Exploring Different Types of Poetry Around The World

Types of Poetry 

1. Haiku: A traditional form of Japanese poetry that consists of three lines with a 5-7-5 syllable pattern. Haiku often focus on nature or seasons and aim to evoke an emotion or feeling in the reader. Here's an example:

Autumn moonlight - 

a worm digs silently 

into the chestnut.

• Matsuo Basho

2. Sonnet: A 14-line poem that originated in Italy and is often associated with love. Sonnets have a specific rhyme scheme and structure, with the most famous being the Shakespearean sonnet, which has a rhyme scheme of ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. Here's an example:

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

Thou art more lovely and more temperate:

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, 

And summer's lease hath all too short a date.

•William Shakespeare, "Sonnet 18"

3. Ode: A formal poem that celebrates or praises a person, place, or thing. Odes have a structured form and often include a serious tone. Here's an example:

O wild West Wind, 

thou breath of Autumn's being, 

Thou, from whose unseen presence 

the leaves dead Are driven, 

like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing,

•Percy Bysshe Shelley, "Ode to the West Wind"

4. Villanelle: A highly structured poem that consists of 19 lines with a specific rhyme scheme and repetition of lines. Villanelles are often difficult to write, but can be very effective in evoking emotion in the reader. Here's an example:

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

• Dylan Thomas, "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night"

5. Ghazal: A form of poetry that originated in Arabic and Persian literature, consisting of rhyming couplets and often exploring themes of love and loss. Here's an example:

The moment I heard my first love story, 

I started looking for you, 

not knowing how blind that was. 

Lovers don't finally meet somewhere. 

They're in each other all along.

• Rumi. "The Essential Rum

6. Epic: A long narrative poem that tells a story, often featuring heroic characters and events Epics can be divided into multiple books or sections and may include elements of myth and legend. Here's an example:

Sing, O goddess, the anger of Achilles son of Peleus, 

that brought countless ills upon the Achaeans.

Many a brave soul did it send hurrying down to Hades,

and many a hero did it yield a prey to dogs and vultures.

• Homer, "The Iliad"

7. Ballad: A type of poem that is meant to be sung or recited, often telling a story with a simple rhyme scheme and rhythm. Ballads can be traditional or modern and often include themes of love, tragedy, or adventure. Here's an example:

Oh Danny boy, the pipes, 

the pipes are calling 

From glen to glen and down the mountain side 

The summer's gone and all the flowers are dying

"Tis you, 'tis you must go and I must bide.

•Traditional Irish ballad, "Danny Boy"

8. Free verse: A type of poetry that doesn't follow a specific structure or rhyme scheme. Free verse often focuses on imagery and the rhythm of natural speech, and can be used to convey a wide range of emotions and themes. Here's an example:

"The Red Wheelbarrow" by William Carlos Williams

so much depends upon

a red wheelbarrow

glazed with rain water

beside the white

chickens.