Glossary of Poetic Forms
The following are poetic forms that have appeared in Shot Glass Journal.
Alexandroid
Three quatrains, each composed of alternating lines of iambic tetrameter and iambic dimeter rhyming abab. The form takes its name from the fact that it may also be described as a twelve-line poem with three stanzas made up of six English alexandrines (iambic hexameter), two in each stanza. Each alexandrine is broken into two lines of four and two feet, with alternating rhyme at the ends of those lines.
Black out
A found poem where words are crossed out until the poem remains.
Butterfly cinquain
A nine-line syllabic verse of the pattern 2 / 4 / 6 / 8 / 2 / 8 / 6 / 4 / 2.
Cento
A cento is a work wholly composed of verses or passages taken from other authors; only disposed in a new form or order.
Cherita
A short verse that tells a story, created by ai li, UK poet and artist. 6 line narrative poem made up of 3 separate strophes. A single line, a couplet and a tercet.
Cinquain
Cinquain is a short, usually unrhymed poem consisting of twenty-two syllables distributed as 2, 4, 6, 8, 2, in five lines
Ekphrastic
A poem that is inspired by another art form, such as a painting, sculpture, photograph. The poem defines or describes the artwork.
Epigram
An epigram is a short poem with a clever twist at the end or a concise and witty statement.
Epitaph
Something which indicates the salient facts about or characteristics of the deceased. Shortened form of the elegy.
Ghazal
The Ghazal (pronounced "ghuzzle" was developed in Persia in the 10th century AD. It comprises of 5 or more couplets. Each couplet must be a poem in itself. Both lines of the couplet should be of the similar syllable length. Both lines of the first couple must end with the same word or refrain. The second line of all subsequent couplets must end with the same word ending the first couplet. The last couplet could contain an alias or signature of the poet. There can also be a rhyming pattern with the word that precedes the repeated word in the second line of each couplet.
Haiku
A Japanese poem which records the essence of a moment, offering insight into nature and the nature of humanity. Modern English should be brief - with one to three lines totaling 17 syllables or fewer. A haiku of three lines is most common, with usually a short, long, short format. Although the format is not as important. The 5-7-5 syllable count is not required.