MOST POPULAR TYPES OF POEMS

Acrostic Poems
Acrostic poems spell a word with the first letter of each line of the poem. The
length of the lines can vary. The example acrostic poem below spells ball.
Example:
Bouncing up and down
All sizes and shapes
Lively play and exercise
Let loose, toss, and throw

Ballads
The ballad means "dance songs." Ballads usually tell a story, using four-line
quatrain stanza with an ABCB rhyme scheme where lines two and four rhyme.
Some ballads have more than one quatrain.
Example:
I don't know when it happened.
I don't know when she came,
But she's the one I always knew.
Grandma was her name.

Cinquain
A cinquain is a five-line poem. Line one has one word and is the title. Line two
describes the title in two words. Line three uses three words to express action.
Line four uses four words to express a feeling. Line five uses one word that
restates the title.
Example:
My mum (2 syllables)
Is so caring (4 syllables)
She is always helpful (6 syllables)
She is so beautiful and kind (8 syllables)
Love you. (2 syllables)

Limerick
A limerick poem is a five-line humorous poem that has a set number of syllables
and a rhyme scheme. There are 10 syllables in lines one, two and five. These three
lines also rhyme and have the same rhythm. In lines three and four, there are 5 to
7 syllables that have the same rhythm and rhyme. The rhyme pattern is AABBA.
Example:
There was an Old Man of Nantucket
Who kept all his cash in a bucket.
His daughter, called Nan,
Ran away with a man,
And as for the bucket, Nantucket.

Haiku
The haiku is a three-line poem that has 5 syllables in line one, 7 syllables in line
two and, 3 syllables in line three. The lines do not rhyme. Classic haiku poetry
focuses on nature.
Example:
An old silent pond...
A frog jumps into the pond,
splash! Silence again.

Free Verse Poem

A free verse poem means that it does not follow any rigid rules of rhyme, pattern
or meter. However, a great free verse poem will have some type of rhythm. It will
also use poetic devices, such as metaphors, similes, personification,
onomatopoeia, etc.