Types of Poetry

Seventeen different types of poems. Each explained in their form. Learn about poetry while you read poetry.

Me n' my poet tools

Acrostic

Poems where the first letters

Of every line

Enjoy being put together to

Make a word or message

Actually, these are the most common acrostic poems, but they can also have hidden words or messages in other ways, like first or last letters of each word

Ballad

A poem in a song

Or a song in a poem

Shake your hips to the right

Then in a circle we roam

Clap clap

Blank Verse

Does not rhyme and every line contains

'Iambic Pentameter' which is where

there are 10 syllables for you to read

Concrete Poems

m

a

k

es a shape on t

h

e

p

a

g

e

Ekphrastic Poems

Describes something

like a poem

that has letters and words

written in fonts or by pen

with syllables and prose

by women or men

Elegy

A poem of mourning

for those we lose

too soon

too soon

no rules

but pain

spills out

on the page

while we writhe

as we write

in the dark of night

missing you

gone too soon

Epics

Is long and deals with the biggest types of themes, like reasons for existing or an issue that has an impact on the fate of the universe.

Epigram

Short and satyrical

Like Bruno Mars singing Theophilus Thistler

Epitaph

Here lies a poem

About a person who is gone

Inscribed on a tombstone

Then placed on the lawn

Free Verse

Hooray!

No rules

So here is my poem

About free verse

and freedom

In towns

And homes

With words

And verse

Yay for us

Haiku

3 lines in the poem

line 1 has 5 syllables

2 has 7; 3: 5

Limerick

A poem with rules about lines

And syllables you have to count each time

But as I write this

You'll get it a fish

And she'll swim to you when it's fine

Got it? 5 lines. 1, 2 & 5 rhyme. 3 & 4 rhyme. Usually funny. Reminds you of the schoolyard.

Ode

An ode places a person up high

Like an angel up in the sky

It honours the awesome in them

Like you see in a certain Mrs. Betts

Who is super awesome

And smells like a blossom

She really is such a gem

Pastoral

A pastoral idealises a clean, rural life

Often comparing it to dirty, city life

Like the time we left neighbours on our fencelines

And doof doof in the air

To gaze upon green fields and old pines

And wildlife everywhere

Soliloquy

Thoughts spoken out loud:

I wonder if anyone will read this?

Is it even worth writing?

Does writing need a purpose?

Does writing need to be read to be worth the effort?

The act of writing is more important than the result

Who cares about the noise

The tree still ends up on the ground

Sonnet

Originally a love poem, but now can be about anything.

There are different types, all with different rules. I'm not going to attempt this one. Maybe it's a future blog post lol.

Villanelle

Nineteen lines, also has specific rules. Sonnets and villanelles are level ups. I'm still a baby poet. I'll attack these when I grow my poet muscles.

Poem Lingo:

• Prose - Written words with no meter or rhyme

• Meter - Rhythmic structure

• Stanza - Group of lines

• Sestet - 6 lines (forms a stanza)

• Tercet - 3 lines

• Syllable - Contains a single vowel sound but can contain more than one vowel

• Quatrain - The first four lines

• Iambic Pentameter - A rhythmic pattern

• Volta - A change in theme or thought

• Epithet - Exaggerated descriptive term

• Anapestic - Another rhythmic pattern

• Amphibrach - "

• Trimeter - "

• Refrain - A part that usually repeats

• Hendecasyllabic - A line with 11 syllables

• Couplet - 2 matching lines, one after the other (rhyming with same length and meter)

There are a LOT of other types of poetry and a lot of other poetry words that I have not covered here.

I used these articles to help me learn and understand:

• 12 Types of Poems: How to Recognize Them and Write Your Own

• Blank Verse

but I also just did a lot of Googling and Wikipedia searches.

I wrote this blog post to teach myself about different types of poetry, have a go at writing different types of poetry, and to share my learning with others. Disclaimer: I have most likely got something wrong, so please do not use this post as research for your final poetry exam. Feel welcome to leave a comment to correct me about something or provide me with more poetry education.

Is there anything that you would like to see me write a poem or blog post about?

Let me know.

Much love,

Marley

P.S. You can find some of my poetry in these blog posts:

• Smashed - A poem about the insecurity of youth (+ a bonus poem about my cat)

• More Mum Feelz - Poetry and comics about parenthood and life

and I also share my poetry on my Facebook Page.

How Waiting is a Thief of Joy

I spend a lot of time waiting. Waiting until the kids go to bed. Waiting until the weekend. Waiting until winter is over. Waiting until I can sit down and write. I always seem to be waiting. The thing is: Waiting is a thief of joy. Let me explain...

Ahh, I've been waiting for this moment! (LOL)

If I think about it, I am always waiting. Like right now, I’m sitting on the end of my son’s bed waiting for him to go to sleep. Earlier in the day, I was waiting until the kids got home from school, or waiting until the kettle boiled, or waiting until something else. Parents in particular, we always seem to be waiting for something related to the kids, right?

It’s all too much waiting!

Now, I'm realising that life is in the waiting and the destination is death.

Sounds morbid, right?

It is. But I don’t mean it in a bad way. I mean that I need to try to start living in the now and keep my head out of the future. Because one day, the kids will have moved out, the mortgage will be paid off, I’ll be writing full time... and I’ll probably feel miserable lol, then guess what, after that I'll be dead (if I get that far).

Life is awesome.

I’m not just saying that. I genuinely think that. Yes, it’s hard, chaotic, noisy, exhausting, frustrating, heartbreaking, and whole list of other adjectives, but it is also amazing, beautiful, fun, rewarding, and an incredible gift.

Even right now, while I’m sitting on the end of a bed in the dark, listening to my twins make sleep noises, typing this with one finger and predictive text swiping on the new secondhand phone that my mum gave me, with the fire that my husband lit before he went to work in our fireplace. I can’t hear any arguing from my girls. Everyone is quiet and happy. I am writing, and I am warm and cozy, and now that I am thinking about it, this is totally a bottleable moment.

Grateful for the fireplace, the wood, and my husband who lit the fire

I feel positive that this is a moment that I will look back on with fondness, and one that I could easily have missed if I hadn’t taken this moment to be fully present.

So, right now, I’m no longer waiting.

I just am. Being. Here and now.

And I’m going to try to remind myself of this every day, ideally every moment of every day, because each moment is a moment that I won’t get back again and each moment contains it's own joy that I will miss if I'm waiting for something.

I don’t want to wait anymore. It’s not about the future, that will take care of itself if I take care of now.

I’m challenging myself to find joy in the time I get to listen to music in a traffic jam, or the joy in getting to read a book in a waiting room, or the joy in watching birds in the trees or the waving of the branches while I look out at the world outside as the kettle takes it’s time to boil.

This is mindfulness, right? Being fully present. Checking in with the senses, what I can see, hear, smell, feel, and taste. Bringing my thoughts back to right now.

That is joy.

A child might be having a tantrum, but there’s joy in the fact that they are here with me, safe, fed, clothed, and feeling comfortable enough to tantrum in front of me.

I might be running late, but there’s joy in the fact that I have somewhere to be, maybe access to an important service, possession of a reliable car, time available to do the thing, a healthy child, time to listen to the radio, or look up at the clouds in the sky, or maybe even have an important conversation along the way.

This mindset, this way of thinking and living, is true joy.

Can you see it?

It's all about gratitude, too.

How about we challenge each other right now to stop waiting and start living in the moment. This moment. Yep, now. Aren't you comfortable? Don't you have time to read this? Are the people that you love safe and healthy? Do you have everything that you need? Are you fed and clothed? Are there beautiful plants and trees around you? Do you have a home? Are there people who love you?

Yes! Right now. This is a moment that we won't get back, and this is the exact moment that you learn this secret to capturing joyfulness for yourself.

The key is keeping our minds in the present, checking in with our senses, and finding the good in each and every moment.

Then, you get to access true joy in every moment for yourself.

Are you in?

Tell me how you go!

Much love,

Marley

P.S. Enjoy reading this? Then you might also enjoy reading my e-novella, You Are Viggy, only $0.99 on Amazon. Find it HERE

A Poem a Day: Smashed - A poem about the insecurity of youth (+ a bonus poem about my cat)

During the month of July, I have challenged myself to write a poem a day. This is a little taste of what I have come up with so far and maybe it will inspire you to try your own Poem-a-Day challenge!

SMASHED

Smoke on her breath

I see her kiss

Drink in her hand

His on her hips

She moves

In time with the tune

The lights are dim

Only them in the room

And the heat of their bodies

They search and find

Something exciting

In the other of their kind

In this moment

They mean something

To someone

Can they stop hunting

For what will make them

Feel seen

And important

She dreams

Her night shortened

As he leaves

Her heartbreak recorded

In the pictures of her smiles

Before she met him

Her friends don't realise

That her hope grew dim

When he left

And made her feel

Like he guessed

Which one would be easy

Yes, it was her

Who was dreaming

Of meaning

Something

To someone

But he took

A small piece

Of her

When he fled

And she cried

That night

Alone in her bed

Because why

Should she try

When this is all

She gets

Used up

Spat out

Drink up

Pass out

This is what

Life is all about

For now

Because it hurts less

To put on a dress

And open her legs

Than to open her heart

And bleed

Maybe I'd have better results if I took the lid off?

Okay, so I am keeping up with my poem a day challenge, but some of them are deep and meaningful, while others... are not. Here's one about my cat:

CAT

Small furry friend

Asleep by my side

No stress for you

Oh, what a life!

Lift up your leg

And lick your black fur

You don't give a fuck

I pat you, you purr

Let's see what other gems I can come up with lol.

I am enjoying the challenge and am hope that some of what I am writing will make it's way into a poetry book of its own. Make sure you're signed up to my mailing list if you want to stay informed about this project and when it becomes available.

Much love,

Marley x

P.S. I already have two novels, four novellas, and a gift book available over on Amazon. Check them out HERE.