Famous First Lines in Poetry
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood...
The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost
A 3-line poem with a 5-7-5 syllable pattern.
The author of 'The Raven' and 'Annabel Lee'.
Edgar Allan Poe
Comparing two things using 'like' or 'as'.
Simile
She read 'The Hill We Climb' at the 2021 Presidential Inauguration.
Amanda Gorman
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered...
The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe
A 14-line rhyming poem often written about love.
Sonnet
He wrote 'Romeo and Juliet' and 154 sonnets.
William Shakespeare
Comparing two things directly *without* 'like' or 'as'.
Metaphor
A competitive event where poets perform and are judged by the audience.
Poetry Slam
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare
A funny 5-line poem with an AABBA rhyme scheme.
Limerick
Famous American poet known for 'I'm Nobody! Who are you?'
Emily Dickinson
Giving human qualities to non-human things.
Personification
Poetry written primarily to be performed aloud rather than read on a page.
Spoken Word Poetry
Because I could not stop for Death...
Because I could not stop for Death by Emily Dickinson
Poetry that does not use any regular rhyme or meter.
Free Verse
Harlem Renaissance poet who wrote 'Dreams' and 'Harlem'.
Langston Hughes
Words that mimic natural sounds, like 'buzz' or 'bang'.
Onomatopoeia
The official title given to a poet appointed to write poems for national events.
Poet Laureate
Tyger! Tyger! burning bright / In the forests of the night
The Tyger by William Blake
A 19-line poem with two repeating lines throughout.
Villanelle
Ancient Greek poet credited with writing 'The Odyssey'.
Homer
Repeating the initial consonant sound in a line (e.g., 'peter piper').
Alliteration
Popular Instagram poet who wrote the bestseller 'Milk and Honey'.
Rupi Kaur