Narrative poetry is a form of

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meani ...

that tells a story, often using the voices of both a narrator and characters; the entire story is usually written in metered verse. Narrative poems do not need rhyme. The poems that make up this genre may be short or long, and the story it relates to may be complex. It is normally dramatic, with various characters. Narrative poems include all

epic poetry An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. ...

, and the various types of "lay", most

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

s, and some idylls, as well as many poems not falling into a distinct type. Some narrative poetry takes the form of a

novel in verse A verse novel is a type of narrative poetry in which a novel-length narrative is told through the medium of poetry rather than prose. Either simple or complex stanzaic verse-forms may be used, but there will usually be a large cast, multiple voice ...

. An example of this is ''

The Ring and the Book ''The Ring and the Book'' is a long dramatic narrative poem, and, more specifically, a verse novel, of 21,000 lines, written by Robert Browning. It was published in four volumes from 1868 to 1869 by Smith, Elder & Co. Plot outline The book ...

'' by Robert Browning. In terms of narrative poetry, romance is a narrative poem that tells a story of chivalry. Examples include the '' Romance of the Rose'' or Tennyson's '' Idylls of the King''. Although those examples use

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

and Arthurian materials, romances may also tell stories from classical mythology. Sometimes, these short narratives are collected into interrelated groups, as with

Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for '' The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He w ...

's '' The Canterbury Tales''. So sagas include both incidental poetry and the biographies of poets.

Oral tradition

The predecessor of essentially all other modern forms of communication. For thousands of years, cultures passed on their history through oral tradition from generation to generation. Historically, much of poetry has its source in an oral tradition: in more recent times the Scots and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

s, the tales of Robin Hood poems all were originally intended for recitation, rather than reading. In many cultures, there remains a lively tradition of the recitation of traditional tales in verse format. It has been suggested that some of the distinctive features that distinguish poetry from

prose Prose is a form of written or spoken language that follows the natural flow of speech, uses a language's ordinary grammatical structures, or follows the conventions of formal academic writing. It differs from most traditional poetry, where the fo ...

, such as

metre The metre ( British spelling) or meter ( American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its pre ...

alliteration Alliteration is the conspicuous repetition of initial consonant sounds of nearby words in a phrase, often used as a literary device. A familiar example is "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers". Alliteration is used poetically in various ...

, and kennings, at one time served as memory aids that allowed the bards who recited traditional tales to reconstruct them from

memory Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remember ...

. David C. Rubin, ''Memory in Oral Traditions. The Cognitive Psychology of Epic, Ballads, and Counting-out Rhymes'' (Taco University Press, 1991) A narrative poem usually tells a story using a poetic theme. Epics are very vital to narrative poems, although it is thought those narrative poems were created to explain oral traditions. The focus of narrative poetry is often the pros and cons of life.

List of narrative poems

All epic poems, verse romances and verse novels can also be thought of as extended narrative poems. Other notable examples of narrative poems include: * The anonymous ''

Homeric Hymns The ''Homeric Hymns'' () are a collection of thirty-three anonymous ancient Greek hymns celebrating individual gods. The hymns are "Homeric" in the sense that they employ the same epic meter— dactylic hexameter—as the ''Iliad'' and ''Odyssey'' ...

'' to Demeter,

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

Aphrodite Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman goddess . Aphrodite's major symbols incl ...

Hermes Hermes (; grc-gre, Ἑρμῆς) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology. Hermes is considered the herald of the gods. He is also considered the protector of human heralds, travellers, thieves, merchants, and orat ...

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; grc, wikt:Διόνυσος, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstas ...

, and Pan * ''

Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' ( la, Metamorphōsēs, from grc, μεταμορφώσεις: "Transformations") is a Latin narrative poem from 8 CE by the Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his '' magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the ...

'' by

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom ...

* The anonymous '' Poetic Edda'' * '' Piers Plowman'' by

William Langland William Langland (; la, Willielmus de Langland; 1332 – c. 1386) is the presumed author of a work of Middle English alliterative verse generally known as ''Piers Plowman'', an allegory with a complex variety of religious themes. The poem tr ...

* '' The Book of the Duchess'' and '' The Canterbury Tales'' by Geoffrey Chaucer * ''

The Assembly of Gods ''The Assembly of Gods'' is a fifteenth-century dream vision poem by an unknown author (it was originally attributed to John Lydgate, but scholars now agree that is unlikely that he wrote it). The poem, which includes many of the standard alleg ...

'' (anonymous) * '' The Morall Fabillis of Esope the Phrygian'' by Robert Henryson * '' Tam Lin'' (anonymous) * '' Hero and Leander'' by Christopher Marlowe * ''

The Rape of Lucrece ''The Rape of Lucrece'' (1594) is a narrative poem by William Shakespeare about the legendary Roman noblewoman Lucretia. In his previous narrative poem, '' Venus and Adonis'' (1593), Shakespeare had included a dedicatory letter to his patron, ...

'', '' Venus and Adonis'', ''

The Lover's Complaint "A Lover's Complaint" is a narrative poem written by William Shakespeare, and published as part of the 1609 quarto of ''Shakespeare's Sonnets''. It was published by Thomas Thorpe. "A Lover’s Complaint" is an example of the female-voiced comp ...

'', ''

The Phoenix and the Turtle ''The Phoenix and the Turtle'' (also spelled ''The Phœnix and the Turtle'') is an allegorical poem by William Shakespeare, first published in 1601 as a supplement to a longer work, ''Love's Martyr'', by Robert Chester. The poem, which has b ...

'' by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

* ''

Hudibras ''Hudibras'' is a vigorous satirical poem, written in a mock-heroic style by Samuel Butler (1613–1680), and published in three parts in 1663, 1664 and 1678. The action is set in the last years of the Interregnum, around 1658–60, immediatel ...

'' by Samuel Butler * '' The Dunciad'' and '' The Rape of the Lock'' by Alexander Pope * '' Halloween (poem)'' by Robert Burns * ''

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner ''The Rime of the Ancient Mariner'' (originally ''The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere'') is the longest major poem by the English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, written in 1797–1798 and published in 1798 in the first edition of '' Lyrical Ball ...

'' by

Samuel Taylor Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge (; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lak ...

* '' Childe Harold's Pilgrimage'' and '' Lara, A Tale'' by

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...

* ''

The Eve of St. Agnes ''The Eve of St. Agnes'' is a Romantic narrative poem of 42 Spenserian stanzas set in the Middle Ages. It was written by John Keats in 1819 and published in 1820. The poem was considered by many of Keats's contemporaries and the succeeding ...

'' and '' Lamia'' by John Keats * '' The Prisoner of the Caucasus'' by

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...

* ''

Lays of Ancient Rome ''Lays of Ancient Rome'' is an 1842 collection of narrative poems, or lays, by Thomas Babington Macaulay. Four of these recount heroic episodes from early Roman history with strong dramatic and tragic themes, giving the collection its name. M ...

'' by Thomas Babington Macaulay * ''

Paul Revere's Ride "Paul Revere's Ride" is an 1860 poem by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow that commemorates the actions of American patriot Paul Revere on April 18, 1775, although with significant inaccuracies. It was first published in the January 18 ...

'', ''

The Courtship of Miles Standish ''The Courtship of Miles Standish'' is an 1858 narrative poem by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow about the early days of Plymouth Colony, the colonial settlement established in America by the ''Mayflower'' Pilgrims. Overview ''T ...

'' and ''

The Wreck of the Hesperus "The Wreck of the Hesperus" is a narrative poem by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, first published in ''Ballads and Other Poems'' in 1842. It is a story that presents the tragic consequences of a skipper's pride. On an ill-fated voyag ...

'' by

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include "Paul Revere's Ride", ''The Song of Hiawatha'', and '' Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely trans ...

* '' The Battle of Marathon: A Poem'' by Elizabeth Barrett Browning * '' The Raven'' by

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wid ...

* ''

Snow-Bound ''Snow-Bound: A Winter Idyl'' is a long narrative poem by American poet John Greenleaf Whittier first published in 1866. The poem, presented as a series of stories told by a family amid a snowstorm, was extremely successful and popular in its tim ...

'' by John Greenleaf Whittier * '' Idylls of the King'', and many other works by Alfred, Lord Tennyson * ''

The Fakeer of Jungheera ''The Fakeer of Jungheera'' is a long poem written by Henry Louis Vivian Derozio, first published in 1829. The poem is 2,050 lines long, and was published when Derozio was only 19. It is notable for being the first long poem written by any Indian in ...

'' by Henry Louis Vivian Derozio * ''

Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came" is a narrative poem by English author Robert Browning, written on January 2, 1852, and first published in 1855 in the collection titled '' Men and Women''. The poem is often noted for its dark and atmos ...

'' and ''

Red Cotton Night-Cap Country ''Red Cotton Night-Cap Country, or Turf and Towers'' (1873) is a poem in blank verse by Robert Browning. It tells a story of sexual intrigue, religious obsession and violent death in contemporary Paris and Normandy, closely based on the true stor ...

'' by Robert Browning * ''

Sohrab and Rustum ''Sohrab and Rustum: An Episode'' is a narrative poem with strong tragic themes by Matthew Arnold, first published in 1853. The poem retells a famous episode from Ferdowsi's Persian epic ''Shahnameh'' relating how the great warrior Rustum unk ...

'' by Matthew Arnold * ''

Terje Vigen ''Terje Vigen'' is a poem written by Henrik Ibsen, published in 1862. Much of the story and setting is from the area around the town of Grimstad in southern Norway where Ibsen lived for a few years in his youth. It describes the dramatic saga of ...

'' by Henrik Ibsen * '' The Hunting of the Snark'' and '' The Walrus and the Carpenter'' by Lewis Carroll * '' Eros and Psyche'' by

Robert Bridges Robert Seymour Bridges (23 October 1844 – 21 April 1930) was an English poet who was Poet Laureate from 1913 to 1930. A doctor by training, he achieved literary fame only late in life. His poems reflect a deep Christian faith, and he is ...

* '' Luceafărul'' by

Mihai Eminescu Mihai Eminescu (; born Mihail Eminovici; 15 January 1850 – 15 June 1889) was a Romanian Romantic poet from Moldavia, novelist, and journalist, generally regarded as the most famous and influential Romanian poet. Eminescu was an active ...

* '' The Highwayman'' by Alfred Noyes * '' The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun'' by J.R.R. Tolkien * ''

The Road Not Taken "The Road Not Taken" is a narrative poem by Robert Frost, first published in the August 1915 issue of '' The Atlantic Monthly'', and later published as the first poem in the collection '' Mountain Interval'' of 1916. Its central theme is th ...

'' by Robert Frost * '' The Wild Party'' and '' The Set-Up'' by

Joseph Moncure March Joseph Moncure March (July 27, 1899 New York City - February 14, 1977 Los Angeles, California) was an American poet and essayist, best known for his long narrative poems '' The Wild Party'' and '' The Set-Up''. Life After serving in World Wa ...

* ''

Dymer Dymer may refer to: * Dymer, Poland * Dymer, Kyiv Oblast Dymer ( uk, Димер, russian: Ды́мер) is an urban-type settlement in Vyshhorod Raion of Kyiv Oblast (province) of Ukraine with a population of It hosts the administration of Dy ...

'' and '' The Queen of Drum'' by C.S. Lewis * '' The Ship's Cat'' by Richard Adams * '' Lost in Translation'' by James Merrill * '' Prentice Alvin and the No-Good Plow'' by Orson Scott Card

References

External links

* {{Authority control Narratology yi:דיכטונג#פאעמע