haiku: A Japanese-style poem in three lines of 5, 7 and 5 syllables
tanka: A Japanese poem of five lines with 5, 7, 5, 7, 7 syllables
limerick: A funny five-line poem with an AABBA rhyme scheme
sonnet: A 14-line poem, often in iambic pentameter
Shakespearean sonnet: A sonnet with three quatrains and a couplet, rhyming ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
Petrarchan sonnet: A sonnet with an octave and a sestet
couplet: Two lines in a row that rhyme
tercet: A stanza of three lines
quatrain: A stanza of four lines
cinquain: A five-line poem with a set pattern of words or syllables
diamante: A diamond-shaped seven-line poem
acrostic: A poem where the first letters of lines spell a word
free verse: A poem without regular rhyme or meter
blank verse: Unrhymed poetry in iambic pentameter
ballad: A poem or song that tells a story
epic: A long poem about a hero's deeds
ode: A poem praising a person or thing
elegy: A poem of mourning
lyric poem: A short poem expressing feelings
narrative poem: A poem that tells a story
concrete poem: A poem shaped like its subject
shape poem: Another name for a concrete poem
villanelle: A 19-line poem with two repeating refrains
sestina: A 39-line poem with six repeated end words
clerihew: A funny four-line poem about a person
epigram: A short, witty saying in verse
nursery rhyme: A short traditional rhyme for children
stanza: A group of lines in a poem
verse: One line of a poem, or a stanza
line break: Where a line of a poem ends
rhyme: Matching end sounds in words
rhyme scheme: The pattern of rhymes at the end of lines
end rhyme: Rhyme at the ends of lines
internal rhyme: Rhyme within a line
slant rhyme: Words that almost rhyme
rhythm: The beat of the words
meter: The pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables
foot: A unit of meter
iamb: A foot with an unstressed then a stressed syllable
trochee: A foot with a stressed then an unstressed syllable
anapest: A foot with two unstressed then one stressed syllable
dactyl: A foot with one stressed then two unstressed syllables
pentameter: A line with five feet
tetrameter: A line with four feet
refrain: A line or phrase repeated in a poem or song
speaker: The voice that talks in a poem
enjambment: A sentence running over a line break
caesura: A pause inside a line
alliteration: Repeating beginning sounds
onomatopoeia: Words that sound like what they name
imagery: Words that create pictures in the mind
stanza break: A blank line between stanzas
volta: The turn in thought in a sonnet
rhyme couplet: A pair of rhyming lines
envelope rhyme: ABBA rhyme pattern
alexandrine: A line of six iambic feet
sprung rhythm: Rhythm based on counting stressed syllables only
slam poetry: A poem performed aloud in a competition style
spoken word: Poetry written to be performed
found poem: A poem made from words found elsewhere
list poem: A poem made as a list
pantoum: A poem with repeating lines in a set pattern
ghazal: A poem of couplets with a repeated word at the end of the second line

Free flashcards from Peabody at peabody.kids/flashcards/la-poetry-forms