POETRY
Chain Poem
Chain poem is designed to warm up the right-side of your brain using word association.
EXAMPLE:
A mirror lets you see yourself
looking for an answer
your eyes are searching but you
can't see it. you need glasses. why can't you find yourself
you are blind.
your mind is foggy. Like going
outside
nature seems to understand
its purpose on Earth
Copyright © 2016 Devin L
GMS 8th Grade
Format for writing a Chain Poem:
1. Write the word fence on the top center of your page. Begin by doing a
word association with the first word on the page. Write down whatever
word pops into your head directly under the previous word. Continue
with each word until your list is full. This should take about 30 seconds.
2. Now go back and build your poem around the list of words. Write
down what ever thoughts or daydreams pop into your head. Do not
plan on how you want to end, let the poem take you there. This should
take about two minutes.
3. Repeat with the word window.
.
Tanka
Tanka is a classic form of Japanese poetry related to the Haiku with a specified number of syllables per line. Tanka is rumored to have been made up for school children to understand this type of poetry.
EXAMPLE:
A cool wind blows in
With a blanket of silence
Straining to listen
For those first few drops of rain
The storm begins in earnest
Copyright 2001 Dendrobia
Format for writing a TANKA:
Topic: NATURE
Line 1: 5 syllables
Line 2: 7 syllables
Line 3: 5 syllables
Line 4: 7 syllables
Line 5: 7 syllables
Capitalization and Punctuation Rules:
1. First letter of each line begins with a capital letter.
2. Lines are aligned left.
3. No end punctuation.
4. No rhyming words.
5. No proper nouns.
Lanturne
Lanturne is a 5 line verse shaped like a Japanese lanturn.
EXAMPLE:
Swift
winds blow
threatening,
a tornado
grows.
Copyright 2003 Crystal Rose
Format for writing a Lanturne:
Topic: NATURE
Line 1: 1 syllables
Line 2: 2 syllables
Line 3: 3 syllables
Line 4: 4 syllables
Line 5: 1 syllables
Capitalization and Punctuation Rules:
1. First letter of first word begins with a capital letter.
2. All other words begin with lower case letter.
3. Each line is centered beneath the line above to give the impression of a
lanturn shape.
4. No rhyming words.
5. No proper nouns.
6. Period behind last word in line 5.
Cinquain
Cinquain is a short, unrhymed poem consisting of 22 syllables written in 5 lines. It was developed by the Imagist poet, Adelaide Crapsey.
EXAMPLE:
Long Shadows
Maples
in the morning
sunlight cast long shadows
upon the snow like a roadmap
of limbs.
Copyright © 2005 Marie Summers
Format for writing a Cinquain:
Topic: ANYTHING
Line 1: 2 syllables, noun
Line 2: 4 syllables, description of noun
Line 3: 6 syllables, action
Line 4: 8 syllables, feeling or effect
Line 5: 2 syllables, synonym of the noun
Capitalization and Punctuation Rules:
1. First letter of first word begins with a capital letter.
2. All other words begin with lower case letter.
3. Align left.
4. No rhyming words.
5. No proper nouns.
6. Period behind last word in line 5.
7. Give your poem a title.
Etheree
Etheree's poetic form consists of 10 lines.
EXAMPLE:
At
winter’s
departure
though I feel glad
I must remember
that like human beings,
Mother Nature needs a rest
from her growing season; she will
reawaken at spring equinox,
shaking off her pretty white lace blanket.
Copyright © Andrea Dietrich
Format for writing an Etheree:
Topic: ANYTHING
Line 1: 1 syllable
Line 2: 2 syllables
Line 3: 3 syllables
Line 4: 4 syllables
Line 5: 5 syllables
Capitalization and Punctuation Rules:
1. First letter of first word in line one begins with a capital letter.
2. All other words begin with lower case letter.
3. Align left.
4. No rhyming words.
5. Punctuate where appropriate throughout.
6. Period at end of line 10.
7. Give your poem a title.
Line 6: 6 sylables
Line 7: 7 syllables
Line 8: 8 syllables
Line 9: 9 syllables
Line 10: 10 syllables
Septolet
The Septolet is a poem consisting of seven lines containing fourteen words with a stanza break in between the two parts. Both parts deal with the same thought and create a picture
EXAMPLE:
Lion
moving swiftly
across the plain,
most intent.
Antelope
grazing contently
on his meal.
Copyright © 2003 Crystal Rose
Format for writing a Septolet:
Topic: ANYTHING
1. Must have 7 lines.
2. Two stanzas.
3. 14 words total.
4. Both stanzas create a fluid picture or thought.
Capitalization and Punctuation Rules:
1. First letter of first word in each stanza begins with a capital letter.
2. Align left.
3. No rhyming words.
4. Period at end of each stanza.
5. No proper nouns.
6. Give your poem a title.
Free Verse
Free Verse is an irregular form of poetry in which the content free of traditional rules of fixed meter or rhyme.
In moving from line to line, the poet's main consideration is where to insert line breaks. Some ways of doing this include breaking the line where there is a natural pause or at a point of suspense for the reader.
EXAMPLE:
Footfall
this house,
its bones creak
like mine
with each step,
from here
to there,
and back
again.
no matter
the hour,
it, me,
our bones
become one
with life,
as we both
age
the same.
Copyright © 2006 Marie Summers
Format for writing Free Verse:
Topic: ANYTHING
1. Must have more than 12 lines.
Capitalization and Punctuation Rules:
1. No rhyming words.
2. Give your poem a title.
Found Poetry
Found poems take existing texts and refashion them, reorder them, and present them as poems. The literary equivalent of a collage, found poetry is often made from newspaper articles, street signs, graffiti, speeches, letters, or even other poems.
A pure found poem consists exclusively of outside texts: the words of the poem remain as they were found, with few additions or omissions. Decisions of form, such as where to break a line, are left to the poet.
EXAMPLE:
Format for writing Found Poetry:
Topic: ANYTHING
1. Must have more than 15 words.
2. Somehow make your word selections obvious on your page.
Monorhyme
A Monorhyme is a poem in which all the lines have the same end rhyme. The key is to keep each line close to the same number of syllables.
EXAMPLE:
Late for Class
I realized it was half past four
When I, quite late, ran out the door.
My history class I so abhor,
But I missed two sessions the week before.
I failed a test on ancient lore
And forgot the date of the Second World War.
(Man, my brain was really sore.)
Up the marble stairs I tore,
And slid across a just-mopped floor:
I banged my knee and loudly swore,
To wake -again- at half past four!
These nightmares I can stand no more...
Copyright © 2001 Dendrobia
Format for writing Monorhyme:
Topic: ANYTHING
1. Minimum of 8 lines.
2. Minimum of 5 syllables per line.
Capitalization and Punctuation Rules:
1. Each line begins with a capital letter.
2. Punctuate where necessary.
3. Give your poem a title.
Clerihew
A Clerihew is a comic verse consisting of two couplets and a specific rhyming scheme, aabb invented by Edmund Clerihew Bentley (1875-1956) at the age of 16. The poem is about/deals with a person/character within the first rhyme. In most cases, the first line names a person, and the second line ends with something that rhymes with the name of the person.
EXAMPLE:
Garfield the cat,
On his rear he sat.
Eating lasagna galore,
All about the decor.
Copyright © 2000 James & Marie Summers
Format for writing Clerihew:
Topic: Famous Person and a Friend
1. Rhyme pattern of aabb.
2. Minimum of 5 syllables per line.
3. All lines should be within 1 syllable of the first line.
4. Person's name must go in first line.
Capitalization and Punctuation Rules:
1. Each line begins with a capital letter.
2. Lines 1 and 3 end with a comma.
3. Lines 2 and 4 end with a period.
4. Give your poem a title.
Quatrain
A Quatrain is a poem consisting of four lines of verse with a specific rhyming scheme.
EXAMPLE:
I never saw a purple cow,
I never hope to see one,
But I can tell you anyhow,
I'd rather see than be one.
Anonymous
Format for writing Quatrain:
Topic: The Kitchen
1. Rhyme pattern of abab.
2. Minimum of 5 syllables per line.
3. Lines 1 and 3 should be within one syllable of each other.
4. Lines 2 and 4 should be within one syllable of each other.
Capitalization and Punctuation Rules:
1. Each line begins with a capital letter.
2. Lines 1, 2 and 3 end with a comma.
3. Line 4 ends with a period.
4. Indent lines 2 and 4.
5. Give your poem a title.
Limerick
A Limerick is a rhymed humorous or nonsense poem of five lines which originated in Limerick, Ireland. The Limerick has a set rhyme scheme of : a-a-b-b-a with a syllable structure of: 9-9-6-6-9.
EXAMPLE:
I once knew an old man named Bad Bob,
Each store he saw he would try to rob,
Caught his coat on a nail,
They threw him in a jail,
Now all he can do is whine and sob.
Miss Long
Format for writing Limerick:
Topic: School
1. Rhyme pattern of aabba.
2. Lines 1, 2, and 5 have 9 syllables.
3. Lines 3 and 4 have 6 syllables
4. Needs to have humor.
Capitalization and Punctuation Rules:
1. Each line begins with a capital letter.
2. Lines 1, 2, 3, and 4 end with a comma.
3. Line 5 ends with a period.
4. Indent lines 3 and 4.
5. Give your poem a title.
Epitaph
An Epitaph is a brief poem inscribed on a tombstone praising a deceased person, usually with rhyming lines.
EXAMPLE:
What happened to me, was not good,
Hit by a car, bounced off the hood,
Would get up, if only I could,
Now here I lay, where once I stood.
Copyright © 2001 Lorraine Nisbet
Format for writing Epitaph:
Topic: YOU
1. Select the rhyme pattern of a monorhyme, clerihew, quatrain or a limerick.
2. Follow the formatting rules for the rhyme scheme you select for your
epitaph
3. Add your name and other important items for the art.
4. Needs to have humor.
Capitalization and Punctuation Rules:
1. Follow the capitalization and punctuation rules for the rhyme scheme you
select.
Kyrielle
A Kyrielle is a French form of rhyming poetry written in quatrains (a stanza consisting of 4 lines), and each quatrain contains a repeating line or phrase as a refrain (usually appearing as the last line of each stanza). Each line within the poem consists of only eight syllables. There is no limit to the amount of stanzas a Kyrielle may have, but three is considered the accepted minimum.
Some popular rhyming schemes for a Kyrielle are: aabB, ccbB, ddbB, with B being the repeated line, or abaB, cbcB, dbdB.
The rhyme pattern is completely up to the poet or in this case, your teacher!
EXAMPLE:
My Bouquet
Some days I sing, some days I cry,
My soul's the one determines why,
Sometimes it laughs, sometimes it mourns,
On my bouquet are many thorns.
Wake up each day, face a dark cloud,
My happiness wrapped in a shroud,
The day begins; to me it scorns,
On my bouquet are many thorns.
Lay down my head, dark nights begun,
With the sad setting of the sun,
From all my sorrows my heart mourns,
On my bouquet are many thorns.
Copyright © 2003 Floria Kelderhouse
Format for writing Kyrielle:
Topic: Anything
1. Rhyme pattern of: aabB, ccbB, ddbB
2. 12 lines, 3 stanzas
3. Line 4, 8, and 12 are the same.
4. Only 8 syllables per line.
5. Give your poem a title.
Capitalization and Punctuation Rules:
1. All lines begin with a capital letter.
2. Lines 4, 8, and 12 end with a period. All other lines end with a comma.
Minute Poem
The Minute Poem is rhyming verse form consisting of 12 lines of 60 syllables written in a strict format. This poem has three stanzas of 8, 4, 4, 4 syllables each. The rhyme scheme is aabb, ccdd, eeff.
EXAMPLE:
Artful Touch
The Arctic Clipper's frigid blast,
Its winds so fast,
And furious,
Injurious.
​
The stars and moon played hide and seek,
As clouds did streak,
Across night skies,
Enchanting eyes.
​
With stunning iv'ry moon's display,
God did portray,
His artful touch,
I love so much.
Copyright © mountainwriter49
Format for writing Minute Poem:
Topic: Anything
1. Rhyme pattern of: aabb, ccdd, eeff
2. 12 lines, 3 stanzas
3. 8, 4, 4, 4 syllables for each stanza.
4. Give your poem a title.
​
Capitalization and Punctuation Rules:
1. All lines begin with a capital letter.
2. Lines 4, 8, and 12 end with a period. All other lines end with a comma.
Rondeau
Rondeau
A Rondeau is a French form, 15 lines long, consisting of three stanzas: a quintet, a quatrain, and a sestet with a rhyme scheme as follows: aabba aabR aabbaR. Lines 9 and 15 are short - a refrain (R) consisting of a phrase taken from line one. The other lines are longer (but all of the same metrical length).
EXAMPLE:
Artful Touch
As I was warmed by golden sun,
And felt its peace when it was done,
A patch of clover, barely seen,
Reflected sun in jaunty green,
As Winter fell and Spring had won.
​
I watched the children laugh and run,
I felt my spirit join their fun,
The lifting of a Winter screen
As I was warmed.
​
time called for rain, but there was none,
A brand new season had begun,
And March had painted pastel scene,
As Jack Frost tried, one more, to glean,
A final chill, but found not one,
As I warmed.
​
Copyright ©2004 Pam H. Murray
Format for writing Minute Poem:
Topic: Anything
1. Rhyme pattern of: aabba, aabR, aabbaR
2. 15 lines, 3 stanzas ( 5 lines, 4 lines, 6 lines)
3. Lines 9 and 15 are short and come from line 1.
4. Give your poem a title.
​
Capitalization and Punctuation Rules:
1. All lines begin with a capital letter.
2. Lines 5, 9, and 15 end with a period. All other lines end with a comma.
Terza Rima
A Terza Rima is a poem with an eleven syllable count in each line and a rhyming scheme of aba, bcb, cdc, dd.
EXAMPLE:
Spring
New life begins to come to life in the spring
Shoots appear in the early April showers
Birds migrate back home and rest their tired wings
​
Summer brings us green fields full of bright flowers
Paddling in pools and ice cream all around
The sun shines fiercely with all its bright power
​
Autumn sends leaves tumbling to the cool ground
The sun sinks much lower leaving longer nights
Conkers and acorns just waiting to be found
​
As winter ends and the new year starts to make
New life begins to spring to life and awake
Unknown
Format for writing Terza:
Topic: Nature
1. Rhyme pattern of: aba, bcb, cdc, dd
2. 11 lines, 4 stanzas
3. Give your poem a title.
​
Capitalization and Punctuation Rules:
1. All lines begin with a capital letter.
2. Last line ends with a period.