Poetry Types of Poetry

Haiku ZUsually has three lines ZBroken into 17 syllables that are strategically distributed Z5 syllables Z7 syllables Z5 syllables ZHas a Japanese origin ZUsually relates to nature or seasons

Sample Haikus Matsuo Basho On a withered branch A crow has settled- autumn nightfall. Twinkies Moist golden sponge cake Creamy white filling of joy Boy I love twinkies

Limerick ZA form of folk verse ZIts specific origin is unknown ZThere is a specific form of rhyme arrangement ZThe stressed beats of the Limerick style must also fall on the natural stresses of the words being used ZThe number of stressed beats must be just right so that they Limerick sounds natural

Limerick ZThe Meter: ZThe first, second an fifth lines must have three accented beats to them ZThe third and fourth lines have two accented beats ZThe Rhyme: ZThe most common lymerick ryme scheme is aabba ZA Limerick sounds like “Hickory Dickory Dock” when you say it out loud

Limerick ZGenerally, the poet writing a Limerick follows a specific patter of thought. Each line should follow the set “formula” ZTell about the subject and where he, she, or it is from ZTell something about the person or thing and describe him, her or it ZIn lines 3 and 4, there should be a build up that relates to the second line ZRound off the limerick with an unexpected and funny conclusion, thath relates to the first four lines

Sample Limerick I remember a fellow named Louis Who ate seventeen bowls of chop-suey When the eighteenth was brought, He became overwrought And we watched as poor Louis went blooie!

Ballad ZA ballad often tells a story ZUsually about love or romance ZCan be turned into songs easily ZThey are written in multiple stanzas ZThey usually have a set rhyme scheme of abab ZWritten using “Iambic” form, meaning that the pattern tends to go “unstress, stress”

Sample Ballad My love is like a red, red rose That’s newly sprung in June My love is like a melodie That’s sweetly played in tune As fair art thou, my bonnie lass, So deep in love am I And I will love thee still, my dear, Tell all the seas gang dry…

Narrative Poem ZTells a story ZUsually fairly long ZUsually has a set rhyme scheme but it is not pre- determined ZUsually written in stanzas

Sample Narrative Poem Now Sam McGee was from Tennesee, where the cotton blooms and blows. Why he left his home in the South to roam ‘round the Pole, God only knows. He was always cold, but the land of gold seemed to hold him like a spell; Though he’d often say in his homely way that “he’d sooner live in hell”…

Sample Narrative Poem ZThis is only one stanza of a 14 stanza poem ZThe rhyme scheme is aabb because the last word of the first two lines rhyme, and the last word of the second two lines rhyme ZIt tells the story about a man named Sam McGee, and there is a distinct setting, plot and characters in the poem.

Concrete or Shape Poetry ZThere are quite a few names for this type of poetry ZThese poems are printed on the page so that they form recognizable outlines related to the subject of the poem itself ZThis helps relay further meaning about the words on the page ZThe words are just as important as the image that they create ZIt should be perceived as a whole

Free Verse ZThis is poetry that have multiple lines with no pre-determined pattern or structure ZThe poet has free range to manipulate the poem as they see fit ZEssentially there are no rules related to how the poem looks or sounds ZEach Free Verse poem is very different from each other.