Poetic forms · Grade 1

Poems come in forms, each with its own rules about lines, syllables and rhyme. Knowing the form helps you read a poem and write your own. All the poems here were written for Calcali.

Key facts

  • A haiku has three lines of 5, 7 and 5 syllables, often about nature: Morning mist rises / a heron waits by the pond / still as a grey stone.
  • A limerick is a funny five-line poem that rhymes AABBA. An acrostic spells a word with the first letters of its lines.
  • A couplet is two lines that rhyme. A cinquain has five lines of 2, 4, 6, 8 and 2 syllables.
  • A ballad tells a story in four-line verses, often with rhyme and a repeated chorus. A sonnet has fourteen lines and is often about love.
  • Free verse has no regular rhyme or rhythm: the poet chooses where each line breaks.

Worked examples

Example 1

Which form? Cold wind in the trees / the last red leaf lets go now / winter is coming

Answer: haiku

Example 2

What word does this acrostic spell? Shining over the sea, / Up in the clear blue sky, / Never far away in summer.

Answer: SUN

Example 3

How many syllables? a heron waits by the pond

Answer: 7

Other years