A Guide to Poetry Styles & Terms

Poetry is made up of so many specific patters and language. There are as many forms of poetry as there are writers who pen it. Here I have gather some resources to specific patterns of poetry and I have attempted to describe for you the figurative language found in poetry.

Specific Patterns of Poetry

• What is Traditional Poetry?

"Traditional" poetry is the kind of poetry we hear most often. Traditional poetry has a certain form

ex: Humpty-Dumpty sat on a wall,

Humpty-Dumpty had a great fall;


• What is Free Verse Poetry?

Free verse is poetry that is written without proper rules about form, rhyme, rhythm, meter, etc.

The greatest American writer of free verse is probably Walt Whitman

With free verse the poem can tell a story, describe a person, animal, feeling or object. They can serious, sad, funny or educational. There are no limits

• What is a tongue twister?

An expression that is difficult to articulate clearly; "`Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.' is a tongue twister"

•What is ode poetry?

An Ode is a poem praising and glorifying a person, place or thing.

• What is Monorhyme Poetry?

A poem in which all the lines have the same end rhyme.

Ex:

Late for school

I'm looking like a big fool

My brother thinks he rules

While I'm loosing my cool

• What is monody Poetry?

A monody is a poem in which one person laments another's death, as in Tennyson's Break, Break, Break, or Wordsworth's She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways.


• What is Concrete Poetry?

Poetry in which the poet's intent is conveyed by the shape formed by the letters, words, or symbols that make up the poem rather than by the conventional arrangement of words

Here is a good example of a concrete poem:

http://webbschool.com/rhood/creativewriting/concrete_poem.htm

• What is Quatrain Poetry?

A Quatrain is a poem consisting of four lines of verse with a specific rhyming scheme.

A few examples of a quatrain rhyming scheme's are as follows:

#1) abab

#2) abba -- envelope rhyme

#3) aabb

#4) aaba, bbcb, ccdc, dddd -- chain rhyme

http://volweb.utk.edu/Schools/bedford/harrisms/quatrain.htm

• How to write Pantoum poetry

http://anitraweb.org/kalliope/pantoum.html

•What is Palindrome Poetry?

http://www.fun-with-words.com/palin_explain.html

• Forms of Poetry for Children

http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/poeform.htm

• Diamonte Poetry

http://www.chasesc.com/CHASEDiamontePoetry.htm

• What is an acrostic poem?

http://www.teachnet-lab.org/miami/2003/sampedro/what_is_an_acrostic_poem.htm

• Acrostic Poetry

http://www.teachnet-lab.org/miami/2003/sampedro/what_is_an_acrostic_poem.htm

• How to Write a Clerihew Poem

http://www.gigglepoetry.com/poetryclass/clerihew.htm

• The Art of Haiku Poetry

http://www.lsi.usp.br/usp/rod/poet/haiku.html

• How to Write Limerick Poetry

http://www.gigglepoetry.com/poetryclass/limerickcontesthelp.html

• How to write Cinquain Poetry

http://www.edu.pe.ca/stjean/playing%20with%20poetry/Hickey/coleres.htm

What is a metaphor?

A figure of speech in which an expression is used to refer to something that it does not literally denote in order to suggest a similarity

Understanding metaphors

http://www.lcc.gatech.edu/gallery/rhetoric/terms/metaphor.html

What is a simile?

A figure of speech that expresses a resemblance between things of different kinds (usually formed with `like' or `as')

• The Simile Satellite Activities

This site explores the function, form and effect of simile in poetry.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/listenandwrite/teachers/simact.htm

What is alliteration?

the repetition of consonant sounds - usually at the beginning of words

What is onomatopoeia?

a word that sounds like the thing it describes

Example:

splash, wow, gush, kerplunk

What is a trope?

The intentional use of a word or expression figuratively, i.e., used in a different sense from its original significance in order to give vividness or emphasis to an idea. Some important types of trope are: antonomasia, irony, metaphor, metonymy and synecdoche. Sidelight: Strictly speaking, a trope is the figurative use of a word or expression, while figure of speech refers to a phrase or sentence used in a figurative sense. The two terms, however, are often confused and used interchangeably

Examples: Metaphor, simile, oxymoron, and hyperbole are all kinds of figurative language.

What is personification?

A person who represents an abstract quality; "she is the personification of optimism"

http://www.tnellen.com/cybereng/lit_terms/personification.html

What is Synonyms?

Words or phrases which have similar meaning.

http://www.manatee.k12.fl.us/sites/elementary/palmasola/synonyms.htm

What is a stanza?

A fixed number of lines of verse forming a unit of a poem

What is imagery?

Image is language that evokes one or all of the five senses: seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, touching.

What is a muse?

Muse: the source of an artist's inspiration; "Euterpe was his muse"

To get a list of other Poetic Glossary terms Please see Todays-Woman list

http://www.todays-woman.net/dll.php?name=Dictionary or Robert Shubinski has assembled an excellent on-line resource

http://www.poeticbyway.com/glossary.html

This link also gives the term, definition and example of literary terms.

http://www.kidskonnect.com/FigurativeLanguage/FigurativeLanguageHome.html

About the Author

Rose is a published author from Canada Ontario and is also the founder of http://www.todays-woman.net a community for men and women over 18, where writers/poets/columnists meet and exchange ideas, contest, rate and review and help each other succeed in the writing industry.