What types of poetry are there?

Narrative

There are different types of narrative poems. Examples of narrative poems include ballads and epics. Regardless of the differences in structure, rhyme, and rhythm, narratives tell stories, so they have a plot, some characters, a setting, and a theme.

The musical nature of the ballads helped story tellers remember and tell the stories of their communities. Many ballads, most of which are anonymous, tell about dramatic events such as murder, war, revenge, love, and jealousy. The stories often included elements of magic or superstition as part of their stories. Dialogue is a key element in most ballads. The traditional ballad has four line stanzas with a rhyme scheme of AABB. Parts of the ballad are repeated to give it its musical quality. The following poem is part of a narrative poem. Notice the use of a slightly different rhyme scheme.

Credits and Copyright

Together with the editors, the Department of English (University of Toronto). and the University of Toronto Press, the following individuals shore copyright for the work that went into this edition: Screen Design (Electronic Edition): Sian Meikle (University of Toronto Library) Scanning: Sharine Leung (Centre for Computing in the Humanities)