S o m e Ty p e s
of Poems
Po e t r y d o e s n ’ t a l w ay s
fo l l o w r u l e s
Or even rhyme
From the Greek
E x p l o r e yo u r
term for ‘at the tip of
fe e l i n g s
t h e v e r s e,’ t h i s s t y l e
There are no
uses the first letter of
wrong answers
each line to spell
Relish the freedom
out a word.
Yo u c r e a t e yo u r w o r l d
Acrostic
P l a y w i t h w o r d s - i t ’s a
jolly good time
Limericks are fun and
never a crime
J u s t d o n ’ t fo r g e t
3 & 4 fo r m a c o u p l e t
And lines 1, 2 & 5
al ways rhyme
A five-line poem,
o f t e n h u m o r o u s. M a d e
up of a triplet and
couplet: lines 1, 2 & 5
form a rhyming triplet,
This style of
lines 3 & 4 rhyme to
poem usually tells
form a couplet.
a s t o r y, a n d i s
often associated
s o n g.
Limerick
Ballad
‘How to’
Planning an English Sonnet
1................................................................... (RHYME WITH 3)
2................................................................... (RHYME WITH 4)
3................................................................... (RHYME WITH 1)
4................................................................... (RHYME WITH 2)
5................................................................... (RHYME WITH 7)
6................................................................... (RHYME WITH 8)
7................................................................... (RHYME WITH 5)
8................................................................... (RHYME WITH 6)
9..................................................................(RHYME WITH 11)
10..............................................................(RHYME WITH 12)
11............................................................... (RHYME WITH 9)
12..............................................................(RHYME WITH 10)
13..............................................................(RHYME WITH 14)
14..............................................................(RHYME WITH 13)
“Haiku” is a traditional form of Japanese
poetry. Haiku poems consist of 3 lines.
Haiku poems don’t rhyme; they follow a
pattern. A Haiku uses just a few words to
capture a moment and create a picture in
the reader’s mind. It is like a tiny window into
a scene much larger than itself. The pattern
for Haiku is the following:
• Line 1: 5 syllables
• Line 2: 7 syllables
• Line 3: 5 syllables
Here’s a Haiku to help you remember:
I am first with five
Then seven in the middle -Five again to end.
Haiku poems
c o n s i s t o f 3 l i n e s.
Haiku poems don’t
rhyme; they follow
a pattern: 5, 7,
5 syllables
I a m fi r s t w i t h f i v e
Then seven in the middle
Five again to end
A s t h e n a m e s s u g g e s t s,
this style of poem does
not follow any rules about
f o r m , r h y m e, r h y t h m o r m e t e r,
allowing the poet great
freedom of express their
feelings or emotions
a b o u t t h e i r t o p i c.
Go nuts!
Sonnet
Ty p i c a l l y, a
fourteen line poem with
a s t r i c t r h y m i n g s c h e m e.
The English rhyming
scheme has 3 stanzas
with a rhyming pattern
o f a b a b, a n d i n g i n a
rhyming couplet.
Book
Spine Poetry
Make poetry from the
books on your shelf! Shuffle
and rearrange a stack of
b o o k s t o c r e a t e p o e t r y.
The Secret Garden,
Frances Hodgson Burnett
Where the Wild Thing Are,
His Dark Materials,
Perfume,
Maurice Sendark
Philip Pullman
Patrick Süskind
Midnight’s Children,
you can write your own limericks in just a
few easy steps.
Limericks, like all poetic forms, have a set of
rules that you need to follow. The rules for a
limerick are fairly simple:
• T hey are five lines long.
• L ines 1, 2, and 5 rhyme with one another.
Limericks are often humorous and consist
• L ines 3 and 4 rhyme with each other.
of five lines. Limericks are one of the most
• T hey have a distinctive rhythm (which I’ll
fun and well-known poetic forms. No one
explain shortly)
knows for sure where the name “limerick”
The rhyme scheme of a limerick is known as
comes from, but most people assume it is
“AABBA.” This is because the last words in
related to the county of Limerick, in Ireland.
lines 1, 2, and 5 rhyme. Those are the “A’s”
The reason limericks are so much fun is
in the rhyme scheme. The “B’s” are the last
because they are short, rhyming, funny, and
have a bouncy rhythm that makes them easy words of lines 3 and 4. Let me give you an
to memorize. In this lesson, I’ll show you how example:
Because Haikus are such short poems, they
are usually written about things that are
recognizable to the reader. Animals and
seasons are examples of recognizable topics
children might enjoy exploring.
Limerick
Haiku
Free Verse
Write Various Poem Types
Haiku
Poet
ry
DEMYSTIFYING
Blackout
This type of poem
is created by taking a
printed page and using
a marker to blackout
the words not
required for the
poem.
Salman Rushdie
There was a young fellow named Hall
Who fell in the spring in the fall.
‘Twould have been a sad thing
Had he died in the spring,
But he didn’t—he died in the fall.
– Anonymous
Notice that the words, “Hall,” “fall,” and “fall”
all rhyme. Those are the “A” words in the
“AABBA” rhyme scheme. Also notice that
“thing” and “spring” rhyme. Those are the “B”
words in the rhyme scheme.
The typical rhythm of a limerick is like this:
bah-BAH bah-bah-BAH bah-bah-BAH
bah-BAH bah-bah-BAH bah-bah-BAH
bah-BAH bah-bah-BAH
bah-BAH bah-bah-BAH
bah-BAH bah-bah-BAH bah-bah-BAH
Sonnet
A
B
It must consist of 14 lines.
A
B
It must be written in iambic pentameter (duhDUH-duh-DUH-duh-DUH-duh-DUH-duhC
DUH).It must be written in one of various
D
standard rhyme schemes.
C
D
Every A rhymes with every A, every B rhymes
E
with every B, and so forth. You’ll notice this
F
type of sonnet consists of three quatrains
E
(that is, four consecutive lines of verse that
F
make up a stanza or division of lines in a
G
poem) and one couplet (two consecutive
G
rhyming lines of verse).
Ah, but there’s more to a sonnet than
If you’re writing the most familiar kind of
just the structure of it. A sonnet is also an
sonnet, the Shakespearean, the rhyme
scheme is this:
argument — it builds up a certain way. And
Poetry is a deal of joy
and pain and wonder,
with a dash of the
dictionary.
Kahlil Gibran
how it builds up is related to its metaphors
and how it moves from one metaphor to
the next. In a Shakespearean sonnet, the
argument builds up like this:
• F irst quatrain: An exposition of the main
theme and main metaphor.
• S econd quatrain: Theme and metaphor
extended or complicated; often, some
imaginative example is given.
• T hird quatrain: Peripeteia (a twist or
conflict), often introduced by a “but” (very
often leading off the ninth line).
• C ouplet: Summarizes and leaves the
reader with a new, concluding image.
Here’s one way to write a Shakespearean
14 line sonnet, if you’ve never tried one, and
don’t even know how to get started.
First, create a “pool” of simple phrases
that rhyme. The phrases provide “building
blocks,” and they get you started with
rhymes. It’s desirable to have, oh, a dozen
phrases, at least. More is better. The phrases
need not be exact rhymes, but must be
close. Use simple rhymes, at first. Try to
come up with phrases that might have
something to do with what you wish to write
about. You won’t have to use the phrases
exactly as you first note them.
References:
www.hamletregained.com/sonnets/how_write_
sonnet
http://www.kidzone.ws/poetry/haiku.htm
http://www.poetry4kids.com/blog/lessons/how-towrite-a-limerick/