What are the differences between poetry, drama and short stories?

Poetry is defined as literary work in metrical form, often employing meter and rhyme as well as descriptive and imaginative language. Drama is literature that focuses on dialogue and conflict, written to be performed on a stage. Short stories are prose fiction pieces that can be read in one sitting.

Drama, short stories and poetry all belong to the category of literature, though they differ according to the way they are written. Short stories are written in prose, or language that mimics natural and ordinary speech. Drama is written with heightened language, and poetry is written using varied literary devices as well as rhyme and meter.