Types of Poetry

Definition of Poetry
Poetry is piece of literature written by a poet in meter or verse expressing various emotions which
are expressed by the use of variety of different techniques including metaphors, similes and
onomatopoeia which are explained in the above definitions and different examples. The emphasis
on the aesthetics of language and the use of different techniques such as repetition, meter and
rhyme are what are commonly used to distinguish poetry from prose and explained in the above
examples. Prose can be defined as ordinary speech or writing without any metrical structure.
poems often make heavy use of imagery and word association to quickly convey emotions. Poetry
in English and other modern European languages often use different rhyme schemes and these
technique is most often seen in children's poems such as Nursery Rhymes making them easy to
remember. Other examples of different types of poetry which use rhyme are limericks. Poets make
use of sound in different types of poetry by employing different kinds of techniques called
Alliteration, Assonance, Consonance and Euphony all of which are explained in the above
examples of different types of poetry.

The Structure of Poetry

The structure used in poems varies with different types of poetry. The structural elements include
the line, couplet, strophe and stanza. Poets combine the use of language and a specific structure to
create imaginative and expressive work. The structure used in some Poetry types are also used
when considering the visual effect of a finished poem. The structure of many different types of
poetry  result in groups of lines on the page which enhance the poem's composition.

Definitions of different Types of Poetry

There are many different types of poetry and poems. All of the lesser known types of poetry ( such
as the Idyll, Senryu, Doggerel & Enjambment ) as well as the main types of poetry and poems
( such as the sonnet, Ballad, Limericks and Rhymes ) have been included in this website together
with different examples. How do you define a Sonnet or Blank Verse? Each page has a definition of
the genre together with the meaning, samples, examples and the rules of all different kinds and
types of Poetry and poems. A helpful educational resource for those taking an English test in the
fifth grade or a University student studying English and American Literature. The definitions will also
provide a variety of different literary terms which can be used for reference as a glossary of literary
terms or a dictionary specialising in different types and examples of poems, poetry and literary
terms.
 

55 Types of Poetry Forms

By Gary R. Hess

This article contains 55 types of poetry. These include all known (at
least to my research) forms a poem may take. If you wish to read
more about poetry, these articles might interest you: poetry
technique and poetry definition

ABC
A poem that has five lines that create a mood, picture, or feeling.
Lines 1 through 4 are made up of words, phrases or clauses while
the first word of each line is in alphabetical order. Line 5 is one
sentence long and begins with any letter.

Acrostic
Poetry that certain letters, usually the first in each line form a
word or message when read in a sequence.

Ballad
A poem that tells a story similar to a folk tail or legend which
often has a repeated refrain. Read more about ballads.

Ballade
Poetry which has three stanzas of seven, eight or ten lines and a
shorter final stanza of four or five. All stanzas end with the same
one line refrain.

Blank verse
A poem written in unrhymed iambic pentameter and is often
unobtrusive. The iambic pentameter form often resembles the
rhythms of speech.

Bio
A poem written about one self's life, personality traits, and
ambitions.

Burlesque
Poetry that treats a serious subject as humor.

Canzone
 Medieval Italian lyric style poetry with five or six stanzas and a
shorter ending stanza.

Carpe diem
Latin expression that means 'seize the day.' Carpe diem poems
have a theme of living for today.

Cinquain
Poetry with five lines. Line 1 has one word (the title). Line 2 has
two words that describe the title. Line 3 has three words that tell
the action. Line 4 has four words that express the feeling, and
line 5 has one word which recalls the title. Read more about
cinquain poetry.

Classicism
Poetry which holds the principles and ideals of beauty that are
characteristic of Greek and Roman art, architecture, and
literature.

Concrete
Also known as "size poetry". Concrete poetry uses typographical
arrangements to display an element of the poem. This can either
be through re-arrangement of letters of a word or by arranging
the words as a shape.Read more about concrete poetry.

Couplet
A couplet has rhyming stanzas made up of two lines.

Dramatic monologue
A type of poem which is spoken to a listener. The speaker
addresses a specific topic while the listener unwittingly reveals
details about him/herself.

Elegy
 A sad and thoughtful poem about the death of an individual.

Epic
An extensive, serious poem that tells the story about a heroic
figure.

Epigram
A very short, ironic and witty poem usually written as a brief
couplet or quatrain. The term is derived from the Greek
epigramma meaning inscription.

Epitaph
A commemorative inscription on a tomb or mortuary monument
written to praise the deceased.

Epithalamium (Epithalamion)
A poem written in honor of the bride and groom.

Free verse (vers libre)

Poetry written in either rhyme or unrhymed lines that have no
set fixed metrical pattern.

Found
Poetry created by taking words, phrases, and passages from
other sources and reframing by adding spaces, lines, or by
altering the text with additions or subtractions.

Ghazal
A short lyrical poem that arose in Urdu. It is between 5 and 15
couplets long. Each couplet contains its own poetic thought but is
linked in rhyme that is established in the first couplet and
continued in the second line of each pair. The lines of each
couplet are equal in length. Themes are usually connected to love
 and romance. The closing signature often includes the poet's
name or allusion to it.

Haiku
A Japanese poem composed of three unrhymed lines of five,
seven, and five morae, usually containing a season word. Read
more about haiku poetry.

Horatian ode
Short lyric poem written in two or four-line stanzas, each with its
the same metrical pattern, often addressed to a friend and deal
with friendship, love and the practice of poetry. It is named after
its creator, Horace.

Iambic pentameter
One short syllabel followed by one long one five sets in a row.
Example: la-LAH la-LAH la-LAH la-LAH la-LAH

Idyll (Idyl)
Poetry that either depicts a peaceful, idealized country scene or a
long poem telling a story about heroes of a bye gone age.

Irregular (Pseudo-Pindaric or Cowleyan) ode

Neither the three part form of the pindaric ode nor the two or
four-line stanza of the Horatian ode. It is characterized by
irregularity of verse and structure and lack of coorespondence
between the parts.

Italian sonnet
A sonnet consisting of an octave with the rhyme pattern
abbaabba followed by six lines with a rhyme pattern of cdecde or
cdcdcd.

Lay
 A long narrative poem, especially one that was sung by medieval
minstrels.

Limerick
A short sometimes vulgar, humorous poem consisting of five
anapestic lines. Lines 1, 2, and 5 have seven to ten syllables,
rhyme and have the same verbal rhythm. The 3rd and 4th lines
have five to seven syllables, rhyme and have the same rhythm.

List
A poem that is made up of a list of items or events. It can be any
length and rhymed or unrhymed.

Lyric
A poem that expresses the thoughts and feelings of the poet.

Memoriam stanza
A quatrain in iambic tetrameter with a rhyme scheme of abba --
named after the pattern used by Lord Tennyson.

Name
Poetry that tells about the word. It uses the letters of the word
for the first letter of each line.

Narrative
A poem that tells a story. Read more about narrative poetry.

Ode
A lengthy lyric poem typically of a serious or meditative nature
and having an elevated style and formal stanza structure.

Pastoral
A poem that depicts rural life in a peaceful, romanticized way.

Petrarchan
 A 14-line sonnet consisting of an octave rhyming abbaabba
followed by a sestet of cddcee or cdecde

Pindaric ode
A ceremonious poem consisting of a strophe (two or more lines
repeated as a unit) followed by a an antistrophe with the same
metrical pattern and concluding with a summary line (an epode)
in a different meter. Named after Pindar, a Greek professional
lyrist of the 5th century B.C.

Quatrain
A stanza or poem consisting of four lines. Lines 2 and 4 must
rhyme while having a similar number of syllables.

Rhyme
A rhyming poem has the repetition of the same or similar sounds
of two or more words, often at the end of the line.

Rhyme royal
A type of poetry consisting of stanzas having seven lines in
iambic pentameter.

Romanticism
A poem about nature and love while having emphasis on the
personal experience.

Rondeau
A lyrical poem of French origin having 10 or 13 lines with two
rhymes and with the opening phrase repeated twice as the
refrain.

Senryu
 A short Japanese style poem, similar to haiku in structure that
treats human beings rather than nature: Often in a humorous or
satiric way.

Sestina
A poem consisting of six six-line stanzas and a three-line envoy.
The end words of the first stanza are repeated in varied order as
end words in the other stanzas and also recur in the envoy.

Shakespearean
A 14-line sonnet consisting of three quatrains of abab cdcd efef
followed by a couplet, gg. Shakespearean sonnets generally use
iambic pentameter.

Shape
Poetry written in the shape or form of an object. This is a type of
concrete poetry.

Sonnet
A lyric poem that consists of 14 lines which usually have one or
more conventional rhyme schemes. Read more about sonnets.

Sound
Intended primarily for performance, sound poetry is sometimes
referred to as "verse without words". This form is seen as the
bridging between literary and musical composition in which the
phonetics of human speech are used to create a poem.

Tanka
A Japanese poem of five lines, the first and third composed of
five syllables and the other seven.

Terza Rima
 A type of poetry consisting of 10 or 11 syllable lines arranged in
three-line tercets.

Verse
A single metrical line of poetry.

Villanelle
A 19-line poem consisting of five tercets and a final quatrain on
two rhymes. The first and third lines of the first tercet repeat
alternately as a refrain closing the succeeding stanzas and joined
as the final couplet of the quatrain.

Visual
The visual arrangement of text, images, and symbols to help
convey the meaning of the work. Visual poetry is sometimes
referred to as a type of concrete poetry.

Ballads are poems that tell a story. They are considered to be a form
of narrative poetry. They are often used in songs and have a very musical quality to
them.

The basic form for ballads is iambic heptameter (seven sets of unstressed, stressed
sylables per line), in sets of four, with the second and fourth lines rhyming. This is the
standard, but we do not require you to follow it rigidly in the poetry you submit to us,
especially since very few people use or even know the standard! Feel free to
experiment, but remember, it should have a smooth, song-like sound when you speak
it aloud.

Here is an example:

I'll tell a tale, a thrilling tale of love beyond compare

I knew a lad not long ago more gorgeous than any I've seen.
And in his eyes I found my self a'falling in love with the swain.
Oh, the glorious fellow I met by the ocean with eyes of deep-sea green!
He was a rugged sailor man with eyes of deep-sea green,
And I a maid, a tavern maid! Whose living was serving beer.
So with a kiss and with a wave, off on his boat he sailed
And left me on the dock, the theif! Without my heart, oh dear!

And with a heart that's lost at sea, I go on living still.

I still am now still serving beer in that tavern by the sea.
And though the pay check's still the same, the money won't go as far
For now I feed not just myself, but my little one and me!

So let that be a lesson, dear, and keep your heart safely hid.
I gave mine to a sailing thief with gorgeous eyes of green.
Save yours for a sweeter lad who makes the land his home.
Ah me! If only I'd never met that sailor by the sea!
-- Lonnie Adrift

Notice how "seen" and "green" in the first paragraph rhyme? This rhyming pattern,
called abcb, is continued throughout the poem. "a" stands for one line ending, "b" for
another, and "c" for another still. Because there are 2 "b"'s, they are the two lines that
rhyme. Note also, that it does not stay strictly to the iambic heptameter, this only fits
if you speed up and blend some of the words, which also adds to the flow of it

Ode to Aphrodite
Sappho (c. 630-570 B.C.)
Deathless Aphrodite, throned in flowers,
Daughter of Zeus, O terrible enchantress,
With this sorrow, with this anguish, break my spirit
Lady, not longer!
Hear anew the voice! O hear and listen!
Come, as in that island dawn thou camest,
Billowing in thy yoked car to Sappho
Forth from thy father's
Golden house in pity! ... I remember:
Fleet and fair thy sparrows drew thee, beating
Fast their wings above the dusky harvests,
Down the pale heavens,
Lightning anon! And thou, O blest and brightest,
 Smiling with immortal eyelids, asked me:
"Maiden, what betideth thee? Or wherefore
Callest upon me?
"What is here the longing more than other,
Here in this mad heart? And who the lovely
One beloved that wouldst lure to loving?
Sappho, who wrongs thee?
"See, if now she flies, she soon must follow;
Yes, if spurning gifts, she soon must offer;
Yes, if loving not, she soon must love thee,
Howso unwilling..."
Come again to me! O now! Release me!
End the great pang! And all my heart desireth
Now of fulfillment, fulfill! O Aphrodite,
Fight by my shoulder!