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Turning the pages of a poetry collection, you will notice many different patterns and styles of verse. Some patterns fit so well to express specific ideas or emotions that they have become standard forms. Most experienced poets have used some or all of them at one time or another. I apologize for the examples being only linked, but Triond will not allow me publish them within the body of the work(It’s lame. I know… sorry). Example links will open in a new tab or window.

Ballad Form

Probably the most common, easily emulated and oldest of poetic forms is the ballad stanza form.  A basic example of the ballad form can be seen in the first stanza of my poem The War.

This is a quatrain, a four-line stanza. The first and third lines of a ballad stanza are generally tetrameter, while the second and forth lines are generally trimeter.  Only the second and fourth lines rhyme(abcb).

Ballad form is used to tell a simple story, often silly or sad. This form lends itself well to variation and is often varied by the poet, experienced or not, but the ballad form is quite easily recognized.

What is iambic pentameter?

Iambic pentameter is how the meter of certain poetic works is described.  An iamb is a metrical foot assigned in formal poetry. The accent is placed on the second syllable of each foot making the iamb sound something like: daDUM. Pentameter tells us that there are 5 iambs to a line(pent meaning 5). This means that a line of iambic pentameter would stress something like this: daDum daDUM daDUM daDUM daDUM.

The opposite of an iamb would be called a trochee and sounds like DAdum, placing the stress on the first syllable as opposed to the second.

Although the accent can be varied throughout the lines of a sonnet, it is the traditional, preferred and IMHO best way to follow the above guideline when writing a formal piece of poetry. The first quatrain from my Petrachan  Sonnet XV is an excellent example of iambic pentameter.

Rime Royal

First used by Chaucer in English works, Rime Royal is an old French pattern. Used by many classic poets, including Shakespeare, Rime Royal is made up of seven iambic pentameter lines, generally rhyming (ababbcc). One example of Rime Royal would be Sir Thomas Wyatt’s They flee from me that sometime did me seek.

Terza Rima(tercet rhyme)

Originating from the Italian, terza rima and ottava rima were introduced into English poetry hundreds of years ago. Tercets are an amazing and beautiful way of weaving a work. Lines of about ten syllables are grouped together in three line stanzas. The second line of the first stanza rhymes with the first and third line of the second stanza, repeating the pattern(aba,bcb,cdc,ede, etc.) to end. This provides an amazing effect when reading, sort of one step forward, two steps back. A good example of this would be Shelley’s Ode to the West Wind.

Ottava Rima

Ottava rima consists of an eight line stanza in iambic pentameter, rhyming (abababcc). Byron provides us with a great example of this form in his work Don Juan. Please check out the first canto.

Conclusion

Stop and breathe in some classic poetry.  As you read over time and reference back to these articles, (now that you know a little something more about form) you will begin to notice that you hear and see the patterns jumping from the page more than ever before.

I’m looking forward to bringing you more on poetic form in the future, so stay tuned for the next piece in the series, Poetic Form 101: Part 2, How to Write a Proper Sonnet

More of My Poetry

• Poetic Expression
• By Any Other Name
• Authspot

Poetry Related Articles

• Poetic Form 101: Part 1, The Basics
• Creative Writing 101: The Benefit of Developing Your Poetic Skills

Copyright © 2010 Michele Cameron Drew. All rights reserved.