Most of our "poetry" follows some sort of form. Some do not. While I tend to enjoy what I call "Mathematical Poetry", that is poem forms that have rules defined by numbers like Haiku, Lune, Chōka, etc. I like experimenting with many forms.
Here are some definitions of the forms of poetry used here (and how we have reinterpreted or mashed up normal forms to suit our needs). Special thanks to Amanda B Garvin of Northeast Mississippi Community College for some clarifications of forms and additional poetry-type descriptions. Additional acknowledgment to Robert Lee Brewer and his fabulous "List of 50 Poetic Forms" on Writer's Digest dot com. You can also get his book, "100 Poetic Forms" on Amazon.com.
Version 1.0 of this guide, there is now more information than will fit in an origami book, is available as a mini book for free at poemasabix.weebly.com (that's for Poemasabi Extras) in the download section. A link to the instructions for folding is there as well.
Acrostic uses the first letters from a word as the first letters of each line of the poem.
Super input
Machine really.
Although it's cool
Really spectacular things happen when it's
Taught smart things
By an enthusiastic teacher
Or other creative educator
And or engaged student
Revolutionary thinking
Develops
Cinquain was invented by American poet Adelaide Crapsey in 1915 and has
grown into several forms the first being introduced to me by a teacher
in my school. This is the word count form where the poem is comprised of
five lines;
1. 2-4-6-8-2 words per line.
2. Another form uses 2-4-6-8-2 syllables
3. Reverse Cinguain is five lines of 2-8-6-4-2 syllables
4. Mirror Cinquain is two five-line stanzas, one regular standard syllable count Cinquain followed by a mirror Cinquain.
5. A third form uses noun-two adjectives-three "ing" words-a phrase-different nouns for the first noun format.
6. A
variation of #5 is 2 noun syllables, 4 adjective syllables, 6 verb
syllables, 8 syllables, and 2 synonym syllables for the first noun.
7. Another form is the Butterfly Cinquain which is 9 lines syllabic form 2-4-6-8-2-8-6-4-2
8. A
new version, we think we might have created it but are not sure, uses
letter counts, 2,4,6,8,2 and is called a Chaycheck Cinquain
9. Crown Cinquain which is five standard Cinquains together makes a larger poem.
10. Garland
Cinquain which is six stanzas with the sixth being made up of lines
from the previous five. 1st line is from the 1st cinquain, the 2nd line
is from the second 2nd cinquain etc.
Diamante is a seven-lined contrast poem set up in a diamond shape.
The first line begins with a noun/subject.
The second line contains two adjectives that describe the beginning noun.
The third line contains three words ending in -ing relating to the noun/subject.
The
fourth line contains two words that describe the noun/subject and two
that describe the closing synonym/antonym. If using an antonym for the
ending, this is where the shift should occur.
In the fifth line are three more -ing words describing the ending antonym/synonym, and
The sixth is two more adjectives describing the ending antonym/synonym.
The last line ends with the first noun's antonym or synonym.
Free Verse as in free of any kind of rules on patterns and structure.
Haiku is
one of my favorites. Japanese, I follow the traditional Westernized
form of 5-7-5 syllables. Usually about nature with some metaphor for a
season. I have been experimenting with another form which is both new to me and really old too. It is a one-breath Haiku that follows the traditional Japanese form. It's still 13-17 syllables with a turning word or point and seasonal references about nature but it is written in one line and is meant to be spoken in one breath.
- Gogyohka is a new form of short poem that is based on the ancient Japanese Tanka and Kodai kayo.
- Gogyohka has five lines but exceptionally may have four or six.
- Each line of Gogyohka consists of one phrase with a line break after each phrase or breath.
- Gogyohka has no restraint on the number of words or syllables.
- The theme of Gogyohka is unrestricted.
Katauta is an unrhymed three-line poem with the following syllable counts: 5/7/7.
Kyoka is
to Tanka what Senryu is to Haiku. It is a humorous and satirical form
of Tanka following the same pattern as Tanka but focusing on a satirical
look at human behavior.
List Poem is what it is, a listing of descriptive terms on a specific subject, usually the title one.
Luc Bat is a Vietnamese form with a complicated set of structural rules. It is, on the face of it, a 6-8 alternating line poem, that is 6-8-6-8-6-8, etc. All information that I have so far is from Robert Lee Brewer's excellent list of poem forms on www.writersdigest.com. So yes, it is a 6-8 poem but wait, there's more. it is also a rhyming poem with an A-AB-B-BC-C-CD-D-DE etc pattern. Using "1" for each syllable, the poem looks like this:
- 1-1-1-1-1-A
- 1-1-1-1-1-A-1-B
- 1-1-1-1-1-B
- 1-1-1-1-1-B-C
- 1-1-1-1-1-C
- 1-1-1-1-1-C-1-D
- etc
Lune is an "American Haiku" form of which there are two forms. All information that I have so far is from Robert Lee Brewer's excellent list of poem forms on www.writersdigest.com. The Kelly Lune by Robert Kelly is a 5-3-5 syllable count poem. The Collom form by Jack Collom is a word count version that follows the 3-5-3 words per line rule.
Monorhyme is a poem in which all the lines have the same end rhyme.
Naani
is one of India's most popular Telugu poems. Naani means an expression
of one and all. It consists of 4 lines and the total lines consist of 20
to 25 syllables. The poem is not bound to a particular subject.
Generally, it depends upon human relations and current statements.
Sedoka is an unrhymed poem comprising two three-line katauta with the following syllable counts: 5/7/7, 5/7/7. A Sedoka, pair of katauta as a single poem, may address the same subject from differing perspectives.
Senryu is
another Japanese form of Haiku. It’s 3-3-3 syllables following
examples translated from the original Japanese. I have also seen it done as an unrhymed Japanese verse consisting of three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables (5, 7, 5)
or 17 syllables in all. Senryu is usually written in the present tense
and only references to some aspect of human nature or emotions. They
possess no references to the natural world and thus stand out from
nature/seasonal haiku.
Sijo is a Korean form and is very new to me. From what I have been able to find it is written in three lines of between 14 and 16 syllables. Each line is subdivided into four sections of between three and six syllables. Each section needs to function on its own but must also work with the other sections in the line. The first line starts an idea, the second line further defines that idea and the third continues the thought but with a twist. Subjects, traditionally anyway, are about nature and in that share a poetic DNA with Haiku.
Sijo is a Korean form and is very new to me. From what I have been able to find it is written in three lines of between 14 and 16 syllables. Each line is subdivided into four sections of between three and six syllables. Each section needs to function on its own but must also work with the other sections in the line. The first line starts an idea, the second line further defines that idea and the third continues the thought but with a twist. Subjects, traditionally anyway, are about nature and in that share a poetic DNA with Haiku.
Tanka is
a new one for me. It is also Japanese but follows a 5-7-5 7-7 pattern.
Like Haiku it is, in the traditional sense anyway,
nature/seasonal focused. There are other rules too but, hey, I am new at
this.
