Poem Structures

After looking at two poems in particular which look at spiders' webs, it has made me think more about the structure of these. This could be something which we could look more into, as part of this form of craft. There are many different types, which all have a very definite structure, and rules which they follow. I have selected some which I have found to be the most interesting, in their structure or pattern which they follow.

Ballad
This is quite a narative style, which tells a story. It also usually follow a regular rhyme scheme (abcb)

Haiku
This consists of three lines which do not rhyme. It has a syllable structure of 5, 7, 5.

Lament
A poem which expresses grief.

Limerick
This is a light verse - so it is quite light hearted and jokey. It is five lines long and has a regular rhyme scheme (AABBA). It also follows a syllable structure (8,8,5,5,8).

Sestina
This is a french type of poem. It doesn't usually have a rhyme scheme, instead it repeats the last words of each line, in following stanzas. It consists of 6 stanzas, each with 6 lines within them. The structure of the word repetition is: in the first verse 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, then the second verse, 6, 1, 5, 2, 4, 3, the third verse 3, 6, 4, 1, 2, 5 the fourth verse 5, 3, 2, 6, 1, 4 the fifth verse 4, 5, 1, 3, 6, 2 the 6th stanza 2, 4, 6, 5, 3, 1 and it ends with a three line envoy. The six words are repeated within this with 2 per line, one is place in the centre and one at the end. This goes (6, 2) then (1, 4) and in the last line (5, 3)

Sonnet
This consists of 14 lines. The rhyme scheme of a Shakespeare sonnet consists of ABABCDCDEFEFGG.

Tanka
This type follows a sylabble pattern. It consists of 5 lines and the syllable pattern is: 5, 7, 5, 7 ,7

Triolet
This poem has eight lines, and it also repeats two of these. The line repeat follows: 1, 2, 3, 1, 5, 6, 1, 2. It also only has 2 rhymes.

Villanelle
This is a french form of poem. It has 5 verses each with 3 lines, and a final quatrain. The first line and the last line in the first first are alternatively repeated in the following verses. They also become the last two lines within the last four lines.

Poetry Foundation. (2014). Glossary terms. Retrieved from: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/learning/glossary-terms

I feel that these are interesting to read about, and I especially like the pieces with the syllable pattern. I like the concept of rhythm within the writing, and the style that this brings into the piece. There are also repeated lines as well as a rhyme scheme. This brings repetition within this craft, which completes the concept of this project.


Jennifer