Poetry






















Poetic fiction

Poetry depends on the thoughtful choice of words and rhythms to evoke meanings and emotions. The organization of the lines is called “poetic form.” In general, poems can be either “fixed form,” whose lines have a set metrical pattern or rhyme scheme, or they can be “free verse” and use the irregular rhythms of speech.

The lines of a poem can be divided in different ways depending on the ideas being expressed and on the type of poem. A “couplet” is two lines that usually rhyme and have the same meter. A “stanza” is a larger group of lines with a recurring pattern of meters and rhymes. A “quatrain” is a four-line stanza.
 

Click on one of the elements of poetic form to reveal an example. Note how different forms and rhyme schemes affect a poem. To hear the poem read aloud, click the Play button.