Types of PoemsClass Notes

Acrostic

Also called “name poems”

First letter of each line spells out a word or phrase

Should still have characteristics of a “real” poem

Including poetic devices such as metaphor, simile, personification, alliteration, rhyme, etc…

Acrostic ExampleAcrostic

by Lewis Carroll, 1832 - 1898

Little maidens, when you lookOn this little story-book,Reading with attentive eyeIts enticing history,Never think that hours of playAre your only HOLIDAY,And that in a HOUSE of joyLessons serve but to annoy:If in any HOUSE you findChildren of a gentle mind,Each the others pleasing ever—Each the others vexing never—Daily work and pastime dailyIn their order taking gaily—Then be very sure that theyHave a life of HOLIDAY.

Acrostic Assignment

Write an original acrostic

Your acrostic may be any length but it must be about the word that is being spelled out. Like all poems, your acrostic must include poetic devices such as metaphor, simile, personification, alliteration, rhyme, etc…

Your acrostic must also convey a vivid image and/or strong emotions.

Haiku

Japanese origin

Three non-rhyming lines

First line has 5 syllables

Second line has 7 syllables

Third line has 5 syllables

Haiku ExampleAn old silent pond...A frog jumps into the pond,splash! Silence again.

- Bashō

In the twilight rainthese brilliant-hued hibiscus -A lovely sunset- Bashō

Toward those short treesWe saw a hawk descendingOn a day in spring.- Shiki

Haiku Assignment

Write two original haikus

Your haikus may be connected to each other or they can stand alone.

Tanka Japanese origin

Five non-rhyming lines

First line has 5 syllables

Second line has 7 syllables

Third line has 5 syllables

Fourth line has 7 syllables

Fifth line has 7 syllables

Tanka Example

About Writing

It starts with nothing

A blank page and an idea

Thoughts form into words

And words create a picture

My image now shared with you.

Tanka Assignment

Write two original tankas

Your tankas may be connected to each other or they can stand alone.

Epitaph

A short poem intended (or imagined) as the inscription on a tombstone.

Epitaph ExamplesI am ready to meet my Maker.Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter.

- Winston Churchill

The Body of B. Franklin, Printer; like the Cover of an old Book, Its Contents torn out, And stript of its Lettering and Gilding, Lies here, Food for Worms.But the Work shall not be wholly lost; For it will, as he believ’d, appear once more, In a new & more perfect Edition, Corrected and amended By the Author.

- Benjamin Franklin (* not his actual epitaph)

Good Friend, for Jesus’ sake forbearTo dig the dust enclosed here:Blessed be the man that spares these stones,And curst be he that moves my bones.- William Shakespeare

Epitaph Assignment

Write two original epitaphs.

One epitaph should be about yourself. The other should be about a character from one of the stories we have read. (The character may be from a story you read in English class last year as well.)

Your epitaph should accurately depict aspects of the subject’s life, but it may be serious or humorous.

Ballad

A popular narrative song

Originally passed down orally

Usually written in quatrains (four rhyming lines)

Recount tragic, comic, or heroic stories

Focus on a central event

Ballad ExampleMolly Malone

In Dublin’s fair city,Where girls are so pretty,I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone,As she pushed her wheelbarrowThrough streets broad and narrow,Crying, “Cockles and mussels, alive, alive oh”!  Now she was a fishmonger,And sure twas no wonder,For so were her mother and father before,And they each wheeled their barrow,Through streets broad and narrow,Crying, “Cockles and mussels, alive, alive oh”! She died of a fever,And no one could save her,And that was the end of sweet Molly Malone.Now her ghost wheels her barrow,Through streets broad and narrow,Crying, “Cockles and mussels, alive, alive oh”!

Epic

A long narrative poem

Centers around epic hero

Plot involves actions of mythic or historical importance

Epic Examples Beowulf

This is an Old English epic poem about the hero, Beowulf, who helps King Hrothgar defeat the monster, Grendel. Beowulf later becomes king and defeats a dragon but is fatally wounded in the process.

The Odyssey

This is an ancient Greek epic poem which centers around the hero Odysseus and his return home after the Trojan War.

Villanelle

French origin

5 three-line stanzas + a final quatrain

Lines 1 and 3 of stanza one repeat alternately in the rest of the stanzas

Lines 1 and 3 of stanza one form the final couplet of the poem

Villanelle ExampleDo Not Go Gentle Into That Good Nightby Dylan Thomas (1914 – 1953)

Do 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.

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Do not go gentle into that good night,Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Villanelle Assignment

Write an original villanelle.

Be sure to follow the guidelines exactly.

Your villanelle can be on any (school appropriate) topic.

Hymn

Poem that is often sung

Praises God or the divine

Most English hymns were written between 1600 and 1800

Hymn ExampleAmazing Graceby John Newton (1725 – 1807) "Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,That saved a wretch like me....I once was lost but now am found,Was blind, but now, I see.

T'was Grace that taught...my heart to fear.And Grace, my fears relieved.How precious did that Grace appear...the hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils and snares...we have already come.T'was Grace that brought us safe thus far...and Grace will lead us home.

The Lord has promised good to me...His word my hope secures.He will my shield and portion be...as long as life endures.

Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,and mortal life shall cease, I shall possess within the veil, a life of joy and peace.

When we've been here ten thousand years...bright shining as the sun.We've no less days to sing God's praise...then when we've first begun.

"Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,    That saved a wretch like me....I once was lost but now am found,Was blind, but now, I see.

Limerick

Light-verse poem

Five lines with rhyme scheme AABBA

Usually silly, mocking, or even vulgar

Note: The ones you write may be silly but they must be school appropriate.

Limerick ExamplesOur novels get longa and longaTheir language gets stronga and strongaThere’s much to be saidFor a life that is ledIn illiterate places like Bonga- H. G. Wells

A wonderful bird is the pelicanHis bill can hold more than his belicanHe can take in his beakFood enough for a weekBut I’m damned if I see how the helican- Dixon Merritt

I wish that my room had a floor!I don't so much care for a door,But this crawling aroundWithout touching the groundIs getting to be quite a bore!- Gelett Burgess

Limerick Assignment

Write an original limerick

Remember that limericks should be humorous and/or gently mocking.

Be sure to keep your limerick school appropriate.

Lyric Poem

Originally meant to be accompanied by music

Short poem in which speaker expresses personal feelings

Lyric Poem ExampleThe Tables Turnedby William Wordsworth Up! up! my Friend, and quit your books; Or surely you'll grow double: Up! up! my Friend, and clear your looks; Why all this toil and trouble?  The sun above the mountain's head, A freshening lustre mellow Through all the long green fields has spread, His first sweet evening yellow.  Books! 'tis a dull and endless strife: Come, hear the woodland linnet, How sweet his music! on my life, There's more of wisdom in it.  And hark! how blithe the throstle sings! He, too, is no mean preacher: Come forth into the light of things, Let Nature be your teacher.  

She has a world of ready wealth, Our minds and hearts to bless— Spontaneous wisdom breathed by health, Truth breathed by cheerfulness.  One impulse from a vernal wood May teach you more of man, Of moral evil and of good, Than all the sages can.  Sweet is the lore which Nature brings; Our meddling intellect Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things:— We murder to dissect.  Enough of Science and of Art; Close up those barren leaves; Come forth, and bring with you a heart That watches and receives.

Narrative Poem

Poem that tells a story

Speaker acts as narrator and there are often characters

Narrative Poem ExampleCharge of the Light Brigadeby Alfred, Lord Tennyson Half a league, half a league,Half a league onward,All in the valley of DeathRode the six hundred."Forward, the Light Brigade!"Charge for the guns!" he said:Into the valley of DeathRode the six hundred. "Forward, the Light Brigade!"Was there a man dismay'd?Not tho' the soldier knewSomeone had blunder'd:Theirs not to make reply,Theirs not to reason why,Theirs but to do and die:Into the valley of DeathRode the six hundred. 

Narrative Poem ExampleCharge of the Light Brigade (continued) 

Cannon to right of them,Cannon to left of them,Cannon in front of themVolley'd and thunder'd;Storm'd at with shot and shell,Boldly they rode and well,Into the jaws of Death,Into the mouth of HellRode the six hundred. Flash'd all their sabres bare,Flash'd as they turn'd in air,Sabring the gunners there,Charging an army, whileAll the world wonder'd:Plunged in the battery-smokeRight thro' the line they broke;Cossack and RussianReel'd from the sabre strokeShatter'd and sunder'd.Then they rode back, but notNot the six hundred. 

Narrative Poem ExampleCharge of the Light Brigade (continued) Cannon to right of them,Cannon to left of them,Cannon behind themVolley'd and thunder'd;Storm'd at with shot and shell,While horse and hero fell,They that had fought so wellCame thro' the jaws of DeathBack from the mouth of Hell,All that was left of them,Left of six hundred. When can their glory fade?O the wild charge they made!All the world wondered.Honor the charge they made,Honor the Light Brigade,Noble six hundred. 

Ode

Type of lyric poem

Formal poem about (often celebrating) a person, place, thing, or idea

Ode ExampleOde.by John Keats Bards of Passion and of Mirth,Ye have left your souls on earth!Have ye souls in heaven too,Double-lived in regions new?Yes, and those of heaven communeWith the spheres of sun and moon;With the noise of fountains wond’rous,And the parle of voices thund’rous;With the whisper of heaven’s treesAnd one another, in soft ease Seated on Elysian lawnsBrows’d by none but Dian’s fawnsUnderneath large blue-bells tented,Where the daisies are rose-scented,And the rose herself has gotPerfume which on earth is not;Where the nightingale doth singNot a senseless, tranced thing,But divine melodious truth;Philosophic numbers smooth; Tales and golden historiesOf heaven and its mysteries.

Thus ye live on high, and thenOn the earth ye live again;And the souls ye left behind youTeach us, here, the way to find you,Where your other souls are joying,Never slumber’d, never cloying.Here, your earth-born souls still speakTo mortals, of their little week; Of their sorrows and delights;Of their passions and their spites;Of their glory and their shame;What doth strengthen and what maim.Thus ye teach us, every day,Wisdom, though fled far away. Bards of Passion and of Mirth,Ye have left your souls on earth!Ye have souls in heaven too,Double-lived in regions new!

Elegy

Traditional English style poem

Melancholy poem expressing grief over the subject’s death, but ends with a note of comfort or solace

Elegy ExampleO Captain My Captainby Walt Whitman

O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done, The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won, The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting, While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring;                          But O heart! heart! heart!                             O the bleeding drops of red,                                Where on the deck my Captain lies,                                   Fallen cold and dead.

O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells; Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills, For you bouquets and ribbon’d wreaths—for you the shores a-crowding, For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;                          Here Captain! dear father!                             This arm beneath your head!                                It is some dream that on the deck,                                  You’ve fallen cold and dead.

My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still, My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will, The ship is anchor’d safe and sound, its voyage closed and done, From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won;                          Exult O shores, and ring O bells!                             But I with mournful tread,                                Walk the deck my Captain lies,                                   Fallen cold and dead.

Sonnet - General

Originated in Italy, later brought to England

14-line poem with set (but varying) rhyme scheme

Comes from the term “little song”

2 primary forms

Petrarchan (Italian)

Shakespearean (English)

Sonnet - Shakespearean

Written in IAMBIC PENTAMETER

14 lines with rhyme scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF GG

Made famous by William Shakespeare

Each line must have 10 syllables*

Arranged into 3 quatrains & 1 couplet

Q1 Q2 Q3 C1

Iambic Pentameter Refers to specific rhythmic pattern common to

Shakespeare’s works

Blank Verse is unrhyming poetry that also is written in IAMBIC PENTAMETER

IAMB – set of two syllables in which the first is unstressed and the second is stressed

PENTAMETER – means 5 (penta) “feet” or sets of rhythmic pieces (the IAMB is one “rhythmic piece”)

Iambic Pentameter Take-Away

An IAMB is two syllables

Iambic PENTAmeter means that there are 5 iambs

So, a line of “IAMBIC PENTAMETER” has 10 syllables (2 X 5)

Sonnet Example 1SONNET 18by William Shakespeare

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? AThou art more lovely and more temperate: BRough winds do shake the darling buds of May, AAnd summer's lease hath all too short a date: BSometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, CAnd often is his gold complexion dimm'd; DAnd every fair from fair sometime declines, CBy chance, or nature's changing course, untrimm'd; DBut thy eternal summer shall not fade ENor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st; FNor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade, EWhen in eternal lines to time thou grow'st; FSo long as men can breathe or eyes can see, GSo long lives this, and this gives life to thee. G

Q1

Q2

Q3

C1

Sonnet Example 2Sonnet 30by Edna St. Vincent Millay

Love is not all: it is not meat nor drink Nor slumber nor a roof against the rain; Nor yet a floating spar to men that sink And rise and sink and rise and sink again; Love can not fill the thickened lung with breath, Nor clean the blood, nor set the fractured bone; Yet many a man is making friends with death Even as I speak, for lack of love alone. It well may be that in a difficult hour, Pinned down by pain and moaning for release, Or nagged by want past resolution’s power, I might be driven to sell your love for peace, Or trade the memory of this night for food. It well may be. I do not think I would.

Q1

Q2

Q3

C1

Sonnet Assignment

Write an original sonnet

Remember to follow all of the requirements for a sonnet.

Typically sonnets are about love. Yours can be on any topic as long as it is school appropriate.