We explain what types of poems exist and what are the characteristics of the main Western poetic sub genres.
What are the types of poems?
A poem is a literary composition that expresses a point of view, a feeling, or a profound reflection. It uses subjective language and can be written in verse or prose.
Poems belong to the genre of poetry, and specifically to what is known as lyric poetry, historically more closely related to song than to narrative (ancient epic poetry) and theater (ancient dramatic poetry).
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The world of poetry is extremely free, given that it is one of the most complex and subjective literary genres in existence. There were times when poetry adhered to a more or less strict typology, defined by the theme, the type of meter, and other formal aspects of the poem. However, its evolution over time led to the current free verse poem, in which there are few rules regarding what it can or cannot contain and how it can be written.
Thus, a classification of poetry must go beyond whether it is written in rhyme or prose, and how many syllables each line has. In this sense, one can turn to the theme or the poet’s intention. We refer to the hymn, the ode, the elegy, the satire, the eclogue, the romance, the epigram, the calligram, the paean, and the epithalamium.
There are other forms of poetry, belonging to other traditions, such as the Japanese haiku, which is a form of very short, descriptive poem. This article will focus on the main poetic subgenres of Western tradition.
Hymn
A hymn is a lyrical poem or song that expresses feelings of admiration, joy, or revelry in the face of a historical event, idea, or personality.
It is a very ancient form of poetic composition, the earliest examples of which date back to the 3rd millennium BC, and is common to both poetry and music. It typically consists of a solemn song, inspiring fervor toward a patriotic (such as national anthems), heroic, or religious cause.
An example of this genre are the Homeric Hymns of ancient Greece, attributed to Homer, which tell the story of the birth of the Olympian gods and some mythical Greek heroes. Another more modern example is the Hymns to the Night by the German Romantic poet Novalis (1772–1801), published in 1800 in the journal Athenaeum.
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Ode
Similar in nature to a hymn, the ode is a celebratory song of enthusiasm and praise. Praise is not directed only to the great themes of humanity (such as the homeland, heroes, and the gods), but to any subjective reference that is of aesthetic value to the poet.
Thus, there may be odes to friendship, to a beloved woman, or, as in the case of the English Romantic author John Keats (1795–1821), “Ode on a Grecian Urn.” Another notable example is “Ode to Joy” by the German poet Friedrich Schiller (1759–1805), set to music by the German composer Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) in his famous Ninth Symphony.
Elegy
The elegy is a funeral dirge or lament. That is, a lyric poem that expresses the poet’s pain at loss or pays homage to something one no longer has, be it a friend, a lover, or one’s homeland. These are generally long poems, dominated by pain, melancholy, and sadness.
Examples of elegy include many of the poems by the Greek Solon (c. 638–558 BC) and the poems Amores, Tristes, and Pónticas by the Roman Ovid (43 BC–17 AD). Also examples of elegy are the more recent poems “Ode to Federico García Lorca” by Pablo Neruda (1904–1973) and “Something on the Death of Major Sabines” by Jaime Sabines (1926–1999).
Satire
Satire is both a type of poem and a formal procedure, common to other forms of literature as well as to film, music, and other similar arts. It is a text that expresses criticism through humor, parody, exaggeration, and mockery, whether directed at an aspect of society, a set of ideas, or even at rival artists.
In satire, sarcasm and irony predominate. Although it is a humorous genre, its purpose is not so much entertainment, but rather criticism or opposition to the subject being parodied.
There are many examples of satire throughout history, as it was a genre widely cultivated by Latin writers, such as Catullus (87-57 BC), Persius (34-62), Juvenal (60-128), Martial (40-104), among others.
Many Spanish satirists of the Golden Age and picaresque novels were also famous, such as Diego Hurtado de Mendoza (1503-1575), one of the supposed authors of Lazarillo de Tormes; Mateo Alemán (1547-1614), author of Guzmán de Alfarache; and Lope de Vega (1562-1635), author of around 3,000 sonnets.
Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) himself is a satirist, with his works The Colloquy of the Dogs and The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha.
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Eclogue
The eclogue is a type of poetry with a love theme and a pastoral tone, often operating as a short one-act play, either as a monologue or as a dialogue between characters. In this type of poem, music plays a prominent role, and the settings are usually bucolic and rural landscapes.
The first eclogues emerged in Greco-Roman antiquity. They consisted of short poems, such as the Idylls of Theocritus (c. 310-260 BC) or the Eclogues of the Roman writer Virgil (70-19 BC). In the Spanish language, some eclogue authors included Juan del Encina (1468-1529), Garcilaso de la Vega (1498-1536), Lope de Vega (1562-1635), and Pedro Soto de Rojas (1584-1658).
Romance
The romance is a typical poem of the Hispanic and Latin American tradition, very popular in the 15th century, composed in a particular metrical style: octosyllabic verses with assonant rhyme in even-numbered lines. It is important not to confuse it with the narrative subgenre of the same name.
The romance was often collected in compilations or anthologies known as “romanceros.” These texts often lacked a specific authorship, that is, they belonged to an oral and popular tradition, inherited from the songs of medieval troubadours or minstrels. However, this tradition was revived by later authors, such as Federico García Lorca (1898-1936), whose Romancero gitano is particularly famous.
Epigram
The epigram consists of a short poetic composition in which some kind of thought or reflection is expressed in a playful, witty, or satirical manner. Their origin, like that of other poetic genres, dates back to ancient Greece, where they were composed as short, profound phrases to adorn a gift, an offering, a statue, or a tomb.
A good compendium of ancient epigrams was collected in the Palatine Anthology (917 AD), the definitive version of earlier Greco-Latin compilations.
However, the epigram was also widely cultivated in later literary traditions, adapting to the spirit of the times. In some periods, it was more piquant and popular; and in others, it tended to be more formal and educational.
Some modern epigrammatists include the Spaniard Ramón Gómez de la Serna (1888-1963), with his famous greguerías or aphorisms; and the Argentine Oliverio Girondo (1891-1967), with his letterheads. Also, in the Anglo-Saxon tradition, the authors John Donne (1572-1631), Jonathan Swift (1667-1745), Alexander Pope (1688-1744) and Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) stood out in the trade.
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Calligram
The calligram (a term derived from the French “calligramme”) is a type of poetry that combines written and visual expression, arranging its verses on the page in such a way as to compose a drawing, figure, or allegorical illustration of the poem’s content.
Calligrams were a typical exercise of the artistic avant-garde movements of European and American modernity, which attempted to break with Western aesthetic tradition. Prominent among these movements are literary Cubism, Creationism, and Ultraism.
The first calligrams are considered to have emerged in the 20th century, the work of the Frenchman Guillaume Apollinaire (1880-1918), although they had already existed for hundreds of years in the Arabic calligraphic tradition, for example.
The first collection of calligrams published in France was Apollinaire’s Alcohols in 1913, followed later by his book Calligrammes. Poems of Peace and War, in 1918. Other authors who explored this type of poem included the Chilean Vicente Huidobro (1893-1948), the Spaniard Guillermo de la Torre (1900-1971), the Cuban Guillermo Cabrera Infante (1929-2005), and the Uruguayan Francisco Esteban Acuña de Figueroa (1791-1862).
Paean
In its origins, in ancient Greece, the paean was a religious song, addressed to the god Apollo to ask for the healing of a sick person. Later, it was also used in the worship of other gods, such as Ares and Dionysus, although it was always linked to requests for protection and healing, especially in times of war.
Hence, the paean is considered an ancient type of war poem, of which only a few fragments survive from ancient composers, such as Bacchylides of Ceos and Pindar, both from the 6th and 5th centuries BC. C.
Epithalamium
This type of lyric poem of Greek origin, later cultivated by the Romans, consisted of a nuptial song, that is, a song to celebrate a wedding. In ancient times, it was sung by choirs of young men and maidens, accompanied by flutes and other instruments, to escort the bride and groom to the door of their chamber.
In ancient Rome, epithalamiums gave rise to the Fescennine verses, popular poems with vulgar and obscene content, which were in vogue until the time of the Latin poet Catullus (87-57 BC). However, after the fall of Rome, these types of compositions were forgotten.
After the Middle Ages, the epithalamium was rediscovered by Renaissance poets and cultivated by authors from very different eras and literary schools, such as Luis de Góngora (1561-1627), Rubén Darío (1867-1916), and Pablo Neruda (1904-1973). A good example of the latter is his 1952 collection of poems, The Captain’s Verses.
References
All the information we offer is supported by authoritative and up-to-date bibliographic sources, which ensure reliable content in line with our editorial principles.
- Cabo Aseguinolaza, F. and Gullón, G. (2023). Theory of the Poem. Lyrical Enunciation. BRILL.
- De la Vega, J. (1959). The Lyric Genre. Spanish Publications.
- Pfeiffer, J. (1951). Poetry. Toward an understanding of the poetic. Fondo de Cultura Económica.
