Knowing how to write good poetry poses a challenge for most people. Poetry can also be difficult to understand as there are so many underlying meanings hidden in the poem. There are so many poetry styles like a sonnet, haiku, concrete poetry, elegy, limerick, epigram, and several others. Similarly, different poetry styles also have fewer rules. You just need to select the poetry styles which attract you and your creativity will flow automatically. At 10, tips you will find the 10 types of poetry styles and their features.
Sonnet | Poetry Styles
Sonnets and Shakespeare are almost identical. A sonnet is a poetic style which was first established in the 13th Century in the Court of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. There are 6 kinds of sonnet, they are Petrarchan (named after the poet Petrarch who used to practice this form of a sonnet), Shakespearean, Spencerian, Miltonic, Terza Rima, and Curtal Sonnet. The theme of sonnets revolves around love. We have discussed the two types of sonnet, Shakespearean and Petrarchan. Both the sonnets consist of 14 lines but both of them come with separate rules.
Features of Shakespearean Sonnet
- Consists of 4 lines ( 3 quatrains) and a couplet, i.e, two lines
- Rhyme scheme: ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, GG
- The poem ends with a couplet
A good example of a Shakespearean sonnet is Sonnet No. 130.
Features of Petrarchan Sonnet
- Consists of 2 stanzas
- Presents an observation, a question or an argument in the first 8 lines of the sonnet
- A volta takes place in between lines 8 and 9
- the second stanza consists of the answers to the question given in the first stanza
- Rhyme scheme: ABBA, ABBA, CDE. CDE
An instance, of Petrarchan Sonnet, is found in the poetry of Francesco Petrarch.
Haiku
This poetry style originated in Japan. These forms of poetry are short in length. This poetry has only one rule that is applied to the number of syllables in every line. The main features and rules of Haiku are there should be three lines, the 1st line should consist of 5 syllables, 2nd line should have 7 syllables, and the final line should contain 5 syllables. These poems are short in length. Haiku can be seen in the works of Matsuo Basho, Yaso Buson, and several others. An example of Haiku is found in “Old Pond” by Matsuo Basho.
Elegy | Poetry Styles
An elegy is that form of poetry which reflects a tone of seriousness. This poetry style depicts the feeling of sorrow for a dead person. An elegy is written to treat the subject of death and the feeling of loss in a general manner or it could be written for a particular person. Thomas Gray’s “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” is written in the style of an elegy. This poem talks about the nature of human mortality and describes the lives of the common people who were buried in the cemetery in a church.
Concrete Poems
This form of poetry is visual poetry. The design of this poetry takes up a particular shape on the page. Concrete poems give the poets the freedom to manipulate the layout of the poetry in order to emphasize the theme or any essential component in the text. The main aspect of this poetry style lies in visual art rather than on verbal art. George Herbert’s “Easter Wings” is a great example of a concrete poem.
Epigram | Poetry Styles
“What is an Epigram? A dwarfish whole, Its body brevity, and wit its soul.“— Samuel Taylor Coleridge (“Epigram”, 1809)
This form of poetry is brief, witty, interesting and satirical. The form of an Epigram is usually a couplet or a quatrain. The term Epigram comes from the Greek word ‘Epigramma‘ which means to write. This style is found in the works of Ancient Roman and Ancient Greek. Alexander Pope, William Shakespeare, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and John Donne popularized this form of poetry in the 16th Century. Epigram is used in “Auguries of Innocence” written by William Blake.
Villanelle
Villanelle has more rules than sonnets. Most of the lines are simply repetitions. The features of this style of poetry consist of 5 stanzas and 19 lines. Each stanza is made up of 3 lines and the last stanza has 4 lines. The rhyme scheme of Villanelle is ABA, ABA, ABA, ABA, ABA, ABAA. Villanelle is used in “The Waking” by Theodore Roethke.
Ekphrastic Poems | Poetry Styles
The term ekphrastic is a Greek word that means “description”. This poetry style does not have any specific rules. The poems written in the style of Ekphrastic vividly describes a statue, a story, a painting, or photography. An example of this form of poetry is Homer’s “Iliad”. He uses it to refer to Achilles’ shield. Honor Moorman also uses ekphrasis in “Staring at the Night” where he describes Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night painting.
Ballad
A ballad is a narrative style of poetry. It is arranged in quatrains and the form of the poetry is loose. This makes it easy for writers to modify the poem. The features of the ballad are 1. It is arranged in 4 lines, and 2. The rhyme scheme is ABAB or ABCB.
Ode | Poetry Styles
An ode is a form of poetry that addresses a person, an event or a thing. It is lyrical in nature but it is not lengthy. The term ode comes from the Greek word “Aeidein” which means a song or a chant. However, modern odes follow an irregular pattern and do not follow any rhyme scheme. The main characteristic of an ode is its uniform metrical feet.
Limerick
Limericks have a distinct rhyme scheme and are humourous poems. The main subject of the poem can be a bit vulgar but the poet writes it in a manner that makes the readers laugh. The main characteristics of Limerick are 1. It should consist of 5 lines, the rhyme scheme is AABBA, there are 2 long lines and 2 short lines, and the last closing line brings the joke home.
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