Narrative verse [nar-uh-tiv] [vurs] Narrative poetry is poetry that has a plot that usually tells a story using

a poetic theme. The poems that make up this genre may be short or long, and the story it relates to may be simple or complex. The focus of narrative poetry is often the pros and cons of life. _____________________________________________________________________ 1. Ballad [bal-uhd] Ballad poetry usually rhymes and is written in a specific form, using refrains and stanzas. Many ballad poems were originally set to music. Some famous ballad poems were written for children, or written to tell a story or record a historic moment. Francis James Child (February 1, 1825 September 11, 1896) An American scholar, educator, and folklorist, best known today for his collection of folk songs known as the Child Ballads. Child was Boylston professor of rhetoric and oratory at Harvard University, where he produced influential editions of English poetry.

YOUNG BEKIE A ballad, which with a number of variants and names such as "Lord Baker", "Lord Bateman" _____________________________________________________________________

Robert Burns (25 January 1759 21 July 1796)

(also known as Rabbie Burns, Scotland's favourite son, the Ploughman [plamn] Poet, Robden of Solway Firth, the Bard of Ayrshire and in Scotland as simply The Bard) A Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who have written in the Scots language

______________________________________________________________________ JOHN BARLEYCORN John Barleycorn" is an English folksong. The character of John Barleycorn in the song is a personification of the important cereal crop barley and of the alcoholic beverages made from it, beer and whisky. In the song, John Barleycorn is represented as suffering attacks, death and indignities that correspond to the various stages of barley cultivation, such as reaping and malting. There was three kings into the east, Three kings both great and high, And they hae sworn a solemn oath John Barleycorn should die. (lines from John Barleycorn by Robert Burns)

_____________________________________________________________________

Sir Walter Scott (15 August 1771 21 September 1832) A Scottish historical novelist, playwright, and poet, popular throughout much of the world during his time.

BORDER BALLAD Border ballads, like all traditional ballads, were traditionally sung unaccompanied. There may be a repeating motif, but there is no "chorus" as in most pop songs. The supernatural is a common theme in Border ballads, as are recountings of raids and battles. ___________________________________________________________________ Sidney Lanier (February 3, 1842 September 7, 1881) An American musician and poet. He published a series of lectures entitled The English Novel and a book entitled The Science of English Verse (1880), in which he developed a novel theory exploring the connections between musical notation and meter in poetry.

A BALLAD OF THE TREES AND THE MASTER INTO THE WOODS MY MASTER WENT,

CLEAN FORSPENT, FORSPENT. INTO THE WOODS MY MASTER CAME, FORSPENT WITH LOVE AND SHAME. BUT THE OLIVES THEY WERE NOT BLIND TO HIM, THE LITTLE GRAY LEAVES WERE KIND TO HIM: THE THORN-TREE HAD A MIND TO HIM WHEN INTO THE WOODS HE CAME. (lines from A Ballad of the Trees and the Master) ____________________________________________________________________ Robert Southey (12 August 1774 21 March 1843) An English poet. Southey was a prolific letter writer, literary scholar, essay writer, historian and biographer.

MARY - A BALLAD WHO IS SHE, THE POOR MANIAC, WHOSE WILDLY-FIX'D EYES

SEEM A HEART OVERCHARGED TO EXPRESS? SHE WEEPS NOT, YET OFTEN AND DEEPLY SHE SIGHS, SHE NEVER COMPLAINS, BUT HER SILENCE IMPLIES THE COMPOSURE OF SETTLED DISTRESS. (lines from Mary - A Ballad ) *************************************************************************************************** Beast Epic [beest] [ep-ik] The beast fable or beast epic, usually a short story or poem in which animals talk, is a traditional form of allegorical writing. It is a type of fable in which human behaviour and weaknesses are subject to scrutiny by reflection into the animal kingdom.

Geoffrey Chaucer [chaw-ser] (c. 1343 25 October 1400) Known as the Father of English literature, is widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages and was the first poet to have been buried in Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey.

THE NUN'S PRIEST'S TALE

One of The Canterbury Tales by the Middle English poet Geoffrey Chaucer. Composed in the 1390s, the 626-line narrative poem is a beast fable and mock epic based on an incident in the Reynard cycle. The story of Chanticleer and the Fox became further popularised in Britain through this means. ___________________________________________________________________ Hans Christian Andersen (April 2, 1805 August 4, 1875) A Danish (Denmark) author, fairy tale writer, and poet noted for his children's stories. His poetry and stories have been translated into more than 150 languages. They have inspired motion pictures, plays, ballets, and animated films.

THE BEETLE WHO WENT ON HIS TRAVELS _____________________________________________________________________

Lewis Carroll (27 January 1832- 14 January 1898)

An English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass

ALICE IN WONDERLAND (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland) It tells of a girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world (Wonderland) populated by peculiar, anthropomorphic creatures. The tale plays with logic, giving the story lasting popularity with adults as well as children. It is considered to be one of the best examples of the literary nonsense genre, and its narrative course and structure have been enormously influential, especially in the fantasy genre.

**************************************************************************************************** Epic [ep-ik] Epic, long narrative poem, majestic both in theme and style. Epics deal with legendary or historical events of national or universal significance, involving action of broad sweep and grandeur. Most epics deal with the exploits of a single individual, thereby giving unity to the composition. Typically, an epic includes several features: the introduction of supernatural forces that shape the action; conflict in the form of battles or other physical combat; and stylistic conventions such as an invocation to the Muse, a formal statement of the theme, long lists of the protagonists involved, and set speeches couched in elevated language.

Homer /homr/

Is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.

(Idealized portrayal of Homer dating to the Hellenistic period. British Museum.)

ILLIAD The Iliad is among the oldest extant works of Western literature, and its written version is usually dated to around the eighth century BC.[1] The Iliad contains over 15,000 lines, and is written in Homeric Greek, a literary amalgam of Ionic Greek with other dialects. ODYSSEY The poem mainly centers on the Greek hero Odysseus (or Ulysses, as he was known in Roman myths) and his long journey home after the fall of Troy.

Ludovico Ariosto (Italian pronunciation: [ludo'viko a'rjosto] 8 September 1474 6 July 1533)

ORLANDO FURIOSO (THE FRENZY OF ORLANDO, MORE LITERALLY MAD ORLANDO) An Italian epic poem by Ludovico Ariosto which has exerted a wide influence on later culture. The earliest version appeared in 1516, although the poem was not published in its complete form until 1532. The action takes place against the background of the war between, on the one side, Charlemagne and his Christian paladins, and, on the other side, the Saracen army which is attempting to invade Europe. However, Ariosto has little concern for historical or geographical accuracy, and the poem wanders at will from Japan to the Hebrides, as well as including many fantastical and magical elements, such as a trip to the moon and an array of fantastical creatures including a gigantic sea monster called the orc and the hippogriff. Many themes are interwoven in its complicated, episodic structure, but the most important plot is the paladin Orlando's unrequited love for the pagan princess Angelica, which develops into the madness of the title. After this comes the love between the female Christian warrior Bradamante and the Saracen Ruggiero, who are supposed to be the ancestors of Ariosto's patrons, the d'Este family of Ferrara.

(Ruggiero Rescuing Angelica)

_____________________________________________________________________ Edmund Spenser (c. 1552 13 January 1599) An English poet best known for The Faerie Queene, an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He is recognised as one of the premier craftsmen of Modern English verse in its infancy, and one of the greatest poets in the English language

THE FAERIE QUEENE The Faerie Queene is an incomplete English epic poem by Edmund Spenser. The first half was published in 1590, and a second instalment was published in 1596. The Faerie Queene is notable for its form: it was the first work written in Spenserian stanza and is one of the longest poems in the English language. Metrical Tale [me-tri-kuh l] [teyl] A Metrical Tale is a type of narrative poem that has an absolute acquired story that is usually in the form of verse or poem. It may be considered a metrical tale if the narrator or the speaker of the narrative poem speaks in a first-position basis. Alfred Tennyson (6 August 1809 6 October 1892) Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom during much of Queen Victoria's reign and remains one of the most popular poets in the English language.

THE LADY OF SHALOTT The Millers Tale by GEOFFREY CHAUCER

(The character "Miller" from Tale) Synopsis

The Miller's Prologue and

It is a vulgar, ribald, and contrast to the courtly love of

satirical fabliau in stark "The Knight's Tale."

"The Miller's Tale" is the story of a carpenter, his lovely wife, and the two clerks (students) who are eager to get her into bed. The carpenter, John, lives in Oxford with his much younger wife, Alisoun, who is something of a local beauty. To make a bit of extra money, John rents out a room in his house to a poor but clever scholar named Nicholas, who has taken a liking to Alisoun. Another scholar in the town, Absolon the parish clerk, also has his eye on Alisoun. The action begins when John makes a day trip to a nearby town. While he is gone, Nicholas convinces Alisoun to have sex with him, and hence begins their affair. Shortly afterward, Alisoun goes to church, where Absolon sees her and immediately falls in love. He tries to win Alisoun's sexual favors by singing love songs under her window during the full moon and taking a part in the local play to try to get her attention. Alisoun rebuffs all his efforts, however, for she's already involved with Nicholas.

Nicholas, meanwhile, longs to spend a whole night in Alisoun's arms rather than just the few moments they have managed to steal when John isn't around. With Alisoun, he hatches a scheme that will enable him to do this. He convinces John that God is about to send a great flood like the one he sent in Noah's time. He says that God told him they could save themselves by hanging three large buckets from the ceiling to sleep in. Once the waters rose, they would cut the ropes and float away. John believes him and duly climbs into his bucket. He thinks Nicholas and Alisoun are doing the same, but in fact, they are spending the night together in John's bed. That same night, Absolon comes to the window and begs Alisoun to give him a kiss. At first she refuses him, but she finally appears to give in. Instead of presenting her lips to Absolon's, though, she sticks her bottom out the window, and Absolon kisses her "ers" in the dark. Angry at being fooled, Absolon gets a hot poker with which he intends to brand Alisoun. When he comes back to her window, though, Nicholas sticks his bottom out in an attempt to get in on the joke. Absolon brands him with the hot poker, and he cries out "Water!" to assuage the pain. John, hearing this from his bucket, thinks the flood is upon them and cuts the rope that's attaching him to the ceiling, sending him crashing to the floor. The townspeople hear the racket, rush to the scene, and, upon hearing Nicholas's version of events, laugh at and mock poor John.

**************************************************************************************************** Romance [roh-mans] Romance or chivalric romance is a style of heroic prose and verse narrative that was popular in the aristocratic circles of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a knight errant portrayed as having heroic qualities, who goes on a quest. Popular literature also drew on themes of romance, but with ironic, satiric or burlesque intent. Romances reworked legends, fairy tales, and history to suit the readers' and hearers' tastes William Blake (28 November 1757 12 August 1827)

An English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age.

THE MARRIAGE OF HEAVEN AND HELL The Marriage of Heaven and Hell is a book by the English poet and printmaker William Blake. It is a series of texts written in imitation of biblical prophecy but expressing Blake's own intensely personal Romantic and revolutionary beliefs. The Marriage of Heaven and Hell is probably the most influential of Blake's works. Its vision of a dynamic relationship between a stable "Heaven" and an energized "Hell"

_____________________________________________________________________

John Dryden (9 August 1631 1 May 1700) An influential English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright

THE INDIAN QUEEN He collaborated with Robert Howard, his sisters husband in writing this work. ____________________________________________________________________ William Wordsworth (7 April 1770 23 April 1850) A major English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with the 1798 joint publication Lyrical Ballads.

THE PRELUDE ____________________________________________________________________

Samuel Taylor Coleridge /kolrd/ (21 October 1772 25 July 1834) An English poet, Romantic, literary critic and philosopher who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets.

THE RIME OF ANCIENT MARINER _____________________________________________________________________ Emily Dickinson (December 10, 1830 May 15, 1886)

A CHARM INVESTS A FACE