Types of Poetry
Paragraph.
Personal Auto-Bio Poem
LINE 1 First Name
LINE 2 Four adjectives that describe your character and personality
LINE 3 State a relationship (son, cousin, friend, teacher,) of
LINE 4 Lover of. . . (3 ideas/people)
LINE 5 Who feels. . . (3 examples)
LINE 6 Who needs. . . (3 examples)
LINE 7 Who gives. . . (3 examples)
LINE 8 Who fears. . . (3 examples)
LINE 9 Who would like to see. . . (3 examples)
LINE 10 Resident of . . .
LINE 11 Last Name
HAIKU
This kind of poem comes from Japan. It must have three lines with seventeen syllables. It describes a fleeting (something that doesn’t last very long) moment in nature. It is like a snapshot of something beautiful in nature. It should capture emotion.
Examples –
Line 1 has 5 syllables Remember the men
Line 2 has 7 syllables Who fought bravely in the wars
Line 3 has 5 syllables Summer and winter.
Butterflies do flit
Daintily amid flowers
On a summer day.
SENRYU
SENRYU IS JUST LIKE A HAIKU BUT DESCRIBES HUMAN NATURE RATHER THAN PHYSICAL NATURE. YOU MAY USE TOPICS INTERESTING TO PEOPLE SUCH AS MOVIES OR BASEBALL.
Gossip is lethal
Friendships are ruined daily
Hurt feelings spread wide.
TANKA
Like Haiku it focuses on nature but is longer –
Line 1 has 5 syllables Snow drifts, deep and soft
Line 2 has 7 syllables Diamonds glittering bright
Line 3 has 5 syllables Sunlight, clouds on high
Line 4 has 7 syllables Skiers weaving and sliding
Line 5 has 7 syllables Powder flies on the mountain.
CINQUAIN
The Cinquain is not of Japanese origin. It consists of 5 lines.
LINE 1 2 syllables Puppies
LINE 2 4 syllables yapping, jumping
LINE 3 6 syllables playing with each other
LINE 4 8 syllables chasing their tails, balls, other toys
LINE 5 2 syllables for fun.
LIMERICK
A Limerick should be humorous and follow a certain pattern. It should make you laugh. All limericks should have the following parts:
Five Lines
Three long lines (1,2,5)
Two short lines (3,4)
Lines 3 and 4 are often printed on the same physical line
Rhyme Scheme (aa,bb,a)
1. Lines 1,2 and 5 rhyme
2. Lines 3 and 4 rhyme
Lines have a particular rhythm
3. Line 1 – Eight syllables with three accented or stressed syllables
4. Line 2 – Eight syllables with three accented or stressed syllables
5. Line 3 – Five syllables with two accented or stressed syllables
6. Line 4 – Five syllables with two accented or stressed syllables
7. Line 5 – Eight syllables with three accented or stressed syllables
EXAMPLE
There once was a girl from Musquodoboit,
Who thought she looked like a hobbit.
Oh no, this cannot be,
For no one will see me,
As an intelligent person who knows law a bit!
You might choose to write calendar limericks using the names of the months in the first line:
July brings us sun,
Brings us to the beach for some fun,
Warm sand and cool water
Makes you think that you oughter,
Dip your toes in, then run!
When Spring breaks out
Trees grow a new coat
Grass sprouts anew
Forget-me-nots turn blue
Time to get out the boat!
ODE
Select a person, place or thing that you want to write about.
Write phrases describing how your item makes you feel and why you feel this way.Write many phrases telling unique qualities of your subject.Now, explain why your subject is important to you and why you adore it so much. Join some of your phrases into lines for your ode. Remember they do not have to rhyme. Odes often have 13 lines of poetry.
Now revise your lines following these steps:
1. Take away any lines that are too similar
2. Add more feeling to any meaningless lines
3. Pick a good opening line or sentence
4. Order the remaining lines into their best sequence
5. Select a good closing line that clearly expresses your feeling about that subject.
EXAMPLE
ODE TO A FROG
Frog oh frog you are so green
Sitting on a lily pad in the pond
You saw a fly buzzing overhead
Out came your tongue quick as a flash
Dinner's first course was eaten.
Then into the water you hopped
To take a quick swim
Soon you and a friend came out to sit
On a sun-warmed rock
Basking in the afternoon heat
Without a care in the world.
The quiet life of a frog.
VIP
You all know what a VIP is – a very important person
Choose some very important people to write VIP poems about:
LINE 1 Name an admired athlete, musician, actor or other
LINE 2 List three adjectives that describe the person’s appearance or personality
LINE 3 With what or with whom do you associate that person?
LINE 4 Identify three actions (ed or ing words) associated with that person
LINE 5 When or where are these things done?
LINE 6 What is your opinion of or reaction to that person?
EXAMPLE
Sidney Crosby
Skating, scoring, playing
Pittsburg Penguins
At the hockey arena
The next "Great One".
SENSE OF TIME POEMS
When writing these poems, select a different time for each one: Day of the week, month, season or holiday.
TITLE Pick a period of time from the list above and write it as a title
LINE 1 Assign a color to that time period
LINE 2 Describe the color with an example. The color of . . .
LINE 3 What does this time period feel like?
LINE 4 What does this time period sound like?
LINE 5 What does this time period smell like?
LINE 6 What does this time period taste like?
LINE 7 Sum up your feeling about the time period in a sentence.
EXAMPLE
December
December is red and green
The color of Christmas lights
December feels like waiting for a surprise
It sounds like caroling
It smells like baking cookies, roast turkey
December tastes like sweet chocolates
Suddenly the waiting is over and it's Christmas.
FIVE SENSE POEMS
Describe an emotion by using your senses. First give the emotion a color (sight). Then tell how it sounds, feels, smells and tastes.
EXAMPLE:
Happiness is yellow
It sounds like laughter
It feels like joy It smells like fresh air
It tastes like crisp apples
PARTS OF SPEECH POEMS
LINE 1 One article and one noun
LINE 2 One adjective and one conjunction and one adjective
LINE 3 One verbal (ed or ing word) and one conjunction and one verbal
LINE 4 One noun that relates to the noun in the first line (Don’t use “all day.” It can be two or three words).
EXAMPLES
The school
Long and low
Learning and studying
Building for students
Acrostic Poem
The acrostic was used centuries ago in Latin, Hebrew, and Greek literature. This form of poetry is usually unrhymed and the physical arrangement of the lines is important. The letters of the poems title are written vertically. These letters indicate the first letter of each line of the poem.
Example
R emember
E very
M an who served
E specially
M en who died
B oys who fought
R ain or shine
A round the world
N ear and far for
C auses they believe in
E ven today.
Shape Poem
A shape poem has the words arragnge to show the topic in a way that can be seen. The shape in which the works are arranged, and the words themselves, combine to create the poem. It is fun to create poems for different topics.
Example
T
he
kite
has a
long tail
and can fly
high in the
sky like
a bird
so
a
r
i
n
g
o
n
d n t
i h
w e
LINE 2 Four adjectives that describe your character and personality
LINE 3 State a relationship (son, cousin, friend, teacher,) of
LINE 4 Lover of. . . (3 ideas/people)
LINE 5 Who feels. . . (3 examples)
LINE 6 Who needs. . . (3 examples)
LINE 7 Who gives. . . (3 examples)
LINE 8 Who fears. . . (3 examples)
LINE 9 Who would like to see. . . (3 examples)
LINE 10 Resident of . . .
LINE 11 Last Name
HAIKU
This kind of poem comes from Japan. It must have three lines with seventeen syllables. It describes a fleeting (something that doesn’t last very long) moment in nature. It is like a snapshot of something beautiful in nature. It should capture emotion.
Examples –
Line 1 has 5 syllables Remember the men
Line 2 has 7 syllables Who fought bravely in the wars
Line 3 has 5 syllables Summer and winter.
Butterflies do flit
Daintily amid flowers
On a summer day.
SENRYU
SENRYU IS JUST LIKE A HAIKU BUT DESCRIBES HUMAN NATURE RATHER THAN PHYSICAL NATURE. YOU MAY USE TOPICS INTERESTING TO PEOPLE SUCH AS MOVIES OR BASEBALL.
Gossip is lethal
Friendships are ruined daily
Hurt feelings spread wide.
TANKA
Like Haiku it focuses on nature but is longer –
Line 1 has 5 syllables Snow drifts, deep and soft
Line 2 has 7 syllables Diamonds glittering bright
Line 3 has 5 syllables Sunlight, clouds on high
Line 4 has 7 syllables Skiers weaving and sliding
Line 5 has 7 syllables Powder flies on the mountain.
CINQUAIN
The Cinquain is not of Japanese origin. It consists of 5 lines.
LINE 1 2 syllables Puppies
LINE 2 4 syllables yapping, jumping
LINE 3 6 syllables playing with each other
LINE 4 8 syllables chasing their tails, balls, other toys
LINE 5 2 syllables for fun.
LIMERICK
A Limerick should be humorous and follow a certain pattern. It should make you laugh. All limericks should have the following parts:
Five Lines
Three long lines (1,2,5)
Two short lines (3,4)
Lines 3 and 4 are often printed on the same physical line
Rhyme Scheme (aa,bb,a)
1. Lines 1,2 and 5 rhyme
2. Lines 3 and 4 rhyme
Lines have a particular rhythm
3. Line 1 – Eight syllables with three accented or stressed syllables
4. Line 2 – Eight syllables with three accented or stressed syllables
5. Line 3 – Five syllables with two accented or stressed syllables
6. Line 4 – Five syllables with two accented or stressed syllables
7. Line 5 – Eight syllables with three accented or stressed syllables
EXAMPLE
There once was a girl from Musquodoboit,
Who thought she looked like a hobbit.
Oh no, this cannot be,
For no one will see me,
As an intelligent person who knows law a bit!
You might choose to write calendar limericks using the names of the months in the first line:
July brings us sun,
Brings us to the beach for some fun,
Warm sand and cool water
Makes you think that you oughter,
Dip your toes in, then run!
When Spring breaks out
Trees grow a new coat
Grass sprouts anew
Forget-me-nots turn blue
Time to get out the boat!
ODE
Select a person, place or thing that you want to write about.
Write phrases describing how your item makes you feel and why you feel this way.Write many phrases telling unique qualities of your subject.Now, explain why your subject is important to you and why you adore it so much. Join some of your phrases into lines for your ode. Remember they do not have to rhyme. Odes often have 13 lines of poetry.
Now revise your lines following these steps:
1. Take away any lines that are too similar
2. Add more feeling to any meaningless lines
3. Pick a good opening line or sentence
4. Order the remaining lines into their best sequence
5. Select a good closing line that clearly expresses your feeling about that subject.
EXAMPLE
ODE TO A FROG
Frog oh frog you are so green
Sitting on a lily pad in the pond
You saw a fly buzzing overhead
Out came your tongue quick as a flash
Dinner's first course was eaten.
Then into the water you hopped
To take a quick swim
Soon you and a friend came out to sit
On a sun-warmed rock
Basking in the afternoon heat
Without a care in the world.
The quiet life of a frog.
VIP
You all know what a VIP is – a very important person
Choose some very important people to write VIP poems about:
LINE 1 Name an admired athlete, musician, actor or other
LINE 2 List three adjectives that describe the person’s appearance or personality
LINE 3 With what or with whom do you associate that person?
LINE 4 Identify three actions (ed or ing words) associated with that person
LINE 5 When or where are these things done?
LINE 6 What is your opinion of or reaction to that person?
EXAMPLE
Sidney Crosby
Skating, scoring, playing
Pittsburg Penguins
At the hockey arena
The next "Great One".
SENSE OF TIME POEMS
When writing these poems, select a different time for each one: Day of the week, month, season or holiday.
TITLE Pick a period of time from the list above and write it as a title
LINE 1 Assign a color to that time period
LINE 2 Describe the color with an example. The color of . . .
LINE 3 What does this time period feel like?
LINE 4 What does this time period sound like?
LINE 5 What does this time period smell like?
LINE 6 What does this time period taste like?
LINE 7 Sum up your feeling about the time period in a sentence.
EXAMPLE
December
December is red and green
The color of Christmas lights
December feels like waiting for a surprise
It sounds like caroling
It smells like baking cookies, roast turkey
December tastes like sweet chocolates
Suddenly the waiting is over and it's Christmas.
FIVE SENSE POEMS
Describe an emotion by using your senses. First give the emotion a color (sight). Then tell how it sounds, feels, smells and tastes.
EXAMPLE:
Happiness is yellow
It sounds like laughter
It feels like joy It smells like fresh air
It tastes like crisp apples
PARTS OF SPEECH POEMS
LINE 1 One article and one noun
LINE 2 One adjective and one conjunction and one adjective
LINE 3 One verbal (ed or ing word) and one conjunction and one verbal
LINE 4 One noun that relates to the noun in the first line (Don’t use “all day.” It can be two or three words).
EXAMPLES
The school
Long and low
Learning and studying
Building for students
Acrostic Poem
The acrostic was used centuries ago in Latin, Hebrew, and Greek literature. This form of poetry is usually unrhymed and the physical arrangement of the lines is important. The letters of the poems title are written vertically. These letters indicate the first letter of each line of the poem.
Example
R emember
E very
M an who served
E specially
M en who died
B oys who fought
R ain or shine
A round the world
N ear and far for
C auses they believe in
E ven today.
Shape Poem
A shape poem has the words arragnge to show the topic in a way that can be seen. The shape in which the works are arranged, and the words themselves, combine to create the poem. It is fun to create poems for different topics.
Example
T
he
kite
has a
long tail
and can fly
high in the
sky like
a bird
so
a
r
i
n
g
o
n
d n t
i h
w e
