I was trying to remember the 'rules' for a pindaric ode when I ran across this useful article. I say useful because it is useful to stretch into different forms. I think working a forum before breaking out of it is a way to improve my writing. Quoted in part and linking to the original.
"By Gary R. Hess. Category: Poetry
This article contains the many different poem types. These include all known (at least to my research) forms that poems may take.
A poem that has five lines and creates a mood, picture, or feeling. Lines 1 through 4 are made up of words, phrases or clauses while the first word of each line is in alphabetical order. Line 5 is one sentence long and begins with any letter.
Poetry that certain letters, usually the first in each line form a word or message when read in a sequence. Example: Edgar Allan Poe's "A Valentine".
A poem that tells a story similar to a folk tale or legend which often has a repeated refrain. Read more about ballads.
Poetry which has three stanzas of seven, eight or ten lines and a shorter final stanza of four or five. All stanzas end with the same one line refrain.
A poem written in unrhymed iambic pentameter and is often unobtrusive. The iambic pentameter form often resembles the rhythms of speech. Example: Alfred Tennyson's "Ulysses".
A poem written about one self's life, personality traits, and ambitions. Example: Jean Ingelow's "One Morning, Oh! So Early".
Poetry that treats a serious subject as humor. Example: E. E. Cummings "O Distinct".
Medieval Italian lyric style poetry with five or six stanzas and a shorter ending stanza.
Latin expression that means 'seize the day.' Carpe diem poems have a theme of living for today.
Poetry with five lines. Line 1 has one word (the title). Line 2 has two words that describe the title. Line 3 has three words that tell the action. Line 4 has four words that express the feeling, and line 5 has one word which recalls the title. Read more about cinquain poetry.
Poetry which holds the principles and ideals of beauty that are characteristic of Greek and Roman art, architecture, and literature.
Also known as "size poetry". Concrete poetry uses typographical arrangements to display an element of the poem. This can either be through re-arrangement of letters of a word or by arranging the words as a shape. Read more about concrete poetry.
This type of poem is two lines which may be rhymed or unrhymed. Example: Walt Whitman's "To You".
A type of poem which is spoken to a listener. The speaker addresses a specific topic while the listener unwittingly reveals details about him/herself.
A sad and thoughtful poem about the death of an individual. Example: Gary R. Hess's "1983".
An extensive, serious poem that tells the story about a heroic figure.
A very short, ironic and witty poem usually written as a brief couplet or quatrain. The term is derived from the Greek epigramma meaning inscription.
A commemorative inscription on a tomb or mortuary monument written to praise the deceased. Example: Ben Jonson's "On My First Sonne".
A poem written in honor of the bride and groom.
Free verse (vers libre)
Poetry written in either rhyme or unrhymed lines that have no set fixed metrical pattern. Read more: What is Free Verse Poetry?
Poetry created by taking words, phrases, and passages from other sources and re-framing them by adding spaces, lines, or by altering the text with additions or subtractions.
A short lyrical poem that arose in Urdu. It is between 5 and 15 couplets long. Each couplet contains its own poetic thought but is linked in rhyme that is established in the first couplet and continued in the second line of each pair. The lines of each couplet are equal in length. Themes are usually connected to love and romance. The closing signature often includes the poet's name or allusion to it.
A Japanese poem composed of three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five morae, usually containing a season word. Read more about haiku poetry.
Short lyric poem written in two or four-line stanzas, each with its the same metrical pattern, often addressed to a friend and deal with friendship, love and the practice of poetry. It is named after its creator, Horace.
One short syllable followed by one long one five sets in a row. Example: la-LAH la-LAH la-LAH la-LAH la-LAH. Used extensively in sonnets.
Writers Rule... especially Ninja Writers.
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