14 lines, iambic pentameter (easy to remember as 10 syllables per line)
English Sonnet (Shakespearean)
- Three four line quatrains, and one 2 line couplet
- Typically, the couplet reverses, alters, or challenges the meaning of the preceding 12 lines in an ironic twist.
- The rhyme scheme is ABAB CDCD EFEF GG.
Italian Sonnet (Petrarchan)
- One eight line octet and one 6 line sestet.
- Typically, the octet poses a dilemma that is answered in the sestet.
- The rhyme schme is ABBAABBA CDECDE.
Spenserian Sonnet
- A variant on the Shakespearean sonnet, with four quatrains with interlocked rhyme scheme.
- The rhyme scheme is ABAB BCBC CDCD EE.
- Nineteen lines, 5 three line stanzas followed by one four line stanza.
- Usually tetrameter (4 beats) or pentameter (5 beats).
- Alternating end rhymes patterned aba, aba, aba, aba, abaa, although not all villanelles rhyme.
- Lines 1,6,12, and 18 are the same.
- Lines 3, 9,15, and 19 are the same.
- Usually nostalgic in tone.
- Epic: a long serious narrative poem concerning a heroic figure or group of heroes (Beowulf).
- Lyric: poems written in subjectively rich voice, often emotional. Sound quality is emphasized.
- Ode: a formal lyric poem of exalted emotion celebrating someone or something.
- Elegy: a poetic lament for the dead or missing.
- Prose Poem: form of free verse that lacks the formal shape of poetry.
- Narrative: a poem that tells a story.
- Ballad: a story told in verse, without much detail or setting. The primary emphasis is action.
- Haiku: a short poem with seventeen syllables, usually written in three lines with the following syllable pattern (5,7,5).
- Cinquain: a five-line poem with two syllables in the first line, four in the second, six in the third, eight in the fourth, and two in the fifth.
- Concrete Poetry: a picture poem, in which the visual shape of the poem contributes to its meaning.
Sources
Additional Resources