Poems are a melody of feelings expressed on paper. Since ancient times, people have tried with their help to express everything that was happening in the soul: sadness, joy, grief, happiness, and of course, love. In the entire history of mankind, so many of these works have been written that it is easier to count all the stars in the sky than to compile a complete catalog of them.
It should be noted that there are many types of verses. Some of them are long, others are very short. And they all have their own names and features. For example, Japanese short verses are haiku, and the longest are considered poems. So, what else do we know about this type of literary art?
Poems are ...
As always, you should start with the wording, definition of the concept. So, verses are literary works written according to the laws of versification. The latter refers to the use of rhyme, composing stanzas, the consonance of certain syllables, and so on.
At the same time, the presence of stanzas is a fundamental factor. Indeed, unlike rhyme, they are present in all kinds of verses. Their number can be either fixed or arbitrary. So, the poem “Shahnameh” (Firdousi) has more than one million lines, and its author spent 35 years of his life writing it.
Types of Poems
Poems are not something that can be squeezed into the framework of exact science. However, a certain classification still exists, although it is impossible to call it ideal. The reason for this is the versatility of these works, as well as their modification depending on the specific country and region.
But there are three main criteria by which verses are classified:
- number of lines - single-line, three-line, multi-line, and so on;
- the presence or absence of rhyme - a white verse, monorim and the like;
- size - short or long.
There are also special styles of writing poetry, thanks to which these works are immediately attributed to a separate category. For example, a centon is a creation made up of lines taken from other verses.