Types of Poetry

Haiku 5 syllables 7 syllables In Japanese, a poem of about 17 syllables 5 syllables 7 syllables

Each Haiku must contain a kigo, a season word, which indicate in which season the Haiku is set. For example, cherry blossoms indicate spring, snow indicate winter, and mosquitoes indicate summer, but the season word isn't always that obvious.

Haiku Keep straight down this block' Then turn right where you will find A peach tree blooming

Haiku The pond's dark waters - only stepping stones covered with the first snowfall

Fat cow I love you You are better than a cake Now you’re on my plate. Haiku Fat cow I love you You are better than a cake Now you’re on my plate.

Couplet Couplets are any two lines working as a unit, whether they comprise a single stanza or are part of a larger stanza. Most couplets rhyme (aa), but they do not have to. In Couplet poems, lines 1 and 2 rhyme, and lines 3 and 4 rhyme (not necessarily with lines 1 and 2). There are usually 4-6 lines to a verse.

Into my empty head there come a cotton beach, a dock wherefrom Couplet Into my empty head there come a cotton beach, a dock wherefrom

Couplet Decorator Hermit Crab There was a little hermit crab Who thought his tank was rather drab At first he didn't know what to do Then decorated with pink and blue. Now he is no longer crabby With his new home, he's rather happy!

Couplet Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse; The stockings were hung by the chimney with care In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.

Quatrain The word quatrain comes from Latin and French words meaning "four." The quatrain is a poem or stanza of four lines. It is a very popular form of poetry. Famous poets like William Blake and T. S. Eliot used quatrains.

Quatrain Rhyming Structure: Pattern 1: a b a b (Lines 1 and 3 rhyme, lines 2 and 4 rhyme) Pattern 2: a b c b (Lines 2 and 4 rhyme) Pattern 3: a a b a (Lines 1, 2 and 4 rhyme) Pattern 4: a a b b (Lines 1 and 2 rhyme, lines 3 and 4 rhyme)

Quatrain   The mountain frames the sky (a) As a shadow of an eagle flies by. (a) With clouds hanging at its edge (b) A climber proves his courage on its rocky ledge. (b)

Quatrain The rushing ocean waves (a) Beat harshly on the sand. (b) They roar and crash and foam (c) As they break upon the land. (b)

What rhyme scheme is this example? Quatrain What rhyme scheme is this example? Tyger! Tyger! burning bright In the forests of the night, What immortal hand or eye Could frame thy fearful symmetry? - From William Blake's "The Tyger"

What rhyme scheme is this example? Quatrain What rhyme scheme is this example? A rainbow plays in the water spray It hides in a chandelier. It always seems to find its way Through the glass when light is near.

Limerick Limericks consist of five lines. Lines 1, 2, and 5 of Limericks have seven to ten syllables and rhyme with one another.  Lines 3 and 4 of Limericks have five to seven syllables and also rhyme with each other. http://kabubble.com/limericks.htm

There was an Old Man with a beard, Who said, 'It is just as I feared There was an Old Man with a beard, Who said, 'It is just as I feared! Two Owls and a Hen, Four Larks and a Wren, Have all built their nests in my beard!'

There was a Young Lady whose chin, Resembled the point of a pin; So she had it made sharp, And purchased a harp, And played several tunes with her chin.

There once was a man from Peru, Who dreamed of eating his shoe, He awoke with a fright, In the middle of the night, And found that his dream had come true!

Give it a try!

Free Verse The wonderful, wonderful thing about free verse, is that it has very few distinct rules or boundaries. The rhythm or cadence of free verse varies throughout the poem. Though the words don't rhyme, they flow along their own uneven pattern.

Fog by Carl Sandburg The fog comes on little cat feet Fog by Carl Sandburg The fog comes on little cat feet. It sits looking over harbor and city on silent haunches and then moves on.

Free Verse Boa Constrictor by Shel Silverstein Oh, I'm being eaten By a boa constrictor, A boa constrictor, A boa constrictor, I'm being eaten by a boa constrictor, And I don't like it--one bit. Well, what do you know? It's nibblin' my toe. Oh, gee, It's up to my knee. Oh my, It's up to my thigh. Oh, fiddle, It's up to my middle. Oh, heck, It's up to my neck. Oh, dread, It's upmmmmmmmmmmffffffffff ! Boa Constrictor by Shel Silverstein

Free Verse One Inch Tall by Shel Silverstein If you were only one inch tall, you'd ride a worm to school. The teardrop of a crying ant would be your swimming pool. A crumb of cake would be a feast And last you seven days at least, A flea would be a frightening beast If you were one inch tall.

Free Verse Running through a field of clover, Stop to pick a daffodil I play he loves me, loves me not, The daffy lies, it says he does not love me! Well, what use a daffy When Jimmy gives me roses?

Light Verse Light poetry, or light verse, is poetry that attempts to be humorous. Poems considered "light" are usually brief, and can be on a frivolous or serious subject, and often feature wordplay, including puns, adventurous rhyme and heavy alliteration.

MEDICAL MAYHEM Found a hangnail on my pinky. Insignificant, so dinky MEDICAL MAYHEM Found a hangnail on my pinky. Insignificant, so dinky. How to mend it? What to do, Make it good again, like new? Soon an answer came to me From a "doctor" on TV. Fifty bucks, a single ounce Of medicine I can't pronounce. One thing that was said for sure: Side-effects just might occur: Tooth disease like pyorrhea; Dizziness, with diarrhea; Ear wax, and resulting pain; Lesions forming on my brain; Trouble with my circulation; Gas-attacks and constipation; When all was said, and all was done, The treatment didn't seem like fun. I guess I'll just ignore my dang nail, And simply hang onto my hangnail.

“GOGGLE-BOGGLE” I sat upon my glasses. (I never was too smart “GOGGLE-BOGGLE” I sat upon my glasses. (I never was too smart.) They broke right in the middle And quickly fell apart. And though regrets are bound to be, (And I'll admit I've got 'em), I'm glad those glasses weren't on me The time they met my bottom!

“HALF-PINT” It isn't that I'm little. I'm just not very tall “HALF-PINT” It isn't that I'm little. I'm just not very tall. Until I grow, I'm  last to know When rain begins to fall.