Poem

I. Definition

people have known poem for thousands of years. Poem is created to share ideas, express emotions, and create imagery. To build better understanding, let’s take a look at some definitions of poem.

Poem is a piece of writing in which the words are arranged in separate lines, often ending in rhyme, and are chosen for their sound and for the images and ideas they suggest, or a piece of writing in which the words are carefully chosen for the images and ideas they suggest, and in which the sounds of the words when read aloud often follow a particular rhythmic pattern. (https://dictionary.cambridge.org)

A poem is a collection of spoken or written words that expresses ideas or emotions in a powerfully vivid and imaginative style. A poem is comprised of a particular rhythmic and metrical pattern. (https://literarydevices.net). Metrical pattern is the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a poem.

Poem is composition that, though not in verse, is characterized by great beauty of language or expression. (https://www.dictionary.com)

II. Social Function

The main function of a poem is to convey an idea or emotion in beautiful language. It paints a picture of what the poet feels about a thing, person, idea, concept, or even an object. (https://literarydevices.net).

Or in summary a poem functions:

1. to give pleasure;

2. to entertain;

3. to convey moral value;

4. as a way to express feelings and emotions.

III. Structure

The structure of a poem refers to the way it is presented to the reader. This could include technical things such as the line length and stanza format. Or it could include the flow of the words used and ideas conveyed. (https://www.familyfriendpoems.com)

1. Line: a word or a row of words .

2. Stanza: a group of lines in a poem.

3. Rhyme scheme: words with the same last sound, for example use AABB , AAAA, ABAB.

4. Meter: a rhythmic structure of poem.

5. Line break: the point at which two lines of text are split, the end of a line, where a line of poem ends.

IV. Types of Poem

There are many different types of poem. The difference between each type is based on the format, rhyme scheme and subject matter, among others are:

  1. Ballad

Balad is a type of narrative poem in which a story often talks about folk or legendary tales. It may take the form of a moral lesson or a song.

  1. Blank Verse

Blank verse is poetry written with a precise meter—almost always iambic pentameter—that does not rhyme.

  1. Elegy

Elegy is a melancholic poem in which the poet laments the death of a subject, though he gives consolation towards the end.

  1. Epic

Epic is a form of lengthy poem, often written in blank verse, in which poet shows a protagonist in action of historical significance, or a great mythic.

  1. Epitaph

Epitaph is a small poem used as an inscription on a tombstone.

  1. Free Verse

Free Verse is a poem which consists of non–rhyming lines, without any metrical pattern, but which follow a natural rhythm.

  1. Haiku

Haiku is a type of Japanese poem consisting of three unrhymed lines, with mostly five, seven, and five syllables in each line.

  1. Hymn

Hymn is a type of a poem praises spirituality or God’s splendor.

  1. Imagery

Imagery is a type of poem that use figurative language to represent objects, actions, and ideas in such a way that it appeals to our physical senses.

  1. Limerick

Limerick is a type of humorous poem with five anapestic lines in which the first, second, and fifth lines have three feet, and the third and fourth lines have two feet, with a strict rhyme scheme of aabba.

11. Lyric poetry

Lyric poetry refers to the broad category of poetry that concerns feelings and emotion. This distinguishes it from two other poetic categories: epic and dramatic.

12. Narrative Poetry

Similar to an epic, a narrative poem tells a story. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere” and Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” exemplify this form. Learn more about narrative poetry here.

13. Ode

Much like an elegy, an ode is a tribute to its subject, although the subject need not be dead—or even sentient, as in John Keats’ “Ode on a Grecian Urn”.

14. Pastoral poetry

A pastoral poem is one that concerns the natural world, rural life, and landscapes. These poems have persevered from Ancient Greece (in the poetry of Hesiod) to Ancient Rome (Virgil) to the present day (Gary Snyder).

15. Rhymed poetry

In contrast to blank verse, rhymed poems rhyme by definition, although their scheme varies.

16.  Sonnet

A sonnet is a 14 line poem, typically (but not exclusively) concerning the topic of love. Sonnets contain internal rhymes within their 14 lines; the exact rhyme scheme depends on the style of a sonnet. The tone or mood changes after the eighth line.

17. Villanelle

Villanelle is a French styled poem with nineteen lines, composed of three–line stanza, with five tercets and a final quatrain. It uses refrain at the first and third lines of each stanza.

V. Examples

A Deep Meaning of Friendship

Friendship is like the two rings that have different shapes
But can be combined with a very strong sense
Friendship is just a word
But it has a deep meaning
We’ll feel it when actually find
A continued friend in a life

Friendship has always been an oasis when we experience sadness
Friendship is always a joy to be complementary
A day without friends is very strange
Months without friends are very painful

True friends will always be missed
Talks will continue to be memorable
Easy to get a rich friend
But hard getting a forever friend
Because a true friend is not for a reason

Taken form: www.kuliahbahasainggris.com