Patterns & Types of Poetry
Author of this webpage: Renée Goodvin
Patterns of Poetry:
- Blank Verse
- Introduced to England in the 16th century, blank verse consists of unrhymed lines of ten syllables each; with the second, fourth, sixth, eighth, and tenth syllables bearing the accents. This form can also be thought of as double iambic pentameter.
Blank verse is especially well-adapted to dramatic verse. Early masters of blank verse include Christopher Marlowe, William Shakespeare, and John Milton.
- (Rhymed) Couplet
- A rhymed couplet consists of two successive lines of verse with similar end-rhymes. Both the grammatical structure and the idea of the rhymed couplet convey a sense of completion.
Three common types of couplets are: (1) a closed couplet, (2) an open couplet, and (3) a heroic couplet. The predominant couplet in English is the heroic couplet. This type of couplet consists of two rhyming lines of iambic pentameter with a pause, usually in the middle of each line.
- (Rhymed) Stanza
- A rhymed stanza is a division of a poem that consists of two or more lines arranged together as a unit. A stanza's group of lines is usually arranged around a recurring pattern of metrical length and sequence of rhyme. This structure is determined by the number of lines, the dominant meter, and the rhyme scheme.
- Narrative Poem
- A narrative poem is a non-dramatic poem that tells a story or presents a narrative. A narrative poem may be long or short, complex or simple.
Some Types of Narrative Poems:
- Epics
- Ballads
- Metrical Romances
- Dramatic Poem
- A dramatic poem is a poem that employs dramatic form or technique.
- Satiric Poem
- A satiric poem is a poem that treats its subject with irony and/or ridicule.
- Didactic Poem
- A didactic poem is a poem that is intended primarily to teach a lesson.
- Sonnet
- A sonnet is a lyrical poem of fourteen lines, highly arbitrary in form and following one of several rhyme conventions.
- Ode
- An ode is a ceremonious lyrical poem marked by exaltation or feeling and style. An ode has varying line length and complex stanzas.
- Elegy
- An elegy is a sustained and formal poem setting forth the poet's meditations upon a grave theme (usually death).
Some information for the following page was adapted from:
Merriam Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature
A Handbook to Literature, rev. ed.,
by William Flint Thrall, Addison Hibbard, & C. Hugh Holman
and A Glossary of Literary Terms, 6th ed., by M. H. Abrams
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Last updated January 27, 2005