Putting it all together…

POETIC FORM

LineMeaning

A single line in a poemExample1 Some say the world will end in

fire,Some say in ice.From what I’ve tasted of desireI hold with those who favor fire.

5 But if it had to perish twice,I think I know enough of hateTo know that for destruction iceIs also greatAnd would suffice.

How many lines are in this

poem?

StanzaMeaning

A group of consecutive lines in a poem that form a single unit; a “paragraph” in a poem

Example 1 Because I could not stop for Death,He kindly stopped for me;The carriage held but just ourselvesAnd Immortality.

5 We slowly drove, he knew no haste,And I had put awayMy labor, and my leisure too,For his civility.

How many Stanzas are in

this poem?

Couplet

MeaningTwo consecutive lines of poetry that usually

rhymeCouple = 2

Example

1 Tiger! Tiger! burning bright,In the forests of the night,What immortal hand or eyeCould frame thy fearful symmetry?

5 In what distant deeps or skiesBurnt the fire in thine eyes?On what wings dare he aspire?What the hand dare seize the fire?

How many couplets are in

this poem?

QuatrainMeaning

4 lines in a poem; a 4 line stanza Quad = 4

Example 1 Because I could not stop for Death,He kindly stopped for me;The carriage held but just ourselvesAnd Immortality.

5 We slowly drove, he knew no haste,And I had put awayMy labor, and my leisure too,For his civility.

Sestet

Meaning6 lines in a poem

Example

1 Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer’s lease hath all too short a date:5 Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimmed; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance, or nature’s changing course untrimmed; But thy eternal summer shall not fade,10 Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest, Nor shall Death brag thou wanderest in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou growest; So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Octet/Octave

Meaning8 lines of a poemOct = 8

Example

1 Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer’s lease hath all too short a date:5 Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimmed; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance, or nature’s changing course untrimmed; But thy eternal summer shall not fade,10 Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest, Nor shall Death brag thou wanderest in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou growest; So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

SonnetMeaning

type of poem containing 14 lines, each of 10 syllables, and with a formal pattern of rhymes.

Example1 Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer’s lease hath all too short a date:5 Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimmed; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance, or nature’s changing course untrimmed; But thy eternal summer shall not fade,10 Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest, Nor shall Death brag thou wanderest in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou growest; So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Limerick

MeaningA five line poem that follows a strict rhyme

scheme and is intended to be humorous.Generally speaking, the 1st,2nd, and 5th lines

have the same amount of syllables.

Example1 There once was a teacher at school,

Whose kids thought that he was a fool.

He made up this rhyme,in almost no time,

5 and now all his kids say he rules!

How is this limerick meant to

be humorous?

Haiku

MeaningA form of Japanese poetry consisting of 17

syllables in 3 lines.Line 1 = 5 syllablesLine 2 = 7 syllablesLine 3 = 5 syllables

ExampleThe bell rings loudly.Children head to their classes.A new year begins.

5 syllables

7 syllables

5 syllables