Putting it all together… POETIC FORM

Line Meaning  A single line in a poem Example 1Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice. From what I’ve tasted of desire I hold with those who favor fire. 5But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate To know that for destruction ice Is also great And would suffice. How many lines are in this poem?

Stanza Meaning  A group of consecutive lines in a poem that form a single unit; a “paragraph” in a poem Example 1Because I could not stop for Death, He kindly stopped for me; The carriage held but just ourselves And Immortality. 5We slowly drove, he knew no haste, And I had put away My labor, and my leisure too, For his civility. How many Stanzas are in this poem?

Couplet Meaning Two consecutive lines of poetry that usually rhyme Couple = 2 Example 1Tiger! Tiger! burning bright, In the forests of the night, What immortal hand or eye Could frame thy fearful symmetry? 5In what distant deeps or skies Burnt the fire in thine eyes? On what wings dare he aspire? What the hand dare seize the fire? How many couplets are in this poem?

Quatrain Meaning  4 lines in a poem; a 4 line stanza  Quad = 4 Example 1Because I could not stop for Death, He kindly stopped for me; The carriage held but just ourselves And Immortality. 5We slowly drove, he knew no haste, And I had put away My labor, and my leisure too, For his civility.

Sestet Meaning 6 lines in a poem Example 1 Shall 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: 5 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, 10 Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest, Nor shall Death brag thou wanderest in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou growest; So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Octet/Octave Meaning 8 lines of a poem Oct = 8 Example 1 Shall 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: 5 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, 10 Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest, Nor shall Death brag thou wanderest in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou growest; So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Sonnet Meaning type of poem containing 14 lines, each of 10 syllables, and with a formal pattern of rhymes. Example 1 Shall 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: 5 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, 10 Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest, Nor shall Death brag thou wanderest in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou growest; So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Limerick Meaning A five line poem that follows a strict rhyme scheme and is intended to be humorous. Generally speaking, the 1 st,2 nd, and 5 th lines have the same amount of syllables. Example 1There once was a teacher at school, Whose kids thought that he was a fool. He made up this rhyme, in almost no time, 5and now all his kids say he rules! How is this limerick meant to be humorous?

Haiku Meaning A form of Japanese poetry consisting of 17 syllables in 3 lines.  Line 1 = 5 syllables  Line 2 = 7 syllables  Line 3 = 5 syllables Example The bell rings loudly. Children head to their classes. A new year begins. 5 syllables 7 syllables 5 syllables