Haiku is an unrhymed Japanese verse
consisting of three unrhymed lines of five,
seven, and five syllables (5, 7, 5) or 17
syllables in all. Haiku is usually
written in the present tense and focuses on
nature (seasons).
Example #1:
Pink cherry blossoms
Cast shimmering reflections
On seas of Japan
Couplet- a special kind of stanza that has only two
lines. For this project you couplet must be eight lines/
four 2 line stanzas with one of the following rhyme
schemes: a,a,a,a
a,b,a,b
a,a,b,b
Roses are red
Forget what I said
Violets are blue
I got neither for you
Didn’t try to break your heart
You knew it wouldn’t work from the start
Tanka is a classic form of Japanese poetry
related to the haiku with five unrhymed lines
of five, seven, five, seven, and seven syllables.
(5, 7, 5, 7, 7)
Example #1:
A cool wind blows in
With a blanket of silence.
Straining to listen
For those first few drops of rain,
The storm begins in earnest.
Limerick
A Limerick is a rhymed humorous or nonsense poem of
five lines which originated in Limerick, Ireland. The
Limerick has a set rhyme scheme of : a-a-b-b-a with a
syllable structure of: 9-9-6-6-9.
Ex:
There once was a man from Aruba, - A (9)
Whose favorite hobby was scuba.
– A (9)
Every day he would wish,
- B (6)
He could spear a big fish.
–B (6)
But settled instead for canned tuna. – A (9)
So now we’re both alone
All by ourselves staring at the phone
Free Verse
Free Verse is an irregular form of poetry in
which the content is free of traditional rules.
Narrative Poem a narrative poem with
stanzas of 2 or 4 lines each. It tells a story
with a beginning, middle, and end. Your
narrative must be at least 20 lines
Ex. “The Cremation of Sam McGee”
Example:
Ode to Job
Job came down
in a
woosh, outstretched
and gliding into the horizon.
Blue shadowed
flight
arrested by
the beckoning marsh.
His greatness bears
prophecy.
Acrostic Poetry
Acrostic Poetry is where the first letter of each
line spells a word, usually using the same
words as in the title.
Example #1:
Heartbreaking
He broke my heart
Every piece, shattered
All I wanted was his love
Real, as he promised
True, as mine for him
But he walked away
Right in the middle of paradise
Every beat of my heart
Aches for his love
Keeping the flame aglow
I will wait by the light
Never losing the hope
God will send him back to me
Choice Poem #1: Any second example of a form we’ve covered or an example of any
form you find or discover on your own.
Choice Poem #2: Any second example of a form we’ve covered or an example of any
form you find or discover on your own.