Narrative poetry is a form of poetry that tells a story, often using the voices of both a narrator and characters. The entire story is usually written in metered verse, but it does not need to rhyme. Narrative poems can be short or long, and the story it relates to may be complex. They are normally dramatic, with various characters. Narrative poems include all epic poetry, and the various types of "lay", most ballads, and some idylls, as well as many poems not falling into a distinct type. Some narrative poetry takes the form of a novel in verse. Romance is a narrative poem that tells a story of chivalry, and examples include the Romance of the Rose or Tennysons Idylls of the King. Although those examples use medieval and Arthurian materials, romances may also tell stories from classical mythology. In many cultures, there remains a lively tradition of the recitation of traditional tales in verse format. Narrative poems are the oldest form of poetry and one of the oldest forms of literature. Epics like The Iliad and the Odyssey, The Epic of Gilgamesh, and The Mahabharata are ancient and long narrative poem examples. Some examples of modern narrative poems include Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson, The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo, Omeros by David Walcott, Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai, and Dreaming of You by Melissa Lozada-Oliva. The defining feature of a narrative poem is its plot. Narrative poems feature an entire story, told by one narrator from beginning to end. Narrative poetry is one of the major categories of poetry, but is distinguished from lyric poetry by its focus on plot over emotions.