You are on page 1of 17

Forms of

Poetry

Reading Standard 3.1


Determine and articulate the relationship between th
purposes and characteristics of different forms of po
(e.g., ballad, epic, lyric, couplet, ode, and sonnet).

I love
poetry!

Sometimes poetry has no particular form or rh


scheme; these types of poems are called free ver
Traditionally, however, poems have a
particular format and/ or rhyming pattern.
The subject matter and form of a poem may
put it in a particular category like ballad, epic,
lyric, sonnet, ode, elegy, narrative, haiku etc.

Rhyme Scheme
Rhyme Scheme- a pattern of rhyme in a poem. For
instance, if there are 4 lines, or a quatrain, and the
first and third lines rhyme, it has the pattern of
a-b-a-b.
If all four lines rhyme with each other, it has the
rhyme scheme of a-a-a-a.
If only the second and fourth lines rhyme, the
pattern is a-b-c-b.

Rhyme Scheme
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though:
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up the snow.
The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep.
And miles to go before I sleep.
And miles to go before I sleep.

The Sonnet:
A

fourteen-line poem
Expresses authors feelings
Has a particular end rhyme pattern (ABABCDCD)
Usually ends in a rhymed couplet (two lines with end rh
Shakespeare wrote over 100 sonnets

Lyric Poem
Lyric Poem- a short poem in which a single speaker expresses
personal thoughts and feelings

The Ode:
Its

a lyric poem usually addressed to a


particular person or thing.
It

generally deals with one main idea and


can be written as a song of praise or to
celebrate an experience, thing or a person.

Ode to a Fountain Pen:

Oh beloved pen of
midnight black ink,
How I love to roll
you down my nose.

Ode to My Thumb:
Delicious appendage on my
left hand. You are my favorite
finger, my most tasty dessert.
Ode to Dancing:

Kick up your heels


Wave your hands in the air.
Theres nothing as joyful as
dancing in pairs!

Ode to My Teeth:
Little white molars
Striped with braces
Help me make
amusing faces

A ballad is a songlike poem that tells a story, often a sad story


of betrayal, death, or loss.
Ballads usually have a regular, steady rhythm, a simple
rhyme pattern, and a refrain, or a repeated part of a poem, all
of which make them easy to memorize.
Usually follows a-b-c-b rhyme scheme.
Historically ballads were passed down orally from person to
person rather than in writing.
Steady rhythm,
simple rhyme pattern,
and refrain.
Thats easy!!

Narrative Poem: Tells a story


Couplets: two rhyming lines of poetry that are consecutive.
Haiku: consists of 17 unrhymed syllables, organized into three
lines, and doesnt rhyme:
Line 1: 5 syllables
Line 2: 7 syllables
Line 3: 5 syllables
Most describe nature, a moment of beauty which keeps you
thinking or feeling.

Tanka
The Tanka poem is very similar to haiku but Tanka poems
have more syllables and it uses simile, metaphor and
personification.
There are five lines in a Tanka poem.
Line one - 5 syllables Beautiful mountains
Line two - 7 syllables Rivers with cold, cold water.
Line three - 5 syllable White cold snow on rocks
Line four - 7 syllables Trees over the place with frost
Line five - 7 syllables White sparkly snow everywhere.
Tanks poems are written about nature, seasons, love, sadness
and other strong emotions. This form of poetry dates back
almost 1200 years ago.

Cinquain Examples
A cinquain is a five-line poem that was invented by Adelaide Crapsey. She was an
American poet who took her inspiration from Japanese haiku and tanka. A collection
of poems, titled Verse, was published in 1915 and included 28 cinquains.
Cinquains are particularly vivid in their imagery and are meant to convey a certain
mood or emotion.
A Classic Cinquain Example
Look up
From bleakening hills
Blows down the light, first breath
Of wintry windlook up, and scent
The snow!

Lymerick: an amusing verse of five lines:


Lines 1, 2, and 5 ryhme and lines 3 and 4 rhyme.
Line 5 refers to line 1
Lines 3 and 4 are usually shorter than the other lines.
The rhyming pattern is AABBA
EX: There once was a musical king
Who suddenly started to sing.
The birds of the sky
All started to fly
Right over that talented king

Free Verse
* Free verse poems have no regular meter and rhythm.
* They do not follow a proper rhyme scheme as such;
these poems do not have any set rules.
* This type of poem is based on normal pauses and natural
rhythmical phrases as compared to the artificial constraints
of normal poetry.
* It is also called verse libre which is a French word.

Concrete Poem: a poem that creates a picture


Acrostic poem: a poem that is vertical and spells out a word
and usually describes that word.
Ex:
A: antsy
M: merry
Y: young

An epic is a long narrative poem about the


many deeds of a great hero.
Closely connected to a particular culture. The hero
of an epic embodies the important values of the
society he comes from.
Essentially, an epic is a long story about the
quests of a hero.
Think Hercules, and Shrek in poetic form.

You might also like