Poetry

Types of Poetry

Haiku

Usually has three lines Broken into 17 syllables that

are strategically distributed5 syllables7 syllables5 syllables

Has a Japanese originUsually relates to nature or

seasons

Sample Haikus Matsuo Basho

On a withered branch A crow has settled- autumn nightfall.

Twinkies

Moist golden sponge cakeCreamy white filling of joyBoy I love twinkies

Limerick

A form of folk verseIts specific origin is unknownThere is a specific form of rhyme

arrangementThe stressed beats of the Limerick

style must also fall on the natural stresses of the words being used

The number of stressed beats must be just right so that they Limerick sounds natural

Limerick

The Meter:The first, second an fifth lines must

have three accented beats to themThe third and fourth lines have two

accented beatsThe Rhyme:

The most common lymerick ryme scheme is aabba

A Limerick sounds like “Hickory Dickory Dock” when you say it out loud

Limerick

Generally, the poet writing a Limerick follows a specific patter of thought. Each line should follow the set “formula”Tell about the subject and where he, she, or

it is fromTell something about the person or thing

and describe him, her or it In lines 3 and 4, there should be a build up

that relates to the second lineRound off the limerick with an unexpected

and funny conclusion, thath relates to the first four lines

Sample Limerick

I remember a fellow named LouisWho ate seventeen bowls of chop-suey

When the eighteenth was brought,He became overwrought

And we watched as poor Louis went blooie!

Ballad

A ballad often tells a storyUsually about love or romanceCan be turned into songs easilyThey are written in multiple

stanzasThey usually have a set rhyme

scheme of ababWritten using “Iambic” form,

meaning that the pattern tends to go “unstress, stress”

Sample Ballad

My love is like a red, red roseThat’s newly sprung in JuneMy love is like a melodieThat’s sweetly played in tune

As fair art thou, my bonnie lass,So deep in love am IAnd I will love thee still, my dear,Tell all the seas gang dry…

Narrative Poem

Tells a storyUsually fairly longUsually has a set rhyme

scheme but it is not pre-determined

Usually written in stanzas

Sample Narrative Poem

Now Sam McGee was from Tennesee, where the cotton blooms and blows.

Why he left his home in the South to roam ‘round the Pole, God only knows.

He was always cold, but the land of gold seemed to hold him like a spell;

Though he’d often say in his homely way that “he’d sooner live in hell”…

Sample Narrative Poem

This is only one stanza of a 14 stanza poem

The rhyme scheme is aabb because the last word of the first two lines rhyme, and the last word of the second two lines rhyme

It tells the story about a man named Sam McGee, and there is a distinct setting, plot and characters in the poem.

Concrete or Shape Poetry

There are quite a few names for this type of poetry

These poems are printed on the page so that they form recognizable outlines related to the subject of the poem itself

This helps relay further meaning about the words on the page

The words are just as important as the image that they create

It should be perceived as a whole

Free Verse

This is poetry that have multiple lines with no pre-determined pattern or structure

The poet has free range to manipulate the poem as they see fit

Essentially there are no rules related to how the poem looks or sounds

Each Free Verse poem is very different from each other.