This document provides definitions and descriptions of different types of literature and poetry. It begins by defining literature as any written material, including works of artistic merit. It then describes the main types of literature as poetry, prose, plays, and novels. For poetry, it lists various forms such as sonnets, ballads, epics, and odes. It provides the characteristics and examples of these poetic forms. The document comprehensively summarizes different genres and styles of literature.

1. HOLY TRINITY COLLEGE
Puerto Princesa City
LITERATURE in English 4
ALCÁNTARA, Eduardo L., BSN 2nd Year N1-St. Dominic
Submitted to: Prof. Victoria Lily Gatchalian, English 4
Article I.
Definition of Literature
The word literature is derived from the Latin term litera which means – letter.
Literature, in its broadest sense refers to any written material including advertisements, newspapers and catalogues.
But the term is normally used to describe written works of artistic merit which have some value through their style or
emotional content.
According to Webster, literature is anything that is printed. As long as it is related to the ideas and feelings of people,
whether it is true, or just a product of one’s imagination.
Article II.
Types of Literature and meaning
(a)
Poetry- is the expression of ideas or a story in a form which has a metre (rhythm) and sometimes
rhyme. Poetry is appreciated for the beauty of the language used as well as for the ideas or stories that it
contains. The earliest poems were epics: long stories of the heroic deeds of gods or men. The Iliad of Homer is
the best known examples of this type of poem and tells of the siege and fall of Troy.
(b)
Prose- uses the spoken language but prose literature has to communicate stories or ideas clearly and in
a form that is enjoyable to read. The best-known prose is the novel, a story of fictitious characters and events
which relate to a real life. It is normally long and may have a complex plot.The first novels were written by
Ancient Greek and Roman authors and were often humorous. But for a long time poetry was regarded as the
proper medium of expression for serious or noble stories and prose was only used to write about mundane
matters. The novel in its modern came into being in the late 1700s although satirical books such as Cervantes’
Don Quixote and Rabelais’ Gargantua and Pantagruel were written in the 16th and 17th centuries. In the 19th
century British novels attained status when authors like Walter Scott, Charles Dickens, and Brontë sisters and
William Thackeray were writing.
Article III.
Types of Poetry and their kinds with meaning

LYRIC POETRY- A short poem, usually melodies which express or emotions. Many lyrics are
about death of love, other lyrics are emotional responses to the beauty of elemental force of nature.

Sonnet- a lyric poem traditionally consists of 14 lines with several alternate rhyme
and normally employs rhymed iambic pentameter.
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
schemes
TWO KINDS OF SONNET
English or Shakespearean sonnet – it consists of three quatrains (four-line stanzas) and a couplet (two
lines) usually with rhyme scheme abab cdcd efef gg. This couplet is usually a commentary or summary on the ideas
enveloped in the preceding twelve lines. It is named after William Shakespeare.
Italian or Petrarchan sonnet – named after Patriarch, an Italian poet, it consists of an octave (eight-line
stanza), which states a theme or asks a question; and a sestet (six-line stanza), which comments on or answers the
question. Usually, the rhyme scheme for the octave is abbaabba, and cdecde for the sestet.

2.  Melic poetry- it is composed for a single voice usually the poet sung the poems for the private gatherings of close
friends.
 Elegy- a poem expressing grief over the death of a specific person. It is solemn and dignified.
 Song- verses adapted to musical expression.
 Ode- is a formal poem, having a complex stanza pattern and it is addressed to a subject or idea. Ex. Ode of the West
Wind – Percy Bysshe and Ode to Duty by Shella Wordsworth.
 Folksongs (awiting bayan) – these are short poems intended to be sung. The common theme is love, despair, grief,
doubt, joy, hope and sorrow.
 Psalms (dalit) – this is a song praising God or the Virgin Mary and containing a philosophy of life.
 Corridos (Kuridos) – These have measures of eight syllables (octosyllabic) and recited to a martial beat.

NARRATIVE POETRY- Like the lyric poem, narrative poetry may present an idea, paint a
picture, or expresses an emotion, it tells a story with character, setting and various elements of plots
a.) Ballad - a narrative verse written about popular subjects and intended for oral representation
normally for singing. Ex. Ballad of a Mother’s Heart and Romeo and Juliet.
b.) Epic - narrative form of considerable length written to celebrate the deals and adventures of a
heroic character.
c.) Metrical Tales or Romance- a narrative poem and considerable length which treats love,
intrigue, and chivalric adventures and romance. Ex. Is Ibong Adarna.

DRAMATIC POETRY
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Article IV.
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Comedy – (Gk. Word = “Kornos” meaning festivity or revelry). This form is usually is light and
written with the purpose of amusing, and usually has a happy ending.
Melodrama – This is usually used in musical plays with the opera. Today, this is related to
tragedy just as the farce is to comedy. It arouses immediate and intense emotion and is
usually sad but there is a happy ending for the principal character.
Tragedy – This involves the hero struggling mightily against dynamic forces, he meats death or
ruin without success and satisfaction obtained by the protagonist (leading figure) in a comedy.
Farce- This is an exaggerated comedy. It seeks to arouse mirth (laughter) by laughable lines;
situation are too ridiculous to be true; the characters seem to be caricatures and the motives
undignified and absurd.
Social Poems – This form is either purely comic or tragic and it pictures the life of today. It may
aim to bring about changes in the social conditions.
Types of Prose and their kinds with meaning
Biographies - Biographies, factual accounts of the lives of important or interesting people, have always been a
popular form of literature. One of the earliest biographers was a Roman called Suetonius who wrote the Lives of the
Twelve Caesars at the beginning of the 1st century AD. When a person writes his own biography it is known
as autobiography. This form of writing is especially popular with people who seek to justify their actions.
2. Novel – they’re divided into chapters. The events are taken together from true-to-life stories and span a long period
of time. There are many characters involved.
3. Short Stories- This is a narrative involving one or more characters, one plot and one single impression.
4. Plays – This is presented on a stage, is divided into acts and each act has many scenes.
5. Legends- These are fictitious narratives, usually about origins.
6. Fables- They are also fictitious and they deal with animals and inanimate things who speak and act like people and
their purpose is to enlighten the minds of children to events that can mold their ways and attitudes.
7. Anecdotes- These are merely products of the writer’s imagination and the main aim is to bring out lessons to the
reader. It can be stories about animals and children.
8. Essay – This expresses the viewpoint or opinions of the writer about a particular problem or event. Example is the
pages of newspaper.
9. News- This is a report of everyday events in society, government, science and industry, accidents etc. happening
nationally or not.
10. Oration- This is a format of treatment of a subject and is intended to be spoken in public. It appeals to the intellect,
to the will or to the emotions of the audience.

3. Article V. Kinds of Poetry
In the words of William Wordsworth, one of the greatest poets of all time, all good poetry is a spontaneous overflow
of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility. Poetry is a beautiful manifestation of the
spontaneous emotions of a poet. A poem is created when emotions find the right words to express themselves. A poem often
begins in an abstract idea that is developed by the means of concrete words, without letting the idea lose its abstractness!
Those of you with a poetic mind will agree with me on this, I am sure.
Poetry has a long and elaborate history. The earliest forms of poetry were recited and sung. With the passing years,
it obtained a structured form that later evolved into a free verse format. Poets dealing with different subjects and presenting
their ideas in different ways gave rise to various kinds of poetry. Let us look at the different types of poetry.
Acrostic: In acrostic poems, the first letters of each line of the poem are aligned vertically to form a word. Generally, the word
formed thus, is the subject of the poem.
Ballad: Ballads are narrative poems that are supposed to be sung. The narrator usually starts with a dramatic scene and
relates the narrative with dialog and actions.
Canzone: The word canzone, which means, a song, signifies any simple song-like composition. It is an Italian song or ballad.
Cinquain: Cinquain poems are five lines long. They do not rhyme.
Concrete: In this kind of poetry, the topographical arrangement of words supports the meaning conveyed by the poem. The
poems form a picture of the topic on which they are centered.
Couplet: It is a very simple form of a verse, which contains two rhyming lines.
Diamante: This type of poetry is one of the simplest ones to write. The first line of a diamante is a single word; the second
line consists of two adjectives describing that word, third line contains three words about the subject while the fourth line
contains four. The fifth line and the lines that follow consist of a similar pattern of words describing the idea opposite to the
subject of the poem. It seems this kind of poetry writing is simple and interesting. Doesn’t it?
Dramatic Poetry: A drama that is written in the form of verses to be recited or sung refers to the dramatic genre of poetry.
This form of poetry has evolved from Greek and Sanskrit literature.
Epic Poetry: This genre of poetry is a type of narrative literature that narrates stories of mythological heroes. Homer’s Iliad
and Odyssey and the great Indian epics of Mahabharata and Ramayana are a few of the noteworthy examples of epic poetry.
Free Verse: Free verses refer to the different styles of poetry, wherein the poems do not carry a specific meter. Free verses
are a poet’s expressions, which are free from any rules or restrictions pertaining to the rhyme schemes of the poem.
Ghazal: This form of poetry is popular in the Arabic, Persian, Urdu and Bengali literature. It is characterized by five to fifteen
couplets that have a refrain at the end of every second line. Each couplet of a ghazal can stand individually as each represents
a distinct thought.
Haiku: It is an unrhymed form of poetry that is native to Japan. It contains three sections that can be written in a single line,
but are written in three lines instead. The way it is broken into, is in essence the poetic effect of this poetic form. This kind of
poetry contains a cutting word, which is known as a kireji and a season word, known as a kigo.
Iambic Pentameter: It is a relatively complex form of poetry that uses syllables to bring in a musical element to the poems.
Jintishi: Native to China, Jintishi is a poetic form based on tonal patterns consisting of the four tones of the classical Chinese
language in every couplet. Jintishi is composed of eight lines in four couplets, wherein two couplets depict contrasting ideas
but similar grammatical patterns. Du Fu, a poet of the 8th century was an important name in the world of Jintishi.

4. Limerick: Limerick is one of the very popular kinds of poetry. A limerick is a funny little poem with a rhyme scheme of ‘aabba’.
Lyric Poetry: Lyric poetry is of a personal nature, wherein a poet expresses his/her perceptions and ideas through poetry.
Lyric poems deal with subjects like love, peace, loss and grief. T. S. Eliot is one of the prominent names in lyric poetry.
Minnesang: It refers to the German tradition of writing lyrics and songs. It became widely popular in the 12th century and
continued until the 14th century. The poems belonging to this kind of poetry revolve around the subject of love.
Narrative Poetry: This is a genre of poetry that involves story-telling and is one of the very old forms of poetry. The content
of these types of poems is intended to appeal the masses. Ovid, William Langland, Alexander Pope and Shakespeare are some
of the notable figures in the field of narrative poetry.
Nursery Rhymes: It is one of the most popular types of poetry, especially a favorite of most of the kids. Nursery rhymes are
short poems written for children and are usually handed over from one generation to another.
Ode: Originally developed by the Greek and Latin poets, Odes soon began to appear in different cultures across the world.
Odes possess a formal poetic diction and deal with a variety of different subjects.
Pantoum: It is composed of quatrains, where the second and fourth lines of each verse are repeated as the first and third
lines of the next stanza.
Pastourelle: It refers to an old French lyrical form. The poems in this category have the romance of a shepherdess as their
central idea.
Prose Poetry: This genre of poetry blends prose and poetry. It is very similar to a short story. However, its concise nature and
the use of metaphor in it are sufficient to classify it as a poetical form.
Rondeau: It consists of fifteen lines, which make use of two rhymes. It was a French form of poetry.
Ruba’i: This form of poetry is written as a four-line verse. It is written by the poets in Arabia and Persia.
Satirical Poetry: Sarcasm serves as a very powerful means of expressing criticism. An insult can most strongly be expressed
through poetry. Romans have been using satirical poetry for political purposes.
Sestina: In this kind of poetry, there are six stanzas, each consisting of six lines without an element of rhyme. The words that
appear at the end of the lines in the first stanza are repeated in other stanzas. A concluding stanza of three lines wherein the
repeating words reappear in a peculiar way is an important characteristic of Sestina.
Sijo: It is a musical lyric popular among the Korean poets. It is written in three lines with a pause in the middle of every line.
Sonnet: Derived from Occitan and Italian words meaning ‘a little song’, Sonnet was originally a fourteen-line song that was
based on a strict rhyme scheme and structure. Shakespeare, who wrote 154 sonnets, was one of the most important figures
in the field of sonnets.
Stave: see Stev
Stev: It is a form of lyrical poetry that is prominent in Scandinavia. Stave is the English version of this kind of poetry.
Tanka: It is an unrhymed kind of poetry that originated in Japan. It came up as a shorter version of the Japanese formal
poetry and the poems of this type were primarily based on personal themes. The emergence of Tanka dates back to the Nara
period. It became popular in the 13th century and is continues being practiced till today.
Verse Fable: The poems that belong to this genre of poetry consist of stories set into verses. Fables involving natural
elements and inanimate objects carrying a moral or message for the masses are expressed through verses. Verse fables use

5. different types of rhyming schemes.
Villanelle: The poems of this type consist of nineteen lines made up by five triplets and a concluding quatrain. This form of
poetry has received impetus since the late 19th century, giving rise to poets like Elizabeth Bishop and Dylan Thomas.
With this, we covered a detailed list of the different kind of poetry as also the various genres of poetry. Let us now have a
glimpse of the different types of poetry categorized on the basis of the subjects they deal with.
Baby Poems: Babies are the sweetest creations of nature. Buzzle brings you a collection of baby poems.
Poems on Birth and Death: Birth signifies a brand new beginning while death marks the end of life; the end of everything.
See what these poets have to say through their poems about life and their birth and death poems.
Break Up Poems: Breaking a relationship is always painful. It takes moments to say "hello" but ages to bid goodbye. Here are
some break up experiences some poets have shared through their break up poems.
Children and Teen Poetry: For you kids and teenagers out there, here are separate sections of poems just for you all! Go
through the children’s poems and teen poetry.
Dark Poetry: Life is beautiful. But the negativities like hatred, loneliness, depression and pain eclipse life’s beauty. Here are
some portraits of dark emotions, which poets from around the world have sketched through their dark poetry and sad
poems.
Dream Poetry: Poets are dreamers. They weave poems from their world of dreams. Go through some good poems on dreams
and fantasy.
Family Poems: Your family means the world to you. Doesn’t it? Go through some family poems by some budding poets from
the different parts of the world.
Funeral Poems: Here is a collection of funeral poems and articles about funeral poetry. Death ends life, leaving behind
memories of the dead. See the poets on Buzzle put across this emotion through their poems in loving memory.
Funny Poems: Tickle your funny bone by going through the funny poems. Laughs are good for health!
Goodbye Poems: Take a look at the collection of goodbye poems.
Love Poems: Love is one of the most wonderful feelings. Here are some love poems by poets on Buzzle. Share their
experiences of being in love.
Nature Poems: The beauties of nature have always interested poetic minds. These nature poems by some budding poets
around the world are worth a read.
Poems about Life: Some say that life is a journey while others call it an adventure. Here is what some poets have to say about
life through their poems on life.
Poems for Special Occasions: Here is Buzzle’s collection of some beautiful poems for those special occasions in life. I am sure
you will enjoy reading these birthday poems as well as these wedding poems. Here is a collection of some poetic expressions
on Christmas. Go through Christmas poems.
Poems on War and Peace: Wars personify grief and destruction. Peace is what we yearn for. Listen to what these poets have
to say through their poems on war and peace.
Relationship Poems: Relationships form a crucial aspect of life. It is these relationships that make life worth living. Here is a
collection of some relationship poems. Friendship is one of the most beautiful relationships in life.Friendship Poems are
worth a read! When it comes to relationships, how can you forget Valentine’s Day poems?

6. Rite of Passage and Identity Poems: Life is a continuous process of learning. Life is about learning to live and knowing
yourself. Go through these poems on identity and rite of passage.
The discussion about poetry does not end here. Buzzle’s section of poetry and poems is a must-read. Having a
glimpse of poetry just makes us realize that literature hosts a huge collection of these exquisite kinds of poetry and a legacy
of many brilliant poets who enlivened the different poetic forms. Hats off to all of them!

7. Rite of Passage and Identity Poems: Life is a continuous process of learning. Life is about learning to live and knowing
yourself. Go through these poems on identity and rite of passage.
The discussion about poetry does not end here. Buzzle’s section of poetry and poems is a must-read. Having a
glimpse of poetry just makes us realize that literature hosts a huge collection of these exquisite kinds of poetry and a legacy
of many brilliant poets who enlivened the different poetic forms. Hats off to all of them!