All Types Of Poems

Poetry Forms - Definitions and Examples

Sonnet - a short rhyming poem with 14 lines.  The original sonnet form was invented in the 13/14th century by Dante and an Italian philosopher named Francisco Petrarch. The form remained largely unknown until it was found and developed by writers such as Shakespeare. Sonnets use iambic meter in each line and use line-ending rhymes.

For more about Sonnets, read How To Write A Sonnet

Limerick - a five-line witty poem with a distinctive rhythm. The first, second and fifth lines, the longer lines, rhyme. The third and fourth shorter lines rhyme. (A-A-B-B-A).

For more about Limericks, read How To Write A Limerick on the FFP Poetry Forums

Haiku - This ancient form of poem writing is renowned for its small size as well as the precise punctuation and syllables needed on its three lines. It is of ancient Asian origin.

Haiku's are composed of 3 lines, each a phrase. The first line typically has 5 syllables, second line has 7 and the 3rd and last line repeats another 5. In addition there is a seasonal reference included.

For more about Haiku, read How To Write A Haiku

Narrative - A narrative poem tells the story of an event in the form of a poem. There is a strong sense of narration, characters, and plot. It may be dramatic, with objectives and diverse characters. Narrative poetry may be short or long, and the story it relates to may be simple or complex.

See About Narrative Poems and Examples of Narrative Poems

Epic - a lengthy narrative poem in grand language celebrating the adventures and accomplishments of a legendary or conventional hero

Couplet - two lines of verse which rhyme and form a unit alone or as part of a poem.

See Stanzas - Couplet, Tercet And Quatrain

Free Verse - A Free Verse Poem does not follow any rules. Their creation is completely in the hands of the author. Rhyming, syllable count, punctuation, number of lines, number of stanzas, and line formation can be done however the author wants in order to convey the idea. There is no right or wrong way to create a Free Verse poem.

See Free Verse Poem Examples

Acrostic - An acrostic poem is a poem where the one letter in each line spells out a word or phrase vertically that acts as the theme or message of the poem. The word used for the acrostic can be the name of the person you are writing the acrostic about, a message such as Happy Birthday or a theme such as Acceptance, Love or Hope.

How to Write an Acrostic Poem

Read more: 15 Poetry Forms with PDF Templates

10 Most Popular All Types Of Poems

Advertisement


  1. 1

    Haiku Haiku Year By Paul Holmes

    Haiku Poem About Months Of The Year

    • Stories 2
    • Shares 4612
    • Favorited 18
    • Votes 220
    • Rating
  2. 2

    Sonnet Poems In The Shadow Of Your Warm Love By Paul Holmes

    • Stories 0
    • Shares 10682
    • Favorited 37
    • Votes 666
    • Rating
  3. 3

    Metaphor Poems Rose Painted By Paige

    Poem About Skin Color

    • Stories 4
    • Shares 3877
    • Favorited 61
    • Votes 942
    • Rating
  4. 4

    Short Poems Your Wounds By Lauren Jarvis-Gibson

    You Are Stronger Than Your Scars

    • Stories 1
    • Shares 3499
    • Favorited 42
    • Votes 599
    • Rating
  5. 5

    Haiku Together By Paul Holmes

    Haiku About Spending Time With The One You Love

    • Stories 0
    • Shares 601
    • Favorited 16
    • Votes 2029
    • Rating
  6. 6

    ABC Poems Alphabet Of Love By Noha Nader

    ABC Love Poem

    • Stories 4
    • Shares 10912
    • Favorited 85
    • Votes 772
    • Rating
  7. 7

    Sonnet Poems Stay Or Go? By GA Thompson

    • Stories 6
    • Shares 9700
    • Favorited 55
    • Votes 1124
    • Rating
  8. 8

    Metaphor Poems A Broken Family Tree By Lori McBride

    Tradition Poem

    • Stories 23
    • Shares 5026
    • Favorited 87
    • Votes 1301
    • Rating
  9. 9

    Short Poems And The World Carries On By Amy O Connor

    • Stories 1
    • Shares 8061
    • Favorited 30
    • Votes 675
    • Rating
  10. 10

    Short Poems Despite The Storms By S.C. Lourie

    Finding Joy Once More

    • Stories 3
    • Shares 8609
    • Favorited 36
    • Votes 531
    • Rating

Advertisement

Advertisement

Featured Categories

A limerick is a short and fun five-line poem with a distinctive rhythm. The first, second and fifth lines are longer than the third and fourth lines. The rhyming pattern is AABBA. The longer A lines rhyme with each other and the shorter B lines rhyme with each other.


  • Line 1: 7-10 syllables A

  • Line 2: 7-10 syllables A

  • Line 3: 5-7 syllables B

  • Line 4: 5-7 syllables B

  • Line 5: 7-10 syllables A

  1. A Wonderful Bird Is The Pelican

    A Wonderful Bird Is The Pelican By Dixon Lanier Merritt

    • Stories 5
    • Shares 2685
    • Favorited 5
    • Votes 1428
    • Rating
  2. Limericks By Edward Lear

    Limericks By Edward Lear

    • Stories 1
    • Shares 2768
    • Favorited 11
    • Votes 1101
    • Rating
  3. Candy Tree Shops

    Limericks Poems For Kids About Sweets

    • Stories 4
    • Shares 3168
    • Favorited 11
    • Votes 298
    • Rating
  4. Statistics

    Funny Poem About Taking A Break From Data Analysis

    • Stories 0
    • Shares 175
    • Favorited 3
    • Votes 191
    • Rating
  5. Music Players: A Brief History

    • Stories 0
    • Shares 20
    • Favorited 0
    • Votes 14
    • Rating

View All Limericks

Advertisement

This ancient form of poem writing is renowned for its small size as well as the precise punctuation and syllables needed on its three lines. It is of ancient Japanese origin. It contains 17 syllables in 3 lines of five, seven, five. Haiku poems are typically about nature and usually about a specific season. Writing a haiku requires effort but the poem is well worth it. It is easy to feel a sense of perfection when viewing a perfectly formed Haiku.
  1. Haiku Year

    Haiku Poem About Months Of The Year

    • Stories 2
    • Shares 4612
    • Favorited 18
    • Votes 220
    • Rating
  2. Together

    Haiku About Spending Time With The One You Love

    • Stories 0
    • Shares 601
    • Favorited 16
    • Votes 2029
    • Rating
  3. Loneliness (Haiku)

    • Stories 0
    • Shares 42
    • Favorited 1
    • Votes 64
    • Rating
  4. Mellow May

    Haiku Poem For The Month Of May

    • Stories 0
    • Shares 2200
    • Favorited 5
    • Votes 263
    • Rating
  5. October's Gold

    • Stories 1
    • Shares 1380
    • Favorited 13
    • Votes 621
    • Rating

View All Haiku

People have used metaphors since the birth of mankind. Metaphors are a way to get around censorship as well as to help us see truths that we may not be able to face if they were stated plainly. It is a way to accentuate beauty as well as pain through this medium of the unstated comparison. When you are reading an appropriate metaphor you are immediately drawn between the truth of the comparison that is being alluded to. The ability to understand metaphoric language opens the key to poetry of tremendous beauty.
  1. The Mountain

    The Mountain By Emily Dickinson

    • Stories 0
    • Shares 74
    • Favorited 2
    • Votes 27
    • Rating
  2. The Spider And The Fly

    The Spider And The Fly By Mary Howitt

    • Stories 6
    • Shares 11962
    • Favorited 33
    • Votes 1429
    • Rating
  3. Though All The Fates

    Though All The Fates By Henry David Thoreau

    • Stories 0
    • Shares 357
    • Favorited 13
    • Votes 106
    • Rating
  4. Fog

    Fog By Carl Sandburg

    • Stories 1
    • Shares 1517
    • Favorited 10
    • Votes 212
    • Rating
  5. The Oak And The Rose

    The Oak And The Rose By Shel Silverstein

    • Stories 0
    • Shares 214
    • Favorited 0
    • Votes 23
    • Rating

View All Metaphor Poems

A sonnet is a poem that has 14 lines and follows a specific rhyme scheme. It comes from the Italian word that means “little song.” There are various types of sonnets, and each one is formatted a little differently, following various rhyme schemes. The three main types are the Italian (or Petrarchan) sonnet, the English (or Shakespearean) sonnet, and the Spenserian sonnet. They are named after the poets who made them famous. These forms have been around since the sixteenth century.


Visit our Poetic Forms page for More about Sonnets


  1. How Do I Love Thee?

    How Do I Love Thee? (Sonnet 43) By Elizabeth Barrett Browning

    • Stories 6
    • Shares 21201
    • Favorited 100
    • Votes 2056
    • Rating
  2. I Wish I Could Remember That First Day

    I Wish I Could Remember That First Day By Christina Rossetti

    • Stories 0
    • Shares 550
    • Favorited 4
    • Votes 45
    • Rating
  3. When I Have Fears

    When I Have Fears By John Keats

    • Stories 1
    • Shares 1749
    • Favorited 5
    • Votes 100
    • Rating
  4. Acquainted With The Night

    Acquainted With The Night By Robert Frost

    • Stories 2
    • Shares 4477
    • Favorited 35
    • Votes 385
    • Rating
  5. My Mistress' Eyes Are Nothing Like The Sun

    My Mistress' Eyes Are Nothing Like The Sun By William Shakespeare

    • Stories 1
    • Shares 2038
    • Favorited 12
    • Votes 278
    • Rating

View All Sonnet Poems

An acrostic poem is a poem where the first letters of each line spell out a word or phrase vertically that acts as the theme or message of the poem. Sometimes a word or phrase can also be found down the middle or end of the poem, but the most common is at the beginning. A lot of people use these poems to describe people or holidays, and lines can be made up of single words or phrases. Acrostic poems do not follow a specific rhyme scheme, so they are easier to write.
  1. Marriage

    Marriage Acrostic Poem

    • Stories 0
    • Shares 5138
    • Favorited 49
    • Votes 352
    • Rating
  2. Father

    Acrostic Poem About Father Passing Away

    • Stories 5
    • Shares 1983
    • Favorited 21
    • Votes 265
    • Rating
  3. B - Is For Birthday

    Birthday Acrostic Poem

    • Stories 1
    • Shares 15001
    • Favorited 39
    • Votes 1299
    • Rating
  4. A F-R-I-E-N-D

    How Lucky I Am To Have A Friend Like You

    • Stories 0
    • Shares 5437
    • Favorited 66
    • Votes 1153
    • Rating
  5. Hope In A Dream

    Acrostic Poem About Achieving Your Dreams

    • Stories 0
    • Shares 716
    • Favorited 27
    • Votes 471
    • Rating

View All Acrostic Poems

Back to Top