Lecture Notes: Subgenres and Forms in Poetry

Introduction

• Poetry can be divided into subgenres, similar to other genres such as prose and fiction.
• To identify a poem's subgenre, consider form and content.
  • Content: The subject or topic of the poem.
  • Form: Structure, including meter and rhyme scheme.
  • Form and content can work together or against each other.

Content

• Defines the poem's topic.
• Examples of subgenres based on content:
  • Elegy: Tribute to someone who has died.
  • Sonnet: Often a love lyric with specific form (14 lines, particular rhyme scheme).

Form

• Historically important until the late 19th century.
• Examples include iambic pentameter and rhyme schemes.
• Form can define subgenres but can also work against content.
  • Example: A sonnet form used for war/death instead of love.

Examples

• Long Narrative
  • A story in poetic form.
  • Characterized by content, not necessarily form.
  • Example: "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight."
• Ballad
  • Regular meter, intended to be sung.
  • Often dark, dreary topics.
  • Examples: "Polly Vaughn", "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald."

Other Subgenres

• Lyric: Short poems, often about love or light-hearted topics.
  • Example: Simon & Garfunkel's "59th Street Bridge Song."
• Sonnet: 14-line poem, often about love, with specific rhyme schemes.
• Lament: Poem mourning the loss of something precious, not a human life.
  • Example: "Make and Break Harbour" by Stan Rogers.
• Elegy: Poem mourning a deceased person.

Metaphysical Poetry

• Uses a physical symbol to represent a larger concept.
• Example: John Donne's "The Flea."
• Combines unlike ideas in a unique way.

Epic and Mock Epic

• Epic: Poem of national or human significance.
  • Example: Milton's "Paradise Lost."
• Mock Epic: Satirical take on epics, inflating trivial events.
  • Example: Alexander Pope's "The Rape of the Lock."

Modern Forms

• Dramatic Monologue: Features a speaker and a silent listener.
• Free Verse/Sprung Rhythm: Lacks regular meter and rhyme, form is less defined.

Ode

• A tribute to a special occasion.
  • Not necessarily of national significance.
  • Examples: Wedding poems.

Concrete Poetry

• Formed to create a visual shape on the page.
  • Example: George Herbert's "The Altar."
• Focuses on form over content.

Summary

• Subgenres of poetry are defined by content, form, or both.
• They can also involve a dissonance between form and content.
• Understanding these elements helps in classifying and appreciating poetry.