Table of Contents
Poetry Portfolio
Randy Seldomridge
Various Forms of Poetry Writing
Haiku
Requiem
O Captain! My Captain!
Louder Than a Clap of Thunder
Takeoff
Tucson Rain
Trees
Children and Parents
Garbage
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod
The Road Not Taken
Paul Revere’s Ride
I, Too, Sing America
Peter Piper
Fog
Froggie Went a Courtin’
Poem Critiques
1
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Various Forms of Poetry Writing
A cinquain at the most basic level is a five line poem or stanza. There are several
variations. It is a form of poetry, written using a recipe. The words you choose and the
form they take on paper are an important part of the writing. Check this out — it looks
almost like a diamond. Some people even call it a diamond poem. Here are three
variations:
Line 1 - a one word title
Line 2 - a 2 word phrase that describes your title or you can just use two words
Line 3 - a 3 word phrase that describes an action relating to your title or just actions words
Line 4 - a 4 word phrase that describes a feeling relating to your topic or just feeling words
Line 5 - one word that refers back to your title
Line 1 - two syllables
Line 2 - four syllables
Line 3 - six syllables
Line 4 - eight syllables
Line 5 - two syllables
Line1: one word to name the subject
Line 2: two words to describe it
Line 3: three action words about it
Line 4: a four or five word phrase
describing the subject (a thought, not a
complete sentence)
Line 5: one word that means the same
thing as the first word, or a word that sums
it all up.
tree
tall, green
growing, reaching, standing
a witness to the past
future
tree
tall, green
growing, reaching, standing
a witness to the past
future
Japanese haiku (a form of poetry) may look simple, but
it is actually very structured, with rules for choosing a
subject and the way you write about it. The classical
form, which goes back to the 15th century, consists of
as many as 100 verses in one poem, with each verse
having a set number of syllables. Often these poems
were written by more than one poet working together.
Modern haiku (since the 1890s), is a short
verse complete in itself, using 17 characters. In the
Japanese Haiku form, there must be a seasonal
word, or kigo, to make it true Haiku. This word is
supposed to remind readers of one of the four
seasons, without being too obvious (like using the
word crisp instead of fall, to suggest cold autumn
nights).
In English, Haiku consists of 17 syllables, which are arranged in three lines:
Example:
Spring goes, summer comes
with the warm heat from the sun
swimming, picnics fun!
—A Haiku by Megan, age 12
line 1: 5 syllables
line 2: 7 syllables
line 3: 5 syllables
A good Haiku selects a subject that is
something simple (like a coin in your
pocket, a sunset you see out your
window, or a daily event) and makes
you think about it in a different way.
Ballads are narrative [tells a story] poetry that are set to music.
Couplets consist of a pair of lines of poetry that are usually rhymed.
Epitaphs are a good example of couplets.
A diamante is a poem in the shape of a diamond that is seven lines long.
Like a cinquain, they also have a recipe.
The line pattern goes like this:







Line 1. Noun
Line 2. Two Adjectives
Line 3. Three Participles
Line 4. Four Nouns
Line 5. Three Participles
Line 6. Two Adjectives
Line 7. Noun
A concrete poem takes the shape of the object the poem is describing. The
words become the shape of the poem.
An acrostic poem uses a word (usually the poet’s name) to write a
descriptive poem about the named person. Any word will work.







Formed by writing a word vertically down the page
One letter per line
All capital letters
Each line of poetry must begin with the letter on that line and must pertain to the word
May use one word or a phrase
Does not have to rhyme
Use adjectives and phrases that describe the word
A limerick is a poem that is highly controlled. Lines 1, 2 and 5 rhyme;
Lines 3 and 4 rhyme. This type of poem also has a meter or beat.
Free verse is almost any type of poem today. Free verse poetry is
patterned by speech and images rather than by regular metrical schemes.
Freedom applies not only to freedom from traditional meter, but freedom
to use visual and sound effects as desired – for surprise, thickening of
meaning, symmetry, repetition, or simply for fun. Lines can also be
shortened for speed, or segmented into clots of words or syllables to slow
down the reading or comprehension.
Haiku
Matsuo Basho
This poem reminds me of a summer day – everything/one being lazy and a
sudden movement causes a noise. This is a good example of a haiku as it
has the five, seven, five syllable pattern in three lines and it is about
something in nature.
Requiem
Ogden Nash
This is a great example of a limerick and the use of poetic license. Nash has
made words rhyme by adding an unconventional ending.
O Captain! My Captain!
Walt Whitman
This poem is an example of a narrative poem. It tells the story of the death
of a father from the boy’s eyes.
Louder Than a Clap of Thunder
Jack Prelutsky
This is a funny rhyming poem about a father’s snoring problem. Prelutsky
has also used poetic license to make his poem rhyme.
Takeoff
NASA Quest “Wright-ing”
Concrete poems of this caliber are hard to find and this is a great example of
how a quatrain is made to show an airplane taking off.
Tucson Rain
John Hewitt
This poem is the perfect example of a traditional cinquain using the number
of syllables per line instead of the parts of speech. When using this type of
poem with students, they are usually shown the parts of speech version as it
is easier for children to write.
Trees
Joyce Kilmer
This poem eloquently describes the beauties of a tree as it progresses
through the changing seasons. It proclaims that people can make trees
seem pretty, but only God can make them truly beautiful.
Children and Parents
Ogden Nash
This couplet gives a humorous explanation of a child’s purpose in life – to
ignore their parents every request.
Garbage
Bruce Lansky
Lansky has created an acrostic poem from something everyone can relate
with – trash. This is the perfect model to show children that not all acrostics
are written using a name.
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod
Eugene Field
This poem is the perfect bedtime story for children. A great lullaby that has
been heard for many years.
The Road Not Taken
Robert Frost
In my opinion, one of Frost’s greatest works. A delightful poem about
making choices and weighing them heavily. Originally meant to mock a
friend, it has since taken on a very serious, somber tone.
Paul Revere’s Ride
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
This poem is a ballad that tells the story of how Paul Revere alerted his
fellow Americans that the British Army was coming to attack. Most of us are
familiar with one of this poems more well-known lines “one if by land, and
two if by sea.”
I, Too, Sing America
Langston Hughes
A poem about a young African American boy growing and surviving in the
times of segregation. A great perspective of a boy defending himself.
Peter Piper
Mother Goose
A good use of alliteration used to create a popular tongue twister and a
nursery rhyme.
Fog
Carl Sandburg
This is a great descriptive poem that seems like one huge metaphor used to
tell how fog moves like a cat.
Froggie Went a Courtin’
Bob Dylan
A humorous lyric that tells a story of a frog and his dating escapades.