Poetry Genres

叙事诗 – Narrative

A narrative poem that tells a series of event or a story - something that has a plot. It contains characters, setting, and conflict. A narrative poem differs from a story in that the poem uses devices such as compact language, rhyme, etc ("Narrative").

《Thoughts on a Still Night》– Li Bai

Before my bed, the moon is shining bright,

I think that it is frost upon the ground.

I raise my head and look at the bright moon,

I lower my head and think of home.

咏史诗 – Epic

An epic poem is a narrative poem that describes a significant historical event. Usually, an epic poem is centered on a heroic deed that is related to the belief and culture of a particular society. Epic poems are generally quite long relative to regular narrative poems ("The Epic").

A non-Chinese example of an epic poem is "Beowulf."

山水田园诗 – Landscape and pastoral

Shan (山) means mountain, shui (水) means water, tian (田) means field, and yuan (园) means garden. Therefore, these poems are often grouped together because they are all poems about nature.

Many of these poems were inspired by the Shanshui painting style. Some landscape and pastoral poems were written for particular art works while others are original textual arts.

《Visiting an Old Friend in His Farmhouse》– Meng Haoran

An old friend prepared a meal of chicken and rice,

And invited me to join him at his farmhouse.

The village is surrounded by green trees,

And the pale blue of outlying mountains.

The window opens to the garden and field,

While holding wine in our hands, we talked of mulberry and hemp.

We are looking forward to the Autumn Festival,

When I will return to visit the chrysanthemum bloom.

边塞诗 – Frontier fortress

Bian (边) means borders and sai (塞) means fortress, so frontier fortress poems have topics such as the scenery and the life experiences of the soldiers on the edges of the Chinese empires. The themes in this genre include pride for serving the country, the harsh life on the borders, and homesickness of the soldiers.

抒情诗 – Lyric

Lyric poetry has a personal nature. A lyric poem portrays a poet's feelings, state of mind, and perceptions. Unlike a narrative poem, a lyric poem does not tell a story with a plot or characters.

咏物诗 (Yongwu shi)

Yongwu shi (咏物诗) is a type of lyric poetry that uses objects - items, animals, etc. to express feelings and emotions.

References

"Narrative Poetry." Pflugerville Independent School District. Web. 01 Feb 2012. <http://www.pflugervilleisd.net/curriculum/ela/grade9/documents/Narrative_Poetry_Lesson.pdf>

"The Epic." Sandra Effinger -- MsEffie's LifeSavers for English Teachers. Web. 01 Feb 2012. <http://homepage.mac.com/mseffie/assignments/beowulf/epic.html>