poetrystyles

Haiku
3 line poem of 17 syllables, Japanese in origin. Traditionally, a nature theme is used.

17 syllables arranged:
5 syllables

7 syllables

5 syllables

Samples:

In the darkness of
The damp, foreboding forest,
A sunbeam frolics
- Sheri Koucky The air is icy:
I can feel its bitter breath
Longing for spring's warmth.
- Eric Tesman With leaves of bright green,
Rosebuds open in the sun,
Seeming to drink it.
- Dusty Dudley

Go to this site for more information about Haiku Poetry:
Haiku for People
Poetry Pals - Haiku
Glossary of Poetic Terms - Haiku
Cinquain | Extended Metaphor | Portrait | Acrostic

Cinquain
5 line poem that uses a specific grammatical structure:

noun

adjective, adjective

verb, verb, verb

four word phrase about noun

noun

Samples:

Eyes Toes Minibikes
Large, mysterious Skinny, bony Fast, slow
Watching, rolling, blinking Stubbed, bit, blistered Racing, climbing, crashing
Tell more than words Crunched up inside shoes Fun on two wheels
Eyes Toes Minibikes

Go to these sites for more information about Cinquain Poetry:
Wacky Web Tales
Cinquain Poetry
Haiku | Extended Metaphor | Portrait | Acrostic

Extended Metaphor
A poem containing a metaphor which is carried all the way through the poem.
The poem explores the characteristics shared by the two things compared.
Sample:

I am water
That will shatter at the slightest touch,
Though people who know me
Can travel into me
And find mysterious things.
There is danger inside of me.
And also beauty and greatness.
I can be rough,
And also be smooth.
I let things live inside of me
And keep my feelings down deep.
I am the ocean.
- Matt Corkery

In this case, the writer is
comparing himself to water.
The poem explores the characteristics
shared by the writer and water.
Both can be easily shattered
(or hurt); both can be dangerous,
beautiful or great; and both
have much that is hidden
below the surface.

Go to these sites for more information about Metaphors:
Poetry Pals - Terms and Definitions
Poetry Workshop
Glossary of Poetic Terms - Metaphor
Dictionary of Literary Terms - Metaphor
Haiku | Cinquain | Portrait | Acrostic

Portrait Poem
A pictorial representation of a person.
A word picture about the person is created.
Information about appearance, mannerisms, and character are included.
Sample:

Mrs. Maloney, a lady down the block,
is fond of plants, flowers, trees-
anything that is quiet
and doesn't talk back.
In spring and summer, she spends hours
watering her shrubs.
One day I whizzed by her yard
on my Big Wheel.
"That thing's too noisy," she said,
raising her hose.
On my way back, she watered me
instead of the shrubbery.
Haiku | Cinquain | Portrait | Acrostic

Acrostic Poem
Each line begins with a letter of the title.
Samples:

LONELINESS
Loneliness is to exist as
One
Never to
Experience
Lasting friendship, never to fall
In love. Only to feel the
Neglect and
Emptiness of being a
Soloist in the
Symphony of life.
- Laura Fairchild

FOREST
Fleet of reaching rockets.
Ocean of feathered fish.
Ringed fortune-teller married to the seasons.
Echo eater.
Still, yet stirring; a crowded seclusion.
Tangled in branches, a nighttime is trapped.
- Ellen Clemmer

Go to these sites for more information about Acrostic Poetry:
Poetry Pals - Acrostic Poems
Acrostic Poems - written by students at City Magnet
Acrostic - Fifth Grade Poems

Haiku | Cinquain | Extended Metaphor | Portrait
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