Poetry

Rhyming poems do not have to follow a particular pattern.
Any
number of new rhymes can be added to a poem to create
ongoing patterns.
Some types of poems are defined by designated rhyme
schemes and fixed verses. For example, a Shakespearean
sonnet is a 14-line poem that includes three, four-line stanzas
and a concluding couplet. The sonnet follows the rhyme
scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. This rhyme scheme and
verse structure are unique to a Shakespearean sonnet. Other
common rhyme schemes include:
1. Alternate rhyme. In an alternate rhyme, the first and third
lines rhyme at the end, and the second and fourth lines rhyme
at the end following the pattern ABAB for each stanza. This
rhyme scheme is used for poems with four-line stanzas.
 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “A Psalm of Life”
Tell me not, in mournful numbers, Life is but an empty
dream!— For the soul is dead that slumbers, And things
are not what they seem.
2. Ballade. A ballade is a lyric poem that follows the rhyme
scheme ABABBCBC. Ballades typically have three, eight-line
stanzas and conclude with a four-line stanza. The last line of
each stanza is the same, which is called a refrain.
 Andrew Lang, “Ballade of the Optimist”
And, sometimes on a summer's day To self and every
mortal ill We give the slip, we steal away, To walk
beside some sedgy rill: The darkening years, the cares
that kill, A little while are well forgot; When deep in
broom upon the hill, We'd rather be alive than not.
3. Coupled rhyme. A coupled rhyme is a two-line stanza that
rhymes following the rhyme scheme AA BB CC, or a similar
dual rhyming scheme. The rhymes themselves are referred to
as rhyming couplets. Shakespeare’s sonnets end with rhyming
couplets, such as this one:
 William Shakespeare, “Sonnet 18”
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long
lives this, and this gives life to thee.
4. Monorhyme. In a monorhyme, all the lines in a stanza or
entire poem end with the same rhyme.
 William Blake, “Silent, Silent Night”
Silent Silent Night Quench the holy light Of thy torches
bright
For possess’d of Day Thousand spirits stray That sweet
joys betray
Why should joys be sweet Used with deceit Nor with
sorrows meet
But an honest joy Does itself destroy For a harlot coy
5. Enclosed rhyme. The first and fourth lines and the second
and third lines rhyme with each other in an enclosed rhyme
scheme. The pattern is ABBA, in which A encloses the B.
Sonnet VII
By John Milton
How soon hath Time, the subtle thief of youth, Stol'n on
his wing my three-and-twentieth year! My hasting days
fly on with full career, But my late spring no bud or
blossom shew'th.
6. Simple four-line rhyme. These poems follow a rhyme
scheme of ABCB throughout the entire poem.
 Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “The Rime of the Ancient
Mariner” (excerpt)
It is an ancient Mariner, And he stoppeth one of three.
'By thy long grey beard and glittering eye, Now
wherefore stopp'st thou me?
7. Triplet. A triplet is a set of three lines in a stanza—called a
tercet—that share the same end rhyme.
 William Shakespeare, “The Phoenix and the Turtle”
Truth may seem, but cannot be Beauty brag, but 'tis not
she Truth and beauty buried be
8. Terza rima. An Italian form of poetry that consists of tercets,
a terza rima follows a chain rhyme in which the second line of
each stanza rhymes with the first and last line of the
subsequent stanza. It ends with a couplet rhyming with the
middle line of the penultimate stanza. The pattern is ABA BCB
CDC DED EE.
 Percy Shelley, “Ode to the West Wind”
O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn’s being, Thou,
from whose unseen presence the leaves dead Are
driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing,
Yellow, and black, and pale, and hectic red, Pestilence-
stricken multitudes: O thou, Who chariotest to their dark
wintry bed
The wingèd seeds, where they lie cold and low, Each
like a corpse within its grave, until Thine azure sister of
the Spring shall blow
Her clarion o’er the dreaming earth, and fill (Driving
sweet buds like flocks to feed in air) With living hues and
odours plain and hill:
Wild Spirit, which art moving everywhere; Destroyer and
Preserver; hear, O hear!
9. Limerick. A limerick is a five-line poem with the rhyme
scheme AABBA.


 Mother Goose, “Hickory, Dickory, Dock”
Hickory dickory dock. The mouse ran up the clock. The
clock struck one, And down he run. Hickory dickory
dock.
10. Villanelle. A type of poem with five three-line stanzas that

follow a rhyme scheme of ABA. The villanelle concludes with a
four-line stanza with the pattern ABAA.
 Edwin Arlington Robinson, “The House on the Hill”
(excerpt)
THEY are all gone away, The House is shut and still,
There is nothing more to say.
Through broken walls and gray The winds blow bleak
and shrill:
They are all gone away.
Nor is there one to-day To speak them good or ill: There
is nothing more to say.
Why is it then we stray Around that sunken sill? They
are all gone away,
And our poor fancy-play For them is wasted skill: There
is nothing more to say.
15 Types of Poetic Forms
From sonnets and epics to haikus and villanelles, learn more
about 15 of literature’s most enduring types of poems.
. 1. Blank verse. Blank verse is poetry written with a precise
meter—almost always iambic pentameter—that does not
rhyme.
. 2. Rhymed poetry. In contrast to blank verse, rhymed
poems rhyme by definition, although their scheme varies.
. 3. Free verse. Free verse poetry is poetry that lacks a
consistent rhyme scheme, metrical pattern, or musical form.
. 4. Epics. An epic poem is a lengthy, narrative work of
poetry. These long poems typically detail extraordinary
feats and adventures of characters from a distant past.
. 5. Narrative poetry. Similar to an epic, a narrative poem
tells a story. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “The Midnight
Ride of Paul Revere” and Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “The
Rime of the Ancient Mariner” exemplify this form. Learn
more about narrative poetry here.
. 6. Haiku. A haiku is a three-line poetic form originating in
Japan. The first line has five syllables, the second line has
seven syllables, and the third line again has five syllables.
. 7. Pastoral poetry. A pastoral poem is one that concerns
the natural world, rural life, and landscapes. These poems
have persevered from Ancient Greece (in the poetry of
Hesiod) to Ancient Rome (Virgil) to the present day (Gary
Snyder).
. 8. Sonnet. A sonnet is a 14 line poem, typically (but not
exclusively) concerning the topic of love. Sonnets contain
internal rhymes within their 14 lines; the exact rhyme
scheme depends on the style of a sonnet.
.
. 9. Elegies. An elegy is a poem that reflects upon death or

loss. Traditionally, it contains themes of mourning, loss, and
reflection. However, it can also explore themes of
redemption and consolation.
.
. 10. Ode. Much like an elegy, an ode is a tribute to its
subject, although the subject need not be dead—or even
sentient, as in John Keats’ “Ode on a Grecian Urn”.
. 11. Limerick. A limerick is a five-line poem that consists of
a single stanza, an AABBA rhyme scheme, and whose
subject is a short, pithy tale or description.
.
. 12. Lyric poetry. Lyric poetry refers to the broad category

of poetry that concerns feelings and emotion. This
distinguishes it from two other poetic categories: epic and
dramatic.
.
. 13. Ballad. A ballad (or ballade) is a form of narrative verse

that can be either poetic or musical. It typically follows a
pattern of rhymed quatrains. From John Keats to Samuel
Taylor Coleridge to Bob Dylan, it represents a melodious
form of storytelling.
. 14. Soliloquy. A soliloquy is a monologue in which a
character speaks to him or herself, expressing inner
thoughts that an audience might not otherwise know.
Soliloquies are not definitionally poems, although they often
can be—most famously in the plays of William
Shakespeare.
.
. 15. Villanelle. A nineteen-line poem consisting of five

tercets and a quatrain, with a highly specified internal
rhyme scheme. Originally a variation on a pastoral, the
villanelle has evolved to describe obsessions and other
intense subject matters, as exemplified by Dylan Thomas,
author of villanelles like “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good
Night.”

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Rhyming poems do not have to follow a particular pattern.

10. Villanelle. A type of poem with five three-line stanzas that

. 9. Elegies. An elegy is a poem that reflects upon death or

. 12. Lyric poetry. Lyric poetry refers to the broad category

. 13. Ballad. A ballad (or ballade) is a form of narrative verse

. 15. Villanelle. A nineteen-line poem consisting of five

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