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Question

Difficulty: MediumTypes and Genres of Poetry

Read the stanza below:

'The horseman rode through dark of night,
Across the stormy sea,
"Oh, open wide your door, my love,
And fly away with me!"'

Which poetic genre is represented by the excerpt above?

  1. BalladAnswer
  2. B
    Sonnet
  3. C
    Ode
  4. D
    Dirge

Answer

Ballad
The correct option is the ballad because the stanza exhibits the narrative storytelling, dialogue, and typical quatrain structure characteristic of folk and literary ballads.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the structural and thematic characteristics of the poem extract.
The excerpt features a four-line stanza (quatrain) telling a story about a horseman calling to his love.
Identifying narrative content and stanza structure is essential for subgenre classification.
2
Compare these features to standard poetic genres.
A narrative poem in short stanzas intended to tell a folk or dramatic story is defined as a ballad.
Distinguishing story-based poetry from lyrical, elegiac, or formal laudatory poetry reveals the correct genre.

Key Concept

Ballad Subgenre Identification
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Types and Genres of Poetry

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