Poetic+Forms

**Acrostic:** poetry in which the first letter of each line, when read vertically, spell out a word. The word is usually the subject of the poem. **//V//**//anilla **Blank Verse:** unrhymed iambic pentameter. Rhyme is not an issue. Excerpt from Shakespeare’s //Macbeth// //Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,// //Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,// //To the last syllable of recorded time;// //And all our yesterdays have lighted fools// //The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!// //Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player//
 * EXPERIMENT WITH THE FOLLOWING POETIC FORMS:**
 * A**////s I eat it on my brownie
 * N**////ot doubting it's sweet
 * I**////ce cream is a tasty treat
 * L**////ots of lingering taste
 * L**////asting to the end
 * A**////lways my favorite!//

That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
//And then is heard no more: it is a tale// //Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,// //Signifying nothing.// **Haiku**: an ancient Japanese form with no rhyme. Haiku often deal with nature. This type of poetry has three lines with a fixed number of syllables: Line 1= 5 syllables, Line 2= 7 syllables, Line 3= 5 syllables //The dying plant bends And drips its dew to the ground It falls like a tear//

**Couplets:** two-line poems with a fun and simple rhyming pattern. Each line has the same meter and their endings rhyme with one another. Couplets are often humorous. //My English teacher wants me to use imagination So I go to math class and let my mind go on vacation!// **Tanka:** another Japanese form that depends on the number of lines and syllables instead of rhyme: Line 1= 5 syllables, Line 2= 7 syllables, Line 3= 5 syllables, Line 4= 7 syllables, Line 5= 7 syllables and rhymes with line 4 //I have my own place Where I can go for hours I go there to write It is not difficult to find Search within your heart and mind.// **Cinquain:** a form consisting of five lines. Each has a required number of syllables, and a specific topic. Line 1:Title (noun)- 2 syllables, Line 2: Description- 4 syllables, Line 3: Action- 6 syllables, Line 4: Feeling (phrase)- 8 syllables, Line 5: Title (synonym for the title)- 2 syllables //Flowers Pretty, fragrant Waiting, watching, weeding Enjoying all the while they grow Gardens// **Diamonte poems:** diamond-shaped poems of seven lines that are written using parts of speech. The Diamonte is a form similar to the Cinquain. Line 1: Noun or subject, Line 2: Two Adjectives, Line 3: Three 'ing' words, Line 4: Four words about the subject, Line 5: Three 'ing words, Line 6: Two adjectives, Line 7: Synonym for the subject //Home Safe, caring Loving, sharing, talking Friendship, food, car, travels Living, loving, enjoying Joyous, adventurous Family// **Limericks:** whimsical poems with five lines. Lines one, two, and five rhyme with each other and lines three and four rhyme with each other. Rhyme pattern: AABBA //A flea and a fly in a flue Were caught, so what could they do? Said the fly, "Let us flee." "Let us fly," said the flea. So they flew through a flaw in the flue.// **Proverbs**: have been called the shortest art form. They use devices associated with poetry- rhyme, rhythm, and metaphors. They provide vivid imagery to teach a moral lesson. //"If one thinks he is the wisest, he is not wise at all."// **Shape Poems (concrete poems):** poem that form a visible picture on the page. The shape usually reflects the subject of the poem. //Trees// //blossoming// //in the spring Clouds above give rain Fruit will come soon Nature is at work while trees stand still// **Rap:** spoken-word expression of urban activists that began in the 1960s. In the early 70s "rapping" evolved into spoken rhymes about street life put to the beat of DJ-manipulated drum machines and turntables. //Don't wait to beat the street Stay in school and keep your seat The entire eight parts of speech Will your reading, writing, and speaking teach!// **Free Verse:** poetry without rules of form, rhyme, rhythm, or meter. **Sonnets:** poems of 14 lines that begin with three quatrains and end with a couplet. The couplet usually contains a surprise ending or "turn." William Shakespeare is one of the most famous sonnet writers in history. //Why do we continue to kill in various ways? Why do we waste time with jealousy and hate? Why not take advantage of the current date? Stop the violence now, don't let it grow. Love is important, a fact that we all know. As the fires of hate continue to burn The hands of clock continue to turn. No one can find reason to our madness today.// //The gift of life is extremely short Demand no more violence of any sort! With kindness, life's quality we can improve! As those hands on the clock continue to move. Day becomes night and night becomes day The hands of the clock keep ticking away.// **Narrative poems:** tell stories and are usually long. Epics and ballads are narrative poems. //There once was a man named Bob Who was out looking for a great job He really needed money to feed pets His cat's name was Tiger His dog's name was Ted.// //His pets were hungry most of the day The animals were hungry - they couldn't play Bob had been laid off for a month or two There was plenty of work that Bob wouldn't do. Bob was really hungry. His stomach was an empty tank He decided to go rob a local bank.// //He walked through the door and looked around He pointed his gun and yelled "Get down" Bob took the money and headed for the door. If only he had seen the officer in the store.// //The policeman came out with a shout Bob thought for a second and then pulled his gun out One shot, two shots and with a deafening sound Poor old Bob's body hit the ground.// //With his last breath He thought back to his pets He sure hoped Tiger and Ted Would have a great life after he was dead!// **Quatrains:** rhyming poems of four lines. Poets use letters to express the rhyme pattern or scheme. The four types of quatrain rhyme are: AABB,(shown at right) ABAB, ABBA, and ABCB. //Picnic planning in July Traveling up the mountains so high! What an adventure for me Because I prefer mountains to sea// // __**Poetic Devices**__ // **__Similes__:** figures of speech that compares two unlike things, using the words //like// or //as.// //"His feet were as big as boats."// **__Alliteration__:** the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words. //"Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers."// **__Metaphor__:** a figure of speech that compares two unlike things directly, without the use of //like// or //as.// //"Her hair is silk."// **__Personification:__** assigning human qualities to non-human things. //"The tropical storm slept for two days."// **__Onomatopoeia:__** words that imitate sounds. //"Boom. Gurgle. Plink."// **__Hyperbole:__** an expression of exaggeration. //"I nearly died laughing."// **__Symbolism:__** using an object to represent an idea. A symbol means what it is and also something more. Lions often symbolize royalty. **__Puns:__** words with a humorous double meaning, a "play on words." //"A dog not only has a fur coat but also pants."// **__Idioms__:** expressions that have a meaning apart from the meanings of the individual words. //"It's raining cats and dogs."// **__Foot:__** the time period into which the beat of the poetic line is divided. A foot is made up of several syllables, some long and some short. **__Meter__:** refers to how the feet are put together to form lines of poetry. The combinations of long and short syllables give poetry a musical feel. **__Rhythm__:** the pattern of long and short syllables in a poetic line. In modern poetry, some words receive greater vocal emphasis than others. **__Lyrics:__** what poets write, the actual words used to form the framework of rhythm and meter. **__Mood__:** the overall feeling the poem creates. Mood, or tone, for example, can be playful, sad, lonely, angry or joyful.