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 promi