A poem that has five lines that create a mood, picture, or feeling. Lines 1 through 4 are made up of words, phrases or clauses while the first word of each line is in alphabetical order. Line 5 is one sentence long and begins with any letter.
Acrostic
Poetry that certain letters, usually the first in each line form a word or message when read in a sequence.
Ballad
A poem that tells a story similar to a folk tail or legend which often has a repeated refrain.
Ballade
Poetry which has three stanzas of seven, eight or ten lines and a shorter final stanza of four or five. All stanzas end with the same one line refrain.
Blank verse
A poem written in unrhymed iambic pentameter and is often unobtrusive. The iambic pentameter form often resembles the rhythms of speech.
Bio
A poem written about one self's life, personality traits, and ambitions.
Burlesque
Poetry that treats a serious subject as humor.
Canzone
Medieval Italian lyric style poetry with five or six stanzas and a shorter ending stanza.
Carpe diem
Latin expression that means 'seize the day.' Carpe diem poems have a theme of living for today.
Cinquain
Poetry with five lines. Line 1 has one word (the title). Line 2 has two words that describe the title. Line 3 has three words that tell the action. Line 4 has four words that express the feeling, and line 5 has one word which recalls the title.
Classicism
Poetry which holds the principles and ideals of beauty that are characteristic of Greek and Roman art, architecture, and literature.
Couplet
A couplet has rhyming stanzas made up of two lines.
Dramatic monologue
A type of poem which is spoken to a listener. The speaker addresses a specific topic while the listener unwittingly reveals details about him/herself.
Elegy
A sad and thoughtful poem about the death of an individual.
Epic
An extensive, serious poem that tells the story about a heroic figure.
Epigram
A very short, ironic and witty poem usually written as a brief couplet or quatrain. The term is derived from the Greek epigramma meaning inscription.
Epitaph
A commemorative inscription on a tomb or mortuary monument written to praise the deceased.
Epithalamium (Epithalamion)
A poem written in honor of the bride and groom.
Free verse (vers libre)
Poetry written in either rhyme or unrhymed lines that have no set fixed metrical pattern.
Ghazal
A short lyrical poem that arose in Urdu. It is between 5 and 15 couplets long. Each couplet contains its own poetic thought but is linked in rhyme that is established in the first couplet and continued in the second line of each pair. The lines of each couplet are equal in length. Themes are usually connected to love and romance. The closing signature often includes the poet's name or allusion to it.
Haiku
A Japanese poem composed of three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five morae, usually containing a season word.
Horatian ode
Short lyric poem written in two or four-line stanzas, each with its the same metrical pattern, often addressed to a friend and deal with friendship, love and the practice of poetry. It is named after its creator, Horace.
