Instructions and Examples of Different Forms of Poetry

Vocabulary for Index of Figurative Language

How to write a Diamonte Poem

line 1 - one noun (subject #1)line 2 - two adjectives (describing subject #1)line 3 - three participles (end in-ing, tell about subject #1)line 4 - four nouns (first two relate to subject #1, second two relate to subject #2)line 5 - three participles (end in -ing, tell about subject #2)line 6 - two adjectives (describing subject #2)line 7 - one noun (subject #2)

Diamonte Poems

Synonym Poem

MonstersCreepy, sinister

Hiding, lurking, stalkingVampires, werewolves, mummies, and zombies

Chasing, Pouncing, EatingHungry, scary

Creatures

Diamonte Poems

Antonym Poem

DayBright, sunny

Laughing, playing, doingUp in the east, down in the west

Talking, Resting, SleepingQuiet, dark

Night

Concrete Poems

Concrete Poems

1.Cinquains are five lines long.2.They have 2 syllables in the first line, 4 in the second, 6 in the third, 8 in the fourth line, and just 2 in the last line.3.Cinquains do not need to rhyme, but you can include rhymes if you want to.

Cinquain PoemsIce cream.

Cold and yummy.I love its sweet richness

as it finds its way into mytummy.

My roomis such a mess.

Toys all over the place.Mom says, “Clean up!” But I like it

like this.

Clerihews have just a few simple rules: 1.They are four lines long. 2.The first and second lines rhyme with each other, and the third and fourth lines rhyme with each other. 3.The first line names a person, and the second line ends with something that rhymes with the name of the person. 4.A clerihew should be funny.

Clerihews

N'Sync Stink. Their music hurts my ears. I much prefer Britney Spears

The enemy of Harry Potter Was a scheming plotter. I can't tell you what he's called; I'd be ashamed To name "he who must not be named."

LimerickLimericks are short, funny poems that

follow a particular pattern.Five lines with an A A B B A rhyme schemeThe meter is rhythmic with the first,

second, and fifth lines having three feet (simplest definition: beats or stressed syllables) and the third and fourth lines having 2 feet.

One of the most famous and prolific authors of limericks is Edward Lear.

Limericks by Edward Lear

HaikusHaikus are poems with three lines

The first line has FIVE syllables

The second line has SEVEN syllables

The third line has FIVE syllables

There is no rhyme scheme

They are frequently about nature

Examples of Haikus

Two Cherokee wolves You decide which one to feed Choose good or evil

Haikus are easyBut sometimes they don’t make sense Refridgerator

VillanellesThe villanelle is a highly structured poem

consisting of nineteen lines.Five tercets (stanzas of three lines) followed by a

quatrain (stanza of four lines)The first and third line of the opening tercet are

repeated alternately as the last lines in the following stanzas.

These two lines also serve as the last two lines in the poem.

The rhyme scheme is ABA ABA ABA ABA ABA ABAA

One of the most famous villanelles is Dylan Thomas’s “Do No Go Gentle into that Good Night”

“Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night” by Dylan ThomasDo not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right, Because their words had forked no lightning theyDo not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how brightTheir frail deeds might have danced in a green bay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight, And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way, Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sightBlind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height, Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray. Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Mad Girl’s Love Song by Sylvia Plath"I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead; I lift my lids and all is born again.

(I think I made you up inside my head.) The stars go waltzing out in blue and red,

And arbitrary blackness gallops in:

I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead. I dreamed that you bewitched me And sung me moon-struck, kissed me quite insane. (I think I made you up inside my head.)

God topples from the sky, hell's fires fade: Exit seraphim and Satan's men:

I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead. I fancied you'd return the way you said, But I grow old and I forget your name. (I think I made you up inside my head.) I should have loved a thunderbird instead; At least when spring comes they roar back again. I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.

(I think I made you up inside my head.)"

SonnetsThere are many different types of sonnets. The

simplest may be the English style. It includes the following characteristics:

They usually examine two contrastive elementsFourteen linesEach line has 10 syllablesThe rhyme scheme is A B A B

C D C DE F E FG G

The couplet at the end is frequently a twist or surprise.

Sonnets: Shakespeare’s 18thShall 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 dimmed; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimmed; But thy eternal summer shall not fade, Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st, Nor shall death brag thou wand'rest in his shade, When in eternal lines to Time thou grow'st. So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Sonnets: “Learning to Write a Sonnet” by Denise Rogers The sonnet form is old and full of dust

And yet I want to learn to write one well.To learn new forms and grow is quite a must,But I will learn it quickly, I can tell.

And so I sit, today, with pen in hand,Composing three new quatrains with a rhyme.The rhythm flows like wind at my command.The A-B-A-B form consumes my time.

But I’m not done until there’s fourteen lines.One ending couplet, after three quatrains.I’ve tried to write this new form several times.The effort’s huge; I have to rack my brain.

But I persist, my fourteen lines now done.I wrote my poem; my sonnet work is won.

Metaphor Poems Metaphor Poems can consist of several

metaphors throughout the poem.

A Metaphor Poem can also consist of one ling extended metaphor that is built on throughout the poem.

There is no specific rhyme scheme or other organizational requirement.

“Concrete Mixers” on page 675 of the Red Lit Book is full of metaphor.

Mother to Son by Langston Hughes ( an example of an extended metaphor)

Well, son, I'll tell you:Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.It's had tacks in it,And splinters,And boards torn up,And places with no carpet on the floor --Bare.But all the timeI'se been a-climbin' on,And reachin' landin's,And turnin' corners,And sometimes goin' in the darkWhere there ain't been no light.So boy, don't you turn back.Don't you set down on the steps'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.Don't you fall now --For I'se still goin', honey,I'se still climbin',And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.

OdeAn ode is a song of praise. There are various

formats an ode can take.

Many formal odes are rather long and follow a standard format of five stanzas of 10 lines each. Each stanza follows an ABABCDECDE rhyme scheme.

Some modern “odes” are much shorter and do not follow a specific structure. They are called “odes” because they are written in praise of an object or an animal or a people.

Ode to the people who were forgotten(a modern ode by Mizz Midnight Fire)

They were once loved and cared for

Ode to their livesEveryday they hurtWhile in desperation for loveand generosity.

Ode to their heartThat was torn apart viciouslyWith little considerationOf their inner feelings

Ode to their memoriesThat bring back happinessOr to the onesThat are very vague.

Ode to those who have triedThose who haven't given upThe ones that will keep climbinFor them life hasn't been easy.

Ode on a Grecian Urn by John Keats

I Used to But Now I Poem Template I Used to But now I Poem   I used to _________________________________________________________ But now I ________________________________________________________ I always __________________________________________________________ But I never _______________________________________________________ I once ____________________________________________________________ But now I ________________________________________________________ If I could _________________________________________________________ I would __________________________________________________________ I never ___________________________________________________________ But I might ______________________________________________________ I can’t ___________________________________________________________ But I can ________________________________________________________ I won’t ___________________________________________________________ But I might ______________________________________________________ I used to _________________________________________________________ But now I _________________________________________________________

More Poems Free Verse: There are no rules in writing Free

Verse poetry. There is no rhyme scheme or meter, and no specific length or number of stanzas.

Personification Poem: A poem which attributes human characteristics to an inanimate object, it does not follow any specific organizational pattern.

My Favorite Place Imagery Poem: A poem describing your favorite place with highly descriptive language, there is no specific organizational pattern.

I am from (Sample) “I’m From the Woods….” by Nick I’m from the woods and the creek behind my fence

From the gray wooden backyard deck. I’m from the honeysuckles,The pear trees by the neighbor’s garden From the creek when I swing over it.

I’m from the yellow walls of Grandma’s kitchenFrom the Yorkshire pup, the coolest thing in my family.I’m from macaroni pictures of the ArkFrom “I just can’t snap my fingers and make it happen” and from David the Gnome in summers long ago.

I’m from my mom’s side of the family,From roasting turkeys for each holiday,From when Papaw yelled at his boss and got firedFrom the family pictures in the big wooden cabinet andFrom the family gathering when we drag them out.

I am from those moments.A root that no one sees, but walks all overAn important part of the tree.”