Analysing Poetry

Two Major Categories of Poetry

It helps to separate poetry into two different categories: narrative poems and lyrical poems. A narrative poem seeks to tell a story. In this regard, its content might feel familiar given that we encounter stories in our daily life and engage with them in other texts, such as plays, novels or films. A lyrical poem, on the other hand, doesn't seek to tell a story; it aims to capture a particular moment, emotion or thought. In this regard, a lyrical poem is like a montage or a photograph.