There are many forms of poetry to explore during the month of April. As you discover new ones, list them below with a short definition. Be sure to link the form to a page where we can all place poems written in that form! The first one has been done for you.
Haikuis a poetic form and a type of poetry from the Japanese culture. Haiku combines form, content, and language in a meaningful, yet compact form. Haiku poets, which you will soon be, write about everyday things. Many themes include nature, feelings, or experiences. Usually they use simple words and grammar. The most common form for Haiku is three short lines. The first line usually contains five (5) syllables, the second line seven (7) syllables, and the third line contains five (5) syllables. Haiku doesn't rhyme. A Haiku must "paint" a mental image in the reader's mind. This is the challenge of Haiku - to put the poem's meaning and imagery in the reader's mind in ONLY 17 syllables over just three (3) lines of poetry!
Haiku's Include:
Seasonal Words
References to the senses
Posing ideas
By: Sydney F.
Cinquain is a five line poem which describes a person, place, or thing. It comes from the French word for five, "cinq". The form is as follows:
Line One: 2 syllables, NOUN
Line two: 4 syllables, ADJECTIVE(S)
Line three: 6 syllables, VERB(S)
Line four: 8 syllables, DESCRIPTIVE PHRASE
Line five: 2 syllables, SYNONYM OF 1st LINE
Acrostic is a poem when the first letter spells out a word or phrase. It comes from the Greek words ákrosstíchos which means top verse. Example:
Lacrosse is my favorite sport Ahhh the ball is coming my way Catch, cradle and throw Running up and down the field Overtime is scary Sprinting to get the ball So much fun Everyday after school
SONNET A sonnet is a poem with fourteen lines following a set rhyme scheme and logical structure. The first four lines of the sonnet usually introduce the topic of the sonnet. The sonnet has an a-b-a-b pattern of rhyming. Sonnets are usually associated with love. Shakespeare was famous for his sonnets.
“Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer's lease hath all too short a date: Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimm'd; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd; But thy eternal summer shall not fade Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest; Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou growest: So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this and this gives life to thee.” -William Shakespeare
Definition: An ABC poem is a poem that has lines to create a mood or a picture. The Lines are made of phrases. The lines each begin with a different letter in alphabetical order. For example, line 1 will begin with A, line 2 will begin with B, etc.
AN EXAMPLE: A lthough things are not perfect B ecause of trial or pain C ontinue in thanksgiving D o not begin to blame E ven when the times are hard F ierce winds are bound to blow
Tercet
By: Monica Gonzalez
Tercets are any three lines of poetry, whether as a stanza or as a poem, rhymed or unrhymed, metered or unmetered. The tercet is a poetry form with Italian roots. The haiku is a tercet poem. Example:
The Eagle
He clasps the crag with crooked hands:
Close to the sun it lonely lands,
Ringed with the azure world, it stands.
The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
He watches from his mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls.
color poems: valeria O Choose acolor and describe or compare things that have that color.
Red comes from Santa’s red cheeks As red as a berry. Red hides in a rainbow in the Soft, swift sky in the summertime. Red feels like love from your mother Anytime you’re sick. Red smells like a fresh scented Rose that just bloomed in your garden. Red works as a good luck color in a Country with over 2 billion people, Called China. Red is a color of embarrassment.
Enjambment Poem
-Kiki Dominguez
An Enjambment is the continuation of a sentence form one line or couplet into the next. For example:
Trees by Joyce Kilmer
I think that I shall never see A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest Against the sweet earth's flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day, And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in summer wear A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain; Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me, But only God can make a tree.
Lyric poetry
By: Angie Tena
Lyrics poetry consists of a poem, such as a sonnet or an ode, that expresses the thoughts and feelings of the poet. The term lyrics is now commonly referred to as the words to a song. Lyrics poetry does not tell a story which portrays characters and actions. The lyric poet addresses the reader directly, portraying his or her own feeling, state of mind, and perceptions.
Dying (aka I heard a fly buzz when I died ) by Emily Dickinson I heard a fly buzz when I died; The stillness round my form Was like the stillness in the air Between the heaves of storm. Click the following link for the full version of Dying Rhymes: A rhyming poem has repetition or similar sounding words in different lines of 2 or 3 words per line. This type of poem is often used in nursery rhymes because it is easy to remember. For example:
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall, All the Kings horses, and all the kings men, Couldn't put Humpty back together again! Hannah A.
Definition of Limericks Limericks are short sometimes bawdy, humorous poems of consisting of five Anapaestic lines. Lines 1, 2, and 5 of a Limerick have seven to ten syllables and rhyme with one another. Lines 3 and 4 have five to seven syllables and also rhyme with each other. Edward Lear is famous for his Book of Nonsense which included the poetry form of Limericks.
Example: Examples of Limericks by Edward Lear There was an Old Man of Vienna, Who lived upon Tincture of Senna; When that did not agree, He took Camomile Tea, That nasty Old Man of Vienna.
There was an Old Person whose habits, Induced him to feed upon rabbits; When he'd eaten eighteen, He turned perfectly green, Upon which he relinquished those habits.
There was an Old Man of the West, Who wore a pale plum-coloured vest; When they said, 'Does it fit?' He replied, 'Not a bit!' That uneasy Old Man of the West.
There was an Old Man in a tree, Who was horribly bored by a Bee; When they said, 'Does it buzz?' He replied, 'Yes, it does!' 'It's a regular brute of a Bee!'
There was an Old Man in a boat, Who said, 'I'm afloat, I'm afloat!' When they said, 'No! you ain't!' He was ready to faint, That unhappy Old Man in a boat. Kate H **Blank Verse** definition- Blank Verse is Poetry that is written in unrhymed iambic pentameter. Blank verse is often unobtrusive and the iambic pentameter form often resembles the rhythms of ordinary speech. William Shakespeare wrote most of his plays in blank verse.
Example of Blank Verse- Excerpt from Macbeth by William Shakespeare Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day, To the last syllable of recorded time; And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more: it is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.
Definition: A couplet has rhyming stanzas made up of two lines.
Example:
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall/Humpty Dumpty had a great fall/All the king's horses and all the king's men/Couldn't put Humpty together again!"
-famous nursery rhyme
Ballad by Ellie P A ballad is a form of poetry that is often set to music. Most ballads are written in four line stanzas and in iambic tetrameter. Usually, the second and fourth line of a stanza are the only lines that rhyme. Ballads are usually used to express deep emotions.
Ballad of women i love by Eugene FieldPrudence Mears hath an old blue plate Hid away in an oaken chest, And a Franklin platter of ancient date Beareth Amandy Baker's crest; What times soever I've been their guest, Says I to myself in an undertone: "Of womenfolk, it must be confessed, These do I love, and these alone."
Well, again, in the Nutmeg State, Dorothy Pratt is richly blest With a relic of art and a land effete-- A pitcher of glass that's cut, not pressed. And a Washington teapot is possessed Down in Pelham by Marthy Stone-- Think ye now that I say in jest "These do I love, and these alone?"
Were Hepsy Higgins inclined to mate, Or Dorcas Eastman prone to invest In Cupid's bonds, they could find their fate In the bootless bard of Crockery Quest. For they've heaps of trumpery--so have the rest Of those spinsters whose ware I'd like to own; You can see why I say with such certain zest, "These do I love, and these alone."Free VerseIsabella Marshall Definition of Free Verse Free Verse is a form of Poetry composed of either rhymed or unrhymed lines that have no set fixed metrical pattern. The early 20th-century poets were the first to write what they called "free verse" which allowed them to break from the formula and rigidity of traditional poetry.
Example of Free Verse Song of Myself by Walt Whitman I celebrate myself, and sing myself, And what I assume you shall assume, For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you. I loaf and invite my soul, I lean and loaf at my ease observing a spear of summer grass.
Shape Poem A shape poem is a poem that if formatted to form the shape of the object it is describing
- Sarah Mazer
A name poem is a poem that is used to describe one word. After the first line, which describes the word, the first letter of the rest of the lines spells out the object or name you are describing. - Chanler Harris
Irony
Irony illustrates a situation, or a use of language, involving some kind of discrepancy. The result of an action or situation is the reverse of what is expected. A famous example of irony is ''Water, water, every where, Nor any drop to drink' in the Ancient Mariner.example:
Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Water, water, every where,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink.
Daniela Salcedo.
TANKA POEMS - Sophie Brooke
Tanka poems are a Japanese form of poetry and they are the oldest style of writing in Japan. The first and third lines have five syllables while the other lines have seven syllables.
"The leaves change color
When the fall winds start to blow,
Yellow, orange and brown
Are the colors of fall leaves,
Slowly falling from the trees"
Haiku is a poetic form and a type of poetry from the Japanese culture. Haiku combines form, content, and language in a meaningful, yet compact form. Haiku poets, which you will soon be, write about everyday things. Many themes include nature, feelings, or experiences. Usually they use simple words and grammar. The most common form for Haiku is three short lines. The first line usually contains five (5) syllables, the second line seven (7) syllables, and the third line contains five (5) syllables. Haiku doesn't rhyme. A Haiku must "paint" a mental image in the reader's mind. This is the challenge of Haiku - to put the poem's meaning and imagery in the reader's mind in ONLY 17 syllables over just three (3) lines of poetry!
Haiku's Include:
- Seasonal Words
- References to the senses
- Posing ideas
By: Sydney F.Cinquain is a five line poem which describes a person, place, or thing. It comes from the French word for five, "cinq". The form is as follows:
Line One: 2 syllables, NOUN
Line two: 4 syllables, ADJECTIVE(S)
Line three: 6 syllables, VERB(S)
Line four: 8 syllables, DESCRIPTIVE PHRASE
Line five: 2 syllables, SYNONYM OF 1st LINE
Acrostic is a poem when the first letter spells out a word or phrase. It comes from the Greek words ákros stíchos which means top verse. Example:
Lacrosse is my favorite sport
Ahhh the ball is coming my way
Catch, cradle and throw
Running up and down the field
Overtime is scary
Sprinting to get the ball
So much fun
Everyday after school
SONNET
A sonnet is a poem with fourteen lines following a set rhyme scheme and logical structure. The first four lines of the sonnet usually introduce the topic of the sonnet. The sonnet has an a-b-a-b pattern of rhyming. Sonnets are usually associated with love. Shakespeare was famous for his sonnets.
“Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee.”
-William Shakespeare
ABC Poetry Style
By: Paige P.
Definition: An ABC poem is a poem that has lines to create a mood or a picture. The Lines are made of phrases. The lines each begin with a different letter in alphabetical order. For example, line 1 will begin with A, line 2 will begin with B, etc.
AN EXAMPLE:
A lthough things are not perfect
B ecause of trial or pain
C ontinue in thanksgiving
D o not begin to blame
E ven when the times are hard
F ierce winds are bound to blow
Tercet
By: Monica Gonzalez
Tercets are any three lines of poetry, whether as a stanza or as a poem, rhymed or unrhymed, metered or unmetered. The tercet is a poetry form with Italian roots. The haiku is a tercet poem. Example:
The Eagle
He clasps the crag with crooked hands:
Close to the sun it lonely lands,
Ringed with the azure world, it stands.
The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
He watches from his mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls.
color poems: valeria O
Choose a color and describe or compare things that have that color.
Red comes from Santa’s red cheeks
As red as a berry.
Red hides in a rainbow in the
Soft, swift sky in the summertime.
Red feels like love from your mother
Anytime you’re sick.
Red smells like a fresh scented
Rose that just bloomed in your garden.
Red works as a good luck color
in a Country with over 2 billion people,
Called China.
Red is a color of embarrassment.
Enjambment Poem
-Kiki Dominguez
An Enjambment is the continuation of a sentence form one line or couplet into the next. For example:
Trees
by
Joyce Kilmer
I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the sweet earth's flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.
Lyric poetry
By: Angie Tena
Lyrics poetry consists of a poem, such as a sonnet or an ode, that expresses the thoughts and feelings of the poet. The term lyrics is now commonly referred to as the words to a song. Lyrics poetry does not tell a story which portrays characters and actions. The lyric poet addresses the reader directly, portraying his or her own feeling, state of mind, and perceptions.
Dying
(aka I heard a fly buzz when I died )
by
Emily Dickinson
I heard a fly buzz when I died;
The stillness round my form
Was like the stillness in the air
Between the heaves of storm.
Click the following link for the full version of Dying
Rhymes:
A rhyming poem has repetition or similar sounding words in different lines of 2 or 3 words per line. This type of poem is often used in nursery rhymes because it is easy to remember. For example:
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall,
All the Kings horses, and all the kings men,
Couldn't put Humpty back together again!
Hannah A.
Limericks are short sometimes bawdy, humorous poems of consisting of five Anapaestic lines. Lines 1, 2, and 5 of a Limerick have seven to ten syllables and rhyme with one another. Lines 3 and 4 have five to seven syllables and also rhyme with each other. Edward Lear is famous for his Book of Nonsense which included the poetry form of Limericks.
Examples of Limericks
by
Edward Lear
There was an Old Man of Vienna,
Who lived upon Tincture of Senna;
When that did not agree,
He took Camomile Tea,
That nasty Old Man of Vienna.
There was an Old Person whose habits,
Induced him to feed upon rabbits;
When he'd eaten eighteen,
He turned perfectly green,
Upon which he relinquished those habits.
There was an Old Man of the West,
Who wore a pale plum-coloured vest;
When they said, 'Does it fit?'
He replied, 'Not a bit!'
That uneasy Old Man of the West.
There was an Old Man in a tree,
Who was horribly bored by a Bee;
When they said, 'Does it buzz?'
He replied, 'Yes, it does!'
'It's a regular brute of a Bee!'
There was an Old Man in a boat,
Who said, 'I'm afloat, I'm afloat!'
When they said, 'No! you ain't!'
He was ready to faint,
That unhappy Old Man in a boat.
Kate H
**Blank Verse**
definition-
Blank Verse is Poetry that is written in unrhymed iambic pentameter. Blank verse is often unobtrusive and the iambic pentameter form often resembles the rhythms of ordinary speech. William Shakespeare wrote most of his plays in blank verse.
Example of Blank Verse-
Excerpt from Macbeth
by
William Shakespeare
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
A couplet poem
Lexi ADefinition: A couplet has rhyming stanzas made up of two lines.
Example:
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall/Humpty Dumpty had a great fall/All the king's horses and all the king's men/Couldn't put Humpty together again!"
-famous nursery rhyme
Ballad
by Ellie P
A ballad is a form of poetry that is often set to music. Most ballads are written in four line stanzas and in iambic tetrameter. Usually, the second and fourth line of a stanza are the only lines that rhyme. Ballads are usually used to express deep emotions.
Ballad of women i love by Eugene FieldPrudence Mears hath an old blue plate
Hid away in an oaken chest,
And a Franklin platter of ancient date
Beareth Amandy Baker's crest;
What times soever I've been their guest,
Says I to myself in an undertone:
"Of womenfolk, it must be confessed,
These do I love, and these alone."
Well, again, in the Nutmeg State,
Dorothy Pratt is richly blest
With a relic of art and a land effete--
A pitcher of glass that's cut, not pressed.
And a Washington teapot is possessed
Down in Pelham by Marthy Stone--
Think ye now that I say in jest
"These do I love, and these alone?"
Were Hepsy Higgins inclined to mate,
Or Dorcas Eastman prone to invest
In Cupid's bonds, they could find their fate
In the bootless bard of Crockery Quest.
For they've heaps of trumpery--so have the rest
Of those spinsters whose ware I'd like to own;
You can see why I say with such certain zest,
"These do I love, and these alone."Free VerseIsabella Marshall
Definition of Free Verse
Free Verse is a form of Poetry composed of either rhymed or unrhymed lines that have no set fixed metrical pattern. The early 20th-century poets were the first to write what they called "free verse" which allowed them to break from the formula and rigidity of traditional poetry.
Example of Free Verse
Song of Myself
by
Walt Whitman
I celebrate myself, and sing myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you. I loaf and invite my soul,
I lean and loaf at my ease observing a spear of summer grass.
Shape Poem A shape poem is a poem that if formatted to form the shape of the object it is describing
- Sarah Mazer
Name Poems
A name poem is a poem that is used to describe one word. After the first line, which describes the word, the first letter of the rest of the lines spells out the object or name you are describing.- Chanler Harris
Irony
Irony illustrates a situation, or a use of language, involving some kind of discrepancy. The result of an action or situation is the reverse of what is expected. A famous example of irony is ''Water, water, every where, Nor any drop to drink' in the Ancient Mariner. example:Rime of the Ancient Mariner
by
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Water, water, every where,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink.
Daniela Salcedo.
TANKA POEMS - Sophie Brooke
Tanka poems are a Japanese form of poetry and they are the oldest style of writing in Japan. The first and third lines have five syllables while the other lines have seven syllables.
"The leaves change color
When the fall winds start to blow,
Yellow, orange and brown
Are the colors of fall leaves,
Slowly falling from the trees"