Poetry- Narrative

Narrative Peom- A Poem that tells a story


So today we're talking about narrative poems. Peoms that tell stories.

Here's an example:
Richard Cory by Edwin Arlington Robinson

Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
We people on the pavement looked at him:
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean favored, and imperially slim.

And he was always quietly arayed,
And he was always human when he talked:
But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
"Good morning", and he glittered when he walked.

And he was rich-es, richer than a king-
And admirable schooled in every grace:
In fine, we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place.

So on we worked, and waited for the light,
And went without meat, and cursed the bread;
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
Went home and put a bullet through his head.

One of the reasons I really like this poem is the irony and that the last line was unexpected. But see here that it tells the story of Richard Cory and how he died. Narrative poems can be about anything and they're mostly free verse. Although with all the examples I've seen, they are arranged in a quatrain (four lines) or a sestet (six lines).

So enjoy writing your poems! So have you written narrative poem? What's your favorite narrative poem?

Sincerely,
Peony