List of 168 Poetic Forms for Poets
Check out this list of 168 poetic forms for poets that includes everything from abstract poetry and ae freislighe to villanelle and zappai—and so many more in between.
Over the years, this list of poetic forms for poets has grown from 50 to 86 to 100 and now 168. And I doubt we're anywhere near adding to the list (still have plenty of forms to discuss for future Poetic Form Fridays). This list is a combination of well-established traditional forms, newer types of poems, and even a few fun super new nonce forms.
Each form listed below has a very brief description to give the vaguest ideas of how it differs from the others in the list, but I advise clicking the link for the name of the form to gain a true understanding of the guidelines for each poetic form. Also, most of those pages include at least one (if not several) example poems to show how to write them.
And with that simple introduction, please enjoy this updated list of poetic forms from abstract to zejel and 160+ more in between. Be sure to check out each form. It might even make a good year-long challenge to write three forms each week of the year.
Here's my list of 168 poetic forms:
(Note: Click on the name of each form to read the full description in the original posts.)
- Abstract (or Sound) Poetry. Abstract was a term used by Dame Edith Sitwell.
- Acrostic. A form for hidden messages.
- Ae Freislighe. Irish quatrain with intense rhyme scheme.
- Alphabet Poetry. Perfect back-to-school poetry.
- Anagrammatic Poetry. More fun with letters.
- Ars Poetica. The art of writing poems about writing poems.
- Awdl Gywydd. Welsh quatrain with end and internal rhymes.
- Ballade. 28-line French poetic form.
- Barzeletta (or Frottola-barzelletta). Italian poetic form.
- Blackout Poems. Making poems from articles.
- The Blitz. 50-liner invented by Robert Keim.
- Bob and Wheel. Quintain form that's often part of a longer poem.
- The Bop. Three stanzas and three refrains, developed by Afaa Michael Weaver.
- Breccbairdne. Irish quatrain form with 5 syllables in first line, 6 in the others.
- Bref Double. French quatorzain.
- Byr a Thoddaid Poems. Welsh quatrain.
- Casbairdne. Irish quatrain form.
- Cascade. Variable length form invented by Udit Bhatia.
- Catena Rondo. Interlinked quatrain form developed by Robin Skelton.
- Cento. A form of found poetry.
- Cethramtu Rannaigechta Moire. Irish quatrain form with 3-syllable lines.
- Chanso. Five to six stanzas with an envoy.
- Chant. If it works once, run it into the ground.
- Chant Royal. 60-line French form.
- Chueh-chu. Chinese 8-line "sonnet cut short."
- Cinquain. Popular five-liner.
- Clerihew. English quatrain form.
- Clogyrnach. 6-line Welsh form.
- Concrete Poems. Shapely poetry.
- Contrapuntal Poems. Independent poems that get intertwined.
- Cro Cumaisc Etir Casbairdni Ocus Lethrannaighecht. Irish quatrain form.
- Curtal Sonnet. 11-line sonnet invented by Gerard Manley Hopkins.
- Cut-up Method (or Technique). Form of found poetry.
- Cyhydedd Fer. Welsh couplet form.
- Cyhydedd Hir. Welsh quatrain form.
- Cyhydedd Naw Ban. Welsh couplet form with 9-syllable lines.
- Cyrch A Chwta. 8-line Welsh form with 7 syllables per line.
- Cywydd Deuair Fyrion. Welsh couplet form with 4 syllables.
- Cywydd Deuair Hirion. Welsh couplet form with 7 syllables.
- Cywydd Llosgyrnog. 6-liner with internal rhymes and variable syllables.
- Dansa. Occitan poetic form.
- Dechnad Cummaisc. Irish quatrain form with alternating line lengths.
- Dechnad Mor. Variation on the dechnad cummaisc.
- Decima. Various versions of 10-line forms.
- Deibide Baise Fri Toin. A long way of saying Irish quatrain form.
- Descort. French form that makes each line special.
- Diminishing Verse. Poems that disappear one letter per line.
- Dizain. French 10x10 form.
- Dodoitsu. 4-line Japanese form.
- Double Dactyl. Light verse form invented by Anthony Hecht and Paul Pascal.
- Droigneach. Irish 4-liner.
- Echo Verse. A poem that repeats itself (self).
- Ekphrasis (or Ekphrastic Poetry). Poem inspired by another piece of art.
- Elegy. Song of sorrow or mourning.
- Endecha. Spanish quatrain form.
- Englyn Byr Cwca. Welsh tercet form with internal rhymes.
- Englyn Cyrch. Welsh 4-liner with 7 syllables per line.
- Epitaphs. Or tombstone poetics.
- Erasure Poems. Like blackout poems, but without the markers.
- Espinela. Spanish 10-liner named after Vincente Espinel.
*****
Play with poetic forms!
Poetic forms are fun poetic games, and this digital guide collects more than 100 poetic forms, including more established poetic forms (like sestinas and sonnets) and newer invented forms (like golden shovels and fibs).
*****
- Flamenca. Spanish quintain form.
- The Fib. Fun form from Gregory K. Pincus.
- Found Poetry. Finders keepers, right?
- Free Verse. Breaking lines anytime without rhymes.
- Ghazal. Couplets and a refrain.
- Glose (or Glosa). 40-line poem based off an epigraph.
- Gogyohka. 5-line poem developed by Enta Kusakabe.
- Golden Shovel. Terrance Hayes-invented, Gwendolyn Brooks-inspired.
- Gwawdodyn. Welsh poetic form.
- Gwawdodyn Byr. Welsh quatrain form with 9 and 10 syllable lines.
- Gwawdodyn Hir. Welsh 6-liner.
- Haibun. Japanese form popularized by Matsuo Basho.
- Haiku. Popular Japanese form.
- Haiku Sonnet. 4 haiku and a couplet.
- Hay(na)ku. Eileen Tabios form with 3 lines, 6 words.
- Hir a Thoddaid. 6 lines that mostly all share the same rhyme.
- Huitain. French 8-liner with an ababbcbc rhyme scheme.
- Imayo. 4-line Japanese poem with a pause in the middle of each line.
- Interlocking Rubaiyat. Used by Omar Khayyam, Robert Frost, and many others.
- Italian Octave. Aka first 8 lines of Petrarchan sonnet.
- Katauta Poems. Haiku (or senryu) for lovers.
- Kimo. Israeli version of haiku.
- Kouta. Japanese quatrain form.
- Kwansaba. Form invented by Eugene B. Redmond.
- Kyrielle. Adjustable French form.
- Lai. Nine-liner from the French.
- Landay. Poem comprised of self-contained couplets.
- Lethrannaegecht Mor. Irish quatrain form with 5-syllable lines.
- Limerick. 5 lines and naughty rhymes.
- List Poem. Poetry at the grocery store.
- Luc Bat. Vietnamese "6-8" form.
- Lune. Robert Kelly invention, also known as American haiku.
- Madrigal. Learn both the Italian and English versions.
- Magic 9. The "abacadaba" 9-line rhyme scheme.
- Masnavi (or Mathnawi). Older form with Arabic, Persian, Turkish, and Urdu variants.
- Minute Poem. 3 quatrains and a simple rhyme scheme.
- Mistress Bradstreet Stanza. John Berryman invention.
- Mondo. Brief collaborative Q&A poem.
- Monotetra. Quatrain madness developed by Michael Walker.
- Nashers. Light verse form invented by Ogden Nash.
- Nonce Forms. Your own inventions.
- Nonet. Nine-line countdown poem.
- Novem. Tercet form invented by Robin Skelton.
- Occasional Poetry. Poetry for any occasion.
- Ode. Praise poetry!
- Ottava Rima. ABC rhymes in 8 lines.
- Ovillejo Poems. 10-liner popularized by Miguel de Cervantes.
*****
Build an Audience for Your Poetry!
While your focus as a poet will always be on refining your craft, why not cultivate a following along the way? With the multitude of social networking opportunities available today, it’s never been easier to connect with other poetry enthusiasts.
*****
- Palindrome (or Mirror Poetry). Reflective poetic form.
- Pantoum. The repetitive form from Malay.
- Paradelle. Silly and/or psycho form from Billy Collins.
- Pregunta. Spanish collaborative poem.
- Prose. Just when you thought poetry was defined by line breaks.
- Qasida. Guest post by Ren Powell.
- Quatern. French 4x4 form.
- Quintilla. Spanish 5-liner.
- Rannaigheact Mhor. Irish form that fits a lot of rules into 28 syllables.
- Renga. Japanese collaborative form.
- Rhupunt. Welsh form that offers variability and rigidity simultaneously.
- Rimas Dissolutas. Old French form that rhymes and doesn't rhyme.
- Rime Couee. French 6-liner.
- Rinnard. Irish quatrain form with 6-syllable lines.
- Rispetto. Italian poetic form.
- Rondeau. 15 lines, 3 stanzas, and a lot of rhymes.
- Rondeau Redoublé. French 25-liner invented by Clément Marot.
- Rondel. 13 lines in 3 stanzas.
- Rondel Supreme. French 14-liner.
- Rondelet. French 7-liner.
- Rondine. 12-liner with a refrain.
- The Roundabout. Form from Sara Diane Doyle and David Edwards.
- Roundel. English 11-line variant of the roundeau.
- Roundelay. Simple lyric poem that uses a refrain.
- Schuttelreim. German couplet form.
- Seadna. Irish quatrain form.
- Sedoka. Japanese Q&A 6-liner.
- Seguidilla. Spanish 7-liner that began as a dance song.
- Senryu. What many people consider haiku.
- Sestina. The form poets either love or hate.
- Shadorma. Spanish 6-liner.
- Sicilian Octave. 8-liner with abababab rhyme scheme and iambic pentameter.
- Sijo. Korean poetic form.
- Skeltonic Verse. "Tumbling verse" named after originator, John Skelton.
- Snam Suad. Irish 8-liner.
- Soledad. Spanish tercet form.
- Somonka. Japanese collaborative form.
- Sonnet. Shakespeare's 14-line fave.
- Stornello. Italian tercet form.
- Strambotto. Hendecasyllabic octave with abababab rhyme scheme.
- Tanka. Kinda like a haiku plus a couplet.
- Tautogram. Poem in which all words start with the same letter.
- Tawddgyrch Cadwynog. Welsh form comprised of pairs of quatrains.
- Terzanelle. What happens when the terza rima and villanelle combine.
- Than-bauk. Burmese descending rhyme tercet (or linked verse).
- Toddaid. Welsh quatrain form.
- Trenta-Sei. 36-liner invented by John Ciardi.
- Treochair. Alliterative tercets that rhyme with variable 3/7/7 lines.
- Trian Rannaigechta Moire. Irish quatrain form in which all end words consonate.
- Tricubes. 3 stanzas by 3 lines by 3 syllables.
- Trimeric. 13-line form invented by Charles A. Stone.
- Triolet. 8-line French form.
- Tripadi. Bengali tercet form.
- Triversen. William Carlos Williams invention: six tercets.
- Viator. Refrain form invented by Robin Skelton.
- Villanelle. Five tercets and a quatrain.
- Virelai. French 9-liner with alternating line lengths and rhymes.
- Waka. Japanese 5-liner.
- Waltmarie. Candace Kubinec invention.
- Ya-du. Burmese quintain form.
- Zappai. Just another 3-liner form.
- Zejel. Fun form likely invented by a ninth century Hispano-Muslim poet.
*****
Poem your days away with Robert Lee Brewer's Smash Poetry Journal. This fun poetic guide is loaded with 125 poetry prompts, space to place your poems, and plenty of fun poetic asides.
(Writer's Digest uses affiliate links)
Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Editor of Writer's Digest, which includes managing the content on WritersDigest.com and programming virtual conferences. He's the author of 40 Plot Twist Prompts for Writers: Writing Ideas for Bending Stories in New Directions, The Complete Guide of Poetic Forms: 100+ Poetic Form Definitions and Examples for Poets, Poem-a-Day: 365 Poetry Writing Prompts for a Year of Poeming, and more. Also, he's the editor of Writer's Market, Poet's Market, and Guide to Literary Agents. Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.
