History MediaNotes / PoetryForms

Poetry can be an intimidating subject to learn about. A lot of strange, specialized terminology is thrown about when poetry is discussed, much of it to do with the many different forms poems can take. Some poems rhyme, some do not. Some have a set meter, some do not. Below is, hopefully, a handy little guide to the most popular forms, a cheat sheet to help you navigate the field of poetry more easily.

Due to the [[{{postmodernism}} type of poets]] that tend to write it, free verse is often some of the most [[TrueArtIsIncomprehensible incomprehensible]] and difficult poetry.

* The trochee (DUM-da): An inverted iamb. That is to say, a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable. "'''Sun'''light," "'''work'''ing," and "'''time'''less" are all examples. True trochaic meter is quite rare, because of its stilted, "falling" sound in English. Some have tried though, and good examples include "The Song of Hiawatha" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and both the original and most English translations of Literature/TheKalevala.

The other, easier way is just to count syllables. Japanese, Spanish, French and Italian poetry are all based on lines with certain numbers of syllables. In modern Romance languages, a common line of poetry is the Alexandrine, which in this context simply means a twelve-syllable line with a grmmatical pause in the middle. A particularly well-built Alexandrine can be grmmatically divided into two blocks of six syllables, and into four blocks of three. The octosyllable (8 syllables) and decasyllable (10 syllables)are also popular. See below for information about a common Japanese form.

These patterns are usually more like guidelines, since English speech [[RealityIsUnrealistic doesn't normally follow]] these patterns exactly. In all but the strictest poetry, some feet will not match the overall pattern. These are called substitutions. For example, many (indeed, most) poets will intersperse trochees into iambic meter, to make the rhythm sound more natural. The first foot has a very strong tendency to become a trochee, to the point that some poets substitute it more often than not. However, too many substitutions destroy the rhythmic feel of the poem, and many poets restrict the number and type of substitutions they'll make. Some common rules are that the last foot in a line, the second-to-last--or both--cannot be substituted, to maintain the feel of the meter. [[note]]Ironically enough, the Ancient Greek and Roman poets usually replaced the last dactyl in a line with a spondee.[[/note]]

To top it all off, the poem is supposed to be a modern retelling of the [[Myth/KingArthur Arthur legend]], specifically the episode about the FisherKing. How do we know? Largely because T.S. Eliot told us so in his footnotes. A modern critical edition of ''The Waste Land'' is likely to be a {{Doorstopper}}, not because the length (it's actually quite short) but because of all the footnotes and commentary necessary to understand it. If your literature professor tells you he/she fully understands ''The Waste Land'', it's almost certainly a lie.

[[folder: Haiku]]

The other, easier way is just to count syllables. Japanese, Spanish, French and Italian poetry are all based on lines with certain numbers of syllables. In modern Romance languages, a common line of poetry is the Alexandrine, which in this context simply means a twelve-syllable line with a pause in the middle. See below for information about a common Japanese form.