English 9 / Unit 4: Figurative Language and Poetry
4.5 Poetic Forms
Notes
Poems come in many forms with different rules and purposes.
| Form | Key features |
|---|---|
| Shakespearean sonnet | 14 lines, iambic pentameter, ABAB CDCD EFEF GG, ends with a rhyming couplet |
| Haiku | 3 lines, 5-7-5 syllables, often about nature |
| Ballad | tells a story, often in quatrains, musical |
| Ode | formal poem praising a person or thing |
| Elegy | mourns someone's death |
| Free verse | no fixed rhyme or meter |
- Lyric poems express feelings; narrative poems tell stories.
- A stanza is a group of lines: couplet (2), tercet (3), quatrain (4).
Practice
How many lines does a sonnet have?
Sonnets have 14 lines.
A poem written to mourn a friend who has died is a(n):
An elegy laments a death.
Which is a correct haiku syllable pattern?
Traditional haiku in English follow 5-7-5.
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