Poetic Forms

Haiku• A 3 lined poem with seventeen syllables Line 1: 5 syllables Line 2: 7 syllables Line 3: 5 syllables

• Haiku usually contrast 2 images from nature or daily life. They may also include a seasonal word or a moment of discovery.

Limerick• It is often comical or nonsensical

• Examples include the Mother Goose nursery rhymes

• The rhyme scheme is: AABBA/(A1)

• The rhythm is:

• Line 1: - / - - / - - /

• Line 2: - / - - / - - /

• Line 3: - / - - /

• Line 4: - / - - /

• Line 5: - / - - / - - /

Sonnet•A 14 line lyric poem.

•Most are written in iambic pentameter

•Rhyme Scheme is ABAB CDCD EFEF GG

Tanka• A 31 syllable poem

• Is 5 lines total

• Line 1: 5 syllables

• Line 2: 7 syllables

• Line 3: 5 syllables

• Line 4: 7 syllables

• Line 5: 7 syllables

• Was used between Japanese men and women in love to communicate with each other

Acrostic•The topic is written down the page and each line of the poem begins with its respective letter

Free Verse•This can be rhymed or unrhymed

•There is no set pattern that is followed.

•Write in any way about anything however you wish.

Ballad• Often accompanied by a musical instrument when recited

• It is usually a plot driven story

• Often quatrain stanzas

• Either the 2nd and 4th lines in each stanza rhyme or every alternating line rhymes

Ballade• A poem of French origin

• Consists of three stanzas of either 7, 8 or 10 lines and ending with a refrain called an envoi.

• The envoi is usually half as long as the stanza.

Sestina• Usually an unrhymed poem consisting of six stanzas made up of six lines

each.

• The sestina employs word repetition rather than rhyme. The last word of each line in the first stanza is repeated in a different order in the following five stanzas. This form was invented by the troubadour poet Arnaud Daniel.

• 1. ABCDEF

• 2. FAEBDC

• 3. CFDABE

• 4. ECBFAD

• 5. DEACFB

• 6. BDFECA

• 7. (envoi) ECA or ACE

Villanelle• A poem (normally) consisting of 19 lines - arranged as five triplets and one final quatrain.

• The intricate rhyme scheme of the villanelle is furnished by the first triplet: A(1)-B-A(2) and is then repeated twice in the form of A-B-A(1) and A-B-A(2) and then concluded with the quatrain rhymed A-B-A(1)-A(2).

Terms• Iambic Pentameter- Five iambs (`/) in one line (Think Shakespeare)

• Similes- two unlike things are compared using a word such as like, as, or resembles

• Metaphors- two unlike things are compared and one is said to be the other

Terms• Alliteration- repetition of the same consonant sound in several words

• Assonance- repetition of vowel sounds in several words.

• Imagery- a word or phrase that appeals to one or more of our five senses

Terms• Personification- human qualities are given to something that is not human

• Rhyme- the repetition of a stressed vowel sound and any sounds that follow it in words that are close together in a poem.

• Rhyme Scheme-a regular pattern of end rhymes (rhymes at the end of a line in poetry)

Terms• Internal Rhyme- occurs when at least one of the rhymed words falls within a line rather than at the end.

• Rhythm- a musical quality based on repetition (the beat of the poem)

• Meter- a regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in the lines of a poem.

Terms• Onomatopeia- words that sound like what they mean.

• Verse- Either a definite number of lines of poetry or a general term for poetic composition.

• Stanza- One or more lines that make up the basic units of a poem - separated from each other by spacing.

Terms•Couplets- two lines of poetry (usually rhyming)

•Triplets- three lines of poetry

•Quatrain- four lines of poetry

•Envoi- Short stanza concluding a ballade or sestina