WHAT IS POETRY?  societies, poetry was frequently 

Poetry comes from the Latin word ​poeta  employed as a means of recording oral 
which means “a poet,” and which can  history, storytelling (epic poetry), 
be further derived from the Greek word  genealogy, law and other forms of 
poetes​ which means “maker.” Poetry  expression or knowledge that modern 
uses a form of language that evokes  societies might expect to be handled in 
meaning and expresses various  prose (Poetry org., n.d.). The ​Epic of 
thoughts in a usually rhythmical and/or  Gilgamesh ​often is cited as one of the 
metrical (verses) way to create an  earliest works of epic poetry, dating 
aesthetic effect. Its ideas are contained  back to the 18th century B.C. Consisting 
in lines that may or may not be  of Sumerian poems, it’s a text that was 
grammatical sentences, can be very  discovered through many different 
long or short as one letter or one word,  Babylonian tablet versions during 
and arranged in stanzas. The shape of  archaeological excavations. Other 
poems can also vary depending on line  examples of early epic poems might 
length and the intention of the poet.  include the M
​ ahabarata ​and the 
  Ramayana​, the latter of which has 
HISTORY OF POETRY  become an important narrative in both 
Hindu and Buddhist mythology 
Poetry has been going on for thousands 
throughout regions of Asia. (Golden, 
of years already. Poetry as an art form 
predates literacy. In preliterate  2015).  
 
 
THE ELEMENTS OF POETRY  
A piece of poetry is composed of sub-units, and each unit conveys a thought 
successfully. 
 
The theme of the poem talks about a central idea or whatever the poem is about. It is 
the thought behind what the poet wants to convey. The poet may describe a person, a 
place, a thing, a thought, or even a story. 
 
The tone of the poem is the “voice” or the specific feelings conveyed in the poem. A 
poem’s tone may be sad, jolly, or angry. 
 
However, considering the bigger perspective, the poem’s mood is the overall feeling of 
the poem which can be created by the tone or the language choices of the poem. 
 
If the mood of the poem is sad, there may be words about sickness or death or 
punctuation that slows the reader down. If the overall mood is one of excitement, the 
poet’s choice of words and punctuation may reveal this through the use of words like 
enthusiastic or jubilant and the punctuation--exclamation point. 
 
TYPES OF POETRY 
There are a lot of types of poetry, this will only includes seven (7) of the most common 
types of poetry;  
 
1. ​Haiku​ - Traditionally, h
​ aiku poems​ are three-line stanzas with a 5/7/5 syllable 
count. This form of poetry also focuses on the beauty and simplicity found in nature. As 
its popularity grew, the 5/7/5 formula has often been broken. However, the focus 
remains the same - simple moments in life. 
 
Example:  
night train whistles stars 
over a nation under 
mad temporal czars 
 
round lumps of cells grow 
up to love porridge later 
become The Supremes 
 
lady I lost my 
subway token we must part 
it's faster by air --"​5 & 7 & 5​" by Anselm Hollo 
 
2. F
​ ree Verse Poems​ - are the least defined. In fact, they're deliberately irregular, 
taking on an improvisational bent. There's no formula, no pattern. Rather, the writer 
and reader must work together to set the speed, intonation, and emotional pull. 
 
Example: 
I buried my father in my heart. 
Now he grows in me, my strange son, 
My little root who won't drink milk, 
Little pale foot sunk in unheard-of night, 
Little clock spring newly wet 
In the fire, little grape, parent to the future 
Wine, a son the fruit of his own son, 
Little father I ransom with my life. --"​Little Father​" by Li-Young Lee 
 
3. ​Cinquains​ - a five-line poem inspired by the Japanese haiku. There are many 
different variations of cinquain including American cinquains, didactic cinquains, 
reverse cinquains, butterfly cinquains and crown cinquains. 
 
Example: 
Helen, thy beauty is to me 
Like those Nicean barks of yore, 
That gently, o'er a perfumed sea, 
The weary, way-worn wanderer bore 
To his own native shore. -- "​To Helen​" by Edgar Allan Poe 
 
4. E
​ pic Poems​ - An e
​ pic​ is a long and narrative poem that normally tells a story about a 
hero or an adventure. Epics can be presented as oral or written stories. "The Iliad" and 
"The Odyssey" are probably the most renowned epic poems. 
 
Example:  
By the shore of Gitchie Gumee, 
By the shining Big-Sea-Water, 
At the doorway of his wigwam, 
In the pleasant Summer morning, 
Hiawatha stood and waited. -- "​The Song of Hiawatha​" by Henry Wadsworth 
Longfellow 
 
5. B
​ allad Poems​ - B
​ allad poems​ also tell a story, like epic poems do. However, ballad 
poetry is often based on a legend or a folk tale. These poems may take the form of 
songs, or they may contain a moral or a lesson. 
 
Example: 
Oh the ocean waves may roll, 
And the stormy winds may blow, 
While we poor sailors go skipping aloft 
And the land lubbers lay down below, below, below 
And the land lubbers lay down below. -- “​The Mermaid​," written by an unknown 
author 
 
6. A
​ crostic Poems​ - also known as name poems, spell out names or words with the 
first letter in each line. While the author is doing this, they're describing someone or 
something they deem important. 
 
Example: 
Alexis seems quite shy and somewhat frail, 
Leaning, like a tree averse to light, 
Evasively away from her delight. 
X-rays, though, reveal a sylvan sprite, 
Intense as a bright bird behind her veil, 
Singing to the moon throughout the night. -- “​Alexis​" by Nicholas Gordon  
 
7. ​Sonnets​ - Although ​William Shakespeare​ sensationalized sonnets, the word, 
"sonetto" is actually Italian for "a little sound or song." This form has grabbed poets 
by the heart for centuries. It began as a 14-line poem written in iambic pentameter. 
Although flourishes have been made over time, the general principle remains the same.  
 
Example: 
Let me not to the marriage of true minds 
Admit impediments. Love is not love 
Which alters when it alteration finds, 
Or bends with the remover to remove. 
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark 
That looks on tempests and is never shaken; 
It is the star to every wand'ring bark, 
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken. 
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks 
Within his bending sickle's compass come; 
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, 
But bears it out even to the edge of doom. 
If this be error and upon me prov'd, 
I never writ, nor no man ever lov'd. -- "​Sonnet 116​," from William Shakespeare 
 
References: 
 
Alcaraz, M. & Yap, A. (2016). Features of Prose and Poetry. English for the 21st Century 
Learners 9. Makati City, Philippines: Diwa Learning Systems Inc., p. 81. 
 
Gonzales, et al. (2017). Elements of Poetry. Essential English 10. Sampaloc, Manila: Rex Book 
Store, Inc., pp. 50-51. 
 
Golden, A. (2015). A Brief History of Poetry. Retrieved from 
https://blog.bookstellyouwhy.com/a-brief-history-of-poetry​, Accessed last November 27, 
2020.  
 
Your Dictionary. (n.d.). 7 Common Types of Poetry. Retrieved from 
https://examples.yourdictionary.com/types-of-poetry-examples.html​, Accessed last 
November 27, 2020.