POETRY FORMS AND TERMINOLOGY

POETRY FORMS

Descriptions and examples of various poetry forms.
(For ASIAN-INSPIRED FORMS and for GLOSSARIES OF LITERARY TERMS, scroll to the lower half of the page.)

Acrostics: Excellent discussion and illustration of the single, double, and triple acrostic. Written by Smitha Chakravarthula on the Poetic Nest site.
Acrostics: Al Rocheleau, online poetry guru on the Orca forum, gives a thorough, understandable explanation, with example.
Ballad: Al Rocheleau's thorough, understandable explanation, with example. From the Orca forum.
Ballad: Wikipedia article. Brief definitions of several types of ballads, with links to a wide variety of samples.
Ballade: Not to be confused with the Ballad. From Larry Gross's theWORDshop pages of poetry forms. The Ballade adapted from French into English by Geoffrey Chaucer, is a member of the large Rondeau family.
Ballade: Bob Newman's explanation of the form, including variations; example is included. Not to be confused with the ballad.
Blank Verse: Al Rocheleau's thorough, understandable explanation, with example. From the Orca forum.
Blank Verse: Definition, with history of its development and links to abundant examples. Wikipedia.
Blank Verse: From The Craft of Poetry, a poetry course devised by Vince Gotera and Damon McLaughlin.
Cinquain: John Hewitt's intro to the cinquain, with examples.
Cinquain: AHA!Poetry's cinquain page with brief definition and contemporary samples.
Cinquain: Excellent definition and examples, with several links to other sites, including the complete Adelaide Crapsey cinquains. From the dmoz Open Directory Project.
Cinquain: Amaze: The Cinquain Journal.
Cinq-Cinquain: A sequence of five cinquain; from the French: "five groupings of five."
Clerihew: "How to Write a Clerihew," from Poetry4Kids.com. Clear and simple definition, but it is all you need to know to write one; with examples.
Clerihew: From Wikipedia. Brief definition, with examples, including "The World's shortest Clerihew."
Clerihew: Clear explanation, with examples from Thinks.com, where you will find lots of other fun with words.
Couplet: From The Craft of Poetry, a poetry course devised by Vince Gotera and Damon McLaughlin.
Dorsimbra: Created by Eve Braden, Frieda Dorris and Robert Simonton; contains three quatrains, each requiring a different pattern.
Dramatic Monologue: An Introduction: Brief explanation with links to other discussions of the form.
Epistle: John Hewitt's informative intro to the Epistle, with an example.
Grossblank: A form created by Larry Gross, patterned after blank verse. This is his explanation of the form, with example.
Kyrielle: Originally a medieval French verse pattern adapted into English. From Larry Gross's theWORDshop pages of poetry forms.
Lento: A quatrain with rhyme patterns at both the beginning and ending of lines. Created by Lencio Dominic Rodrigues. Definition, with examples.
Limerick: From The Limerick Special Interest Group. Along with the next item, the best online sites I've seen for the form.
Limericks Just for the Fun of It: Excellent. Includes "a Dozen How-to Tips for Beginners."
Limerick: The dmoz Open Directory Project, a handy list of links to other limerick sites.
The Limerick: Robert Lo's intro to the limericks with examples.
Little Willie: Created in 1902 by Harry Graham, this nonsense quatrain has much in common with the limerick. From Larry Gross's theWORDshop pages of poetry forms.
The Ode: Intro to the basics of writing an ode, including the Pindaric and Horatian .
Ode: Encarta's discussion of Classical and Modern odes, with many links to examples.
The English Ode: Links to discussions of the ode.
: The Palinode is a song, discourse or poem recanting a previous one. It has a lengthy history in both serious and humorous verse. From Larry Gross's theWORDshop pages of poetry forms.
Pleiades: A single seven-line stanza conceived in 1999 by Craig Tigerman, Lead Editor of Sol Magazine.
Quatrain: From The Craft of Poetry, a poetry course devised by Vince Gotera and Damon McLaughlin. Includes a discussion of the pantoum.
Sestina: From The Craft of Poetry, a poetry course devised by Vince Gotera and Damon McLaughlin
Sestina: Al Rocheleau, online poetry guru first with Atlantic Monthly then with the popular Orca forum, gives a thorough, understandable explanation, with example.
Sestina: Excellent how-to article by Ariadne Unst, "The Sestina Verse Form."
Sestina: From Larry Gross's theWORDshop pages of poetry forms. Most sestinas take a serious road. This definition includes a humorous example.
Sonnet: "The Sonnet Verse Form" by Joan Zimmerman: An excellent introduction, explaining differences and characteristics of a good many variations of the form.
Sonnet: Al Rocheleau, online poetry guru first with Atlantic Monthly then with the popular Orca forum, gives a thorough, understandable explanation, with example.
Sonnet: From The Craft of Poetry, a poetry course devised by Vince Gotera and Damon McLaughlin
Sonnet Central: Best sonnet site around. Definitions, instructions for writing, articles and sonnets from 600 years of sonneteers, from Petrarch to the 20th century, plus a Sonnet Magnet board for instant composing and other attractions as well; you can even submit poems to the site and read those of others.
Tercet: From The Craft of Poetry, a poetry course devised by Vince Gotera and Damon McLaughlin
Tercet and Triad: John Hewitt's brief intro to the 3-line verse pattern, with examples.
Terza Rima: Smitha Chakravarthula defines and illustrates this verse pattern adapted from Italian poets of the 13th century. Includes helpful hints on using meter and rhyme.
Triolet: The oldest of the various Round forms from 13th century France, From Larry Gross's theWORDshop pages of poetry forms.
Triolet: ""The Triolet Verse Form" by Joan Zimmerman, a practical how-to.
Tritina: A 10-line pattern modeled on the Sestina: three 3-line stanzas plus a final line .
Villanelle: Al Rocheleau of Orca forum gives a thorough, understandable explanation, with example.
Villanelle Verse Form: Ariadne Unst's explanation and example.
Villanelle and Terzanelle: From The Craft of Poetry, a poetry course devised by Vince Gotera and Damon McLaughlin.

ASIAN-INSPIRED FORMS

Climbing Rhyme: Larry Gross's introduction to a simple form of this ancient Burmese verse pattern.
Burmese Climbing Rhyme: Smitha Chakravarthula's explication of the pattern seems to be taken from my earlier article (See above entry), but she has added illustrations of two specific forms: the Luc Bat and the Than Bauk.
Ghazal: "Basic Points about the Ghazal," by Agha Shahid Ali. One of the few sites which stress the "canonical form of the ghazal " as opposed to looser modern variations.
Ghazal: Four informative articles and several examples; from AHApoetry.
Ghazal: "The Ghazal Verse Form," a good article by Len Anderson, from Ariadne's Web.
The Haibun: Beth Vieira's "Haibun: Haikai Prose" from Ariadne's Web. Brief but good intro to the form.
Haijinx: An international online journal stressing the role of humor in haiku. Links to other sites.
Haiku: Helpful access to how-to's, articles and examples. Includes a dictionary of season words and links to other sites. From AHApoetry.
Haiku: Larry Gross's definition, explanation and examples.
Haiku: Joan Zimmerman's helpful introduction to "The Haiku Verse Form," from Ariadne's Web.
Haiku: Beyond the 5-7-5: Al Rocheleau's understandable explanation of haiku and senryu, with examples.
Haiku: Definition of Haiku by Alexey Andreyev. Point by point discussion of how to make a haiku, with good examples.
Haiku Is What?: Ruth Davidson's fine introductory article on haiku.
Haiku Universe: Dhugal J. Lindsay's excellent site on haiku; also links to tanka, renga, renku, and the difference between haiku and senryu.
Links to Please: Elizabeth St Jacques' links to haiku, tanka, renga and sijo sites.
Pantoum: Ariadne Unst's introduction to "The Pantoum Verse Form."
Pantoum: Al Rocheleau's thorough, understandable explanation, with example.
Pantoum: Bob Newman's easy to understand explanation, with example.
Pantoum: Damon McLaughlin deals with the Quatrain and the Pantoum as one example.
Poetry In The Light: Elizabeth St Jacques provides a variety of information and examples for haiku as well as for haibun, renga, rengay, dodoistu, tanka and sijo.
Renga: "What Is a Renga?" Larry Gross's basic introduction to this ancient Japanese pattern, with examples and a template for seasonal renga.
Renga: The Four Elements Renga: A new variation on the ancient renga pattern, with example.
Rengay Verse Form: Extensive discussion by Joan Zimmerman, with examples. Explains the differences between rengay and renga/renku.
Renku Home: William J. Higginson's extensive explanations of renku and other linking patterns. Includes an article on the differences between renga and renku.
Rubáiyát: Ariadne Unst's "The Rubáiyát Verse Form": one of the more understandable explanations of this pattern.
Sijo: Larry Gross's extensive explanation of classical sijo, with abundant examples and links to other pages.>
Sijo: Elizabeth St Jacques excellent and extensive site for sijo.
Sijo: AHApoetry presents an introduction to the form, with examples; based on articles by Larry Gross.
Sijoforum: An email forum for posting anything and everything about sijo. Open to all. Hosted by Larry Gross.
Tan Renga: Larry Gross's "The World of Tan Renga" explains the form and adds many examples.
Tanka: Joan Zimmerman's introduction to "The Tanka Verse Form."
Tanka: Informative definitions, articles and history, with examples and links to other sites. From AHApoetry.
Tanka: Richard MacDonald's explanation, with historical background on tanka, sedoka and choka.
Tanka: American Tanka: Journal founded in 1996; dedicated exclusively to contemporary English-language tanka. You'll find the definition of tanka in the History link.
Tanka and Sijo: Neca Stoller's definitions and examples for tanka, sedoka, sijo and haibun, with links to other sites and markets.
Whitney: Created by Betty Ann Whitney, this seven-line pattern contains 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 4, 7 syllables respectively.

GLOSSARIES OF LITERARY TERMS

All American: Glossary of Literary Terms

Alphabetical compilation by students at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.

Bob's Byway's Glossary of Poetic Terms

Probably the most widely-known and most-used glossary on the Internet, with cross-references and informative sidelights.

Craft of Poetry

A course taught at the U of Northern Iowa; provides clear definitions and illustrations of 7 poetry forms and 7 important poetry characteristics: Style, Repetition, Rhyme & Music, Line & Meter, Imagery, Form, and Tradition.

Gale's Glossary of Literary Terms

Extensive,reliable glossary with extensive cross-references.

Glossary of Literary and Rhetorical Terms

Compiled by Prof. Jack Lynch. Section on poetry is limited, but this offers pathways to other literary terms plus useful sections on literary history, genres and theory. Arranged by categories.

Glossary of Literary and Rhetorical Terms

Another list by Jack Lynch, this one arranged alphabetically.

Glossary of Literary Terms

Prof. Robert Harris's extensive and reliable glossary, with easy access to its companion site, Handbook of Rhetorical Devices. Easily searchable:

Glossary of Poetic Terms

Extensive list from the U of Toronto English Library (UTEL). Thorough illustration of various sonnet forms.

Handbook of Rhetorical Devices

Extensive dictionary of rhetorical devices and figurative imagery. Companion site to Harris's Glossary of Literary Terms. Each has entries not found in the other.

Literary Terms

Fairly extensive list, with abundant examples from poetry.

LitGloss

Extensive list of terms, though most descriptions are brief. From Bedford/St. Martin's Publ.

The Poets Garret

Not a glossary exactly. It offers clear, understandable history and background to poetic styles and forms from around the world, then defines the styles and forms and, in most cases, gives examples. By Terry Clitheroe.

Virtual Classroom Glossary of Literary Terms

Definitions of terms used in the Virtual Classroom for English, University of Cambridge.

Go here for an extensive list of other sites valuable to poets.

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