Types of Poems — Forms, Structure, and Examples

Daniel Bal
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Daniel Bal
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Courtney Adamo
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Poetic forms

The characteristics of a poem, which consist of its line length, number of stanzas, rhyme scheme, and metric pattern, determine its form.

The following list identifies the most common types of poetry:

Ballad: A ballad is a narrative poem traditionally set to music and passed down orally. It is comprised of multiple 4-line stanzas (quatrains) that follow either an ABCB or ABAB rhyme scheme. The first and third lines contain four beats of stressed and unstressed syllables (iambic tetrameter), while lines two and four contain three beats of stressed and unstressed syllables (iambic trimeter).

Blank Verse: Blank verse consists of any number of unrhyming lines that contain five beats of stressed and unstressed syllables (iambic pentameter). Classical playwrights often used blank verse within their dramatic works.

Elegy: In an elegy, the poet or speaker expresses grief due to a loss of some kind. Elegies consist of multiple quatrains written in iambic pentameter with an ABAB rhyme scheme.

Epic: An epic poem is a narrative typically the length of a novel. These poems focus on characters with extraordinary abilities who commit themselves to a journey.

Free verse poetry
Free verse poetry

Free Verse: Free verse poems do not follow a specific rhyme scheme or rhythmic pattern. Instead, poets mimic the flow of natural speech.

Haiku: Originally a Japanese form of poetry, haikus traditionally contain three lines with a 5-7-5 syllable pattern. The subject matter of these short poems classically revolved around nature.

Limerick: A limerick is a short, humorous, and trivial poem. They consist of a 5-line stanza written in an AABA rhyme scheme. Lines one, two, and five contain three beats of two unstressed syllables and one stressed syllable (anapestic trimeter), while lines three and four contain three beats of two unstressed syllables and one stressed syllable (anapestic dimeter).

Ode: In an ode, the poet or speaker pays tribute to a person, place, object, or idea. Poets usually incorporate a rhyme scheme and rhythm throughout the ode; however, there is no requirement regarding which they use, often creating a unique structure. Odes are one of the oldest forms of poetry, developed in ancient Greece.

Types of sonnets
Types of sonnets

Sonnet: The sonnet is a 14-line poem written in iambic pentameter and follows one of several rhyme schemes depending upon the type.

  • English: English or Shakespearean sonnets consist of three quatrains with an alternating rhyme scheme and end with a rhyming couplet (two lines).

  • Italian: Italian or Petrarchan sonnets consist of an octave (8 lines) and a sestet (6 lines) and typically follow the following rhyme scheme: ABBAABBA CDCDCD or CDECDE.

Villanelle: A villanelle is a 19-line poem consisting of five tercets (3 lines) and ending with a quatrain. Each tercet follows an ABA rhyme scheme, with the final quatrain following an ABAA pattern. The first and third lines alternate as the last line of each tercet. The first and third lines also make up the final two lines in the concluding quatrain.

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Structure of a poem

Poets use the following characteristics when structuring a poem:

Stanza: The stanza is the building block of a poem. Each stanza consists of a specific number of lines that contextually connect; therefore, they act much like a paragraph does in prose.

Meter: Meter identifies the specific rhythmic pattern in a line of poetry and consists of the number of syllables and how the poet emphasizes those syllables. The lines are then broken down into "feet," each of which has a certain number of syllables and a specific pattern:

  • Number of Feet

    • One: monometer

    • Two: dimeter

    • Three: trimeter

    • Four: tetrameter

    • Five: pentameter

    • Six: hexameter

    • Seven: heptameter

    • Eight: octameter

  • Syllable Emphasis

    • Trochee: DUM da

    • Iamb: da DUM

    • Spondee: DUM DUM

    • Dactyl: DUM da da

    • Anapest: da da DUM

Meters in poetry
Meters in poetry

Rhyme Scheme: Poets use different rhyming patterns depending upon the poetic form. The types of rhymes and their placement include the following:

  • Placement

    • End: Rhyming words at the end of a line

    • Internal: Rhyming words within a line of poetry or between lines

  • Type

    • Perfect/True: The stressed vowel sounds and any other sounds after are identical (bake and cake)

    • Slant/Imperfect: Words that have similar but not identical sounds (work and fork)

    • Identical: Repetition of the same word

    • Sight: Words that look like they rhyme, but they do not (alone and gone)

Poetic form examples

The following poems utilize the most common poetic forms.

Ballad

“The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (lines 1-7)

Blank Verse

“Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey…” by William Wordsworth (lines 1-7)

Elegy

“When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d” by Walt Whitman (lines 1-6)

Epic

Paradise Lost by John Milton (lines 1-5)

Free Verse

“April” by Ezra Pound

Haiku

“In the Twilight Rain” by Matsuo Basho

Limerick

“There Was an Old Lady” by Edward Lear

Narrative

The Iliad by Homer (excerpt)

Ode

“Ode to a Nightingale” by John Keats (lines 1-10)

Sonnet

Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare

Villanelle

“Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night” by Dylan Thomas (excerpt)