Introduction to Poetic Talent 

Poetic talent is like the flowing river. And all rivers are natural.
 

Structure, Patterns, and Rhyming Schemes

Each line of poetic work is called a verse, and a series of verses arranged formally in a poem is called a stanza. A stanza is to a poem what a paragraph is to prose. The word "verse" may also be used to represent any product of versification.
          A stanza or a poem with two verses is called a couplet 

                   ‘Then let us all reflect with pleasure,                1
                   That labour is the source of treasure.’              1
                                       The father and his children, Anonymous, 1757

If we incrementally designate a number to each rhyming sound we encounter in a poem starting from the first rhyming sound as 1, we can write the rhyming scheme (or rhyming pattern) for verses of this couplet as (1, 1). Likewise the two couplets

                   January brings the snow,                      1
                   Makes our feet and fingers glow.           1 

                   February brings the rain,                       2
                   Thaws the frozen lake again.                 2
                                      The Months, Sara Coleridge, 1802-1852

 Have the rhyming scheme (1, 1; 2, 2).
          When any sequence of verses exhibits a rhyming scheme of (1, 1; 2, 2; 3, 3 …), we refer to such a scheme as couplet rhyming, even when the verses are not divided into couplet stanzas. The special case where couplet rhyming employs five-foot iambic verses, the resulting couplets are referred to as heroic couplets.
          A couplet may also exhibit the rhyming pattern (1, 2) in which case the couplet is an unrhymed couplet.
          The extension of the sentence beyond a couplet is referred to as enjambement.
          A stanza or a poem consisting of three verses is called a triplet (or tercet). A triplet may be rhymed as (1, 1, 2) or (1, 2, 2) or (1, 2, 1) or even as (1, 2, 3) in the case of an unrhymed triplet. In the case where we have a group of rhymed triplet stanzas, it is possible to have interlocking rhymes, which would be manifested by, say, a rhyming pattern of (1, 2, 1; 2, 3, 2; 3, 4, 3; 4, 5, 4; 5, 5). This particular interlocking rhyme where the unrhymed second verse of each triplet becomes the rhymed first and third verses of the next triplet, with the final rhymed couplet consisting of the unrhymed middle verse of the last triplet, is an Italian stanza form referred to as terza rima.
          A stanza or poem consisting of four verses is called a quatrain. They may be rhymed in any scheme as might suit the poets fancy. However, the most familiar rhyming schemes are (1, 2, 3, 2), (1, 2, 1, 2), (1, 1, 2, 2), (1, 2, 2, 1), and (1, 1, 2, 1).
          The very familiar ballad meter was originally seven-foot iambic rhymed couplets 

                   As Robin Hood in the forest strayed, all under the greenwood tree, 1
                   He was aware of a brave young man, as fine as fine might be.        1

Such ballad meter has also acquired the form of a quatrain with 4, 3, 4, and 3 feet verses rhymed as (1, 2, 3, 2): 

                   As Robin Hood in the forest strayed,      1
                          All under the greenwood tree,               2
                   He was aware of a brave young man,     3
                          As fine as fine might be.                       2

The In Memoriam stanza consists of four-foot iambic verses rhymed as (1, 2, 2, 1):

                   Ring out old shapes of foul disease;                 1
                             Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;                2
                             Ring out the thousand wars of old,                  2
                   Ring in the thousand years of peace.                1
                                      In Memoriam, Alfred Tennyson 

The Rubaiyat stanza form consists of five-feet verses rhymed as (1, 1, 2, 1)
          A five verse and a six verse stanza are referred to as a cinquain and a sextet respectively.
          The rhyming scheme of a stanza is often elaborated upon, at the discretion of the poet, using indentation.
 

Lyric, Dramatic, and Narrative Classifications of Poetry

Poetry may be divided into three classifications based on the perspective of the poet relative to the poetry. In narrative poetry, the narrator (poet) presents his narration (poetry) from the perspective of a silent spectator.  In dramatic poetry, the characters in the poetry take part in the narration and can speak their own words. In lyric poetry, the poet narrates his own thoughts. Finally, didactic poetry aims to put forward a moral. Ofcourse, a poem may fall into more than one such classification.
          Such classification of poetry is summarized below

• Narrative poetry
• An epic: a long narrative poem usually depicting heroism
• Folk epics: epics that have stood the test of time.
• Literary epics: modern equivalent to folk epics but never as charming.
• Metrical romance: stories in verse
• Tale: stories in verse
• The ballad: a brief narrative poem
• Lyric Poetry
• Ode: A lyric with a high theme and constant progression towards its conclusion
• Elegy: An expression of grief at death
• Pastoral: A lyric upon nature, usually but not necessarily involving shepherd life and pasture land
• Song: A lyric intended to be set in music, or easy to sing. Songs employ less of the terminals s, z, ch, sh, ed and more of m, n, l, r; less of complicated words and more of simple ones. Verse intended to be sung in a chorus is also referred to as strophic verse
• Sonnet: A lyric of fourteen iambic five-foot verses. The first eight verses are referred to as the octave and usually are end-stopped. The final six verses are referred to as the sestet.
• Petrarchan Sonnet (or Italian Sonnet): The two quatrains of the octave must follow the In Memoriam rhyming scheme which means that the octave is rhymed as (1, 2, 2, 1, 1, 2, 2, 1). It is not permitted to vary the rhyme as (1, 2, 2, 1, 1, 3, 3, 1) or (1, 2, 2, 1, 3, 4, 4, 3) for example. The sestet must be rhymed as either (3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 4) or (3, 4, 5, 3, 4, 5)
• Shakespearean Sonnet: A sonnet with the first three quatrains rhymed as (1, 2, 1, 2; 3, 4, 3, 4; 5, 6, 5, 6) and a final couplet (7, 7).
• Dramatic Poetry
• Tragedy: a play ending in death
• Comedy: a play not ending in death
• Dramatic monologue: An expression of the poet’s thoughts without regard to external considerations such as the context of the reader.
   

Rhyming in Versification

The phonetic similarity of the last accented vowel and all consonantal and vowel sounds following it is known as rhyme. A distinction exists here whereby the last consonantal sound preceding the accented vowel should be different for the words to be considered as rhyming.
          A summary of rhyming is given below:

• Correct Rhyme
  • Rhymes: words that rhyme. For example, {compare, unfair, millionaire, declare}
    • Masculine rhymes: one syllable rhymes, such as {we, flee, harmony}
    • Feminine rhymes: two syllable rhymes, such as {ocean, motion, devotion}
    • Triple rhymes: three syllable rhymes, such as {millionaire, solitaire, unaware}
    • Higher order rhyme: rhyme consisting of four or more syllables.
    • End rhyme: rhyme used at the end of verses
    • Internal rhyme: repetition of rhyming sounds within a verse.
  • Assonance: Also called vowel rhyme consists of having the same final accented vowel sound and dissimilarity in the consonantal and vowel sounds following it. For examples, {grab, crack, had, tan} and {roaming, floated, coping}
  • Consonance: A rhyme in which the accented vowel sounds differ (but the consonantal and vowel sounds following are the same.) For examples {people, ripple} and {noble, trouble}
• Alliteration: Repetition of the initial consonantal sounds of syllables and words.
• Undesirable Rhyme
  • Incorrect Rhyme: words that do not rhyme
  • Eye Rhymes: words spelled alike but are pronounced differently. For example {cough, enough, plough, though, through}
  • Identities: words where the consonantal sound preceding the accented vowel do not differ. For example {ability, possibility} where the consonantal sound is “b” in both cases.
  • Strained Rhymes: rhymes constructed by straining natural expression and grammatical structure.
  • Overused Rhymes: such as {love, dove, above}
  • Mispronunciations: Off rhymes created by, for example, ignoring the "r" sound or the terminal "g" sound. For example {went in, parting} and {court, float}. The former just may become colloquially acceptable when written as {went in, partin'}

It is not necessary for verses to rhyme in poetry. Unrhymed verse is referred to as blank verse. Blank verse may employ rhythmic regularity alone to distinguish itself from prose. Unrhymed five foot iambic verse is also referred to as heroic blank verse.
 

Rhythmic Regularity in Versification

The difference between prose and verse is the relative regularity exhibited by verse in the alteration of accented and unaccented syllables. This relative regularity in rhythm is referred to as meter, and each basic unit of this regularity [grouped around one accented syllable] is known as a metric foot. Consider the following verse

                   The curfew tolls the knell of parting day

If we write each unaccented syllable in italics and each accented syllable in bold, we would have

                   The cur-few tolls the knell of part-ing day

Note that the actual conversational rhythm of this verse

                   The cur-few | tolls | the knell | of part-ing | day

Is different from the rhythm adopted for poetic purposes

                   The cur- | few tolls | the knell | of part- | ing day

We notice that this verse has five metric feet and each foot consists of an unaccented syllable followed by an accented syllable. Such a foot is called an iamb and this verse would be rhythmically classified as a five foot iambic verse.
          The commonly encountered metric feet in English versification are summarized in the table below 

Name of metric foot	Description	Example
Iamb	Unaccent-accent	a-live
Trochee	Accent-unaccent	cur-few
Anapest	Unaccent-unaccent-accent	in the world
Dactyl	Accent-unaccent-unaccent	mer-ri-ly
Spondee	Accent-accent	head-long
Amphibrach	Unaccent-accent-unaccent	out-rage-ous

Additionally, metric feet that are uncommon in English versification are described below

• Pyrrhic, two unaccented syllables
• Tribrach, three unaccented syllables
• Molossus, three accented syllables
• Amphimacer, accent-unaccent-accent
• Bacchius, unaccent-accent-accent
• Antibacchius, accent-accent-unaccent
• Ditrochee, a compounded foot of two trochees
• Paeon, accented syllable followed by three unaccented syllables
• Choriamb, accent-unaccent-unaccent-accent
• Epitrite, three accents and one unaccent
• Of the first class, unaccent-accent-accent-accent
• Of the second class, accent-unaccent-accent-accent
• Of the third class, accent-accent-unaccent-accent
• Of the fourth class, accent-accent-accent-unaccent

The accented syllable of a foot is also referred to as arsis, whereas the unaccented syllable or syllables of a foot are referred to as thesis.
          Versification may employ, in some cases, the same word to represent different metric feet. For example, a spondee may be used interchangeably as an iamb or a trochee.
          It is not necessary for verses to employ metric pattern in poetry. Versification that is free from metric pattern is called free verse. Additionally, verses may employ an accent pattern instead of metric pattern wherein each verse has the same number of accented syllables irrespective of any metric pattern.
          The classical names for verses containing one to eight metric feet are listed below 

• Monometer, one
• Dimeter, two
• Trimeter, three
• Tetrameter, four
• Pentameter, five
• Hexameter, six
• Heptameter, seven
• Octometer, eight

Versification where the first or last foot lacks a syllable or has imperfect meter is referred to as catalectic verse. Conversely, versification where each metric foot has the complete set of syllables is referred to as acatalectic verse.
          When the end of a word coincides with the end of a foot, the resulting break is referred to as diaeresis (or dieresis.) In pastoral poetry, when the diaeresis occurs in the fourth foot, it is referred to as bucolic diaeresis. When a word ends within a foot, the resulting break is referred to as caesura. When the caesura comes after the stressed part of a foot it is called a masculine caesura, whereas a caesura that comes after the lighter or unstressed part of the foot is called a feminine caesura.