Michael Hickey (Naples Sun-Times) regales his readers with an overview of "poetry periods"--beginning with the "antiquity period":
Many of the earliest poets were writers of EPIC POEMS, which were lengthy, mythical poems offering a world view. These poems often dealt with things like the relationship between the divine and human beings, creation, our first ancestors, afterlife etc.
Some examples are Homer, Virgil and Ovid. Some of these earlier poets were also writers of DIDACTIC POEMS such as Hesiod. These were followed by writers of Greek TRAGEDY and TRAGICOMEDY who became three of the most famous celebrity poets of antiquity.
The big three Tragedians were Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. Any other writers of this poetic technique were certainly overshadowed by these three.
The vast majority of the poets of antiquity, however, were writers of LYRIC POEMS, and these would include Pindar, Sappho, Catullus, and Horace among several others.
Don't miss Hickey's own poem, "Ancient High Drama," printed at the foot of the page...
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