Twinkle twinkle _____. You might have completed the blank almost unconsciously because the rhyme is so embedded in you from hearing it since you were a baby to even today. This is an example of a poem but why are poems given importance, what is the structure of the poem, and what is the correct way to write a poem? Let us check it out.
1. What is the Correct Way to Write a Poem?
The expression of someone’s feelings, emotions, and ideas in writing that are given intensity by particular attention to diction is what one calls a poem. This is also interchangeably used with synonymous words such as a song, rhyme, or verse. A poem in short is a single piece of poetry but is there a correct way to write a poem? Let us answer this question.
- You need to know what is going to be the topic of the poem. Sometimes spontaneity is good but having an idea and a specific theme helps a long way.
- There are many formats, layouts, and types of poems out there. Try to choose one that best goes with your theme and topic and the style of your poetry.
- Rhymes and rhythms are something that keeps the audience as well as the poet hooked onto a poem, try looking for these to be put in the lines.
- Once the poem is written it is not the end. The same has to be edited according to the spellings, rhymes, rhythms, and annotations as per the writer.
2. What are the Main Types of Poetry?
According to the structure of the poem, it is divided into multiple types. Discussed below are the 6 different types:
- Sonnet: This is known to be a 14-line poem written in iambic pentameter, the criteria which were made famous by none other than William Shakespeare. Some sonnets are Whoso List to Hunt by Sir Thomas Wyatt and Sonnet 29 by William Shakespeare.
- Haiku: Also known as Hokku, a Japanese form of poetry is renowned for consisting of just 3 lines wherein the first and last line has 5 syllables and the second has seven.
- Villanelle: Poetry form from France made of 19 lines with 5 stances of 3 lines and the final stanza being of 4 lines with a rhyming scheme of ABA ABA ABA ABA ABA ABAA.
- Ballad: A traditional form that is a way to tell an emotional or dramatic story, something which is popular even today and is a result of them being passed down from generation to generation.
- Ode: Derived from the Greek word meaning to sing or chant, as the meaning suggests these are poems that are performed along with a musical instrument and commonly written to praise a person.
3. Does Poetry have to have Structure?
The rhythm (the beat or pattern in which the syllables and words in the poem are placed), form (the length and divisions of a poem into stanzas and sections), and rhyme scheme (the words that make up the end of each line and the pattern it follows) of a poem are what is known as a structure of the poem. Poems are something that is vast and has varieties and different genres to them. The three elements of structure just mentioned are what come together and help in creating a coherent poetic work. But it is not necessary for a poem to have a structure.
4. What is the Structure of the Poem?
Poems are something that is vast and has varieties and different genres to them.
- Number of lines: The number of lines in a poem determines what the poem is called, for instance, a 14-line poem written in iambic pentameter, the criteria which were made famous by none other than William Shakespeare is called a sonnet and a Japanese form of poetry is renowned for consisting of just 3 lines is called Haiku.
- Number of syllables: The number of syllables in each line of a poem also determines what it is called. Like Japanese form of poetry is renowned for consisting of just 3 lines wherein the first and last line has 5 syllables and the second has seven is called Haiku.
- Rhyming: The words that make up the end of each line and the pattern it follows is the rhyme scheme of that particular poem, an example is a poetry form from France made of 19 lines with 5 stances of 3 lines and the final stanza being of 4 lines with a rhyming scheme of ABA ABA ABA ABA ABA ABAA called Villanelle.
5. What is an Example of Structure of the Poem?
All you who sleep tonight by Vikram Seth is a perfect example to understand the structure of a poem.
All you who sleep tonight
Far from the ones you love,
No hand to left or right
And emptiness above –
Know that you aren’t alone
The whole world shares your tears,
Some for two nights or one,
And some for all their years.
The language used is simple English that anyone can understand and if you look into it, it follows a rhyme scheme ABAB with the endings tonight and right and also love and above which gives a rhythm to the poem as one reads it out. (See Examples of famous acrostic poems)
6. What is a Structure Element in Poetry?
Structural elements can be understood as the basics that are required to mold words into poetry. These include stanzas, which are the set amount of lines that are grouped together in poetry and united because of their rhyme scheme and rhythm. Some stanza types are as follows:
- Couplet: 2 line stanza
- Tercet: 3 lines stanza
- Quatrain: 4 line stanza
- Cinquain: 5 line stanza
- Sestet: 6-line stanza
7. What are the Structural Elements of a Poem?
Some of the structural elements of a poem are as follows:
- Form: The length and divisions of it into stanzas and sections is what is known as the form of a poem. For instance, poems that have stanzas containing 4 lines are commonly known as quatrains.
- Rhyme scheme: The words that make up the end of each line and the pattern it follows is the rhyme scheme of that particular poem. All poems do not rhyme and the ones that do follow a rhyme scheme of ABAB.
- Rhythm: The beat or pattern in which the syllables and words in the poem are placed is the meaning of rhythm. For example, poems that are iambic are made of sets of unstressed-stressed syllable pairs.
- Meter: How the rhythm of a poem intersects with its line length is known as the meter of the poem.
8. How do You Analyze the Structure of a Poem?
To be able to analyze the structure of a poem, one needs to know the basic foundations that make up a poem.
- Starting off by looking at the poem you need to know the poetic form that is used, it could be a ballas, an ode, a sonnet, a haiku, or an elegy among many others.
- Then once you read it try to figure out the purpose of the poem. Why could it possibly be written? Is it to honor someone? Perhaps a love poem? Or to remember an event?
- Once you’re through with this, look into the line structure and stanza division that is done.
- While doing this you also would get to know the rhyme scheme and meter that has been used.
9. Is Rhyme Scheme a Structure?
A rhyme scheme is what can be known as the pattern of rhymes in a poem and yes, it is a structure. Rhymes are something that was taught to us as babies and kids being they were catchy and our attention was drawn to them. This is also one of the reasons why you might still remember these even after years of not reciting them. They get stuck in your mind and stay there. Birthday songs are also another example of poems having a rhyme scheme and whichever language you go to, the birthday songs have more or less the same tone and rhymes which makes them sound the same yet so different. Check out How to find Rhyme Scheme?
10. What is the Form of a Poem?
A form in a poem is another element that helps form the structure of the poem. The length and divisions of it into stanzas and sections are what is known as the form of a poem. For instance, poems that have stanzas containing 4 lines are commonly known as quatrains. There are many types of poems according to the rhyme schemes, rhythms, and purposes of it, some forms of poetry are very measured so that they can stick to those very types of poems which include being specific to the length, rhythm, and rhyme as spoken about earlier.
This article was a bit about the different elements, structures, and forms of a poem used in a poem. This might have answered questions such as what is the structure of the poem? Give an example of structure of the poem and what are structural elements of a poem are. Now go listen to some classic love poems and cry about it while laying in bed. (See Can you say Fair Winds and Following Seas when Someone dies?)
