Poetry can be a tough sell for children. It’s not always easy for them to connect. It’s also even more difficult to have them try writing for themselves. But it may help them learn that there are many types of poetry, not just Shakespeare’s sonnets. Show me these 24 types of poems, each containing fascinating examples of poems, and they may find what they really like!
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Poetry Worksheet Bundle
Find lots of poetry lesson ideas with this big bunch of worksheets that include haiku, limericks, odes and more!
Acrostic
In acrostic, the first letter on each line generally spells a word or phrase related to the topic of the poem. There are several different types of acrostics, including double acrostics where both the first and last letters of each line spell out the message. Another type of acrostic is Abesedarian, with the first letter of each line being alphabetical. Acrostics is one of the first poems children learn by writing poems using the letters of their own name.
Example of poem: Boat under a clear sky, Lewis Carroll
Ballad
This is one of the oldest types of poetry, with ancient examples that have been passed on orally over the centuries. Ballads tell stories of people and events. Traditional ballads had four stanzas, with a repetitive line and set lime scheme called refrains. Over time, they evolved into a slightly less structured form with shorter rhyming stanzas (four lines often known as “Quatrains.”). Ballads and epics are similar. Both tell stories of people and events, but the ballads are short.
Examples of poems: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Power loss poem
Austin Creon
These poems are unique in that they use what is already written and remove most of the text and leave only the selected words and phrases. Blackout poems are not usually free poems, as the author is already limited to words on the page. Modern author Austin Creon became famous for his blackout poems in his newspaper. These are fun to play with kids using books and magazine pages. Click here for details.
Example poem: How to improve by Austin Creon
Blank poem
Blank poems do not rhyme, but from a meter perspective it is a structured form of poetry. These poems are mostly written in the Ianvik pentameter (da du du du du du du dum dum). It was particularly popular during Shakespeare’s time, and was a common option for poets such as William Wordsworth, John Keats and Robert Frost.
Examples of poems by Robert Frost
Cinquain
Anyone who recognizes that “CINQ” is often number 5, but it is easy to remember that Cinquain (pronounced “Sing-Kane”) is a five-line poem . According to Poets.org, Cinquains usually follow the rhyme scheme of ABABB, ABAAB, or ABCCB, but do not need to rhyme. Multiple sinks can be linked to form longer poems.
Poet Adelaide Clapsley invented a certain type of sincane (sometimes called sincane in America). This type of poem is popular in the classroom. This is because the strict structure helps students create their own poems.
Example of poem: Snow, by Adelaide Crapsy
Specific poems
The poems written in this format take the form of the items they describe. They can be written in any style as long as the format creates shapes that are related to words.
Example of a poem: George Starbuck, sonnet shaped like a potted Christmas tree
Caplet
In the poem, a caplet is two lines that go together. They may be two lines that form one perfect thought, two lines that share the same end rhyme, or both. The poems of a caplet are made from one caplet or a series of those.
Example of poem: My beloved and loving husband, Anne Bradstreet
Dramatic poem
As you can imagine, dramatic poems are intended to be played or spoken aloud. It is often part of a large-scale work, such as Shakespeare’s monologue. However, there are many examples of standalone dramatic poetry, featuring characters telling stories to the audience.
Example of a poem: Whether it’s a monologue from Hamlet by William Shakespeare
ekphrastic
This is a broader category of poetry types that describe poems written to vividly describe works of art. One of the most famous examples in the poem is John Keats’s Ode in Greek bone n. Ekphrastic poetry is usually about visual arts such as painting and sculpture, but it can also describe music, performance, or film.
Example of a poem: Starry Night by Anne Sexton
Elegy
In elegy, the poet writes about grief, sadness, or loss. They are often written in response to death. Elegy can be any kind of poetry in terms of meter and rhyme schemes (or there is no need to rhyme). Traditional elegies follow a certain form. The first is “laughing,” with the speakers telling their sadness. The author then praises the dead or lost, and ultimately ends with words of comfort, offering hope for the future.
Example of poem: o Captain! My captain! by Walt Whitman
amazing
Like ballads, epics tell the stories of events and people. Epics are much longer than ballads, but often even the length of a book. Like ballads, this form of tale poem has existed for centuries, frequently telling stories of superhuman acts and incredible adventures.
Examples of poems: The Odyssey, Homer
A slogan
These short poems (generally no more than six lines) represent witty ideas in a refreshing, concise language. The term is also used in clever ideas not written in the poem, such as Oscar Wilde’s “can resist everything but seduction.” Epigrammer’s poetry is fun to read and can be one of the best types of poetry to share with your kids.
Examples: camel, Ogden Nash
Free poem
This is the most open poem, with no rhythmic rhymes or other requirements. It often mimics the flow of regular speeches, but using poetic devices like line breaks, images and similarities sets them apart from prose.
Examples of poems: The Red Wheelbarrow, Williams (plus, 63 poem poems for children)
Haiku
This Japanese style is highly structured and often focuses on nature. Haiku tries to capture short moments with powerful words and phrases. This is one of the shortest types of poems, with the poem written in three lines. The first is five syllables, the second is seven syllables, and the third is five syllables. The format can break, especially when poetry is translated from one language to another, but always contains three meaningful lines.
Examples of poems: West Wind Whispered, RM Hansard (plus, 58 fascinating haiku examples)
Limerick
Do you want to laugh? Read Limerix! These structured poems have been around for a long time. It contains 5 lines using the Aabba Rhyme scheme. Generally, the first, second and fifth lines are longer, while the third and fourth are shorter. Line 5 is often like a punchline of jokes. Some Limericks are really annoying, but there are plenty of child-friendly examples. They are also a fun form for kids to experiment with. Edward Leah was the master of Rimlix.
Example of poem: There was an old man with a beard by Edward Lear (and more, 40 stupid and fun rimerix for kids)
Lyrics poem
This category of poetry describes poetry, a personal reflection on the topic. They are often written in the first person, and try to capture moods and scenes through images and emotional language. The meter of a poem may feel the music in nature, as indicated by the category name.
Example of a poem: if I could tell you, by wh auden
Story poem
This is a broad category and includes varieties of poetry, such as epics and ballads. When the story poem has a plot, with a beginning, center, and end, you will know that you are reading the story poem. Over the years, they have been written to document history and praise the virtues of celebrities. The poems of the story have been popular since the Greek era and are still loved today.
Example of poem: Paul Revere’s Vehicle, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Ode
These poems celebrate people, places, things, or ideas. They can be written in any form (though there are ODEs with certain forms, like Horatian). Ode differs from ballads and epics in that they generally have no plot. Unlike Elegy, they do not focus on grief or loss. Instead, they speak the subject in sparkling, descriptive terms, with the aim of impressing readers.
Examples of poems: Ode to the West Wind, Percy Bysshe Shelley
Idyllic poem
In idyllic poems, this topic is usually rural life, including nature, farmers, shepherds and people living in the country. The depicted country life may be idealized and unrealistic. Many poets use pastoral poetry in contrast to the stoic of urban life, usually endorsing the country scene.
Examples of poem: His Passionate Shepherd for Love, by Christopher Marlowe
Sestina
This type of poem is highly composed of the number of stanzas, line lengths, and even syntax. The Sestina has six stanzas, each with six lines (36 lines), finished by three lines of stanzas called Enzoi. To add complexity, the same six words are displayed at the end of each of the six lines, but in different orders in each clause. These six words also appear in the final environment, two words per line. This is a truly fun and rewarding kind of poem to try with students who appreciate puzzle and logic assignments. Find the complete rules for Sestina here.
Examples of poems: Sestina, Elizabeth Bishop
Sonnet
This is one of the most famous (and structured) types of poems immortalized by geniuses like Shakespeare and Milton. There are two classic types of sonnets, both with 14 lines written on the iambic pentagon.
Petrarchan Sonnet
Petralca was an Italian poet in the 14th century. He did not invent this form of sonnet, but he mastered it very well. There are two stanzas. The first stanza has eight lines and ABBA’s Abba Rhyme scheme. The second stanza has six lines, with the Lime scheme being CDE CDE or CDCDCD. Petrarchan Sonnets often present questions or arguments in the first half, and secondly there is a conclusion or rebuttal.
Example of poem: How do you love you? (Sonnet 43), by Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
Shakespeare Sonnet
After the sonnet was introduced to England, the poet made some changes to the scheme and form of rhyme. Shakespeare’s sonnets have three quatrains (4-line sections each), followed by two-line couplets. The lime schemes are ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, and GG. This gives writers a little more room as it makes it difficult for them to find words that rhyme in English than romance languages. Shakespeare completed the form and wrote 154 sonnets in this style.
Example of poem: Shall we compare you to a summer day? (Sonnet 18), by William Shakespeare
Villanelle
This is another example of a compositional poem with a very specific structure. A total of 19 rows include five 3-line stanzas (Tercet) and the final 4-line stanzas (Quatrain). All telsets use lime scheme ABA, while Quatrain uses ABAA. Furthermore, the first and third lines of the first telset are repeated at the set locations throughout the poem. All the rules for writing Villanelles are as follows:
Example of a poem: Don’t be kind to Dylan Thomas’ Good Night
Also, check out the famous poets your students should know.
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