Types of Poems

stanza

a group of lines in a poem

tanka

a traditional japanese poem consisting of five lines, with five syllables on the first and third lines and seven syllables on the other lines

ballad

a poem that consists of four lines (rhyming stanzas) and tell a story

sonnet

a fourteen line poem, usually written in iambic pentameter

narrative poem

a poem that tells a story

lyric poem

expresses the emotion of a speaker and tends to be musical in style

free verse

free from regular rhyme, meter, or stanza division

blank verse

unrhymed poetry written in iambic pentameter

prose

a passage that makes such extensive use of poetic language that the line between prose and poetry

ode

a poem intended to honor or praise someone or something

elegy

can usually be recognized by its formal tone that laments the death of someone