Necrotic Obsession

Acrostic Poetry

Acrostic Poetry where the first letter of each line spells a word, usually using the same words
as in the title.

Ballad

A short narrative poem with stanzas of two or four lines and usually a refrain. The story of a ballad
can originate from a wide range of subject matter but most frequently deals with folk-lore or popular
legends. They are written in straight-forward verse, seldom with detail, but always with graphic
simplicity and force. Most ballads are suitable for singing and, while sometimes varied in practice,
are generally written in ballad meter, i.e., alternating lines of iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter,
with the last words of the second and fourth lines rhyming.

Cinquain

A Cinquain is a short, unrhymed poem consisting of twenty-two syllables distributed
as 2, 4, 6, 8, 2, in five lines.

The most popular form is as follows:

Line 1: Noun
Line 2: Description of Noun
Line 3: Action
Line 4: Feeling or Effect
Line 5: Synonym of the initial noun.

Clarity Pyramid

Poetry form designed and constructed by Jerry P. Quinn.

A Clarity Pyramid is a poem consisting of two triplets and a single line (7 lines in all). Usually,
this poem is center aligned when displayed.

The first triplet has 1, 2, and 3 syllables. The title of the poem is the one-syllable word of the
first triplet, which is displayed in all capital letters. This line is followed by a two-syllable line,
and then a three-syllable line both of which clarify the definition of the poem, or are synonyms
for the title.

The second triplet has 5, 6, and 7 syllables. It's design is based around a life event contained
within the triplet which helps give a poetic view oroutlook on the first line (title).

The last line is 8 syllables, and is in quotations as this line contains a quote that defines the first
word (title).

Clerihew

A Clerihew is a comic verse consisting of two couplets and a specific rhyming scheme,
usually aabb. The poem is about/deals with a person/character within the first rhyme.

Diamante

A Diamante is a seven-lined contrast poem set up in a diamond shape. The first line begins with a
noun and second line contains two adjectives that describes the beginning noun. The third line
contains three words ending in -ing, and the forth line is are four more words to describe the subject.
If using an antonym for the ending, this is where the shift should occur. The fifth line are three more
-ing words that describe the last ending noun of the poem, and the sixth are two more adjectives.
The last line ends with the first noun's antonym or synonym.

To make it a bit simpler, here is a diagram.

Line 1: Noun or subject
Line 2: Two Adjectives
Line 3: Three -ing words
Line 4: Four words about the subject
Line 5: Three -ing words
Line 6: Two adjectives
Line 7: Synonym/antonym for the subject

Didactic Poetry

Didactic Poetry is a form of poetry intended for instruction such as for knowledge or to teach.

Epic

An Epic is a long narrative poem celebrating the adventures and achievements of a hero...epics
deal with the traditions, mythical or historical, of a nation.

Epigram

Epigrams are short satirical poems ending with either a humorous retort or a stinging punchline.

Used mainly as expressions of social criticism or political satire, the most common forms are
written as a couplet: a pair of rhymed lines in the same meter.

Practioners of this poetic expression include John Dunne, Ben Jonson, William Blake and
Robert Frost.

Epitaph

An epitaph is a brief poem inscribed on a tombstone praising a deceased person, usually
with rhyming lines.

Ethere

The poetry form, Ethere, consists of 10 lines of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 syllables. Ethere can
also be reversed and written 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Get creative and write an Ethere with
more than one verse, but follow suit with an inverted syllable count.

Reversed Ethere: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

Double Ethere: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 10, 9, 8, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

...Triple Ethere, Quadruple Ethere, and so on!

Fable

A fable is a poetic story composed in verse or prose with a moral summed up at the end. Usually
using animals as characters to teach a valuable lesson.

Most commonly found example of fables are the Aesop's Fables, but here are two poetic examples.

Free Verse

Free Verse is an irregular form of poetry in which the content free of traditional rules of versification,
(freedom from fixed meter or rhyme).

In moving from line to line, the poet's main consideration is where to insert line breaks. Some ways
of doing this include breaking the line where there is a natural pause or at a point of suspense for the
reader.

Following the direction of Walt Whitman, Ezra Pound and T.S.Eliot, many modern day poets use
this particular form of expression.

Haiku

Most popular definition, but there is more to haiku than meets the eye:

Haiku (also called nature or seasonal haiku) is an unrhymed Japanese verse consisting of three
unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables (5, 7, 5) or 17 syllables in all. Haiku is usually
written in the present tense and focuses on nature (seasons).

The 5/7/5 rule is rumored to have been made up for school children to understand and learn this
type of poetry. For an in depth description of Haiku, please visit the Shadow Poetry Haiku,
Senryu, and Tanka section.There is much more to haiku than the madeup 5/7/5 version.

Kyrielle

A Kyrielle is a French form of rhyming poetry written in quatrains (a stanza consisting of 4 lines),
and each quatrain contains a repeating line or phrase as a refrain (usually appearing as the last
line of each stanza). Each line within the poem consists of only eight syllables. There is no limit
to the amount of stanzas a Kyrielle may have, but three is considered the accepted minimum.

Some popular rhyming schemes for a Kyrielle are: aabB, ccbB, ddbB, with B being the repeated
line, or abaB, cbcB, dbdB.

Mixing up the rhyme scheme is possible for an unusual pattern of: axaZ, bxbZ, czcZ, dxdZ, etc.
with Z being the repeated line.

The rhyme pattern is completely up to the poet.

Kyrielle Sonnet

A Kyrielle Sonnet consists of 14 lines (three rhyming quatrain stanzas and a non-rhyming couplet).
Just like the traditional Kyrielle poem, the Kyrielle Sonnet also has a repeating line or phrase as a
refrain (usually appearing as the last line of each stanza). Each line within the Kyrielle Sonnet
consists of only eight syllables. French poetry forms have a tendency to link back to the beginning
of the poem, so common practice is to use the first and last line of the first quatrain as the ending
couplet. This would also re-enforce the refrain within the poem. Therefore, a good rhyming scheme
for a Kyrielle Sonnet would be:

AabB, ccbB, ddbB, AB -or- AbaB, cbcB, dbdB, AB.

Lanturne

The Lanturne is a five-line verse shaped like a Japanese lantern with a syllabic pattern of one,
two, three, four, one.

Limerick

A Limerick is a rhymed humorous, nonsense poem of five lines. Rhyming scheme of: a-a-b-b-a
and then the syllable structure is: 9-9-6-6-9

This is the most commonly heard first line of a limerick: "There once was a man from Nantucket"

Minute Poetry

The Minute Poem is rhyming verse form consisting of 12 lines of 60 syllables written in strict
iambic meter. The poem is formatted into 3 stanzas of 8,4,4,4; 8,4,4,4; 8,4,4,4 syllables.
The rhyme scheme is as follows: aabb, ccdd, eeff

Mirrored Refrain

The Mirrored Refrain is rhyming verse form constructed by Stephanie Repnyek.

The poem is formed by three or more quatrains where two lines within the quatrain
are the "mirrored refrain" or alternating refrain.

The rhyme scheme is as follows: xaBA, xbAB, xaBA, xbAB, etc..

x represents the only lines that do not rhyme within the poem. A and B represent
the refrain. The first four stanzas of the example poem are labeled for better
understanding.

Monody

A monody is a poem in which one person laments another's death, as in Tennyson's
Break, Break, Break, or Wordsworth's She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways.
(Also see Dirge, Elegy, Epitaph)

Monorhyme

A Monorhyme is a poem in which all the lines have the same end rhyme.
(Also see Ghazal)

Monotetra

The monotetra is a new poetic form developed by Michael Walker. Each stanza contains four lines
in monorhyme. Each line is in tetrameter (four metrical feet) for a total of eight syllables. What makes
the monotetra so powerful as a poetic form, is that the last line contains two metrical feet, repeated.
It can have as few as one or two stanzas, or as many as desired.

Stanza Structure:

Line 1: 8 syllables; A1
Line 2: 8 syllables; A2
Line 3: 8 syllables; A3
Line 4: 4 syllables, repeated; A4, A4

Naani

Naani is one of Indian's most popular Telugu poems. Naani means an expression of one and all.
It consists of 4 lines, the total lines consists of 20 to 25 syllables. The poem is not bounded to
a particular subject. Generally it depends upon human relations and current statements. This
poetry was introduced by one of the renowned Telugu poets Dr. N.Gopi, presently working as
vice-chancellor to Telugu University, Andhra Pradesh.

Nonet

A nonet has nine lines. The first line has nine syllables, the second line eight syllables, the third line
seven syllables, etc... until line nine that finishes withone syllable. It can be on any subject and
rhyming is optional.

line 1 - 9 syllables
line 2 - 8 syllables
line 3 - 7 syllables
line 4 - 6 syllables
line 5 - 5 syllables
line 6 - 4 syllables
line 7 - 3 syllables
line 8 - 2 syllables
line 9 - 1 syllable

Ode

An Ode is a poem praising and glorifying a person, place or thing.

Ottava Rima

A Ottava Rima is a poem written in 8-line octives. Each line is of a 10 or 11 syllable count in
the following rhyme:

one octive poem. abababcc
two octive poem. abababcc, dededeff
three octive poem. abababcc, dededeff, ghghghii

...so on and so on

Palindrome Poetry

Also Known as Mirrored Poetry

A palindrome, by definition, is a word, phrase, verse, sentence, or even poem that reads the same
forward or backward. It stems from the Greek word palindromos: palin, meaning again, and
dromos, meaning a running. Combining the two together, the Greek meaning gives us, running
back again...

Shown below are examples of the word-unit palindrome. The carefully placed words form the same
sentence, whether it is read forward or backward. For example, 'Mirrored images reflect images
mirrored' which includes a word in the center as a reversal point for the sentence or even the poem.

Pantoum

The pantoum consists of a series of quatrains rhyming ABAB in which the second and fourth lines
of a quatrain recur as the first and third lines in the succeeding quatrain; each quatrain introduces a
new second rhyme as BCBC, CDCD. The first line of the series recurs as the last line of the closing
quatrain, and third line of the poem recurs as the second line of the closing quatrain, rhyming ZAZA.

The design is simple:

Line 1
Line 2
Line 3
Line 4

Line 5 (repeat of line 2)
Line 6
Line 7 (repeat of line 4)
Line 8

Continue with as many stanzas as you wish, but the ending stanzathen repeats the second and
fourth lines of the previous stanza (as its first and third lines), and also repeats the third line of
the first stanza, as its second line, and the first line of the first stanza as its fourth. So the first
line of the poem is also the last.

Last stanza:

Line 2 of previous stanza
Line 3 of first stanza
Line 4 of previous stanza
Line 1 of first stanza

Paradelle

A paradelle is a difficult French poetic form first used in the eleventh century. This fixed form of
poetry consists of four six-line stanzas with a repetitive pattern.

First Three Stanzas:

The first two lines as well as the third and fourth lines of the first three stanzas must be the same
(repeat). Where it begins to get difficult and become more of a poetic puzzle is when reaching
fifth and sixth lines. These lines must contain all the words from the preceding four lines within
the stanza using them only once to form completely new lines.

Last Stanza:

For the most difficult piece of this poetic puzzle, the final stanza of the paradelle does not repeat like
the preceding stanzas, rather the final six lines must contain every word from the first three stanzas,
and only those words, again using them only once to form completely new lines.

The Design is simple:

Stanza 1: 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 4
Stanza 2: 5, 5, 6, 6, 7, 8
Stanza 3: 9, 9, 10, 10, 11, 12
Stanza 4: 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18

Quatern

A Quatern is a sixteen line French form composed of four quatrains. It is similar to the Kyrielle
and the Retourne. It has a refrain that is in a different place in each quatrain. The first line of
stanza one is the second line of stanza two, third line of stanza three, and fouth line of stanza
four. A quatern has eight syllables per line. It does not have to be iambic or follow a set rhyme
scheme.

line 1
line 2
line 3
line 4

line 5
line 6 (line 1)
line 7
line 8

line 9
line 10
line 11 (line 1)
line 12

line 13
line 14
line 15
line 16 (line 1)

Quatrain

A Quatrain is a poem consisting of four lines of verse with a specific rhyming scheme.

A few examples of a quatrain rhyming scheme are as follows:

#1) abab
#2) abba -- envelope rhyme
#3) aabb
#4) aaba, bbcb, ccdc, dddd -- chain rhyme

Quizaine

The English word quinzaine come from the French word qunize, meaning fifteen. A quinzaine is
an unrhymed verse of fifteen syllables.

These syllables are distributed among three lines so that there are seven syllables in the first line,
five in the second line and three in the third line (7/5/3). The first line makes a statement. The next
two lines ask a question relating to that statement.

Rictameter

Rictameter is a scheme similar to Cinquain. Starting your first line with a two syllable word, you then
consecutively increase the number of syllables per line by two. i.e. 2,4,6,8,10 Then down again,
8,6,4,2 Making the final line the same two syllable word you began with.

Rondeau

A Rondeau is a French form, 15 lines long, consisting of three stanzas: a quintet, a quatrain, and a
sestet with a rhyme scheme as follows: aabba aabR aabbaR. Lines 9 and 15 are short - a
refrain (R) consisting of a phrase taken from line one. The other lines are longer (but all of the
same metrical length).

Rondel

A French form consisting of 13 lines: two quatrains and a quintet, rhyming as follows:
Abba abAB abbaA. The capital letters are the refrains, or repeats.

Rondelet

The Rondelet is a French form consisting of a single septet with two rhymes and one refrain:
AbAabbA. The capital letters are the refrains, or repeats. The refrain is written in tetra-syllabic
or dimeter and the other lines are twice as long - octasyllabic or tetrameter.

Sedoka

The Sedoka is an unrhymed poem made up of two three-line katauta with the 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.

Katauta is an unrhymed three-line poem the the following syllable counts: 5/7/7.

Senryu

Most popular definition, but there is more to senryu than meets the eye:

Senryu (also called human haiku) is 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.

The 5/7/5 rule is rumored to have been made up for school children to understand and learn this
type of poetry. For an in depth description of Haiku, please visit the Shadow Poetry Haiku,
Senryu, and Tanka section. There is much more to senryu than the madeup 5/7/5 version

Septolet

The Septolet is a poem consisting of seven lines containing fourteen words with a break in between
the two parts. Both parts deal with the same thought and create a picture.

Sestina

The sestina is a strict ordered form of poetry, dating back to twelfth century French troubadours. It
consists of six six-line (sestets) stanzas followed by a three-line envoy. Rather than use a rhyme
scheme, the six ending words of the first stanza are repeated as the ending words of the other five
stanzas in a set pattern. The envoy uses two of the ending words per line, again in a set pattern.

First stanza, ..1 ..2 ..3 ..4 ..5 ..6
Second stanza, ..6 ..1 ..5 .. 2 ..4 ..3
Third stanza, ..3 ..6 ..4 ..1 ..2 ..5
Fourth stanza, ..5 ..3 ..2 ..6 ..1 ..4
Fifth stanza, ..4 ..5 ..1 ..3 ..6 ..2
Sixth stanza, ..2 ..4 ..6 ..5 ..3 ..1

Concluding tercet:
middle of first line ..2, end of first line ..5
middle of second line ..4, end of second line..3
middle if third line ..6, end of third line ..1

Shape Poetry

-Shape Poetry is also called Concrete Poetry-

Shape is one of the main things that separates prose and poetry. Poetry can take on many formats,
but one of them most inventive forms is for thepoem to take on the shape of its subject. So if the
subject of your poem is a water fountain, then the poem would be shaped like a water fountain.
Another example of a shape poem is if the subject of your poem is a fish, then the poem's lines
would be written so that the poem appears to take on the shape of a fish. ><<<*>

Concrete or Visual poetry, however, doesn't have to take on a particular shape, but the wording
in the poem can enhance the effect of the words such as in this line:

an angel tumbling
d
o
w
n
to earth . . .

Designing your own shape poem can be simple and fun, but try not to pick anything that would be
too difficult. We suggest mapping out or drawing your shape first, and then importing the text of
your poem into your shape.

Song

A Song is an expression of a poet's personal emotions, meant to be sung. Lyrics in a song contain
verses (lines that make up a song; sung poem) and a chorus (a repeating verse in a song (refrain).

Sonnet

A Sonnet is a poem consisting of 14 lines (iambic pentameter) with a particular rhyming scheme:

Examples of a rhyming scheme:

#1) abab cdcd efef gg
#2) abba cddc effe gg
#3) abba abba cdcd cd

A Shakespearean (English) sonnet has three quatrains and a couplet, and rhymes abab cdcd efef gg.

An Italian sonnet is composed of an octave, rhyming abbaabba, and a sestet, rhyming
cdecde or cdcdcd, or in some variant pattern, but with no closing couplet.

Usually, English and Italian Sonnets have 10 syllables per line, but Italian Sonnets can also have
11 syllables per line.

French sonnets follow in this same pattern, but normally have 12 syllables per line.

Tanka

Tanka is a classic form of Japanese poetry related to the haiku with five unrhymed lines of five,
seven, five, seven, and seven syllables. (5, 7, 5, 7, 7)

The 5/7/5/7/7 rule is rumored to have been made up for school children to understand and learn
this type of poetry. For an in depth description of Haiku, please visit the Shadow Poetry Haiku,
Senryu, and Tanka section.

Terza Rima

A Terza Rima is a poem with an eleven syllable count in each line and a rhyming scheme
of aba, bcb, cdc, dd.

For even more of a challenge, try the Terza Rima Sonnet. This form of poem has an
eleven syllable count in each line and a rhyming scheme of aba, bcb, cdc, ded, ee.

Terzanelle

The Terzanelle is a 19-line poem consisting of five interlocking triplets plus a concluding quatrain
in which the first and third lines of the first triplet appear as refrains. The middle line of each triplet
is a repetend reappearing as the last line of the succeeding triplet with the exception of the center
line of the next-to-the-last stanza which appears in the quatrain. The rhyme and refrain scheme
for the triplets is as follows:

1. A
2. B
3. A
4. b
5. C
6. B
7. c
8. D
9. C
10. d
11. E
12. D
13. e
14. F
15. E
16. f
17. A or F
18. F or A
19. A

Each line of the poem should be the same metrical length.

Tetractys

The poetry form, Tetractys, consists of at least 5 lines of 1, 2, 3, 4, 10 syllables (total of 20).
Tetractys can be written with more than one verse, but must follow suit with an inverted syllable
count. Tetractys can also bereversed and written 10, 4, 3, 2, 1.

Double Tetractys: 1, 2, 3, 4, 10, 10, 4, 3, 2, 1

Triple Tetractys: 1, 2, 3, 4, 10, 10, 4, 3, 2, 1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 10

and so on.

"Euclid, the mathematician of classical times, considered the number series 1, 2, 3, 4 to have mystical
significance because its sum is 10, so he dignified it with a name of its own - Tetractys. The tetractys
could be Britain's answer to the haiku. Its challenge is to express a complete thought, profound or
comic, witty or wise, within the narrow compass of twenty syllables." - Ray Stebbing

Tongue Twister Poems

A Tongue Twister poem is made up of lines/verses that are hard to say fast. In other words, the
poem ties your tongue into knots.

Triolet

A Triolet is a poetic form consisting of only 8 lines. Within a Triolet, the 1st, 4th, and 7th lines
repeat, and the 2nd and 8th lines do as well. The rhyme scheme is simple: ABaAabAB, capital
letters representing the repeated lines.

Make writing a Triolet more challenging! Make each line 8 syllables in length (4 metrical feet),
written in iambic tetrameter (the more common way), or try it in pentameter (English version)
where each line only has 10 syllables(5 metrical feet).

Tyburn

A six line poem consisting of 2, 2, 2, 2, 9, 9 syllables.

The first four lines rhyme and are all descriptive words. The last two lines rhyme and incorporate
the first, second, third, and fourth lines as the 5th through 8th syllables.

Villanelle

A Villanelle is a nineteen-line poem consisting of a very specific rhyming scheme:
aba aba aba aba aba abaa.

The first and the third lines in the first stanza are repeated in alternating order throughout the
poem, and appear together in the last couplet (last two lines).