Types of Poems

Question 1

Haiku

Answer 1

a three-line poem with 17 syllables (5, 7, 5); introduced in Japan. The last line provides a turn, or something unexpected.

Question 2

Ballad

Answer 2

a poem that tells a story, and is usually written in rhyming quatrains and may include a refrain

Question 3

Dramatic Monologue

Answer 3

this poem refers to both rhymed and unrhymed structures that include a speaker talking to a perceived audience with little or no response

Question 4

Villanelle

Answer 4

a 19-line poem made up of five tercets (three lines) followed by a quatrain, with two repeating rhymes and two refrains

Question 5

Free Verse

Answer 5

a poem that is not limited or restricted to a regular rhyme, rhythm, or stanza length

Question 6

Limerick

Answer 6

a five-line poem with a strict rhyme scheme of AABBA with subjects that are humorous, sometimes crude

Question 7

Sestina

Answer 7

a 39-line poem comprised of six sestets, followed by a tercet (fairly rare); the poem is usually unrhymed

Question 8

Sonnet

Answer 8

a fourteen-line poem that has a fixed rhyme scheme; presents a subject and then commentary about the subject

Question 9

Concrete Poem

Answer 9

“shape” poetry; there is a visual depiction of the subject matter presented in the words

Question 10

Prose Poem

Answer 10

a prose composition (looks like a paragraph) but has many poetic devices; often emphatic and dramatic

Question 11

Acrostic

Answer 11

a poem in which the first letter of each line spells out a word that is significant to the topic