CT Foundations of Reading Poems
Lyric, narrative, descriptive poems - answer1. Lyric Poetry: It is any poem with one
speaker (not necessarily the poet) who expresses strong thoughts and feelings. Most
poems, especially modern ones, are lyric poems.
2. Narrative Poem: It is a poem that tells a story; its structure resembles the plot line of
a story [i.e. the introduction of conflict and characters, rising action, climax and the
denouement].
3. Descriptive Poem: It is a poem that describes the world that surrounds the speaker. It
uses elaborate imagery and adjectives. While emotional, it is more "outward-focused"
than lyric poetry, which is more personal and introspective.
Types of poems: rhymed, narrative, haiku, free, limericks, concrete, acrostic -
answerRhymed verse: Poems with a rhyme scheme so that some lines end with the
same sound(s)
Narrative poems: Poems that tell a story.
Haiku: (3 lines, 17 syllables)
Free verse (no rhyme and rhythm)
Limericks: (5 line rhymed verse)
Concrete: Poems arranged on the page to create a picture or image
Acrostic: Lines in a poem arranged so the first letter of each spells a word when read
vertically.
Stanzas - answerSTANZAS: Stanzas are a series of lines grouped together and
separated by an empty line from other stanzas. They are the equivalent of a paragraph
in an essay. One way to identify a stanza is to count the number of lines. Thus:
couplet (2 lines)
tercet (3 lines)
quatrain (4 lines)
cinquain (5 lines)
sestet (6 lines) (sometimes it's called a sexain)
septet (7 lines)
octave (8 lines)
Onomotopoeia - answerUsing sounds of words to make their writing more sensory and
more vivid
Lyric, narrative, descriptive poems - answer1. Lyric Poetry: It is any poem with one
speaker (not necessarily the poet) who expresses strong thoughts and feelings. Most
poems, especially modern ones, are lyric poems.
2. Narrative Poem: It is a poem that tells a story; its structure resembles the plot line of
a story [i.e. the introduction of conflict and characters, rising action, climax and the
denouement].
3. Descriptive Poem: It is a poem that describes the world that surrounds the speaker. It
uses elaborate imagery and adjectives. While emotional, it is more "outward-focused"
than lyric poetry, which is more personal and introspective.
Types of poems: rhymed, narrative, haiku, free, limericks, concrete, acrostic -
answerRhymed verse: Poems with a rhyme scheme so that some lines end with the
same sound(s)
Narrative poems: Poems that tell a story.
Haiku: (3 lines, 17 syllables)
Free verse (no rhyme and rhythm)
Limericks: (5 line rhymed verse)
Concrete: Poems arranged on the page to create a picture or image
Acrostic: Lines in a poem arranged so the first letter of each spells a word when read
vertically.
Stanzas - answerSTANZAS: Stanzas are a series of lines grouped together and
separated by an empty line from other stanzas. They are the equivalent of a paragraph
in an essay. One way to identify a stanza is to count the number of lines. Thus:
couplet (2 lines)
tercet (3 lines)
quatrain (4 lines)
cinquain (5 lines)
sestet (6 lines) (sometimes it's called a sexain)
septet (7 lines)
octave (8 lines)
Onomotopoeia - answerUsing sounds of words to make their writing more sensory and
more vivid
