1. Fun with Poetry A Quick Review of Some Popular Forms of Poetry

2. Introduction In this program, you will learn about just a few of the various types of poetry, their individual formats and even shown some examples. The types of poetry you’ll learn about are: Cinquain Haiku Tanka Limerick

3. Cinquain Like other forms of poetry, a Cinquain (sin- kwain) poem follows a specific recipe. Because there are only five lines to this type of poetry, you can’t write complete sentences and therefore will have to carefully choose your words.

4. Cinquain format Each line of a cinquain poem follows this precise structure Line one: 1 word ( a noun, or name) Line two: 2 adjectives that describe line one Line three: 3 verbs that tell what line one does Line four: a 4 word phrase that tells about your subject ( a though, not a sentence) Line five: 1 word that means the same as line one (synonym)

5. Example Tree tall, green growing, reaching, standing a witness to the past future Because of the shape these poems take on once written, some people may call them diamond poems. Either way, it’s a fun way to review your parts of speech

6. Haiku Haiku poetry originated in Japan in the 15th century and was traditionally very long, but by the time it reached America in the 1890’s it had been reduced. The more modern Haiku has only 3 lines and has only 17 syllables in total. Although there are different types of Haiku, most focus subjects that are simple, or appear in nature.

7. Haiku format Remember, Haiku poetry is very structured. Line one: 5 syllables Line two: 7 syllables Line three: 5 syllables Perhaps the most difficult part of writing Haiku poetry is restricting yourself to only 17 syllables!

8. Example Lovely butterfly fluttering above the Earth how fragile you are

9. Tanka Tanka poetry was originally written in Japan over 1300 years ago and, therefore even older than Haiku poetry. This was a vital part of Japan’s culture from794-1185 A.D. It is meant to capture a single scene from nature and since it is done in such a concise manner it is said to cause the writer, and reader, to better appreciate nature.

10. Tanka format Tankas look a lot like Haiku, but as you see they consist of five lines. The format looks like this: Line one: 5 syllables Line two: 7 syllables Line three: 5 syllables Line four: 7 syllables Line five: 7 syllables

11. Example The moon shines brightly Lighting the dark, dreary night With a pale, white light Touching forests, mountains, seas Giving brightness to the earth

12. Limerick Limericks are as much fun to write as they are to read! They are said to originate in Ireland and are typically humorous. Not only do they follow a specific format, but have a distinctive rhyme scheme, or rhyming pattern. These are usually five lines long and rely on a particular amount of syllables for each line. Sound difficult? Not really, just follow the directions.

13. Limerick format Creating limericks is easy if you follow this rhyming pattern: AABBAAABBA This means that lines one, two and five rhyme with each other, and should have roughly the same amount of syllables Then lines three and four rhyme wit only each other. This is called and internal rhyme scheme. These two lines must also have fewer syllables than 1,2 and 5

14. Example Line one: There once was a bird named Lou Line two: who one day just off and flew Line three: away from home Line four: all on his own Line five: to where, he hadn’t a clue Did you notice? Lines 1,2 and 5 all have 7 syllables and end with words that rhyme with each other. Meanwhile, lines 3 and 4 have 4 syllables and only rhyme with each other and not with the other lines.

15. Cinquain Haiku Tanka Limerick Can You Guess? Now that you’ve learned a little about poetry, let’s see if you can identify the following pieces

16. Did You Guess? There was a man with curly hair such a big mess but didn’t care shoulda bought a brush he thought “what’s the rush” and now it makes everyone stare! That’s right! This is an example of a LIMERICK Tortoise aged, wise observing, listening, watching can retreat into shell turtle Yep, diamond shaped, five lines.. You got it! It’s a Cinquain!

17. Did You Guess? Cloud burdened mountain filled with intrigue and secrets breath of the dragon Three lines and 17 syllables. You guessed right! This is a Haiku A gentle breeze blows standing barefoot in cool grass blessed solitude flowers dancing in the wind releasing their fragrant scent It looks like a Haiku, but is longer- That’s correct, it’s a Tanka!

18. Let’s Review Some of These Formats Limerick format Line one: There once was a bird named Lou Line two: who one day just off and flew Line three: away from home Line four: all on his own Line five: to where, he hadn’t a clue Tanka format Line one: 5 syllables Line two: 7 syllables Line three: 5 syllables Line four: 7 syllables Line five: 7 syllables

19. Let’s Review Some of These Formats Haiku format Line one: 5 syllables Line two: 7 syllables Line three: 5 syllables Cinquain format Line one: 1 word ( a noun, or name) Line two: 2 adjectives that describe line one Line three: 3 verbs that tell what line one does Line four: a 4 word phrase that tells about your subject ( a though, not a sentence) Line five: 1 word that means the same as line one (synonym)

20. Try these web sites for more interesting poems Crazy Limerick Machine Poetry.Com