Poetry

Poetry is the expression of a thought, an idea, a concept or a story in a structured form which has a flow and a music created
by the sounds and syllables in it.

All types of poetry are often written in several styles. These styles are defined by the number of lines in each stanza, the
syllables used in each line or the structures of rhyme used and so on. Here is a list of the main types of poetry commonly used
by poets all over the world.

Ballad: This is an old style of writing poetry, which was used to tell stories. A ballad usually has stanzas made up of either
seven or eight or ten lines, and ends with a short four or five line stanza. Each stanza ends with the same line, which is called
‘a refrain’.

Couplet: Perhaps the most popular type of poetry used, the couplet has stanzas made up of two lines which rhyme with each
other.

Quatrain: This kind of poem has four lines in a stanza, of which the second and fourth lines rhyme with each other and have a
similar syllable structure.

Cinquain: This is another unique type of poetry style. As the name suggests, it is made up of five lines. The first line is just one
word, which is often the title of the poem. The second line has two words which describe the first line. The third line has three
words, and is mostly the action part of the poem. The fourth line is four words describing the feelings. And the fifth line, again,
has just one word which is the title of the poem.

Iambic Pentameter: This is a very complicated style of writing poetry, but was often used by classical poets. This style uses
the syllable stresses to create the musical sound. There is one short sounding syllable followed by one long sounding syllable,
at the end of each of the five stanzas in a row.

Sonnet: This type of poem contains fourteen lines and follows conventional structures of rhyme.

Haiku: This is again a very structured method of writing poetry. This has its origins in Japan. This method does not use rhyme.
There are three lines of five, seven and five syllables each. The poem must essentially talk about some aspect of Nature.

Free Verse: This is a method of writing poetry, which does not essentially follow any structure or style. There is no fixed meter
and no structure regarding rhyme and lines in each stanza. This kind of poetry is quite popular with modern poets.

Epic: This poem is usually a long and descriptive one which tells a story. Epics usually are longer than most poems and may
even take up a book. Example: Homer’s ‘Iliad’.

Limerick: This is a very witty and often vulgar kind of a poem, which is quite short. This poem has five lines in a stanza. The
first, second and fifth line have the same metrical structure and they rhyme with each other. They contain seven to ten syllables
each. The second and fourth lines have the same metrical structure and rhyme with each other. These contain five to seven
syllables.

Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind

Shakespeare
Blow, blow, thou winter wind,
Thou art not so unkind
As man's ingratitude;
Thy tooth is not so keen

Camomile Tea
Katherine Mansfield
Outside the sky is light with stars;
There's a hollow roaring from the sea.
And, alas! for the little almond flowers,
The wind is shaking the almond tree.

Dover Beach
Matthew Arnold
The sea is calm to-night.
The tide is full, the moon lies fair
Upon the straits; on the French coast the light
Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand,

How Do I Love Thee?

Elizabeth Barrett Browning
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
Lochinvar
Sir Walter Scott
Oh! young Lochinvar is come out of the west,
Through all the wide Border his steed was the best;
And save his good broadsword he weapons had none.
He rode all unarmed and he rode all alone.

My Native Land
Sir Walter Scott
Breathes there the man, with soul so dead,
Who never to himself hath said,
This is my own, my native land!
Whose heart hath ne'er within him burn'd,

Without Warning
Sappho
Without warning
as a whirlwind
swoops on an oak
Love shakes my heart

After All
Henry Lawson
The brooding ghosts of Australian night have gone from the bush and town;
My spirit revives in the morning breeze,
though it died when the sun went down;
The river is high and the stream is strong,

Knocked Up
Henry Lawson
I'm lyin' on the barren ground that's baked and cracked with drought,
And dunno if my legs or back or heart is most wore out;
I've got no spirits left to rise and smooth me achin' brow --
I'm too knocked up to light a fire and bile the billy now.

Abou Ben Adhem

Leigh Hunt
Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase!)
Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,
And saw, within the moonlight of his room,
Making it rich, and like a lily in bloom,

Seven Ages of Man

William Shakespeare
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players,
They have their exits and entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,

To A Young Girl

by William Butler Yeats

MY dear, my dear, I know
More than another
What makes your heart beat so;
Not even your own mother
Can know it as I know,
Who broke my heart for her
When the wild thought,
That she denies
And has forgot,
Set all her blood astir
And glittered in her eyes.