20 Types of Poems Every New Poet Should Master

Curious about the different types of poems? Check out this list to discover the type that speaks to your soul.

Poetry is a literary device that conveys a thought using lyrical word arrangement. This often includes meter and rhyming words but can also be freeform without structure. Poems are built with verses called “stanzas.” A stanza will group similar ideas into grouped lines with breaks between.

Good writers should be able to recognize and write different types of poetry. When done well, poetry can be a powerful way to convey meaning. To help you understand this form of literature better, here are examples of 15 common types of poems.

Poetry structures vary by poet, genre, subject matter, and style. Here are some of the most memorable types of poems. (If you disagree with our selection of genres of poetry, check out our guide to the best poetry books for more).

15 Types of Poems You Should Know

1. Blank Verse

Blank verse is a type of poem without rhyming words but with a strong meter. The words flow well and feel verse-like, even though they don’t rhyme.

William Shakespeare was a master of blank verse. He wrote almost exclusively in a form called iambic pentameter. In this form, each line is ten syllables, with every other syllable emphasized, as in:

“But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?
It is the East and Juliet is the sun!”

William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

This famous line from one of his most famous plays perfectly showcases iambic pentameter, making it a great example of blank verse.

2. Haiku

Haiku is another type of poetry that does not rhyme. This Japanese poetry form has three lines, with five syllables in the first line, seven in the second line, and five in the third, as detailed in our article of Haiku examples. Here is a famous example of a 3 line poem by Matsuo Basho:

“An old silent pond
A frog jumps into the pond—
Splash! Silence again.”

Matsuo Basho

This famous haiku uses a cutting word (splash) to cut the third line slightly. Sometimes haiku poems translated from Japanese do not follow the 5-7-5 rule in English, but they still produce vivid images and make them worth studying.

3. Rhymed Poetry

Rhymed poetry focuses on rhyming words at the end of each line or couplet. It also will have meter, but the primary focus is on rhyming. For more tips, check out our list of good words to rhyme with. Here is an example, again from William Shakespeare and his “Sonnet 14.”

“Not from the stars do I my judgment pluck
And yet methinks I have astronomy
But not to tell of good or evil luck
Of plagues, of dearths, or seasons’ quality”

William Shakespeare, “Sonnet 14.”

Every other line in this Shakespearean sonnet stanza rhymes. Sonnets are a special category of rhymed poetry. Rhymed poetry is one of the more traditional forms of poetry

4. Epic Poem

An epic poem is a long poem that tells a story. Typically, epics are written about great heroes, either real or fictional, who perform impressive feats or have big adventures. The term”epic” is derived from the type of adventures in these poems. Epic poems may not rhyme, though they can. Some examples of epics include Homer’s “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey.”

5. Free Verse

Free verse is a type of poetry that does not rhyme or have a strong meter. It is identified by the short lines and stanzas used to write it. Walt Whitman’s “A Noisy, Patient Spider” is an example of free verse. 

”A noiseless patient spider,
I mark’d where on a little promontory it stood isolated,
Mark’d how to explore the vacant vast surrounding,
It launch’d forth filament, filament, filament, out of itself,
Ever unreeling them, ever tirelessly speeding them.”

Walt Whitman, “A Noisy, Patient Spider”

6. Sonnet

Sonnets are poems with 14 lines that contain a specific rhyme scheme and meter. Various types of rhyming schemes can be used in sonnets, and typically sonnets have ten syllables per line.

One of the most famous sonnet writers was Shakespeare, but Italian poet Francesco Petrarch, creator of the Petrarchan sonnet, and English poet Elizabeth Barret Browning. A famous example of rhymed poetry or a sonnet is Browning’s “Sonnet Number 43,” which begins:

“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.”

Elizabeth Barret Browning, “Sonnet Number 43”

The rhyming pattern of a sonnet is called its form. An ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, GG sonnet would have every-other line rhyming in the first three stanzas, then the final couplet rhyming. Browning’s “Sonnet Number 43” follows this form: ADDA ADDA CDECDE. 

7. Narrative Poems

Narrative poems are similar to epics in that they tell a story but are not as long and often not as heroic. The famous “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost is an example of a short narrative poem.

Its famous line: “Two roads diverged in a wood and I, I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference,” has been the subject of much literary study over the years, but the full poem tells the story of a person’s choice at a fork in the road.

8. Elegy

When a poem has themes of mourning and loss, it is known as an elegy. Walt Whitman’s “O Captain! My Captain!” is a famous example of an elegy mourning the death of Abraham Lincoln. The poem says: “My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still;
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will;”

As the poem continues, Whitman beautifully describes the painful emotions brought on by the president’s murder.

9. Ode

An ode pays homage or tribute to a subject, but it may be less serious than an elegy. One of the most famous odes is John Keats’ “Ode on a Grecian Urn.” In this poem, Keats pays respects to the artwork on an urn from ancient Greece.

10. Ballad

Traditionally a song, a ballad is a type of poem that uses rhymed quatrains, or four lines grouped together, to tell a story. Bob Dylan is a modern example of a ballad writer.  Many of Dylan’s songs, such as “The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest” and “Hurricane,” tell stories in verse. Though originally written as songs, the lyrics serve as examples of ballad poetry.

11. Villanelle

The Villanelle is a highly specific type of poetry. This 19-line poem has five tercets, or groups of five lines, and a quatrain. The famous Dylan Thomas poem, “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” shows the Villanelle type of poetry.

12. Lyric Poetry

A Lyric poem shows feelings and emotions. It may use rhyming verse or free form, but it is distinct from epic and narrative poetry because the focus is not on a story but on a feeling. Most Shakespearean sonnets are examples of lyric poetry.

13. Limerick

A good example of limericks is a humerus five-line poem. It uses an AABBA rhyming pattern. A limerick‘s first, second, and fifth lines have seven to ten syllables and rhyme, while the third and fourth lines have five to seven syllables and rhyme. Here is an example:

“There was an Old Man with a beard, Who said, “It is just as I feared! Two Owls and a Hen, Four Larks and a Wren, Have all built their nests in my beard!” – Edgar Lear, “There was an Old Man with a Beard”

14. Epigram

An epigram is a short, sweet, usually witty, poem that is nothing more than a couplet or quatrain. Benjamin Franklin’s phrase “Little strokes fell great oaks.” is an example of an epigram.

15. Sestina

A sestina is a complex French verse poem that typically features unrhymed poetry. It has seven groups of lines, six of these have six lines, which are called sestets, and the final group has three lines.

The last word from each line in the first group is then repeated as the last word for all the sestets. However, the order of these last words must be unique in each sestet. 

The final three lines of the poem contain all six words again. However, they must be used twice per line – once in the middle and once at the end of the line.

This can be challenging to wrap your head around, but by reading examples, it becomes clear. “A Miracle For Breakfast” by Elizabeth Bishop is an excellent poem demonstrating how this is used.

“At six o’clock we were waiting for coffee,

waiting for coffee and the charitable crumb

that was going to be served from a certain balcony

—like kings of old, or like a miracle.

It was still dark. One foot of the sun

steadied itself on a long ripple in the river.”

Elizabeth Bishop

16. Acrostic

Acrostic poems are a fun and lighthearted type of poetry that is very well-known. Commonly, children write acrostic poems at school during English lessons. An acrostic poem vertically spells out a name, word, or phrase, with each letter starting a new line of the poem. 

John Keats’ poem for his sister Georgina is an excellent example:

“Give me your patience, sister, while I frame

Exact in capitals your golden name;

Or sue the fair Apollo and he will

Rouse from his heavy slumber and instill

Great love in me for thee and Poesy.

Imagine not that greatest mastery

And kingdom over all the Realms of verse,

Nears more to heaven in aught, than when we nurse

And surety give to love and Brotherhood.”

17. Ekphrastic

An ekphrastic poem uses a visual image or works as art as inspiration. This type of poetry doesn’t have a set form or rigid structure and focuses more on the link between poetry and art. This type of poem is often created to reflect on how the artwork makes the poet feel, ponder how the art was created, or imagine the artist’s thoughts while they created it. “The Starry Night” by Anne Sexton is a fantastic ekphrastic poem reflecting Van Gogh’s famous painting. 

“The town does not exist

except where one black-haired tree slips

up like a drowned woman into the hot sky.

The town is silent. The night boils with eleven stars.   

Oh starry starry night! This is how

I want to die.”

Anne Sexton, “The Starry Night”

18. Erasure/Blackout Poetry 

Erasure (or blackout) poetry is a type of poetry where you take an existing text and black out large portions to create a poem. The purpose is to create something new from something old by creating dialogue from the individual words on the page. This exciting type of poetry can be created using books, magazines, newspapers, and more!

19. Echo Verse

Echo verse poetry repeats the end syllable of each line. The ending syllable is repeated at the end of the same line or placed on an entirely new line directly underneath it. This type of poetry doesn’t follow any rules other than this repetition, creating the “echo” effect.

20. Pantoum

Pamtoums are a complex type of poetry. These poems can be of any length and are composed of quatrains. Quatrains are stanzas of four lines, with often have alternate rhymes. The last line of a pantoum is commonly the same as the first line, creating a full-circle moment.

The Final Word on Types of Poems

Poetry can tell a story or convey meaning. Understanding the different types of poetry will help you identify it when reading and write it for yourself. This powerful literary form plays a great role in the writing world. Use this list if you’re looking for inspiration about different types of poems to write. If you’d like to learn more about forms in poetry, read our guide on how to analyze a poem.

FAQs on Types of Poems

Looking to expand your poetic vocabulary? Check out our round-up of words for poets!