These are directly from www.shadowpoetry.com, Click on "Resources" (pull down menu), then "Types of Poetry" to see many more options for free choice.
Sonnet
A Sonnet is a poem consisting of 14 lines (iambic pentameter) with a particular rhyming scheme:
A Shakespearean (English) sonnet:
-- has three quatrains and a couplet, and rhymes abab cdcd efef gg.
An Italian sonnet:
-- is composed of an octave (8 lines) rhyming abbaabba
--a a sestet, rhyming cdecde or cdcdcd
This is a Shakespearean sonnet:
Learning to Write a Sonnet
The sonnet form is old and full of dust
And yet I want to learn to write one well.
To learn new forms and grow is quite a must,
But I will learn it quickly, I can tell.
And so I sit, today, with pen in hand,
Composing three new quatrains with a rhyme.
The rhythm flows like wind at my command.
The A-B-A-B form consumes my time.
But I’m not done until there’s fourteen lines.
One ending couplet, after three quatrains.
I’ve tried to write this new form several times.
The effort’s huge; I have to rack my brain.
But I persist, my fourteen lines now done.
I wrote my poem; my sonnet work is won.
by Denise Rodgers
Shape Poetry
-Shape Poetry is also associated with Concrete Poetry-
Shape is one of the main things that separate prose and poetry. Poetry can take on many formats,
but one of the most inventive forms is for the poem to take on the shape of its subject. Therefore,
if the subject of your poem were of a flower, then the poem would be shaped like a flower. If it
were of a fish, then the poem would take on the shape of a fish. ><<<*>
Shape and Concrete Poetry go hand-in-hand; however, Concrete or Visual Poetry don’t have to
take on the particular shape of the poem’s subject, but rather the wording in the poem can enhance
the effect of the words such as in this line:
an angel tumbling
d
o
w
n
to earth . . .
Designing your own shape poem can be simple and fun, but try not to pick anything that would be
too difficult. We suggest mapping out or drawing your shape first, and then importing the text of
your poem into your shape.
Example #1:
Birth of a Triangle
mama and papa and baby make three,
reaching sides of a three-sided tree.
oedipal winds rustle from leaves;
triangular shapes converting
dissimilarity into peeves.
straight lines connect
the corners turned;
mirrored sight
un-burned;
buried
am
i
Copyright © 2001 Alex Goldenberg
Example #2:
Coffee
* Shape poem and an Acrostic poem!
Coffee mild, but dark as toast.
O..Oh healthy cup, of robust roast,
F.....Fresh the smell, of perking pot,
F.....Flavors senses, while it`s hot.
E.......Everlasting, in every way,
E...Every morning, every day.
Copyright © 2001 Sally Ann Roberts
Example #5:
A Simple Tree
and life began
from a simple tree
starting from roots
they spread beneath
the earth nourishing soil
growing bigger
its trunk widens
strengthening
it begins to
stand
on
its
own
and the roots keep reaching far beyond the ground...
Copyright © 2001 Julie Wright
Example #7:
Luna
You
were my
first dandelion
wish, my cotton
candy kiss, and sweet
lullaby. With you nested
in the palm of my hand,
we became one with the night,
ruling over the stars in the sky.
You have been my guiding light
through sleepless nights, my
muse, and friend, always
lending a listening ear, and
offering your soft, glowing
light to ease my fears.
You are my warm,
goodnight moon,
Luna.
Copyright © 2003 Marie Summers
Limerick (Five line poem)
The Limerick has a set rhyme scheme of :
a-a-b-b-a with a syllable structure of: 9-9-6-6-9.
The rhythm of the poem should go as follows:
Lines 1, 2, 5: weak, weak, STRONG, weak, weak, STRONG, weak, weak, STRONG, weak, weak
Lines 3, 4: weak, weak, STRONG, weak, weak, STRONG, weak, weak
Example #1:
The Test Pilot
A Plane builder needed a pilot,
So Bob told the guy, he would try it.
When Bob took to the air,
Plane parts fell everywhere.
Bob radioed “where shall I pile it?”
Copyright © 2005 Jim Dupy
Example #2:
The Man From Aruba
There once was a man from Aruba,
Whose favorite hobby was scuba.
Every day he would wish,
He could spear a big fish.
But settled instead for canned tuna.
Copyright © 2005 Jim Dupy
