Types of poems
Ballad
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A ballad is a poem that tells a story. It is often put to music because of its rhyme. A typical ballad will have a refrain also called a chorus.
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Acrostic poem
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Type of poem where the first letters of each verse spell out a particular word or phrase.
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Diamante poem
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A poem which takes the shape of a diamante. It is made up of 7 lines whish follow a set structure.
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Elegy
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An Elegy is a sad poem written to praise and express sorrow or mourn the passing of someone.
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Epic poem
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An Epic poem is a serious and long poem that tells a story.
Epigram
It is a brief, satirical and witty poem with a funny ending. It is usually written as a couplet but can also be found as a quatrain.
Epitaph
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An Epitaph is a poem about the dead and meant to be written on a tombstone. They are very short.
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Free verse
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Free verse relates to modern poetry. It has no regular pattern of rhyme or rhythm.
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Haiku
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A Haiku is a Japanese poem which consists of 3 lines and 17 syllables. Each line has a set number of syllables (5,7,5).
Kenning poem
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A Kenning is a two-word phrase. It describes an object or a person using the metaphor. A Kenning poem is a series of Kennings.
Kyrielle poem
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A Kyrielle poem consists of stanzas of four lines each of which have eight syllables. Every stanza ends with the same verse.
Lyric
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A Lyric is a poem of intense personal and emotional feelings. They can be written as free verse or more traditional with rhyme and rhythm.
Ode
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A type of lyric poem, very serious addressing a particular person or thing. It was very popular in ancient Greece.
Pastoral
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A Pastoral is a poem, which idealize rural life and landscapes. One often finds cheerful shepherds, merry flocks of sheep grazing, etc.
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Rondeau
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A Rondeau is a short poem of 15 lines that have only two rhymes throughout the entire poem.
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Shape Poem
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A poem which describe an object and is shaped the same as the described object.
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Sonnet
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A Sonnet is a 14-line poem, each being 10 syllables (iambic pentameter). The Sonnet has a rigid rhyme structure.
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English ab,ab,cdcd,efef,gg
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Italian: abba, abba, cdecde
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