Lesson Topic 1: Narrative Poems

A narrative poem is a poem that tells a story. Ideally, a narrative poem should balance the story with the poetry and not be merely a story in the form of a poem. Some examples of famous narrative poems are:

"The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
The Iliad by Homer
"The Raven" by Edgar Allen Poe
"Paul Revere's Ride" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Narrative poems have many similarities to short stories. For example, short stories have characters, a setting, a conflict, and a clear beginning, middle, and end. Narrative poems have all of these elements as well. Sometimes there may only be one character, or there may be many characters.

In order to analyze a narrative poem, first read through it with the following questions in mind:

In order to analyze a narrative poem, first read through it with the following questions in mind:
Who are the characters in
the poem? What are the characters
doing, or what is happening? Why are these events happening? How are the characters affected by the action or events? What can be learned from the poem?

It is now time to read a narrative poem titled "The Highwayman." As you read the poem, see if you can answer the questions above. This will help you to better understand the poem as well.

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