Types of Poetry
Rhyme / Rhythm

Rhyme Scheme: pattern of rhyming
lines
Slant / Near Rhymes
 Perfect / Exact Rhymes


Rhythm: the beat created by the
meter and rhyme of a poem
Poetic Structure:

The planned framework of a text:

Number of lines, syllables in each line,
shape, ect.
Narrative
 Tells
a story.
 Does not have to have a
rhyme scheme or rhythm but
can if the author chooses.
 No set number of lines,
stanzas, or syllables.
Lyric
 Expresses
the thoughts and
feelings of the author.
 Does not have to rhyme but
HAS TO have a musical
quality.
 No rules about length or
lines.
SONNET
 Expresses
the thoughts and
emotions of the author.
 *Specific Rhyme Schemes.
 Always 14 lines long.
* Shakespearean Sonnet
 14
lines long
 Three quatrains followed by
a rhyming couplet
 Rhyme Scheme:
 ABAB
CDCD EFEF GG
* Italian Sonnet
 14
lines long
 Consists of an octane followed
by a sestet.
 Rhyme Scheme:
 Octane: ABBAABBA
 Sestet:
CDECDE or CDCDCD
* Petrarchan Sonnet

14 lines long.

An octave followed by a sestet.

Rhyme scheme:
 Octane: ABBAABBA
 Sestet:
CDDCEE or CDECDE
Epic
An extensive, narrative poem that tells
the story about a heroic figure.
 No rhyme required.
 Takes place over long periods of time
so they are usually lengthy. (Longer
than a short story.)

Ballad

A long, narrative poem that tells a story
similar to a folk tale or legend.

Rhyme is not required.

Contains repeated refrains because it is a
song.

(refrain: lines that repeat for added
emphasis)
Haiku

A Japanese poem about nature or the
seasons.

Does not rhyme.

3 lines:



5 syllables
7 syllables
5 syllables
The red blossom bends
and drips its dew to the ground.
Like a tear it falls
Concrete

Poem about any subject.

Rhyme scheme is not required.
Must take the structure or
shape of its topic.

Blank Verse

Any unrhymed poem that is written in
iambic pentameter.

Shakespeare’s plays are blank verse.
Free Form (Free Verse)

A poem that does not conform to any
rules regarding rhyme, rhythm, or
structure.

Free form poems can rhyme if author
chooses to make them rhyme, but
they are not required to rhyme.
Fixed Form

Any poem that conforms to a specific
pattern.

Has a rhyme scheme, and/or specific
rhythm or meter.

Poems that require a specific
structure (haiku, concrete, sonnet)