Poetry Eras

Early Renaissance: Sonnets DATES

1500–1600

Early Renaissance: Pastoral Poetry DATES

1500–1600

Late Renaissance: Metaphysical Poetry DATES

1590s–1670s

Romanticism DATES

1780s–1830s

Victorian

1830s–1900s

Modernism DATES

1910–1945

The Movement DATES

1950s

Confessional Poetry

1950s–1970s

Early Renaissance: Sonnets FORM

Petrarchan and Shakespearean sonnets. Fixed 14-line structure, iambic pentameter. Clear volta (turn of argument) between octave and sestet (Petrarchan) or before final couplet (Shakespearean)

 Early Renaissance: Sonnets LANGUAGE

Courtly, elegant, often elevated. Lexis of love, idealism, suffering.

Early Renaissance: Sonnets IMAGERY

Blazon (catalogue of lover’s features), classical allusions, nature as metaphor for love.

Early Renaissance STRUCTURE

Tight logical stucture- probelm and solution, or question and answer

Early Renaissance: Sonnets POV

First person, introspective male speaker, idealising an often unattainable woman

Early Renaissance: Sonnets KEY EXAMPLE

Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130 (“My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun”) subverts Petrarchan idealism.

Early Renaissance: Pastoral Poetry FORM

Lyrics, eclogues, dialogues between shepherds. Sometimes sonnets or odes.

Early Renaissance: Pastoral Poetry LANGUAGE

Simple diction mimicking rustic speech, but often elevated to reflect classical ideals.

Early Renaissance: Pastoral Poetry IMAGERY

Idyllic countryside, nymphs, shepherds, flocks. Nature as escape from court or urban corruption.

Early Renaissance: Pastoral Poetry STRUCTURE

Regular stanzas balanced and harmonious. Symmetry reflects idealised natural world.

Early Renaissance: Pastoral Poetry POV

Often from a shepherd-lover or a courtly poet using the pastoral disguise.

Early Renaissance: Pastoral Poetry KEY EXAMPLE

Marlowe’s The Passionate Shepherd to His Love—romanticised rural life.

Late Renaissance: Metaphysical Poetry FORM

Varied and inventive; often dramatic monologues or argumentative structures.

Late Renaissance: Metaphysical Poetry LANGUAGE

Intellectual, dense, philosophical. Use of conceits (extended metaphors)

Late Renaissance: Metaphysical Poetry IMAGERY

Science, religion, alchemy, cosmology. The “metaphysical conceit” links abstract ideas.

Late Renaissance: Metaphysical Poetry STRUCTURE

Irregular line lengths, enjambment, abrupt shifts—mirrors complex argument.

Late Renaissance: Metaphysical Poetry POV

First-person, argumentative, often male speaker addressing a silent listener (usually a lover or God).

Late Renaissance: Metaphysical Poetry KEY EXAMPLE

John Donne’s The Flea—uses a flea as a bizarre metaphor for physical intimacy.

Romanticism FORM

Lyric poems, odes, ballads. More experimental with stanza forms.

Romanticism LANGUAGE

Emotive, expressive, accessible. Nature and emotion central.

Romanticis IMAGERY

Sublime landscapes, natural beauty, childhood, dreams, supernatural elements.

Romanticism STRUCTURE

Looser, organic—flow of emotion more important than order.

Romanticism POV

Individual, often solitary, deeply subjective. The “I” is crucial.

Romanticism KEY EXAMPLE

Wordsworth’s Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey—personal reflection through nature.

Victorian FORM

Narrative poems, dramatic monologues, sonnets. Formal innovation but within tradition.

Victorian LANGUAGE

Often elaborate and moralistic, yet increasingly questioning.

Victorian IMAGERY

Industrialisation vs. nature, religiosity, classical references, urban life.

Victorian STRUCTURE

Balanced but increasingly experimental. Use of the dramatic monologue allows dual structure—speaker vs. implied truth.

Victorian POV

Varied—first-person dramatic speakers (often unreliable), third-person omniscient narrators.

Victorian KEY EXAMPLE

Robert Browning’s My Last Duchess—dramatic monologue revealing psychological complexity.

Modernism FORM

Free verse, fragmentation, experimental form. Rejection of traditional metre.

Modernism LANGUAGE

Dense, symbolic, often allusive (especially classical/mythical).

Modernism IMAGERY

Alienation, decay, war, urban life. Stream of consciousness and imagist precision.

Modernism STRUCTURE

Non-linear, disjointed, cyclical. Use of ellipses, caesura, and white space.

Modernism POV

Shifting, multi-layered, often ambiguous—reflecting fractured identities.

Modernism KEY EXAMPLE

Key Example: T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land—collage of voices and cultures.

The Movement FORM

Traditional forms reasserted—regular stanzas, rhyme, metre. Anti-modernist.

The Movement LANGUAGE

Clear, accessible, anti-romantic. Avoids ornamentation.

The Movement IMAGERY

Domestic, mundane, English settings. Irony over symbolism.

The Movement STRUCTURE

Tightly controlled, consistent stanza forms. Focus on argument or reflection.

The Movement POV

Detached, observational, sometimes ironic or melancholic.

The Movement KEY EXAMPLE

Philip Larkin’s Mr Bleaney—bleak reflection on routine and identity.

Confessional Poetry FORM

Free verse often used, though with structured moments to reflect emotional containment or breakdown.

Confessional Poetry LANGUAGE

Intimate, raw, often shocking. Personal vocabulary, medical or sexual terms.

Confessional Poetry IMAGERY

Psychological trauma, family, illness, death, and depression. Personal metaphors.

Confessional Poetry STRUCTURE

Varied—reflects psychological disturbance. Fragmented, enjambed, or repetitive.

Point of View: First-person intensely personal, often blurring the boundary between speaker and poet.

Confessional Poetry POV

First-person intensely personal, often blurring the boundary between speaker and poet.

Confessional Poetry KEY EXAMPLE

Sylvia Plath’s Daddy—violent confrontation with father figure and self.