Narrative Poem

A Narrative Poem is a poem that is a narrative (which tells a story through verse form).

• Context:
  • It can (typically) employ Poetic Devices and Verse Structure.
  • It can (typically) contain Characters and Plot Elements.
  • It can (often) utilize Rhyme Schemes and Meter Patterns.
  • ...
  • It can range from being a Short Narrative Poem to being a Long Narrative Poem, depending on story length.
  • It can range from being a Simple Narrative Poem to being a Complex Narrative Poem, depending on plot structure.
  • It can range from being a Traditional Narrative Poem to being a Modern Narrative Poem, depending on verse style.
  • ...
  • It can incorporate Poetic Narrative Devices.
  • It can serve Story Purposes through Poetic Form.
  • It can preserve Cultural Tales and Historical Events.
  • ...
• Example(s):
  • Epic Narrative Poems, such as:
    • The Odyssey, recounting heroic adventures.
    • Beowulf, telling of legendary deeds.
    • Paradise Lost, exploring Biblical themes.
  • Ballad Narrative Poems, such as:
    • "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner", by Coleridge.
    • "The Raven", by Edgar Allan Poe.
    • "La Belle Dame sans Merci", by Keats.
  • Modern Narrative Poems, such as:
    • "The Waste Land", by T.S. Eliot.
    • "The Wild Iris", by Louise Glück.
    • "Autobiography of Red", by Anne Carson.
  • ...
• Counter-Example(s):
  • Lyric Poems, which express emotions rather than tell stories.
  • Prose Narratives, which tell stories without verse.
  • Descriptive Poems, which focus on description rather than narrative.
  • Meditative Poems, which explore thoughts rather than events.
• See: Poetry, Narrative, Epic Poetry, Ballad, Verse, Story, Poetic Form, Literary Device, [Saga]], Metre_(Poetry), Epic Poetry, Heroic Lay, Breton Lai, Lai (Fench Poem), Ballad, Idyll, Verse Novel, The Ring And The Book, Robert Browning, Romance (Heroic Literature).

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References

2024

• (Wikipedia, 2024) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narrative_poetry Retrieved:2024-11-16.
  • Narrative poetry is a form of poetry that tells a story, often using the voices of both a narrator and characters; the entire story is usually written in metered verse. Narrative poems do not need to rhyme. The poems that make up this genre may be short or long, and the story it relates to may be complex. It is normally dramatic, with various characters. Narrative poems include all epic poetry, and the various types of "lay", most ballads, and some idylls, as well as many poems not falling into a distinct type.

    Some narrative poetry takes the form of a novel in verse. An example of this is The Ring and the Book by Robert Browning. In terms of narrative poetry, romance is a narrative poem that tells a story of chivalry. Examples include the Romance of the Rose or Tennyson's Idylls of the King. Although those examples use medieval and Arthurian materials, romances may also tell stories from classical mythology. Sometimes, these short narratives are collected into interrelated groups, as with Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. So sagas include both incidental poetry and the biographies of poets.

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