literary terms [AP LIT]: Poetry Types

epic

long narrative poem, which in dignified and elevated style, tells of the mighty deeds of a great hero

ballad

simple, narrative verse, which tells a story to be sung or recited

lyric poetry

poetry which expresses the personal feelings or thoughts of its speaker; it is subjective and emotional, imaginative, and melodious

ode

a lyric poem that treats a serious subject thoughtfully and emotionally and which is marked by a dignified style and a complex metrical pattern; it is usually a tribute to a person or thing

sonnet

a fourteen-line lyric poem written in iambic pentameter

English or Shakespearean Sonnet

(type of sonnet) consists of three quatrains rhymed abab cdcd efef and a concluding couplet rhymed gg; the three quatrains develop a single thought, and the couplet usually comments on them.

Italian or Petrarchan Sonnet

(type of sonnet) has eight lines (the octave) for the development of a single thought, and six lines (the sestet) for a comment on, a solution to, or an application of the thought; rhyme scheme is abbaabba in the octave, and cdecde in the sestet. 

elegy

a poem that laments the dead

free verse

poetry with irregular meter and usually without rhyme, but definitely not the regular rhythm of traditional poetry