POETRY STYLES

                                       POETRY STYLES

While reviewing the other day, I came across a poem that had, to me, no sense of rhyming pattern. As I went to critique the poem, I doubted myself. I thought, what if there is a poetry style such as this, and I just don't KNOW about it. Needless to say, this prompted me to do some research and write this article. Hopefully, it will help some of you poetry writers and you reviewers. It may also give us contest hosters some ideas. I found the following poetry styles and will briefly break them all down, but will stick to the basics. I will have to be honest there are sooo many styles, this is just some...but, how as a reviewer, can you pick on the pattern!!??

Acrostic Style - where the first letter of each line spells a word, usually using the same words as in the title. An example, by me:  "Time Passes- An Acrostic Poem" 

Ballad Style- A short narrative poem with stanzas of two or four lines and usually a refrain. The story of a ballad can originate from a wide range of subject matter, but most frequently deals with folk-lore or popular legends. Most ballads are suitable for singing and are generally written in ballad meter, last words of the second and fourth lines rhyming.
An example, by: ladyfox  "Invalid Item" 

Blank Verse-unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter

Cinquain- 5 lined un--rhyming poem (1-2-3-4-1)- 1 word on the top row, 2 on the second, 3 on the third, 4 on the fourth and one on the last...an example by,  angel2blue  "Invalid Item"  - another version is in form of syllabic meter- two syllables on the first line, four on the second, six on the third and two on the last.

Clerihew Style- is a comic verse consisting of two couplets and a specific rhyming scheme, usually aabb. The poem is about/deals with a person/character within the first rhyme

Damante Style- is a seven-lined contrast poem set up in a diamond shape.
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/antonym for the subject

Didactic Style- is a form of poetry intended for instruction, such as, for knowledge or to teach.

Englyn Milwr-Stanza of three, seven syllable lines turning around the same rhyme.
x x x x x x a
x x x x x x a
x x x x x x a
example, by me:  "Morning Walk" 


Epitaph Style- is a brief poem inscribed on a tombstone praising a deceased person, usually with rhyming lines.

Free Verse- is an irregular form of poetry in which the content free of traditional rules of versification, (freedom from fixed meter or rhyme). NO RULES!!

Ghazal- see the following link, provided by, Dr Gupta, in USA till 28 Feb. : 
"WHAT IS A GHAZAL AND HOW TO WRITE IT?" 

Haiku- is an un-rhymed Japanese verse consisting of three un-rhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables (5, 7, 5). Haiku is usually written in the present tense and focuses on nature (seasons).

Heroic Couplet- lines of iambic pentameter that rhyme in pairs (aa, bb, cc)

Limerick Style- is a rhymed humorous, and or nonsense poem of five lines. With a rhyming scheme of: a-a-b-b-a

Monody- is a poem in which one person laments another's death.

Monorhyme- is a poem in which all the lines have the same end rhyme

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

Palindrome- a poem that reads the same forward or backward. sentence example: Mirrored images reflect images mirrored.

Pantoum- consists of a series of quatrains rhyming ABAB in which the second and fourth lines of a quatrain recur as the first and third lines in the succeeding quatrain; each quatrain introduces a new second rhyme as BCBC, CDCD. The first line of the series recurs as the last line of the closing quatrain, and third line of the poem recurs as the second line of the closing quatrain, rhyming ZAZA.
The design is simple:
Line 1
Line 2
Line 3
Line 4
Line 5 (repeat of line 2)
Line 6
Line 7 (repeat of line 4)
Line 8
Continue with as many stanzas as you wish, but the ending stanza then repeats the second and fourth lines of the previous stanza (as its first and third lines), and also repeats the third line of the first stanza, as its second line, and the first line of the first stanza as its fourth. So the first line of the poem is also the last.
Last stanza:
Line 2 of previous stanza
Line 3 of first stanza
Line 4 of previous stanza
Line 1 of first stanza

Quatrain Style- 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

Rictameter - it consist of 9 lines. The first and last lines are the same. An example by: amaiyaamir "Children" 

line 1: two syllables
line 2: four syllables
line 3: six syllables
line 4: eight syllables
line 5: ten syllables
line 6: eight syllables
line 7: six syllables
line 8: four syllables
line 9: two syllables same as first

Sestina Style- is a poem consisting of six six-line stanzas and a three-line envoy. The six words that end each of the lines of the first stanza are repeated in a different order at the end of lines in each of the subsequent five stanzas. The particular pattern is given below. (This kind of recurrent pattern is "lexical repetition".)
Pattern:
1 2 3 4 5 6 - End words of lines in first sestet.
6 1 5 2 4 3 - End words of lines in secondsestet.
3 6 4 1 2 5 - End words of lines in third sestet.
5 3 2 6 1 4 - End words of lines in fourth sestet.
4 5 1 3 6 2 - End words of lines in fifth sestet.
2 4 6 5 3 1 - End words of lines in sixth sestet.
(6 2)(1 4)(5 3) - Middle and end words of lines in tercet.

An example by me: "Chasing Echoes in Sestina Form" 

Shape Poetry or Concrete Poetry -Shape is one of the main things that separates prose and poetry. Poetry can take on many formats, but one of the most inventive forms is for the poem to take on the shape of its subject. So if the subject of your poem is a tree, then the poem's lines would be written so that the poem appears to take on the shape of a tree. A example by,  Sarah : "Ode to a Tree" 


Sonnet- 14 lined poem in iambic pentameter that usually deals with love, religion or some other serious concern. The Italian sonnet rhyme scheme is (abbaabba-cdecde-aa or abbaabba-cdccdc-aa). The English (Shakespearian) has 3 quatrains w/ a concluding couplet.

Tongue Twister-are made up of lines that are hard to say fast.  In other words, the poem ties your tongue into knots.
An example by me: Six sick, slick snakes suprised Susie's swim!

Villanelle- is a nineteen-line poem consisting of a very specific rhyming scheme: aba aba aba aba aba abaa. The first and the third lines in the first stanza are repeated in alternating order throughout the poem, and appear together in the last couplet (last two lines).

I'm quitting now, I could go on and on. I've almost written a book!!
Hope this helps someone!!