A poem seeks to say a great deal in a few words. It expresses a strong feeling, emotion or thought and evokes a response from the readers. It used to be recited aloud to listeners, so its rhythm and sounds are also important.
Poetry Terms
- Poems rhyme (sequence of words containing alike sounds).
- Poems have stressed (louder, more prominence) and unstressed syllables (softer, unnoticeable)
“my PUPpy PUNCHED me IN the eye “(Kenn Nesbitt) - Poems have feet, which are a combination of stressed and unstressed syllables in a pattern.
- Poems have rhythm or metre which describe the pattern of feet.
- Free verse poems are without metre.
Types of Poetry
Epic – The earliest kind of poem. It is a long narrative poem which tells a story of heroic deeds.
Lyric Poetry – This was originally written for the ancient musical instrument, the lyre. It is short and can express the poets feelings or ideas.
Dramatic Poetry – This is written in various characters voices and can be acted out.
A Ballad – retells an interesting or tragic piece of news in a rhythmic form. The second and fourth lines in a verse, always rhyme and there is often a line that is repeated.
A Haiku – is a Japanese three line poem about feelings and nature. The poem is written with 5 syllables in the first line, 7 syllables in the second line and 5 syllables in the last line.
An old silent pond…
A frog jumps into the pond,
splash! Silence again. (Basho)
A Limerick – is a funny poetic form.
Is Algebra fruitless endeavor?
It seems they’ve been trying for ever
To find x, y, and z
And its quite clear to me:
If they’ve not found them yet then they’ll never. (Graham Lester)
Shape Poems – are written in the form of a shape combined with the poets thoughts on that shape.
For more interesting poems and rhymes for kids, go to : Poems and Rhymes for Kids.