World Literature

Unit 2
Narrative Poetry: Poems That Tell a Story


Introduction to poetry: All good poetry rouses in the heart a sense of the mystery
and the meaning of the universe.it is not the utterance of mere fact...poetry is the
most condensed and noble form in which men have recorded demotion and wisdom.

Stanza: The term stanza means stopping place in Italian. A stanza is a group-
ing of lines, set off by a space, that usually has a set pattern of meter and rhyme.
In traditional English-language poems, stanzas can be identified and grouped to-
gether because they share a rhyme scheme or a fixed number of lines.
Rhyme: Words whose ending syllables have nearly the same ending sounds are
said to rhyme. Poets choose their words for their sound as well as their meaning.
Rhyme scheme: The rhyme scheme of a poem can be shown by assigning a dif-
ferent letter to the end of each line in a poem that has a unique sound. Therefore
rhyming lines will receive the same letter designation. The rhyme scheme of this
poem is: aabbccddeeffgghhiijjkkll.

Dialogue: conversation between characters.

Quatrain: A verse stanza of four lines, rhymed or (less often) unrhymed. The
quatrain is the most commonly used stanza in English and most modern European
languages. Most ballads and many hymns are composed in quatrains in which the
second and fourth lines rhyme (abcb or abab); the heroic quatrain of iambic pen-
tameters also rhymes abab.
Meter: The basic rhyming structure of a poem. The meter usually depends on the
acoustic properties or sound of the spoken words, such as the length or stress of
their syllables. The sound attributes that determine the meter may vary from lan-
guage to language, and sometimes also between poetic traditions.
Iambic Pentameter: The most common meter in English poetry is the iambic
pentameter. It is a sequence of five iambic feet called iambs each consisting of an
unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one (da-DuM)
Ballad: A folk song or orally transmitted poem that tells a popular story usually de-
rived from a tragic incident in local history or legend. . Common themes are love,
tragedy, courage, and the supernatural. The story is told simply, impersonally, and of-
ten with vivid dialogue. Appearing in many parts of Europe in the late Middle Ages,
ballads flourished particularly strongly in Scotland from the 15th century onward. Since
the 18th century, educated poets outside the folk song traditionnotably Coleridge
and Goethe have written imitations of the popular ballad's form and style: Col-
eridge's Rime of the Ancient Mariner (1798) is a celebrated example. There are two
types of ballads:

1. Folk Ballad: A narrative poem or song of unknown authorship, that has been
passed on, preserved, and adapted (often in several versions) in an oral tradition
before later being written down or recorded. Folk songs usually have an easily re-
membered melody and a simple poetic form such as the quatrain. The most promi-
nent categories are the narrative ballad and the lyric love song, but the term also
covers lullabies, carols, and various songs to accompany working (e.g. the sea
shanty), dancing, and drinking.
2. Literary Ballad: Ballads that are consciously written by a poet in imitation of the
folk ballad.
(partially excerpted and adapted from the literary dictionary on www.Answers.com)


How They Brought the Good News from Ghent to Aix
Robert Browning

Robert Browning (1812-1889): a distinguished English poet of the Victorian Pe-
riod. He began writing poetry as a teenager. Married poet Elizabeth Barrett. He de-
veloped, perfected and made popular a form of poetry called the dramatic monologue.

Points to Consider: This ballad was written in couplets. Dialogue helps show the
action of the story.

Literary Term:
Monologue: an extended speech uttered by one speaker, either to others or as if
alone. Significant varieties include the dramatic monologue (a kind of poem in which
the speaker who is revealed through his conversation is imagined to be addressing a
silent audience), and the soliloquy (in which the speaker is supposed to be overheard
while alone). (partially excerpted and adapted from the literary dictionary on www.Answers.com)

Questions #1-5
The Ballad of the Harp-Weaver
Edna St. Vincent Millay

Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950): An American poet who received a Pulitzer
Prize for poetry in 1923. Her early works had romantic themes and expressed emo-
tional states, while her later poems dealt more with political and social themes.

Points to Consider: This is a tragic ballad that includes a touch of the supernatural.
Can you think of any other stories like this? How about Hans Christian Andersons
The Little Match Girl or the Chinese folk story of Tochiro and the Crane Maiden?
Or Christs ultimate gift for us..

Questions #1-2


The Highwayman
Alfred Noyes

Alfred Noyes (1880-1958): A British poet, playwright, essayist, novelist, autobiog-
rapher, and short story writer. He is best known for his ballads and lyric poems about
English history and the sea.

Points to Consider: This poem is an example of a literary ballad. It is a tender,
tragic love story the setting, rhythm, and action is emphasized by effective repetition
of words and phrases.

Questions #1-4
**Assignment**

Write a paraphrase of any three stanzas from this poem. Note the differ-
ence it makes by telling this story as a poem.

Literary Term: Paraphrase the retelling of a work using your own words.
The Death of the Hired Man
Robert Frost

Robert Frost (1874-1963): is considered by many to be the outstanding poet of the
20th century. Born in California, he grew up in New England and worked as a farmer
and teacher. Unsuccessful as a poet, he moved to England, published two books of
poetry and returned to America as a famous poet. Among other awards, He received
four Pulitzers during his career. He is best known for writing about life in rural New
England.

Literary Term:
Blank Verse: unrhymed poetry, usually written in iambic pentameter with five
feet per line.
Meter: The basic rhyming structure of a poem. The meter usually depends on the
acoustic properties or sound of the spoken words, such as the length or stress of
their syllables. The sound attributes that determine the meter may vary from lan-
guage to language, and sometimes also between poetic traditions.
Feet: in most Western classical poetic traditions, the meter of a verse can
be described as a sequence of feet, each foot being a specific sequence
of syllable types such as stressed/unstressed. (In Latin or Greek poetry,
the sequence is often long/short rather than stressed/unstressed)
Iambic Pentameter: The most common meter in English poetry is the iambic
pentameter. It is a sequence of five iambic feet called iambs each consisting of
an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one (da-DuM)
Questions #1-5
**Assignment**
Write a character analysis of Silas. Use details from the poem to support
your ideas. Consider his strengths and weaknesses, pride, family relation-
ships, and education.
The Deacons Masterpiece, or the Wonderful One-Hoss Shay: A Logical Story
Oliver Wendell Holmes

Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894): Often called Mr. Boston because of his lively and attractive person-
ality, poetic skill, and conversational ability. His poem Old Ironsides prompted the preservation of the frigate
Constitution. Although he wrote novels and biographies, he is best remembered for his light, rambling essays.

Points to Consider: note the change in rhyme scheme and stanza length change throughout this popular bal-
lad.

Questions #1-4

The United States Navy's three-masted frigate USS Constitution, better known as "Old Ironsides," is the world's oldest commissioned
warship afloat.
In March 1794 Congress passed a naval act that called for the construction of a half-dozen frigates -- the 44-gun frigates Constitution,
United States, and President and the 36-gun frigates Congress, Constellation, and Chesapeake. The Constellation, launched in 1797, was
the first of the US Navy's original six frigates to go to sea, in June 1798.
Joshua Humphreys designed these frigates to be the Navy's capital ships, larger and more heavily armed than the standard run of frigate.
Humphreys had two criteria to satisfy, to out gun the next rate ship and to out-sail adversaries. Humphreys understood that optimization
of the two criteria became mutually exclusive when building a hull. Combining the weight of the guns and the buoyancy curve of a fast
sailing hull results in a force that distorts the hull. The distortion known as "hog" is the bending along the length of the keel. With mini-
mal buoyancy, the ends of the ship tend to drop down under the weight loads of the guns, while the center midbody, being more buoyant,
rises upward.
Humphreys recognized the need to stiffen the hull to resist the forces causing hogging. The successful integration of the two design crite-
ria demanded an innovated technical solution to the problems of strength of materials and hull design. Built in Boston of resilient live
oak, Paul Revere forged the copper spikes and bolts that held the planks in place and the copper sheathing that protected the hull. Thus
armed, she first put to sea in July 1798 and saw her first service patrolling the southeast coast of the United States during the Quasi-War
with France. In 1803 she was designated flagship for the Mediterranean squadron under Captain Edward Preble and went to serve against
the Barbary States of North Africa.
By early 1812, relations with Great Britain had deteriorated and the Navy began preparing for war, which was declared June 20. Cruising
off the Gulf of St. Lawrence on 19 August under the command of Captain Isaac Hull, Constitution encountered the Guerriere, , a fast
British frigate mounting 49 guns. Twenty minutes later Guerriere was a dismasted hulk, so badly damaged that she was not worth towing
to port. Hull had used his heavier broadsides and his ships superior sailing ability, while the British, to their astonishment, saw that their
shot seemed to rebound harmlessly off Constitutions hull giving her the nickname 'Old Ironsides'. It was a dramatic victory for Amer-
ica and for Constitution. In this battle of only half an hour the United States "rose to the rank of a first-class power"; the country was fired
with fresh confidence and courage; and union among the States was greatly strengthened.
An examination in 1830 found her unfit for sea, but the American public expressed great indignation at the recommendation that she be
scrapped, especially after publication of Oliver Wendell Holmes poem 'Old Ironsides'. Decommissioned in 1882, she was used as a re-
ceiving ship at Portsmouth, N.H. She returned to Boston to celebrate her centennial in 1897.
In 1905, public sentiment saved her once more from scrapping. In 1925 she was restored, through the donations of school children and
patriotic groups, and recommissioned in 1931. In 1941, she was placed in permanent commission, and an act of Congress in 1954 made
the Secretary of the Navy responsible for her upkeep.
Now the oldest US warship still in commission, Constitution remains a powerful reminder of the nations earliest steps into dominance of
the sea.
The USS Constellation in Baltimore is the 1854 sloop-of-war, bearing the same name as the famous frigate of 1797, as well as perhaps a
handful of timbers taken from the frigate and installed for sentimental purposes. In 1968 she was restored and configured to resemble the
1797 frigate Constellation which was built in Baltimore. The exterior appearance of the ship was altered to simulate the 18th century
frigate, with an open spar deck. An extensive restoration of the ship in the mid-1990s includes the removal of anachronistic features in-
stalled since 1955, along with others installed as early as 1913, to configure the ship as it appeared at the beginning of the Civil War.
http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/constitution.htm
World Literature
Unit 2
Narrative Poetry: Poems That Tell a Story
REVIEW




Terms:
Ballad
Stanzas
Dialogue
Folk ballad
Literary ballad
Dramatic monologue

Plots, Themes, and Settings:
Familiarize yourself with the selections in Unit 2 so that you can provide short answer,
fill-in-the blank or matching questions.

Quotations:
Familiarize yourself with the selections in Unit 2 and b prepared to match quotations
with titles of works.

Characters:
Match characters with the selections they are from.

Authors:
Be prepared to math authors with the titles of their works, and other key biographical
information.

Art:
Know the title, subject matter and artist of works that appeared in Unit 2.