Poems in the body of the text will be tagged using the <div0> for the main structural element, using a "type" attribute to identify the overall structure, and with <div1> tags (and so on) for other structural elements within the poem itself (except for the lowest level, e.g. stanza, verse paragraph--see below). The most common attributes for poems will be:
Use the <head> tag for all titles, subtitles, dedications, etc. For anything but the main title, use the "type=" attribute to note its function. Typical types of <head>ings other than the main title include:
<head type="sub">
<head type="dedication">
An epigraph, or quotation of a passage from another poem or work,
frequently precedes a poem. There are two different kinds of epigraphs--those
that cite an author, and those that do not. There can also be prose or
verse epigraphs For those with no author, the structure is fairly simple:
<epigraph><p>The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.<p></epigraph><epigraph><l>Use every man after his desert</l>
<l>And who should 'scape whipping?</l></epigraph>
For those epigraphs which cite an author, the structure is more formal:
<epigraph><cit><q><p>The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.</p></q>
<bibl>Henry Thoreau</bibl></cit></epigraph>
Within a poetic hierarchy, the "lowest" distinct unit of poetic composition
gets the element tag <lg> rather than a <div> tag, with the type of
grouping noted using the type attribute. The most frequent types of line
groups you will encounter include:
(If you have questions about these, please ask). Thus, a poem divided into
regular stanzas would be encoded:
<div0 type="poem">
<lg type="stanza">
<l>[line of stanza] </l>
<l>[line of stanza]</l>
</lg>
In a more highly structured poem, each of the upper and middle units would
receive <div> tags while the lowest level gets tagged with <lg>.
Thus, in a poem arranged poem-book-canto-stanza:
<div0 type="poem">
<div1 type="book">
<div2 type="canto">
<lg type="stanza">
For sonnets, the structural elements are noted using <lg>:
<div0 type="sonnet">
<lg type="octet">
[first eight lines]
</lg>
<lg type ="sestet">
[last six lines]
</lg>
</div0>
However, if the internal structure of a sonnet is not readily apparent, do not use <lg>.
Lines of verse use the <l> tag. They do not require an </l> tag--there
is no need to include it, particularly if you're using a basic text editor.
Lines that are indented are noted used the attribute "rend"
Occasionally, a poem will end with a date, or some other type of information not part of the poem. This information is usually encoded using the <trailer> tag, as, for example: <trailer><date>1876.</date></trailer>.
About the VWWP
To the VWWP Home Page
To the VWWP Library
Last updated: 14 July 1998
URL: http://www.indiana.edu/~letrs/vwwp/vwwp-verse.html
Comments: letrs@indiana.edu