A poem that lacks meter or rhyme.
Free-Verse
A poem that expresses emotions; it is usually in the first person.
Lyric
One foot
Monometer
When a character is revealed to be somebody else.
Disguise
Unstressed, Stressed
Iambic
A poem that mourns the dead
Elegy
A poem that tells a story
Two feet
Dimeter
The use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.
Satire
Stressed, Unstressed
Trochee
A poem that celebrates a person, place, or idea
Ode
A poem about nature
Pastoral
Three Feet
Trimeter
When a story is narrated through a story. This can be an almost endless loop.
Stressed, Stressed
Spondee
A poem that explores the mind.
Metaphysical
A poem about art
Ekphrastic
Four Feet
Tetrameter
When the pause occurs at the beginning of a line. Example: “Dead! One of them shot by sea in the east”.
Initial Caesura
Unstressed, Unstressed, Stressed
Dactyl
A religious song or poem of praise to God or a god.
Hymn
Poetic Types help us decipher
Nuance
Five feet
Pentameter
When the pause occurs at the end of a line. Example: “No voice says ‘My mother’ again to me. What?”
Stressed, Unstressed, Unstressed
Anapest