Different Types of Poetry

Haiku A haiku is a delicate, unrhymed Japanese verse, usually about nature. A haiku has three lines and 17 syllables Line 1: 5 syllables Line 2: 7 syllables Line 3: 5 syllables

Examples of a Haiku Cruel autumn wind Cutting to the very bones Of my poor scarecrow Mirror-pond of stars; Suddenly a summer shower Dimples the water

Couplet Poetry A couplet poem is a 2 line verse that rhyme. A Poem can be made up of couplets throughout the whole poem.

Examples of Couplets 1. Twinkle Twinkle little star How I wonder what you are 2. The bird sang in the tree It sang tooroo, tooree 3. My Country tis of thee Sweet land of liberty

Quatrain Poems Quatrains are a stanza containing four lines. These poems may follow any of one of the four different rhyme schemes. (ABAB, AABB, ABBA, ABCA).

Example of a Quatrain The rushing ocean waves Beat harshly on the sand. They roar and crash and foam As they break upon the land.

Free Verse Free Verse is Poetry that is written with neither regular meter nor rhyme scheme. 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.

Example of Free 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.

Ballad A songlike narrative poem, usually featuring rhyme, rhythm, and refrain.

Example of a Ballad "The Ballad Of Billy The Kid" From a town known as Wheeling, West Virginia Rode a boy with a six-gun in his hand And his daring life of crime Made him a legend in his time East and west of the Rio Grande Well, he started with a bank in Colorado In the pocket of his vest, a Colt he hid And his age and his size Took the teller by surprise And the word spread of Billy the Kid

Limerick A 5 line poem, rhymed, with rhythmic verse, and usually funny.

Example of a Limerick There was an old man with a beard Who said, "it’s just how I feared! Two owls and a hen Four larks and a wren Have all built their nests in my beard. - Anonymous

Rhyme Recurring, identical or similar final word sounds within or at the ends of lines of verse There once was a girl named Izzy Whose hair was always really frizzy

Rhythm The recurring pattern of strongan d weak syllabic stresses Example of Rhythm: Because I Could Not Stop For Death, by Emily Dickinson Because I could not stop for Death, He kindly stopped for me; The carriage held but just ourselves And Immortality. Because I Could Not Stop For Death, by Emily Dickinson

Meter A fixed pattern of accented and unaccented syllables in lines of fixed length to create rhythm. Iamb Meter Iamb meter has the first syllable unaccented and the second accented. Here are examples: That time l of year l thou mayst l in me l behold Shall I l com pare l thee to l a sum l mer’s day? - Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 18"

Repetition Repeated use of sounds, words, or ideas for effect and emphasis. Phenomenal Woman By Maya Angelou Pretty women wonder where my secret lies. I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size But when I start to tell them, They think I'm telling lies. I say, It's in the reach of my arms The span of my hips, The stride of my step, The curl of my lips. I'm a woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, That's me.

Onomatopoeia Use of words whose sound suggests its meaning Crack an Egg Crack an egg. Stir the butter. Break the yolk. Make it flutter. Stoke the heat. Hear it sizzle. Shake the salt, just a drizzle. Flip it over, just like that. Press it down. Squeeze it flat. Pop the toast. Spread jam thin. Say the word. Breakfast's in. by Denise Rodgers

Alliteration Repetition of initial sounds Betty Botter by Mother Goose Betty Botter bought some butter, but, she said, the butter’s bitter; if I put it in my batter it will make my batter bitter, but a bit of better butter will make my batter better. So she bought a bit of butter better than her bitter butter, and she put it in her batter and the batter was not bitter. So ’twas better Betty Botter bought a bit of better butter.