“A poem begins as a lump in the throat, a sense of wrong, a homesickness, a lovesickness.”
― Robert Frost
Poetry is always a writer’s delight. It is a medium through which anything can be conveyed. It is short which makes it sweet. The challenge lies in conveying our thought through the constraint of few words. The attraction to poetry is mainly because it rhymes.
“Don't use the phone. People are never ready to answer it. Use poetry.”
― Jack Kerouac
When we were young, we always thought that poems should rhyme. And I bet that most of us would have spent hours in finding words that would somehow rhyme. Eventually, when we were exposed to the majestic world of poetry, we realized that poetry is all about putting forth our thoughts and it is not about rhyming words. But hey! I still enjoy poems that rhyme. What about you?
“With me poetry has not been a purpose, but a passion.”
― Edgar Allan Poe
The branches of a tree called poetry are very wide. And here I am pointing 10 of them:
“To be a poet is a condition, not a profession.”
― Robert Frost
So all you poets there and all those people who love poetry, here goes my brief listing of different forms of poetry…
1. Nonet – This has 9 lines. Syllable count must be 9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1. Rhyming is not mandatory.
2. Acrostic - This out a word or idea. Sometimes what it spells out is the title of the poem itself.
I am trying
More and more
Again and again
God, Stand by me
Ever and forever!
3. Cinquain – This is written using a pattern. "Cinq", which is pronounced as “sink” is the French the word for number 5. This poem type will have only five lines. Syllables should be 2-4-6-8-2
4. Haiku - A Haiku has three lines. Syllable count should be 5-7-5
I have tried my hand on Haiku.
5. Minute – This has three stanzas, with a syllable count of 8-4-4-4 each. Rhyming is mandatory. Yet non-traditional minutes do not rhyme though it follows the syllable count.
6. Senryu – This is same as Haiku. Only difference is the syllable count is 3-5-3 instead of 5-7-5
7. Tanka – This is also related to the haiku. The syllable count to be followed is 5-7-5-7-The first three lines do not rhyme. But the last two lines must rhyme.
8. Free verse – This is any poet’s delight. This style allows you to follow your thought flow and doesn’t restrict you in anyway.
9. ABAB poem – This is an interesting poem style which has four lines. The first and third line will rhyme in similar line whereas second and fourth will rhyme in similar line.
Look at the crow!
And drink the syrup
10. Book spine poetry- Here a bunch of book names will be arranged in such a way that it transforms into a poem or little story. There is no restriction in the number of book names that can be used. Here I present an image of book-spine poetry.