Poetry is a constantly evolving art form that gives poets the freedom to push boundaries. Over the years, we’ve seen different types of poetry gain and lose popularity. However, these varying styles have never truly disappeared. The ever-changing nature of poetry ensures that it stays relevant and dynamic in our constantly changing world. In this blog post, we will look at ten timeless types of poetry that every poet, regardless of their experience level, should try at least once.
Haiku
Short, sweet, and incredibly popular, haikus are a Japanese form of poetry that typically capture a moment in nature or evoke strong emotions in just a few words. Haiku is one of the types of poetry used by poets today. Due to its brevity and ability to promote deep reflection, a haiku is a beloved form of expression for poets and readers alike.
Haikus have a total of 17 syllables and three lines, with a 5-7-5 syllable structure. This means, the first line has 5 syllables, the second has 7 syllables and the third has 5 syllables.
An example of a Haiku is this famous haiku by the Japanese poet Matsuo Bashō:
Old pond —
a frog jumps in,
sound of water.
Ballad
Another of the types of poetry you should know about is Ballad. I call Ballad the “storytelling poem”. Ballads tell stories in stanzas. Each stanza usually has 4 lines. The stanzas often have a rhyme scheme of abcb but can have a rhyme scheme of abab. Ballads may sometimes have a refrain, which is a line that repeats throughout a poem, like a chorus.
An example of a ballad is “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge:
It is an ancient Mariner,
And he stoppeth one of three.
'By thy long grey beard and glittering eye,
Now wherefore stopp'st thou me?
The Wedding-Guest sat on a stone:
He cannot choose but hear;
And thus spake on that ancient man,
The bright-eyed Mariner.
Free Verse
Free Verse is the most popular of all types of poetry in our era. Many modern poets prefer using this form because it allows them to be more creative and break away from traditional rules. Unlike other types of poetry, Free Verse doesn’t have to follow a specific rhyme scheme or meter, giving poets the freedom to express themselves unrestrictedly. I know the words “rhyme” and “meter” haven’t been explained in this blog post, but I do explain them in my post on Characteristics of a Poem. You can check it out if you especially want to know more about meter and other features of poetry.
Free verses don’t follow a strict rhyme scheme. They are often unrhymed and limitless, with no restriction on the number of lines or stanzas.
Here is an example of a free verse by Carl Sandburg, titled “Grass”:
Pile the bodies high at Austerlitz and Waterloo.
Shovel them under and let me work—
I am the grass; I cover all.
And pile them high at Gettysburg
And pile them high at Ypres and Verdun.
Shovel them under and let me work.
Two years, ten years, and the passengers ask the conductor:
What place is this?
Where are we now?
I am the grass.
Let me work.
Sonnet
I call sonnets the “classy poems”. Why? Because among the types of poetry I know, they have this historical prestige and structured elegance. The poet, most famous for this type of poetry was Shakespeare. Usually consisting of 14 lines and written in iambic pentameter, they explore themes of love, beauty, and mortality. If you want to know more about iambic pentameter, you can read my post on characteristics of a poem.
A sonnet follows a strict rhyme scheme. Each line has 10 syllables. Sonnets can be broken down into sections, often four, where the first three sections have four lines each, and the last have two. The Shakespearean sonnet is the most common type with a rhyme scheme of abab / cdcd / efef / gg.
An example of a sonnet is Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18:
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimmed;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wanderest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
Blank Verse
I know the name “Blank verse” sounds weird. but it’s nothing strange. It’s given to poems that don’t rhyme. But that’s exactly what free verses are, right? Blank verses, while similar to free verses, actually adhere to a strict metrical pattern. Let’s just say they follow a strict pattern for now. It’s the best of both worlds: structured yet flexible, making it unique among the many types of poetry.
Each line has 10 syllables, grouped in five pairs, where the second syllable of each pair is emphasized. Yep, I know. That sounds complicated. But the best way to explain is to use an example. Let’s look at the balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet, i.e. a line from Act 2 Scene 2:
But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?
We see from this line that there is stress or emphasis on the Syllables ‘soft’, ‘light’, ‘Yon’, ‘win’ and ‘breaks’ where each is the second of the syllable pairs in the ten syllable line. Let’s look at it again:
Pair 1: But [soft!]
Pair 2: What [light]
Pair 3: through [yon]
Pair 4: der [win]
Pair 5: dow [breaks?]
total: 10 syllables
I hope this makes it sound less complicated now.
Limerick
Think of Limerick as the comedian among the types of poetry I mention in this post. Limericks are short, humorous poems with a unique AABBA rhyme scheme. They only have one stanza and five lines, and are basically for, well, humor. There isn’t really much to them, except they can sometimes sound a little weird.
This is an example of a Limerick poem by an anonymous poet:
There was a young lady of Lynn,
Who was so uncommonly thin
That when she essayed
To drink lemonade
She slipped through the straw and fell in.
Acrostic Poem
Acrostic poems are like the crossword puzzles of poetry. They use the first letter of each line to spell out a word or phrase when read vertically. Each line starts with a capital letter and most often, the first letter of each line is used to spell out the poem’s theme. They are definitely the fun kind compared to other types of poetry.
Here’s an example of an Acrostic poem by an unknown poet:
It's my favorite food
Cold as the inside of a fridge
Every sunny day
Can't wait
Running to the van
Empty out the money
Any sauce on that, love?
Mmmmmmm, yummy!
(The first letters of each line read ice cream)
Cinquain
A Cinquain is another of the types of poetry you should know about. Cinquains are five-line poems can follow different patterns in terms of syllables, words, or metrical structure. There are many kinds of Cinquains, but this blog will be too long if we are to discuss each one. Two common types are:
- The American Cinquain, created by Adelaide Crapsey, which is structured with a syllable pattern of 2-4-6-8-2 per line.
- The Didactic Cinquain, which does not follow the syllabic pattern of the American cinquain, but Instead, focuses on word count. Each line has a specific number of words:
Line 1: 1 word
Line 2: 2 words
Line 3: 3 words
Line 4: 4 words
Line 5: 1 word
In Didactic Cinquains, first line is usually the subject of the poem with the following lines describing the subject. They’re concise yet powerful and are perfect for capturing a moment or emotion. Here is an example of a Cinquain by an anonymous poet:
Snow
Lovely, white
Falling, dancing, drifting
Covering everything it touches
Blanket
American Cinquains, as explained earlier, follow this syllable pattern:
Line one - two syllables.
Line two - four syllables.
Line three - six syllables.
Line four - eight syllables.
Line five - two syllables.
A good example is Adelaide Crapsey‘s cinquain “November Night”:
Listen...
With faint dry sound,
Like steps of passing ghosts,
The leaves, frost-crisp’d, break from the trees
And fall.
Ode
An ode is a lyrical poem written to praise or celebrate a person or an event. The poet addresses a person or thing, and they are often solemn, emotional and have a serious tone.
Here’s an excerpt from An ode to Aphrodite:
Deathless Aphrodite, throned in flowers,
Daughter of Zeus, O terrible enchantress,
With this sorrow, with this anguish, break my spirit
Lady, not longer!
Epic Poem
Last on the list is the epic poem. Epic poems are lengthy, narrative works that explore grand themes, heroic deeds, and legendary tales. They are usually about the achievements of a hero. In epic poems, hyperboles are used to exaggerate the works and strengths of the poem’s main character. There is also the use of supernatural characters and forces such as gods in this type of poetry. The narration is usually in 3rd person with an omniscient narrator.
Conclusion
So, there you have it—ten interesting types of poetry every poet should try their hands on. I hope it was fun learning about other types of poetry you probably hadn’t heard of until you came across this post. I hope my blog post has inspired you to step out of your comfort zone and explore different ways of writing poetry. Don’t hesitate to experiment with new forms, styles, and techniques. Keep inking!
