1. A haiku poem has three lines and 17 syllables.

Haiku poetry began almost 1000 years ago in Japan. Haiku poetry does not have to rhyme but it does have to follow a certain pattern for the number of lines and syllables. Titles are subtle, but the poem always describes something about nature. Sensory details are very important. Must be written in present tense.

Lines 1 has five syllables.
Line 2 has seven syllables.
Line 3 has five syllables

Example:

Winter

An icy wind blows
The tree is lonely and cold
Its branches are bare.

by Karleen O'Connor

2. A quatrain has four lines.

3. A cinquain has five lines.

Line 1 is one word (the title).
Line 2 is two words that describe the title.
Line 3 is three words that tell action.
Line 4 is four words that express feeling.
Line 5 is one word that recalls the title

Example:

4. A limerick has five lines.

Edward Lear (1812-1888) made limericks popular kinds of poems. Some people think that limericks were first written in the town of Limerick, Ireland.
The limerick has 5 lines; the 3rd & 4th lines are shorter than the others.
Lines 1, 2, and 5 have seven to ten syllables and rhyme with one another.
Lines 3 and 4 have five to seven syllables and also rhyme with each other.

There once was a seed in the sky.
That rode on the wind way up high.
The wind did die down.
Dropped the seed on the ground.
A flower will grow by and by.

5. A diamante poem is shaped like a diamond.

Click here to learn about a diamonte poem.

6. A couplet poem has rhyming stanzas, each made up of two lines.

Across the sky they seem to flow
As wind and currents gently blow.

The cumulus clouds in the sky,
Fluffy, white, and ever so high.

Their shapes and forms are most complex
Numbering at least a googolplex.

7. An acrostic poem spells a word downward.

Example:

Now, make sure that in your notebook, you've written information of each of the 7 types of poems listed here. Be sure you understand how each poem is constructed.

This webquest page created by Susan Orton Cooper
April 2002