Glossary of Poetic Forms
Couplet
a pair of successive lines of verse, esp. a pair that rhyme and
are of the same length.
Haiku
a major form of Japanese verse, written in 17 syllables
divided into 3 lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables, and employing
highly evocative allusions and comparisons, often on the
subject of nature or one of the seasons.
poetic measure; arrangement of words in regularly
measured, patterned, or rhythmic lines or verses
(of poetry) having the form and musical quality of a song,
and esp. the character of a songlike outpouring of the poet's
own thoughts and feelings, as distinguished from epic and
dramatic poetry.
Meter
Lyrics
Verse
in poetry, one of the lines of a poem
Stanza
an arrangement of a certain number of lines, usually four or
more, sometimes having a fixed length, meter, or rhyme
scheme, forming a division of a poem.
identity in sound of some part, esp. the end, of words or
lines of verse.
a phrase or verse recurring at intervals in a song or poem,
esp. at the end of each stanza; chorus
a kind of humorous verse of five lines, in which the first,
second, and fifth lines rhyme with each other, and the third
and fourth lines, which are shorter, form a rhymed couplet.
An abecedarian poem is a special form of an acrostic poem,
in which the initial letters of the words beginning each line
or stanza spell out the alphabet in order.
a short lyric poem composed of a series of about 5 to 15
couplets, each of which stands independently on its own as
a poetic thought, but is linked through a rhyme scheme
established in both lines of the first couplet and continued
in the 2nd line of each following pair of lines. The meter is
not strictly determined, but the lines of the couplets must
be of equal length. Themes usually are connected to
romantic love and longing, and the closing signature couplet
often includes the poet’s name or an allusion to it.
Before Shakespeare’s day, the word “sonnet” meant simply
“little song,” i.e., a short lyric poem.
The original form is the Italian or Petrarchan sonnet, in
which the 14 lines are arranged in an octet (8 lines) rhyming
abba abba and a sestet (6 lines) rhyming either cdecde or
cdcdcd.
Rhyme
Refrain
Limerick
Abecedarian
Ghazal
Pre-Shakespeare
Shakespearean sonnet
Spenserian sonnet
In Renaissance Italy and in Elizabethan England, the sonnet
became a fixed poetic form, consisting of 14 lines, usually
iambic pentameter in English. Later came the English or
Shakespearean sonnet, made of three quatrains rhyming
abab cdcd efef and a closing rhymed heroic couplet.
The Spenserian sonnet is a variation developed by Edmund
Narrative poem
Dramatic monologue
Ballad
Allegory
Ode
Parody
Prose poem
Blank verse
Free verse
Slam
Spenser in which the quatrains are linked by their rhyme
scheme: abab bcbc cdcd ee.
Is poetry that has a plot. The poems that make up this genre
may be short or long, and the story it relates to may be
simple or complex. It is usually nondramatic, with objective
regular scheme and meter.
is a poem that shares many features with a speech from a
play: one person speaks, and in that speech there are clues
to his/her character, the character of the implied person or
people that s/he is speaking to, the situation in which it is
spoken and the story that has led to this situation.
Strictly, a ballad is a form of poetry that alternates lines of
four and three beats, often in quatrains, rhymed abab, and
often telling a story
A story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a
hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.
An ode is a lyric poem, usually addressing a particular
person or thing. It originated in Ancient Greece, and was
based on a pattern of three stanzas.
is the imitation of the style of another work, writer or genre,
which relies on deliberate exaggeration to achieve comic or
satirical effect. It is usually necessary to be familiar with the
original in order to appreciate the parody, though some
parodies have become better known than the poems they
imitate.
is the imitation of the style of another work, writer or genre,
which relies on deliberate exaggeration to achieve comic or
satirical effect. It is usually necessary to be familiar with the
original in order to appreciate the parody, though some
parodies have become better known than the poems they
imitate.
Blank verse is a form based on unrhymed lines of iambic
pentameter. The form is one that is close to normal speech
(indeed, "the form is one that's close to normal speech" is
itself an iambic pentameter) so it gives a subtle pulse to a
poem, rather than an obvious shaping as a limerick might.
However, there is a tendency in contemporary poetry to use
shorter lines, so the form can also sound stately or slow to a
modern ear.
What free verse claims to be free from is the constraints of
regular metre and fixed forms. This makes the poem free to
find its own shape according to what the poet - or the poem
- wants to say, but still allows him or her to use rhyme,
alliteration, rhythms or cadences (etc) to achieve the effects
that s/he feels are appropriate
A type of poetry expressing a person's personal story and/or
struggle usually in an intensely emotional style. Very
powerful, sincere, and moving. The focus of poetry slam is
not the written word; rather, it is a celebration of the art of
oral interpretation and performance with emphasis on the
interaction between the poet and the audience. With
enough passion and practice, becoming a slam poet is
within your reach. Explore a distant memory on paper, then
Rap
read it out loud. Edit. Try reading it out loud again, and add
your finishing touches.
Rap evolved from a tradition of storytelling, using rap to
express the nature street culture/ their troubles.
Rap music are pieces which are spoken. Characterized by
rhyming lyrics, alliteration and emphatic delivery
coordinated with definitive beat patterns