Types of Poems and How to Write Them

A collection of words that expresses feelings and ideas is called a poem.

A person who writes poems is called a poet.

Poems are written in a concentrated style when compared to prose.

A set of lines in a poem is called a stanza.

They can have complete sentences or incomplete sentences.

There would often be a rhythm in a poem. Poems may or may not have rhymes.

Types of Poems

Acrostic poems: These poems are constructed with the initial letter of each line to spell out a word or phrase. These poems do not depend on rhyme or rhythm.

Cinquain poem: A poem of five lines that do not rhyme.

Free verse: In free verse, the lines do not rhyme. There are no rules in free verse.

Couplets: These are two lined poems in which the last word of each line rhymes.

Haiku: It is a short poem of three lines which should have a specific number of syllables per line.

Narrative poems: These poems tell us a story, and they have a structure, rhyme, and rhythm.

Shape poetry: Such poems are written in the shape of the poem’s subject, e.g., a poem about stars will be written in the shape of a star.

The best way to write poems is to read and be familiar with different types of poems. Poems need to avoid following grammar and sentence structure while writing paragraphs.

Writing a Poem

1. Decide a Subject

Firstly, we need to choose a subject for writing a poem. Then we can focus on the subject.

Poems can be about emotions, a person, a place, an object, an animal, a memory, etc.

2. Choose Words Carefully

Once the subject is selected, think of words that describe the subject. We need to use our senses to find out words. Do we have to think of answers to questions like What do you see? What do you hear or smell? How do you feel? Etc.

If a poet sees a flower, he might think about what flower is it, who kept it there, what will happen to it, etc. Similarly, we need to explore our surroundings and observe them.

3. Choose a Format

Choosing the format for our poem is the next step. If we need our poem to rhyme, we should find out rhyming words.

4. Write the Poem

Begin by writing a line. This line can be the title, first line, or any line. Then we can build the poem by adding lines to it. One can add line breaks to make the poem meaningful and give it a rhythm.

5. Revise and Edit

Re-read the poem and make changes if necessary.  

For example, We can modify the poem by including an alliteration. Alliteration is formed when two words beginning with the same sound are next to each other (e.g., crazy cats).