of Writing Arabic Verse The Masnavi or Mathnawi is a long narrative, the ancient Middle Eastern epic form dates back to the 8th century. Although it is believed to originally be Persian, Masnavi's have been composed in Persian, Turkish, Urdu and Arabic (sometimes called the Muzdawwidj). The great poet Rumi used the stanzaic form to write 6 books containing 25000 verses which he titled Mathnawi. I am not sure if the books are named for the form or the form was named from the books, probably the latter. Apparently the Sufi Whirling Dervishes use verse from the books in prayer. The elements of the Masnavi or Mathnawi or Muzdawwidj are: a narrative, an epic. Composed with one of three themes, a heroic tale, religious or didactic story or a romantic tale. Long, much longer than any ghazal which usually ends after a maximum of 15 couplets. The Masnavi are usually in the hundreds or even thousands of couplets. Stanzaic, written in rhyming couplets. The couplets are complete and closed with one exception, the Arabic Masnavi or Muzdawwidj is written in triplets, complete and closed. Rhymed, the rhyme is never to be repeated throughout the poem rhyme aa bb cc dd ee ff gg etc. , in Arabic the rhyme is aaa bbb ccc ddd eee etc… Syllabic, Persian Masnavi stick to a strict 11 syllables per line. This tradition loosens up a bit in Turkish, Urdu and Arabic. Composed with alliteration, especially the Arabic Masnavi or Muzdawwidj. Just a Man Today we celebrate Martin Luther King; just a man, but a man, of whose works we sing. A man with a gift for inspiring with words moved us with conviction needing to be heard. African-American raised in the South, born a preacher's son with a rebellious mouth. Early days, refusing to answer to "Boy", but he sang in a choir with fervor and joy. Husband and father nurtured love in his home, but his heart held much more, that's told in this tome. Called to be a blazing Baptist minister, preaching equality, nothing sinister. Violence was detrimental to protest, instead, peaceful sit-ins and marches were best. 50s leader of the Civil Rights Movement, leading an errant nation to improvement. His speeches and actions still push us today, his work is not over, but someday, we pray. Too soon he was murdered for shining his beam. He was just a man, but a man with a Dream. ~~Judi Van Gorder

Explore the Craft of Writing African Verse The Takhmis or Long-measure Verse is the 19th century Swahili version of a devotional Arabic stanzaic form of the same name. The Arabic Takhmis (to make five) dates back to the 18th century. In the Arabic form, L1-L3 of the stanza made up of 5 single hemistiches serves as a comtemporary expansion of L4-L5 which is verse written by an earlier poet, similar to the Glosa. The Swahili version appears to double up the hemistiches and most often is written by a single poet. The elements of the Arabic Takhmis are: lyrical devotion. stanzaic, written in 5 single hemistiches with the last 2 hemistiches adapted from earlier work of another poet, rhyme scheme aaaax bbbbx x being unrhymed. The elements of the Swahili Takhmis are: either a narrative or a lyrical medition. stanzaic, written in any number of quatrains syllabic, with at least 15 syllables, the line should be in 2 hemistiches and all lines should be approximately the same length. rhymed, aaax bbbx cccx etc. NPEOPP African Poetic Genres and Forms Insult Poetry Mawaddes Muyaka Praise Poem Qe'ne Shairi Takhmis Utendi

Explore the Craft of Writing African Verse The Utendi or Untenzi (Swahili meaning deed or act) is a Swahili stanzaic form that I first found at Vole Central that is a Zejel without the Mudanza. The form is usually a narrative and should tell a story. Swahili epics appear in this form. The elements of the Utendi are: African Poetic Genres and Forms a narrative. stanzaic, written in any number of quatrains. syllabic, 8 syllable lines. rhymed, rhyme aaab cccb dddb etc. The b rhyme is a linking rhyme between stanzas. example from Vita Vya Wadachi Part 12: Stanzas 1 & 2 Utenzi wa Vita vya Wadachi Kutamalaki Mrima BISMILLAHI Ghaghara alWahidi - lKahari mwinyi kuhui shajari na jinni na insiya Yu pweke ARRAHAMANI wala hayuko wa thani mruzuku duniani ila ni yeye mmoya The German Conquest of the Swahili Coast IN THE NAME OF GOD, the Forgiving, the One, the Dominant, the giver of life to plants, to spirits and to mankind. He is alone THE COMPASSIONATE, there is none other that provides for the world but Him alone. Devil's Bridge A devil's pact as it is told, he'd help build a bridge, for first soul to traverse the viaduct bold. So goes the ancient folk story. Strong bodies and masons of stone with fieldstone and hard granite honed, cut and fit rock, worked to the bone. A labor from hell to glory Once done, the devised, dry-stone span arched over the river as planned, now for the payback of one man. Who will be consiliatory? A goat is baited by thrown bread to step upon the bridge instead. the devil raged, he was misled. in the end, complicitory. Today the arched stone bridge still stands, a testament to grit and bands of like minded folks joining hands. Out witting the signatory. ~~Judi Van Gorder Dec 18, 2018 Insult Poetry Mawaddes Muyaka Praise Poem Qe'ne Shairi Takhmis Utendi

Explore the Craft of Writing Poetry Spanish Verse Romance Verso is one of the most popular Spanish forms from the 15th century. It is the Spanish version of the Ballad. It is a narrative written in even number lines of 8 syllables using assonant rhyme (vowel sounds are repeated regardless of the consonants before and after). These poems can be found equally written by academics, jonguelers as well as common men and touch every arena of Spanish life. The elements of Romance Verse are:: a narrative, it tells a story. stanzaic, written in even number line which could be quatrains, sixains, etc. syllabic, all lines are written in 8 syllables each. rhymed, only assonant rhyme is used, xaxa xbxb xcxc etc., x being unrhymed. written in several variations. Romance Double simply uses alternate assonant rhyme rather than leaving the alternate lines free if rhyme. The elements of the Romance Double are: a narrative, it tells a story. stanzaic, written in even number line which could be quatrains, sixains, etc. syllabic, all lines are written in 8 syllables each. rhymed, only assonant rhyme is used, abab cdcd efef etc. Romance Heroic, Romance Endecasilabo, or Romance Real is defined by its used of Italianate lines. The Romance Heroic or Real is: a narrative, it tells a story. stanzaic, written in even number line which could be quatrains, sixains, etc. syllabic, all lines are written in Italianate lines, random 7-11 syllable lines. rhymed, only assonant rhyme is used, xaxa xbxb xcxc etc., x being unrhymed. Romancero is Spain’s epic version of the Ballad. Since the early Spanish epics were written in prose, the Romancero distinguished itself in verse. It is narrative written in verse and can be found as far back as when the in the nation we now know as Spain was Latin. Like most Ballad forms, it began with folk verse of the common man and developed into a literary form, a conscious art. The oldest Romanceros are epic in size and theme. The elements of the Romancero are: Narrative verse, often epic in size and theme. Syllabic, lines of 11 syllables or more Rhymed with assonant rhyme throughout. A source refers to El Cid as a Chanson de Geste, a French epic genre however, to me it appears to be more appropriately categorized as a Romancero. The Romancillo is a short line version of Romance Verse. The elements of the Romancillo are: a narrative, it tells a story. stanzaic, written in even number line which could be quatrains, sixains, etc. syllabic, all lines are written in 5 or 6 syllables each. rhymed, only assonant rhyme is used, xaxa xbxb xcxc etc., x being unrhymed.

Explore the Craft of Writing Poetry The Three Poetry Groups Poetry can be broken down into three main groups or directions, lyrical, narrative and dramatic. "Traditionally, the lyric expressed personal emotion, the narrative propelled characters through a plot, the dramatic presented an enactment." New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics. Although all have their roots in music, all three were originally sung and chanted, the musical element has always been secondary to the narrative and the dramatic while lyrical poetry is often still sung. "Lyrical poetry retains most prominently the elements which date back to its origins in musical expression singing, chanting and repetition with musical accompaniment." NPOPP. Lewis Turco's Book of Forms suggests that it is a matter of voice. Lyrical poetry is the poet speaking to him or herself or nobody, narrative is the poet speaking through a narrator to an audience and dramatic verse is the poet speaking through character interaction he/she has created. Lyrical Verse The vast majority of poems written are "lyrical verse", written in the first person as an emotional or subjective (emphasizing the personal or individual) response to an experience. But, even narrative or dramatic poetry can sometimes be categorized as also lyrical as in the case of the ballad, a lyrical narrative. Appropriately the name "lyrical" originates from "lyre" (a musical instrument). Most poetry began by being sung or chanted around campfires, in Greek theatre or later by the troubadours, but lyrical poetry took a turn in the 15th and 16th centuries when it began to be composed to be read from the written word and it took on a whole new genre. The musical qualities of lyrical poetry do not mean that the poetry is written always to be sung, nor does it mean that the poetry possesses musical characteristics as harmony, pitch, syncopation, counterpoint, and other structural forms of a tonal, musical line or sequence ( although those qualities can be present). However it does mean the poetry "employs specific themes, meters, attitudes, images and myths". NPOPP Although the term "lyrical verse" is too general to specifically define, its qualities can be highlighted. Here is an attempt to describe lyrical poetry by renown poets and with these descriptions in mind, lyrical poetry would probably be best written as a combination of some or all of the following: The characteristics of lyrical poetry focus on an image or an object, the meaning of a concept, an experience or event, a talent or encounter. It is often a meditation. Winter (1595) When icicles hang by the wall And Dick the shepherd blows his nail, And Tome bears logs into the hall, And milk comes frozen home in pail, When blood is nipp'd, and ways be foul, Then nightly sings the staring owl, Tu-who; Tu-whit, tu-who - a merry note, While greasy Joan doth keel the pot. When all aloud the wind doth blow, And coughing drowns the parson's saw, And birds sit brooding in the snow, And Marian's nose looks red and raw, When roasted crabs hiss in the bowl, Then nightly sings the staring owl, Tu-who; Tu-whit, tu-who-a merry note, While greasy Joan doth keel the pot. ---William Shakespeare (1554-1616) Lyrical verse is: Hope is the thing with feathers (1862} Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul, And sings the tune without the words, And never stops at all, And sweetest in the gale is heard; And sore must be the storm That could abash the little bird That kept so many warm. I've heard it in the chillest land, And on the strangest sea; Yet, never, in extremity, It asked a crumb of me. --- Emily Dickinson 1830-1886 note: #s differ depending on the collection. T.H. Johnson #254 / R.W. Franklin #314 "brief". (Poe) "one, the parts mutually support and explain each other, all in their proportion harmonizing with, and supporting the purpose and known influence of metrical arrangement." (Coleridge) the "spontaneous over flow of powerful feelings". (Wordsworth) "an intensely subjective and personal expression" (Coleridge) an "inverted action of mind upon will" (Schopenhauer). "the utterance that is overheard" (Mill) " a short poem expressing the thoughts and feelings of a single speaker. Often written in first person and often with song like immediacy and emotional force". Donald Hall Narrative Verse simply tells a story and is most often found in epic form. It is often objective, distanced from the subject and usually written in the third person as an observer. It describes an event in time and place as it unfolds and is "rooted in local intention" or takes a particular point of view of the event. It often will dramatize the crisis or climax and can be narrative, dramatic and lyrical in presentation, such as the ballad. The story telling can be fact or fiction and is presented in verse to separate from other types of literature. Lewis Turco in his Book of Forms says as a matter of voice, the story narrated or told by a third person. Verse forms compatible as narratives are the epics, ballads, Blank Verse, and the French Pastorale, and the Lai or Lay family of forms. In the Art and Craft of Poetry, Michael Bugeja tells us there are six elements to narrative poetry. Here is my shorter version of Bugeja's concept.All narratives should include: Topic: the subject must have a beginning, middle and end which naturally creates a sequence of events and provides a sense of passage of time. And something has to happen in that passage of time, there is action in a narrative. Theme: "an undercurrent of meaning runs through a narrative" Bujeia. The story is told in a sequence which logically builds to a conclusion. (the conclusion is fore told by the illustration of events) Voice: someone has to tell the story. If it is told by a narrator, the story is told as coming from I or we (not the poet), if the theme is happy the narrator must be happy, if angry the narrator must be angry..etc. If the story is told by a storyteller, the story is told entirely in the third person. The tones in the voice of the storyteller remain detached, the tone of voice connected to the theme belongs to the characters in the story. Viewpoint: Every story can be told from a different viewpoint. If the poem will tell the story from the viewpoint of the poet, a narrator should be the voice. If the poem will tell the story from a viewpoint different from the poet's the voice should be one of a storyteller. Use whichever will give the best impact. Moment: This does not imply the moment in time itself (winter, time of chivalry, September 11, last night), nor past tense versus present tense but, "when the reader is allowed to enter the story". (1.) immediately with the experience fresh and emotional as if we were there, here the narrator can only describe the events as they happen without comment. (2.) relatively close to the event giving perspective to the meaning of the details and scenes. In this moment the narrator describes events from the character's point of view and provides his/her own comments. And (3.) much later, removed from the event when it happened, where our perspective is more important than the details. Therefore the narrator or storyteller comments on the events putting them in perspective. (you really have to read the book) Ending: either open where the conclusion is not explained but simply illustrated or closed with the conclusion wrapping up the loose ends. Charge of the Light Brigade by Alfred Lord Tennyson Half a league, half a league, Half a league onward, All in the valley of Death Rode the six hundred. "Forward the Light Brigade! Charge for the guns!" he said. Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred. Forward, the Light Brigade!" Was there a man dismay'd? Not tho' the soldier knew Some one had blunder'd. Theirs not to make reply, Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do and die. Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred. Cannon to right of them, Cannon to left of them, Cannon in front of them Volley'd and thunder'd; Storm'd at with shot and shell, Boldly they rode and well, Into the jaws of Death, Into the mouth of hell Rode the six hundred. Flash'd all their sabres bare, Flash'd as they turn'd in air Sabring the gunners there, Charging an army, while All the world wonder'd. Plunged in the battery-smoke Right thro' the line they broke; Cossack and Russian Reel'd from the sabre-stroke Shatter'd and sunder'd. Then they rode back, but not, Not the six hundred. Cannon to right of them, Cannon to left of them, Cannon behind them Volley'd and thunder'd; Storm'd at with shot and shell, While horse and hero fell, They that had fought so well Came thro' the jaws of Death, Back from the mouth of hell, All that was left of them, Left of six hundred. When can their glory fade? O the wild charge they made! All the world wonder'd. Honor the charge they made! Honor the Light Brigade, Noble six hundred! Some Narrative Forms Acritic Verse Ballad Bergerette Bylina Choka Chu Ci Duma Epics Idyll Kyrielle Lai Lai Nouveau Minute Poem Nibelungen Onegin Stanza Ottova Rima Utendi Virelai Vilelai Ancien Dramatic verse speaks through a character. Although it too, got its beginnings from music and chant, just as the lyrical and narrative verse did, dramatic poetry characterizes the song or words. The dramatic poem, like the other two comes in all styles, shapes and sizes and can at the same time be dramatic, lyrical and or narrative. How is that for mucking up the definition? The primary thing to remember is the dramatic poem characterizes. The poem is told through one or more characters voice, perspective and language. It is the voice of the poet speaking through the parameters of one or more characters developed by the poet. Personality, motive and viewpoint are the focus. The poem is written though dialogue. The forms are those of drama itself, tragedy, comedy, tragicomedy, the monologue, dialogue, soliloquy. Clown Song from Act V Scene I Twelfth Night This is the final monologue of the play; the clown addresses the audience. When that I was and a little tiny boy, With hey, ho, the wind and the rain; A foolish thing was but a toy, For the rain it raineth every day. But when I came to man's estate, With hey, ho, the wind and the rain; 'Gainst knaves and thieves men shut their gates, For the rain it raineth every day. But when I came, alas! to wive, With hey, ho, the wind and the rain; By swaggering could I never thrive, For the rain it raineth every day. But when I came unto my beds, With hey, ho, the wind and the rain; With toss-pots still had drunken heads, For the rain it raineth every day. A great while ago the world begun, With hey, ho, the wind and the rain; But that's all one, our play is done, And we'll strive to please you every day. ---William Shakespeare (1564-1616) Some Dramatic Forms Comedic Dialogue Eclogue Eclogue Débat Dub Poetry Fabliau Kakawin Litany Persona Monologue Soliloquy Tenso or Tenzone

Explore the Craft of Writing Greek Verse An Idyll, from the Greek, eidyllion - "little picture" can be one of two genres of poetry. An Idyll can be a short pastoral poem, a fanciful poem describing an ideal country scene, with nymphs and shepherds frolicking in the field. The original "Idylls" date back to 300 B.C. by Greek poet, Theocritus. As a genre rather than verse or stanzaic form, the structure or frame is at the discretion of the poet. A pastoral Idyll is lyrical. Idyll by Sigfried Sassoon (English poet, 1886-1967) In the grey summer garden I shall find you With day-break and the morning hills behind you. There will be rain-wet roses; stir of wings; And down the wood a thrush that wakes and sings. Not from the past you'll come, but from that deep Where beauty murmurs to the soul asleep: And I shall know the sense of life re-born From dreams into the mystery of morn Where gloom and brightness meet. And standing there Till that calm song is done, at last we'll share The league-spread, quiring symphonies that are Joy in the world, and peace, and dawn's one star. An Idyll can also be an epic poem, a longer poem that tells a story about ancient heroes. The structure of which is at the discretion of the poet. An epic Idyll is a narrative. Ulysses by Alfred Lord Tennyson It little profits that an idle king, By this still hearth, among these barren crags, Match'd with an agèd wife, I mete and dole Unequal laws unto a savage race, That hoard, and sleep, and feed, and know not me. I cannot rest from travel: I will drink Life to the lees: All times I have enjoyed Greatly, have suffer'd greatly, both with those That loved me, and alone, on shore, and when Thro' scudding drifts the rainy Hyades Vext the dim sea: I am become a name; For always roaming with a hungry heart Much have I seen and known; cities of men And manners, climates, councils, governments, Myself not least, but honour'd of them all; And drunk delight of battle with my peers, Far on the ringing plains of windy Troy. I am a part of all that I have met; Yet all experience is an arch wherethro' Gleams that untravell'd world whose margin fades For ever and forever when I move. How dull it is to pause, to make an end, To rust unburnish'd, not to shine in use! As tho' to breathe were life! Life piled on life Were all too little, and of one to me Little remains: but every hour is saved From that eternal silence, something more, A bringer of new things; and vile it were For some three suns to store and hoard myself, And this gray spirit yearning in desire To follow knowledge like a sinking star, Beyond the utmost bound of human thought. This is my son, mine own Telemachus, To whom I leave the sceptre and the isle,— Well-loved of me, discerning to fulfil This labour, by slow prudence to make mild A rugged people, and thro' soft degrees Subdue them to the useful and the good. Most blameless is he, centred in the sphere Of common duties, decent not to fail In offices of tenderness, and pay Meet adoration to my household gods, When I am gone. He works his work, I mine. There lies the port; the vessel puffs her sail: There gloom the dark, broad seas. My mariners, Souls that have toil'd, and wrought, and thought with me— That ever with a frolic welcome took The thunder and the sunshine, and opposed Free hearts, free foreheads—you and I are old; Old age hath yet his honor and his toil; Death closes all: but something ere the end, Some work of noble note, may yet be done, Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods. The lights begin to twinkle from the rocks: The long day wanes: the slow moon climbs: the deep Moans round with many voices. Come, my friends, 'T is not too late to seek a newer world. Push off, and sitting well in order smite The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths Of all the western stars, until I die. It may be that the gulfs will wash us down: It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles, And see the great Achilles, whom we knew. Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho' We are not now that strength which in old days Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are; One equal temper of heroic hearts, Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

Explore the Craft of Writing Poetry Italian Verse Raccontino (Italian meaning narrator or story teller) is a poetic narrative written in any number of couplets linked by a single rhyme. Found at Writer's Café. I've been unable to find a history or original example of this form. One source on line suggests this is an English form but no time frame is indicated nor other reasons given for this assumption. Because the name has Italian roots, is syllabic rather than metric (more typical of Italian poetry than English poetry) and carries a single rhyme (which is much easier in Italian than English), it better fits the profile of an Italian stanzaic form than an English form. So I lean toward Italian roots. The elements of the Raccontino are: narrative, tells a story. written in any number of couplets. syllabic. The number of syllable is set by the first line. Whatever number of syllables occurs in the first line should continue throughout the poem. rhymed xa xa xa xa xa xa etc. x being unrhymed.

Explore the Craft of Writing Poetry Italian Verse The Ottavo Rima (rhyme of eight) or Sonnetto Rispetto (little song of respect) is believed to have originated in religious verse in the 13th century. It has been called the 3rd Italian Sonnet, although it is not a sonnet at all. It is traditionally a narrative epic often written in a series of octaves not the lyrical meditation contained within the quatorzain of the sonnet. This form is best suited for "blending serious, comic and satirical attitudes and mingling narrative and discursive models.... It is the accumulation of rhyme, reaching a crescendo with the third repetition, which prepares the reader for the neat summation, the acute observation, or the epigrammatic twist which comes with the final couplet." NPOPP It was the Italian, Pulci, in his Morgante Maggiore (1487), who brought a unique twist to the form, in a kind of mock-heroic, or half-serious, half-burlesque, style with which ottava rima has been most commonly identified. It was Pulci who influenced Frere and Byron when they resurrected the form in England two centuries later, however the most prominent example of Ottava Rima in English literature is Byron's Don Juan (1819-1824). The eight, eleven syllable, rhymed lines carry the same frame as the Strambotto Tuscano but the forms differ since the Strambotto is usually limited to one octave and is lyrical in nature while the Ottava Rima is a narrative and is most often written in more than one octave. The elements of the Ottava Rima or Sonnetto Rispetto are: a fast narrative. stanzaic, written in any number of octaves. metered, most often iambic pentameter sometimes tetrameter. Its Spanish counterpart, the Ottava Real is hendecasyllabic (11 syllable lines). rhymed, Rhyme scheme is abababcc. best for blending serious and satirical attitudes. composed with the final couplet that sums up and brings a twist or enlightenment to the content of the stanza. The entire text of Don Juan' Canto I is on line and can be read at: Poem Hunter from Don Juan, by Lord Byron (1819-1824) 1st 4 stanzas Canto I I I WANT a hero: an uncommon want, When every year and month sends forth a new one, Till, after cloying the gazettes with cant, The age discovers he is not the true one; Of such as these I should not care to vaunt, 5 I 'll therefore take our ancient friend Don Juan- We all have seen him, in the pantomime, Sent to the devil somewhat ere his time. II. Vernon, the butcher Cumberland, Wolfe, Hawke, Prince Ferdinand, Granby, Burgoyne, Keppel, Howe, Evil and good, have had their tithe of talk, And filled their sign-posts then, like Wellesley now; Each in their turn like Banquo's monarchs stalk, Followers of fame, "nine farrow" of that sow: France, too, had Buonaparté and Dumourier Recorded in the Moniteur and Courier. III Barnave, Brissot, Condorcet, Mirabeau, Pétion, Clootz, Danton, Marat, La Fayette Were French, and famous people, as we know; And there were others, scarce forgotten yet, Joubert, Hoche, Marceau, Lannes, Desaix, Moreau, With many of the military set, Exceedingly remarkable at times, But not at all adapted to my rhymes. IV. Nelson was once Britannia's god of War, And still should be so, but the tide is turn'd; There's no more to be said of Trafalgar. 'Tis with our hero quietly inurn'd; Because the army's grown more popular, At which the naval people are concern'd; Besides, the Prince is all for the land-service, Forgetting Duncan, Nelson, Howe, and Jervis.

Explore the Craft of Writing Poetry The Epic Japanese Verse The choka (長歌 long poem) was the epic, story telling form of Japanese poetry from the 1st to the 13th century, known as the Waka period. Storytelling was rare in the Japanese language during the Waka period although it is found in the Man'yôshû and even the Kokinshú. Most often the Japanese poet would write epics in classical Chinese. Still, the occasional poet with a story to tell would tackle the choka, the earliest of which can be traced back to the 1st century. It describes a battle and is 149 lines long. Originally chokas were sung, but not in the Western sense of being sung. The oral tradition of the choka was to recite the words in a high pitch. The elements of the choka are: a narrative. syllabic. Composed of any number of couplets made up of alternating 5-7 onji (sound syllables) per line. In English we can only treat the onji as a syllable. unrhymed. concluded by a hanka, an envoy in the form of the waka, 31 onji or sound syllables in 5 lines with 5-7-5-7-7. "han" meaning repetition, the hanka is to summarize the choka. The word tanka is often substituted for hanka or waka (they are all rooted in the same 31 syllable, 5 line form, their root seems to make them interchangeable with only subtle differences to separate them.) Here is my attempt to provide a highly condensed version inspired by the history and features of the choka. Tale of Honor by Judi Van Gorder Kilimanjaro fresh snow crunches under foot narrow mountain path traveled by lone samurai seeker of vengeance returned from war, tracks his prey, young brother's killers. . . . at rise of the waning moon sneak thieves strike village novice boy challenged jackals dagger drawn thrust low youngster's entrails ripped and spilled cowards run to hills with sun high in winter sky sibling soldier stalks, prowling panther poised to kill disciplined, steadfast trained warrior against pack jackals ring soldier jab, snap, samurai honor blood on Kilimanjaro

Explore the Craft of Writing Poetry Nordic Verse Edda Measures The Edda Measures, (Edda meaning poetry or poetic tradition), are 2 books that have survived from 13th century Iceland. The first, the Elder Eddas, is an anthology of 34, 9th to 12th century Norse poems interspersed with prose primarily dealing with Norse mythology, recorded by Saxo Grammaticus. (a Christian cleric ) The second, the Younger Eddas, is attributed to the great Norse skald (poet) Snorri Sturluson , (1178-1241) Iceland. Isn't that a great name? Snorri creates a handbook or manual of "how to" write in the pattern and theme of the Norse poet. He offers not just a "how to", but also includes prose and poetry. The Norse version of the creation is found here as well as information on ancient poets. The writings found within the books have three common characteristics, a mythological, ethical or heroic Teutonic theme, a simple style, anonymous and objective, and they never reveal the feelings or attitudes of the poet. The elements of the Edda Measures are: narrative. They tell a tale. metric, accentual. Use rhythm of everyday language. stanzaic, written in any number of quatrains. The lines of the quatrain are developed from ancient writings of shorter lines making up an octave and being doubled in two phrases of longer Germanic lines. often written with caesura or break mid way in each line. composed with internal rhyme but never end rhymed. alliterative. Alliteration accentuates stress which is a standard of accentual verse. objective, the emotion of the poet is not communicated. often written employing kenning. (a sort of metaphor, using two nouns to name something, like "horse of the sea" instead of "boat"). found in 3 structural variations: Old Story Measure or fornyroislog, Speech Measure or malahattr and Song Measure or ljoahattr

Explore the Craft of Writing Poetry The Sonnet Sonnet Comparison Chart Russian Verse Onegin Stanza and the Pushkin Sonnet are both named for and originate from Russian poet, Alexander Pushkin and his 1825 novel in verse, Eugenij Onegin. Each stanza in the book was originally meant to serve as a mini chapter. The two forms are sometimes thought to be the same but basically these are two different verse forms from the same origin, using the same physical frame but with different intent. In its original form, it is narrative. stanzaic, (written within the context of other stanzas) and does not necessarily take a turn or volta. Technically the stanza wouldn't qualify as a sonnet. But the frame written in a single quatorzain (14 Lines) in lyrical verse, exhibits a turn or volta, and as long as it "sings" certainly qualifies as a sonnet. Note: The book was made into the movie "Onegin" in 1999 staring Ralph Feines and Liv Tyler. The elements of the Onegin stanza are: a narrative. stanzaic, written in any number of quatorzians (14 lines)composed of 3 quatrains and a concluding couplet. The 1st quatrain, introduces the main idea, the 2nd and 3rd quatrains develop the idea and the couplet is often a witty or instructional conclusion. metered, iambic tetrameter. rhymed. The rhyme scheme allows 5 rhymes and is varied by quatrain. The 1st quatrain is alternating rhyme, the 2nd is sequential rhyme, the 3rd is envelope rhyme and the stanza concludes with a rhyming couplet. Rhyme scheme abab ccdd effe gg. In Russian the rhyme also appears in a feminine-masculine pattern adding tension between syntax and rhyme. The a c and e rhyme are feminine while the b d f and g rhymes are masculine. In English I have found the feminine/masculine end pattern is often ignored. If you choose to write with the rise and fall end rhyme pattern, it may be easier to add an extra unstressed syllable to the line with the feminine rhyme. (Note: The book was originally written in Russian, which better accommodates the specifics of the rhyme.) The elements of the Pushkin Sonnet are: lyrical written in a single quatorzian composed of 3 quatrains and a concluding couplet. The 1st quatrain, introduces the main idea, the 2nd and 3rd quatrains develop the idea and a concluding couplet. metered, iambic tetrameter. rhymed. The rhyme scheme allows 5 rhymes and is varied by quatrain. The 1st quatrain is alternating rhyme, the 2nd is sequential rhyme, the 3rd is envelope rhyme and the stanza concludes with a rhyming couplet. Rhyme scheme abab ccdd effe gg. As in the stanza, for the purist, feminine rhyme could be used on the a c and e rhymes. has a turn or volta somewhere after the 2nd quatrain. When written as a lyrical meditation in 14 lines the form is best referred to as the Pushkin Sonnet. Just Lately by Goeffrey Le Voguer Just lately my whole thoughts are turning to words I wish I'd said: before your out bound ship was churning its white wake to some distant shore. I should have listened to the anchor and chain: the groans, the squeals, the rancor of inferred pain. “This is a time that cares not for a lover's mind!” For without you a bleakness enters my life; a creeping fog to tease and cling like Spanish moss on trees. And all our might-have-beens are centered in its grey form, set to release ghosts of missed opportunities. When written as a narrative in stanzaic form of more than one stanza it is best referred to as the Onegin Stanza Shadows at Dawn by Judi Van Gorder To change direction of the past would alter who I am today. Eliminate regrets and cast vague shadows on my current stay. Those injured by my actions then would now be also changed from when this magic mending did occur, I wonder how the lines would blur. The boy I left, that broke his heart moved on to find a better mate. If I had stayed we'd play with fate and sadly skip our trials apart. It's best to leave things done and gone a better way to see the dawn. I gave up school and chose to wed, no college paper dons my wall, yet there is comfort in my bed and my career has been my call. With triple figures for my pay I still find time to love and play. Scholastic ventures can be found without a formal classroom bound. Should I return to former days, the sheepskin prize, I'd give a try but that would really be a lie, I liked the journey in the maze. It's best to leave things done and gone, a brighter way to see the dawn. Although this life is only lent I'm grateful for this home called earth. My autumn days have all been spent it was a blink to now from birth. I have matured, I will allow, the winter seems less frigid now. I'm happy with the choices made with lots to do before I fade. I'll leave a list of things undone, without the dreams there is no me, yet winter does not mean I flee. I walk a path to find the sun and strive to thrive until I'm gone and can no longer see the dawn.

Explore the Craft of Writing Poetry The Frame IV. The Quatrain In Memoriam Stanza is a stanzaic form, specifically quatrains "suitable for successive, but independent quatrains of philosophical observations neatly placed in its own envelope" NPE0PP, patterned after Tennyson's In Memorium. The elements of the In Memoriam Stanza are: narrative verse, stanzaic, written in any number of quatrains, metered, iambic tetrameter. rhymed with envelope rhyme scheme abba cddc etc. Here is just a portion of this classic poem written after the death of Tennyson's friend Arthur Henry Hallam. The poem has a prologue, 131 stanzas and an epilogue. In Memorium; To Sleep and give my powers away; by Alfred Lord Tennyson(1809-1892) To Sleep I give my powers away; My will is bondsman to the dark; I sit within a helmless bark, And with my heart I muse and say: O heart, how fares it with thee now, That thou should fail from thy desire, Who scarcely darest to inquire, "What is it makes me beat so low?" Something it is which thou hast lost, Some pleasure from thine early years. Break thou deep vase of chilling tears, That grief hath shaken into frost! Such clouds of nameless trouble cross All night below the darkened eyes; With morning wakes the will, and cries, "Thou shalt not be the fool of loss."

Explore the Craft of Writing Poetry English Verse The Ballad is a lyrical narrative. It tells tales in the language of the common man. Ballads can be found in most every culture and language and can be traced back to well before the 14th century. Its shape and sound are formed by oral tradition. "A signature trait is the way that the vernacular dialogue breaks into the narrative, turning it into a living, vivid theater of the speech of its time." The Making of a Poem by Strand and Boland, pg. 74. The ballad is dramatic, musical and communal. Because its rhythm seems to easily flow from one line to the next, this stanza form can be underestimated. "The work that seems to us the most natural and simple product of time, is probably the result of the most deliberate and self conscious effort." Oscar Wilde. "To sing or write a ballad or the blues takes training; the forms' masters created performances as stylized and complete as in the villanelle or sestina." David Caplan from Poetic Form, an Introduction. Folk ballads are often fashioned by consensus. If you search, you can find different versions of Sir Patrick Spens with added stanzas from different times and places. Although the author may appear anonymous, it is suspected to be written by many and credit is given to an entire country, Scotland. This is typical of the folk ballad being for and from the community. In English, the Ballad takes on a specific stanzaic form. Literary ballads are often more structured and the focus of the tale more personal than the folk ballad. It is often about a tragic love or self realization through the events that unfold. It is the literary ballad structure that was borrowed by English Psalters and renamed Common Measure. The elements of the Ballad are: a lyrical narrative, a story to be sung. The poet is the story teller. stanzaic, written in any number of quatrains. Whatever it takes to tell the tale. often composed in accentual verse with alternating lines with 4 stressed syllables and 3 stressed syllable. Some literary ballads are metrical, L1 and L3 written in iambic tetrameter, the L2 and L4 are iambic trimeter. usually rhymed, either alternating rhyme scheme abab, cdcd, efef . . . . or staggered, sequential rhyme, xaxa xbxb, xcxc etc (x being unrhymed). composed with the subject focused on a single, crucial episode. A stanza shows the audience a dramatic moment then jumps to the next colorful moment without always supplying the connecting thoughts between stanzas. This is called "leaping and lingering". dramatic, we are shown, not told the tale. It is common to hear a character speak from the poem, bringing the story alive. The Unquiet Grave---anonymous "The wind doth blow today, my love, And a few small drops of rain; I never had but one true-love In cold grave she was lain. I'll do as much for my true-love As any young man may; I'll sit and mourn all at her grave for a twelvemonth and a day." The twelvemonth and a day being up, The dead began to speak: "Oh who sits weeping on my grave, And will not let me sleep?" "Tis I, my love, sits on your grave, And I will not let you sleep; for I crave one kiss of your clay-cold lips, And that is all I seek." "You crave one kiss of my clay-cold lips, but my breath smells earthy strong; If you have one kiss of my clay-cold lips, Your time will not be long." "Tis down in yonder garden green, Love, where we used to walk, The finest flower that e'er was seen is withered to a stalk." "The stalk is withered dry, my love, So will our hearts decay; So make yourself content, my love, Till God calls you away." The Feast in Cana; John 2:1-11 by Judi Van Gorder 9-10-01 Please come with me, to a wedding feast at Cana in Galilee. . We'll find a bride, her groom and priest, well, rabbi, actually. While Jesus and His friends came there to join festivities, the food and wine were passed with care, the day designed to please. When all at once, discovered one, the jars of wine were dry. So Mary summoned up her son, on Him, she could rely. Come now my son, we need your aid, the party's getting glum." But Jesus thought the plans were laid, "my time is not yet come". "Of course, your time is here and now" said Mary with a smile. The servants met them with a bow, were bid to wait a while. Then Mary told the servants there, to listen to her son, "obey his word, none can compare, His time has just begun". Nearby stood six stone water jars of thirty gallons each and Jesus gave particulars, "fill water to the breach". "Now draw some out and serve the host", the host was so surprised, "what is this wine, you saved the most delectable and prized?" We watch as Jesus shares His gift, a miracle, His first, to show His acts of love uplift and also quench our thirst.

Explore the Craft of Writing Poetry The Epic Poem (from Greek- epos a story, to tell a tale) is long a narrative in verse. This genre of poetry has taken many forms over the centuries however, they all have a few things in common. The epic focuses on a single hero or heroic group and the impact that such heroes have on a historical event, mythical or real and usually emerges during a period of unrest or change. It also takes a look at an event and its effect on the lives of ordinary people and how that event changes the course of a culture or nation. Because of the length and scope, the Epic often includes not only a narrative but lyrical and dramatic poetry within its content. "Epic poems are hard to come by, and no wonder. Traditionally they are long, dense, stern, heroic, imbued with sentiment, written in language ranging from dignified to majestic, charged with conflict and all but impervious to anything coarse to comic." Norman Corwin in a poetry review in the Los Angeles Times, December 2002. In the epic, the narrative usually opens within a happening event, often with a formal invocation or plea to a muse or gods concerning that event. Eloquent language is often used as well as all manner of poetic techniques. Often used is the extended simile, sometimes termed the Homeric simile because of Homer's effective use of the device. Certainly, the earliest epics developed from oral traditions however there is evidence of recorded epics as far back as 2000 BC. Epics are meant to be read out loud and sometimes even performed. They carry the reader into another world with a compelling rhythm. Heroic verse is custom made for the epic and is even named for it. The earliest being the Gilgamesh Saga of Babylonia, the Sanskrit, Mahabharata, and Ramayana of India, and the Illiad, Odyssey and fragments of the epic Cycle of Greece right through to more modern epics such as Whitman's Leaves of Grass. The Gilgamesh saga is found on 12 tablets and in its surviving form has approximately 3000 lines. The epic's length may turn some away from reading, myself included. And even though I have not read all of the ancient epics in full, I know many of the events and characters they portray because of the poems' impact on the culture in which I live today. But if on a rainy day you find yourself with a little time on your hands, pick up a classic epic, read it out loud and step into another world. The elements of Epics are: usually long, often stanzaic with the number of lines per stanza at the discretion of the poet. in English often metric, using the heroic couplet in iambic pentameter as a standard. often rhymed with all manner of rhyme such as alliteration, assonance, near and true rhyme, to emphasize the rhythm. used for political, heroic, social, and fantasy tales. An excerpt from: Gilgamish Out I went, into the world, but there was none better, none whom he, Gilgamesh, could not best. And so, with his arms, he returned to Uruk. But in their houses, the men of Uruk muttered: 'Gilgamesh, noisy Gilgamesh! Arrogant Gilgamesh!' All young men gone - Defeated by Gilgamesh and no son was left to his father. All young girls made women by Gilgamesh His lusts are such, and no virgin left to her lover! Not the daughter of a warrior, Nor the wife of a nobleman! Yet he is king and should be The people's careful shepherd. He is king and should be Shepherd of the city. He is wise, he is handsome, he is firm as a rock. In heaven the gods heard Heard the lament of the people, And the gods cried out to the Great God, higher king of Uruk: 'Strong as a wild bull is this Gilgamesh So he was made by Aruru, the goddess None there is who can - not one None who can survive him in fighting. No son left to his father. Gilgamesh, he takes them all, and is he He the king? Shepherd of the people? No virgin left to her lover, For he lusts strongly! No, nor the wife of the nobleman! The Great God heard this, then To the Goddess of Creation, Aruru - Cried all the gods: 'You created this Gilgamesh! Well, create him his equal! Let him look as into mirrors - Give a second self to him, yes; Rushing winds meet rushing winds! Let them flow heart to heart against - Give them each other to fight, Leaving Uruk in peace!' So the Goddess of Creation took and formed in her mind This image, and there it was conceived - in her mind, and it was made of material That composes the Great God, He of the Firmament. She then plunged her hands down into water and pinched off a little clay. She let it drop in the wilderness Thus the noble Enkidu was made. For this was he the very strength of Ninurta, the God of War, was his form, rough bodied, long hair, His hair waved like corn filaments - Yes, like the hair of that goddess Who is the corn, she , Nisaba. Matted hair was all over his body, like the skins of the cattle. Yes, like the body of that god. Who is the cattle, he, Samugan. This Enkidu was innocent of mankind. He knew not the cultivated land. Enkidu was in the hills With the gazelles - They jostled each other With all the herds He too loved the water-hole. But one day by a water hole A trapper met him Yes, face to face, Because the herds of wild game Had strayed into his territory. On three days face to face - Each day the trapper wa terrified, Frozen stiff with fear. With his game he went home, Unable to speak, numb with fright. The trapper's face altered, new - A long journey does that to one, Gives a new visage upon returning - The trapper, his heart all awe, told his father: 'Father, what a man! No other like him! He comes from the hills, strongest alive! A star in heaven his strength, Of the star essence of An, the Sky Father Over the hills with the beasts Eating grass Ranges across all your land, Goes to the wells. I fear him, stay far away. He fills in my pits Tears up my game traps Helps the beasts escape; Now all the game slips away - Through my fingers.' His father opened his mouth, Told the son, the trapper: 'My son, in Uruk lives Gilgamesh. None can withstand him, None has surpassed him, As a star in heaven his strength Of the star-essence of An, the Sky Father. Chaucer's Canterbury Tales The Illiad Some epic forms are: Acritic Verse Chanson de Geste Choka The Duma Idyll Masnvi or Mathnawi The NibelungenStrophe The Bylina or Stariny Saga