TERM PAPER

ON

Types of poem
(Sonnet, Epic, Ode, Dramatic Monologue, Elegy)
Course Name: Poetry and Rhetoric
Course code: ENG 1003
Date of Submission: June 22, 2020

Bangladesh University of professionals

Submitted to
Sidratul Moontaha Mitul
Lecturer
Department of English
Bangladesh University of Professionals

Submitted by
Rakibul Hasan
Batch no: 05
Roll no: 19151047
Department of English, BUP
 Sonnet
The word sonnet is derived from the Italian word “sonetto,” which
means a “little song” or small lyric. In poetry, a sonnet has 14 lines, and
is written in iambic pentameter. Each line has 10 syllables. It has a
specific rhyme scheme, and a Volta, or a specific turn.

Generally, sonnets are divided into different groups based on the rhyme

scheme they follow. The rhymes of a sonnet are arranged according to a
certain rhyme scheme. The rhyme scheme in English is usually abab–
cdcd–efef–gg, and in Italian abba–abba–cde–cde.

Characteristics:
1. All sonnets are 14 lines long
2. Sonnets in English are written in iambic pentameter, which means
that each line has 10 syllables, alternating in an unstressed /
stressed pattern.
3. Sonnets follow a predetermined rhyme scheme ; the rhyme pattern
determines if the sonnet is Petrarchan , Shakespearean or
Spenserian
4. All sonnets are characterized by a ‘’ turn ‘’ located at a designated
point in the sonnet.

Types of Sonnet
Sonnets can be categorized into three major types:

1. Italian Sonnet/ Petrarchan Sonnet

2. Shakespearean Sonnet
3. Spenserian Sonnet
Examples of Sonnet in Literature
Let us take a look at the examples of sonnets in literature, based on the
various categories:

Example:Sonnet 18 (By William Shakespeare)

Shakespearean Sonnet
A Shakespearean sonnet is generally written in iambic pentameter, in
which there are 10 syllables in each line. The rhythm of the lines must
be as below:
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed,
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature’s changing course untrimmed:
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st,
Nor shall death brag thou wand’rest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st,
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to th
 Epic
Definition of Epic

The word epic is derived from the Ancient Greek adjective, “epikos”,

which means a poetic story. In literature, an epic is a
long narrative poem, which is usually related to heroic deeds of a
person of an unusual courage and unparalleled bravery. In order to
depict this bravery and courage, the epic uses grandiose style.

The characteristics of an epic poem

There are nine key characteristics of an Epic Poem:

a) It opens in medias res (in the middle of things).
b) 2) The setting is vast and it covers many nations, the underworld
and the universe.
c) 3) It usually begins with an invocation to Muse.
d) 4) It starts with a statement of the theme.
e) 5) The use of Epithets. A characterizing word or phrase used in
place of a name of a person or thing. 6) It includes long lists.
f) 7) It features long and formal speeches.
g) 8) It shows divine intervention on human affairs.
h) 9) The Heroes embody the values of civilization

The major elements of an epic are:

 Invocation to the Muses and proposition of the subject at the
beginning
  Lofty language and high style
 A central hero of superman quality
 A subject of national or collective interest
 A long perilous journey, often on water
 Long speeches of the heroic leader
 Mighty battles
 Feasts and revels
 Homeric( long run) similes
 Involvement of supernatural elements
 An underworld journey
 Assembly of the supernatural powers
 Glorification of justice and peace

Types of Epics

1. Folk Epic (A folk epic is also commonly known as primary epic/

traditional epic.)
 No single author (each is a product of the oral tradition)
 Written down after centuries of oral transmission - e.
g., Beowulf and the Iliad
2. Literary Epic (Literary epics may also be known as secondary
epic)
 A single, gifted poet such as Virgil or Milton composes a
work that imitates a folk epic.
 The Paradise Lost, for example, involved considerable
research and have the style of earlier epics (particularly in
setting, dignified speeches, and extended similes.

Examples of Epic from Literature

The Epic of Gilgamesh (~2000 BCE)
Perhaps, the Epic of Gilgamesh is the first example of an epic. It tells the
story of the life of an Assyrian king, Gilgamesh. Like all other epics, the
narrative of this epic revolves around the themes related to gods, human
beings, mortality, legacy and seduction. Like other epics, it is also
composed in a grand style. Gilgamesh is a young arrogant king due to
his being half-god and half-human. His strength and
masculine beauty becomes a constant source of trouble for others.
Therefore, gods grow sick of Gilgamesh’s arrogant and
troublesome attitude and decide to teach him a lesson. He is made to
fight his antagonist, Enkidu, and then go on a long journey to bring the
plant of life - a journey on which he learns the lessons of life. Although
the epic is written nearly 4,000 years ago, critics are unanimous that it is
a human work.

Ode
Definition of Ode
An ode is a form of poetry such as sonnet or elegy. Ode is a literary
technique that is lyrical in nature, but not very lengthy. Ode is derived
from a Greek word aeidein, which means to chant or sing. It is highly
solemn and serious in its tone and subject matter, and usually is used
with elaborate patterns of stanzas

The main features of ODE are:

a) It is a kind of lyric poem
b) It opens with a address to someone or something
 c) Its middle part develops a sense of grief
d) It ends with some shorts of consolation
e) It is written in lofty style
f) Its subject is serious
g) Its tone is grave

Types of Ode

Odes are of three types:

a) Pindar ode
b) Horatian ode
c) Irregular ode.

Pindar Ode

This ode was named after an ancient Greek poet, Pindar, who began
writing choral poems that were meant to be sung at public events. It
contains three triads; strophe, antistrophe, and final stanza as epode, with
irregular rhyme patterns and lengths of lines.

Horatian Ode

The name of this ode was taken from the Latin poet, Horace. Unlike
heroic odes of Pindar, Horatian ode is informal, meditative and intimate.
These odes dwelled upon interesting subject matters that were simple
and were pleasing to the senses. Since Horatian odes are informal in
tone, they are devoid of any strict rules.

Irregular Ode

This type of ode is without any formal rhyme scheme, and structure such
as the Pindaric ode. Hence, the poet has great freedom and flexibility to
try any types of concepts and moods. William Wordsworth and John
Keats were such poets who extensively wrote irregular odes, taking
advantage of this form.

Examples of Odes in Literature

Example 1: Ode on Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of

Early Childhood (By William Wordsworth)
“There was a time when meadow, grove, and stream,
The earth, and every common sight
To me did seem
Apparelled in celestial light,
The glory and the freshness of a dream.
It is not now as it hath been of yore; —”
This is a perfect example of an English Pindaric ode. Just observe the
use of different types of meters in each stanza, which have made it easier
to read, and made flexible with simple rhyme scheme of ababac.

Dramatic Monologue
Definition of Dramatic Monologue

Dramatic Monologue is a kind of lyric poem in which a single speaker

expresses his thoughts and feelings to a silent listener.

Dramatic monologue means self-conversation, speech or talks which

includes interlocutor presented dramatically. It means a person, who is
speaking to himself or someone else speaks to reveal specific intentions
of his actions

Features of a Dramatic Monologue

A dramatic monologue has these common features in them:

1. A single person delivering a speech on one aspect of his life or

some specific issues.
2. The audience may or may not be present
3. The speaker speaks to someone who remains silent throughout the
poem. The listener’s presence is revealed through the speakers
comment.
4. Speaker reveals his temperament and character only through his
speech
5. It concentrates on the speaker and revels his character and mindset.
6. It begins dramatically and takes several abrupt turns in the course
of its progress
7. It is a dramatic technique, and therefore, it is not used in the drama.
It is a form of lyric poem.

Types of Dramatic Monologue

There are three major types of dramatic monologues such as:

 1. Romantic monologue
2. Philosophical and psychological monologue
3. Conversational monologue

Dramatic Monologue Examples from Literature

Example 1:
“My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning
“That’s my last Duchess painted on the wall,
Looking as if she were alive. I call
That piece a wonder, now; Fra Pandolf’s hands
Worked busily a day, and there she stands.
Will’t please you sit and look at her? I said
“Fra Pandolf” by design, for never read
Strangers like you that pictured countenance,
The depth and passion of its earnest glance,
But to myself they turned (since none puts by
The curtain I have drawn for you, but I)
And seemed as they would ask me, if they durst,
How such a glance came there; so, not the first
Are you to turn and ask thus.”
This extract is from the famous monologue of a duke. He tells his
audience, possibly the father of his new bride, about his last duchess
who could not survive his severity. It is a type of psychological
monologue which tells the psychological state of mind of the speaker.
Browning has exposed the duke’s cruel state of mind through this poem
“My Last Duchess.”

Elegy
Elegy Definition
Elegy is a form of literature that can be defined as a lyric poem  in the
form of elegiac couplets, written in honor of someone deceased. It
typically laments or mourns the death of the individual.

Elegy is derived from the Greek work elegus, which means a song of

bereavement sung along with a flute.

The main characteristics of the elegy are:

a) It opens with lamentation for the death of speaker’s dear friend.
b) In its middle part the speaker idealizes and admires the dead.
c) The society is criticized for doing injustices to the dead and for not
allowing the dead person to do what he could have done.
d) The speaker feels the presence of the dead friend around him.
e) It rains serious spiritual questions about the nature of life and
death, and about the immortality of the soul.
f) In its closing part the speaker finds consolation and solace.
g) It is about a single dead person. However, Grays mourning for all
the dead villagers in “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” is
an exception.
 h) It is meditative in nature.
i) Its tone is grave.

There are two types of Elegy

1. Personal (The poet laments the deaths of some close friend or
relatives)
2. Impersonal (The poet grieves over human destiny or over some
aspects of contemporary life and literature).

Examples of Elegy from Literature

Example: In Memory of W. B. Yeats (By W. H. Auden)

“With the farming of a verse
Make a vineyard of the curse,
Sing of human unsuccess
In a rapture of distress;
In the deserts of the heart
Let the healing fountain start,
In the prison of his days
Teach the free man how to praise.”