The term refers to the form and metrical patterns, as well as content, of poetry. It

relates to artistic taste and appeal in poetry criticism. Ge (格) refers to the need

to satisfy established metrical rules, while diao (调) refers to the need to follow

tone and rhyme schemes in poetry. Some poetry critics of the Tang and Song

dynasties stressed the importance of form and melody in order to establish a set

of elegant and authoritative standards for poetry. Theory on form and melody

in the Ming and Qing dynasties often emphasized the importance for poets to

abide by Confucian orthodoxy, thus constraining their expression of feelings

and artistic creations. The term was later also used in discussions of other forms

of art.