Having Fun with Poetry

Exploring four different types of short structured poetry.

Today we’re going to be looking at:

LimerickHaikuAcrosticDiamanteVocabulary

Limerick

•Five Lines•One couplet •One Triplet

•a a b b a rhyme pattern•Funny – contains a punch line

A flea and a fly in a flue aWere caught, so what could they do? a

Said the fly, “Let us flee.” b“Let us fly,” said the flea. b

So the flew through a flaw in the flue. a

- Anonymous

Notice the rhyme pattern -

Notice the distinctive beat pattern? It is just as important as the rhyme. Try completing this limerick -

The once was a pauper name MegWho accidently broke her ________.

She slipped on the ____________.Not once, but thrice

Take no pity on her, I ___________.

Listen carefully to the beat and rhyme patterns in this limerick.

The Man from Peru

Haiku•From Japanese culture•Meaningful yet compact•Everyday things•Nature, feelings, experiences•Three lines•5 syllables, 7 syllables, five syllables.•No rhyme

Examples

A Haiku must paint a mental image. The challenge is to put the poem’s meaning and imagery in the reader’s mind in only 17 syllables and 3 lines.

The RoseBy Donna Brock

The red blossom bendsAnd drips its dew to the ground.Like a tear it falls

A RainbowBy Donna Brock

Curving up, then down,Meeting blue sky and green earthMelding sun and rain.

AcrosticFrom the Greek words acros (outermost)

and stichos (line of poetry).

How to create your own Acrostic -

1. Write the first name of someone you admire.2. Think about how to describe that person and what they

mean to you.3. One scratch paper, write out your ideas. Proofread. Revise.4. Using word processing program, type the letter that will form

your acrostic (the person’s name). We will change the color of the font to make your first letters a different color than the rest of your poem. Capitalize them and make them bold.

5. Align the poem.6. Find or draw a picture of the person you described to

illustrate you acrostic.

Example -

Diamante

A poem that in formatted to create a diamond shape.

How to create a Diamante poem-

You need –A subject

Two adjectives describing the subjectThree words ending in “ing” telling about the subjectFour words (the first two describe the subject the last

two describe it opposite)Three words ending in “ing” telling about the opposite

Two adjectives describing the oppositeAn opposite