- Elegy. An elegy is a poem to honor the dead. Write an elegy for someone or something that has passed. Some examples:
“Elegy for My Father, Who is Not Dead” Andrew Hutchins
“Elegy in a Country Churchyard” by Thomas Gray
This poem should be about a page long.
- Write a dramatic monologue. A dramatic monologue is a kind of poem in which the poet writes from the point of view of a character, not themselves.
This assignment should be about a page long.
For instance, Robert Browning’s “My Last Duchess” is written from the point of view of a jealous, murderous duke, which Browning himself certainly was not.
- Write an aubade. An “aubade” is a kind of poem also called “a dawn song,” or an “alba.” Traditionally, it is from the point of view of a lover or lovers who have to part in the morning after a night together. Most of the time, they have to separate because one of them is married to someone else. This assignment should be about a page long.
- Write a ballad. A ballad is both a song, a story, and a poem. A traditional ballad poem is usually four-line stanzas in the form of quatrains. They usually have a narrative, (tell a story). Often ballads are about crimes.