English poetry and Literature

[Rabiya Abid]

English Poetry and Literature

English Poetry and Literature Forum is a dedicated platform for people interested in English literature and poetry. This forum is open for academicians, students, and English literature and poetry lovers for discussions on any literary form and literature. Also, you can share your researches and perceptions, views and opinions on a literary work of renowned authors as well as emerging writers in the field of English Literature. This forum is aimed to inspire discussions and debates in English literature Field.

English literature has a long history. Back then in ancient Greece, literature was divided into two main categories: comedy and tragedy. Nowadays the list of possible genres and types of English poetry and literature can seem endless. But we can narrow down the vast amount of literature into a few basic genres:

• POETRY

It is considered most often the oldest form of literature. It is written in verse form. It can be free verse or rhythmic writing with heavy metaphor & imagery and that evokes an emotional response from the reader. There are different forms of poetry including:

--Sonnet-- 14 lines short rhyming poem. Shakespearian sonnets are famous in English poetry and use the iambic meter in each line with line-ending rhymes.

--Haiku--3 lines poem. It is an ancient form of English poetry and typically has five syllables in the first and last lines and seven in the second line.

--Narrative--The narrative poem tells a story just like a narration involving plot and characters- but in verse form. It can be short or long.

--Epic-- It is a lengthy narrative poem written on the heroic journey, adventures, and accomplishments of a legendary or conventional hero or group of persons.

--Elegy-- It can be called as a melancholy poem/ funeral song written to mourn the death of a friend or public figure, or a meditation on death itself.

--Ode-- It is sung in the praise of God or divine being, a devotional poem, where poet seeks help from God or divine being or it is a serious poem that conveys strongest sentiments of the poet. It can be generalized as a formal address to a person, an event, or a thing not present.

--Lyric-- A short poetic composition that describes the thoughts or expresses intense personal emotions of a single speaker in a manner suggestive of a song.

• DRAMA/ PLAYS

Drama is a composition that is meant to be performed rather than just reading. In dramas, conflicts and emotion are expressed through dialogues and action. The term ‘drama’ is often used interchangeably with ‘play’.

• FICTION

Fiction is an invented narrative story, as opposed to the non-fiction that reports true events. Fiction is not a true story but close to the truth- with the touch of reality in it. Fiction literature tells us a story with dialogue and event narration- characters and a plot. It includes short stories and novels.

• NON-FICTION

It includes essays, polemics, biographies, autobiographies, histories, memoirs, and journalistic writing. Nonfiction literature focuses on historical realities rather than the imaginative worlds and emotional realities of fiction, poetry, and drama. Essays were a particularly important form of nonfiction literature.