Apologies in advance for any typos or errors, I worked on this quite last second so it’s very rushed ahaha, I hope you enjoy my first ever workshop anyway xD

Intro to Poetry and Structure:
Prose vs Poetry
A good starting point to learn about poetry is knowing the difference between prose and poetry. Generally, prose is writing that follows regular sentence structure and is what you commonly read in articles and novels. In fact, this entire workshop is written in prose (excluding the poetry snippets). Poetry, on the other hand, sprinkles in imagery and details to make an expressive form of writing. Poetry takes advantage of a variety of techniques to appeal to aestheticism and patterns. There isn’t a clear definition that splits prose and poetry, but taking a glance at a piece of writing is usually enough to distinguish whether something is written in prose or poetry.
Rhyme Scheme
Rhyme scheme! I’m sure all of you know what a rhyme scheme is: it’s a rhyming pattern that is followed throughout a poem. There are many names dedicated to certain rhyme schemes, but you can get away with not knowing the names of these rhyme schemes. Rhyme schemes are normally written using letters to show which lines rhyme (ex. ABAB rhyme scheme, ABBA rhyme scheme, ABCB rhyme scheme, ABCCBA rhyme scheme, etc.).
Lineation
Lineation is simply the technique of breaking sections apart with blank lines. Lineation takes advantage of line breaks to get a certain point across and is used to divide thoughts into different sections. Poets take advantage of lineation to add emphasis to certain sections or better develop a central idea.
Isometric—isometric poetry has lines that are of the same length throughout the poem or stanza (iso means equal, meter is how poetry lengths are measured in)
Heterometric—heterometric poetry has lines that have varying lengths throughout the poem or stanza (hetero means different, meter is how poetry lengths are measured in)
Quasi-stanzaic—quasi-stanzaic poetry have irregular lengths and patterns (compared to heterometric, which is written in meter and may have a rhyme scheme)
Stichic—stichic poetry contains lines with around the same meter and length, all contained in one stanza.
Stanza
A stanza is just a group of lines isolated in a poem. Stanzas are given different names depending on how many lines are in the stanza. Here are the stanza names for stanzas consisting of one to ten lines, in order: Monostitch, Couplet, Tercet, Quatrain, Quintain, Sestet, Septet, Octet, Nonet, Dizain.

Sound Mechanics:
Alliteration
Alliteration is a sentence or phrase in which the first letter of each word in the sentence or phrase is the same as each other (ex. Alba always amazing and awesome!)
Assonance
Assonance is a type of rhyme in which the sound of the vowel match each other (ex. Fight and eyes, bate and fake, bone and boat)
Cacophony
Cacophony is the use of harsh-sounding sounds in a sentence.
Example from Finley’s (@The-Book-Worm) poem, Fractured Fragments
“Finally, silence
As smoke settles
Secretly sparking
Waiting for sharpened shards
To shatter bits of broken light”
Notice how the k, t, c, and p sounds give almost a hushed tone to the poem due to the clashing of the sounds.
Consonance
Consonance is a type of rhyme in which the last consonant match with each other (ex. Kat and great, book and bake, cope and clump)
Euphony
Euphony is the opposite of cacophony; it is the use of pleasant-sounding sounds in a sentence.
Example from Finley’s poem again:
“Flares of false wishes
Welding flaws
Of wistful futures”
Notice how the r, sh, w, and st sounds give a whimsical feel to the poem due to the pleasant unity of those sounds.
Meter
Meter is the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a poem. (ex. The word “polar,” the first syllable is stressed while the second syllable is unstressed—the word “adapt,” the first syllable is unstressed while the second syllable is stressed).
Meters can be measured using the following feet (meter is the unit of measure to find the length of a line, while feet is the sequence of stresses and unstresses): Iamb, Trochee, Pyrrh, Spondee, Dactyl, Anapest, Amphibrach — you can search up what pattern of stresses and unstresses each of these feet use. Depending on the number of meters, lines can be categorized as Mono, Di, Tri, Tetra, Penta, Hexa, Septa, Octa, Nona, or Decameter).
Modulation
Modulation is the inflection and the way you express words when you speak them aloud. Modulation is a term most used in associated with spoken word poetry.
Oronyms
Oronyms are a set of sentences or phrases that sound close to identical (ex. “I scream” and “ice cream,” “the stuffy nose” and “the stuff he knows”)
Repetition
Repetition of the use of a certain word, phrase, line, or idea multiple times to show emphasis and get a point across.
Rhyme
Rhyme is the process of matching corresponding sounds together, typically at the end of a poem. Perfect rhymes, as the name suggests, have perfectly corresponding sounds together (Night and might, life and knife, big and fig, etc.). Eye rhymes are rhymes that appear to rhyme but actually don’t (cough and dough, thread and bead, etc.). Half rhymes use assonance or consonance to rhyme. There are other categories of rhymes, so if you’re interested in that, you can search up more examples.
Rhythm
Rhythm in poetry is hard to describe, but essentially, it’s how well a poem flows, similar to how music flows along to a beat.
Pauses
Pauses in poetry are areas in which the reader is meant to take a small break in reading or listening. In written poetry, this can be achieved using line breaks and punctuation; in spoken poetry, this can be achieved by stopping a recitation temporarily.
Onomatopoeia
Onomatopoeia is when words sound just as they are pronounced (ex. pop, ring, oof, growl, etc.).
Sibilance
Sibilance is the use of s and sh sounds to give a hushed, almost hissing tone to the poem.

Common Poetry types:
Acrostic
An acrostic is a poem where certain letters in a poem combine to spell out a word. Usually, you will see these letters at the beginning of each line, but technically, these letters can appear anywhere in the poem. Acrostics have a variety of uses, but common reasons to use acrostics are to help with memory or to show understanding of a topic.
Example:
An Acrostic - Edgar Allan Poe (look at the first letter of every line)
“Elizabeth it is in vain you say
“Love not” — thou sayest it in so sweet a way:
In vain those words from thee or L. E. L.
Zantippe's talents had enforced so well:
Ah! if that language from thy heart arise,
Breathe it less gently forth — and veil thine eyes.
Endymion, recollect, when Luna tried
To cure his love — was cured of all beside —
His folly — pride — and passion — for he died.”
Ballad
Ballads are song-like poems that are typically used to tell a quick-paced narrative. Usually, ballads are split into quatrains and use an ABCB rhyme scheme, along with having three to four stresses per line.
Example:
Rime of the Ancient Mariner - Samuel Taylor Coleridge (first quatrain)
“It is an ancient mariner
And he stoppeth one of three.
—"By thy long grey beard and glittering eye,
Now wherefore stoppest thou me.”
Blackout Poetry
Blackout poetry is a type of poetry where you remove or “blackout” words from any literary text that was written by somebody else. You can do this by taking a page from a book or magazine and redacting words until you form a poem out of the words on the page. (For some examples, just google “blackout poetry”). Blackout poetry is a great way to find inspiration for stories or other poems.
Cinquains
Cinquains are a broad class of poetry that consists of five lines. The most common type of cinquain that you will normally learn about are didactic cinquains, but you can research cinquains on your own if you are curious about them.
Elegy
An elegy is any poem that deals with a reflection about a person’s death. The broadest definition for an elegy is a poem that deals with grief or loss. There are no specific patterns an elegy needs to follow.
Epics
An epic is a narrative poem that spans an extensive length. Epics typically talk about heroes who complete remarkable tasks and deal with supernatural forces. The most famous example of this is The Odyssey by Homer.
Epigram
An epigram is a witty saying—while it can be considered a poetic form, it’s most commonly used as a poetry technique instead.
Example:
“I can resist everything but temptation." - Oscar Wilde
Epitaph
An epitaph is extremely similar to an elegy but is typically much shorter. Epitaphs are also commonly found on gravestone inscriptions.
Free Verse
Free verse, not to be confused with blank verse, is any poetry that does not have a rhyme scheme, nor does it have a consistent meter. Walt Whitman is known as the father of free verse, and googling his poems can give you plenty of examples of free verse poetry. Free verse is great for improving word choice and conveying ideas to an audience.
Haikus
Haikus are probably one of the most well-known types of poetry. Originating in Japan, a haiku consists of three lines. The first line has five syllables, the second line has seven syllables, and the third line has five syllables. (An important note: certain words, such as “fire,” are technically one syllable long, but are typically pronounced in two syllables—for these words, it’s up to the poet to decide how many syllables to count the word as, but make sure to stay consistent). Haikus are typically used to describe phenomena in nature.
Limericks
Limericks can be complicated, but the simplest definition of a limerick is a poem consisting of five lines that follow the rhyme scheme AABBA. The first, second, and fifth lines are around nine syllables long, and the third and fourth lines are around six syllables long. Traditional limericks follow a certain meter, but similar to most contemporary poetry, the meter characteristic is not required. Limericks are meant to have a humorous effect.
Lyrical
Lyrical poetry, as the name suggests, contains song-like qualities throughout a short poem. Lyrical poetry is typically used to discuss emotions and feelings and can be sung with a musical instrument.
Monorhyme
A monorhyme poem is a poem where every line rhymes with each other. Typically, the rhymes are perfect rhymes, but they can also use different rhymes such as half rhymes. Monorhymes are typically used in comedy or puzzles.
Slam Poetry
Slam poetry is one of the most different poetry forms. Instead of being read, slam poetry is meant to be recited or performed. Slam poetry takes advantage of emphasis, tone, and other qualities of voice to help the poem come to life. Slam poetry is typically performed live in competitions. Slam poetry, typically, but not always, discusses topics about diversity, current/controversial issues, storytelling, or personal hardship.
Sonnets
Sonnets are poems containing 14 lines of iambic pentameter. There are a variety of types of sonnets, such as Miltonic, Petrarchan, and Shakespearean sonnets, each following a different set of rules for the number of stanzas and rhyme scheme. Sonnets typically discuss topics of love and romance but also can be used to describe religion and nature.
Example:
Death, be not proud - John Donne
“Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;
For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow
Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.
Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,
And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well
And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally
And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.”
Tounge Twister
Tounge twisters are a series of words, typically alliterative, that are difficult to pronounce quickly.
Example: “How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?”
Visual Poetry
Visual poetry depends on the formatting and placement of words on the page. There are many different subcategories of visual poetry, such as concrete poetry and calligrams. Google visual poetry can give you some interesting results.

Other Basic types:
Cento
Cento poetry is an interesting form of poetry. Centos have no “new” words written—they are composed of lines from poems written by other poets.
Diamante
Diamante poetry contains seven lines, and the first and last lines are always a noun. The first, second, third, and half of the fourth line are about the noun in the first line, and the other half of the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh line describe the noun in the seventh line. The second and sixth lines consist of two adjectives, the third and fifth lines consist of three verbs, and the fourth line consists of four nouns. There are plenty of examples online for reference. Diamantes are used to compare or contrast two subjects.
Didactic Poetry
Didactic poetry is technically a broad genre of poetry, not a form. Didactic poetry is meant to teach a deeper lesson by instructing about morals and informing about a variety of topics.
Ekphrastic
Ekphrastic is another broad genre of poetry that discusses an art subject. These art subjects can range from famous paintings to sculptures to broad objects.
Etheree
Etherees are 10-line poems that have decreasing or increasing amount of syllables. If the first line has 10 syllables, the next lines will decrease syllables until the tenth line has one syllable. If the first line has 1 syllable, the next line will increase syllables until the tenth line has ten syllables. While etherees traditionally have ten lines, you can increase or decrease the total amount of lines to your liking. Etherees are used for topics of growth, decay, or change.
Example: Cabin intro of Poetry cabin, July 2021 (I led this cabin hehehehe, goes from 12 syllables to 1 syllable)
“low timbres of embers, distant heat arising,
amidst the lone forest, light beacon shining,
warm glows with shadows, beckons though silent,
entranced to flames dance, seek to find it,
once arrived, ideas revived,
introductions recited,
three storytellers stand,
greetings; outstretched hands,
'Welcome to the
Poetry
Fire-
side.’”
Narrative Poetry
Narrative poetry tells a story. There are no other constraints. (There’s barely anything to say for poetry forms that are more genres than poetry forms per se)
Pastoral Poetry
Pastoral poetry describes landscapes, nature, and rural life.
Prose Poetry
Prose poetry is basically poetry written in prose. It consists of the techniques normally found in poetry but is structured and formatted like prose. Prose poetry tells a story or describes a concept.
Example:
Information - David Ignatow
“This tree has two million and seventy-five thousand leaves. Perhaps I missed a leaf or two but I do feel triumphant at having persisted in counting by hand branch by branch and marked down on paper with pencil each total. Adding them up was a pleasure I could understand; I did something on my own that was not dependent on others, and to count leaves is not less meaningful than to count the stars, as astronomers are always doing. They want the facts to be sure they have them all. It would help them to know whether the world is finite. I discovered one tree that is finite. I must try counting the hairs on my head, and you too. We could swap information.”
Septolet
A septolet has a total of fourteen words and seven lines. Septolets consist of two stanzas, and the two stanzas can be separated into any number of combinations (first stanza is one line, second stanza is six lines; first stanza is three lines, second stanza is four lines, etc.). Septolets are used to paint a mental picture of a concept.
Soliloquy
A soliloquy is basically a monologue in the form of a poem. A character talks about their emotions and thoughts to themself. This is a common technique found in plays and musicals. The purpose of soliloquies is to reveal a character’s mindset or motives.

More Complicated types:
Blank Verse
Blank verse, not to be confused with free verse, is a poem with no rhyme scheme, but it does have some form of a meter (usually iambic pentameter). Blank verses are commonly paired with soliloquies or speeches, and they deal with self-reflection, description, narratives, power, or eccentricity.
Ghazal
Ghazals are poems that contain sets of couplets, with a minimum of five couplets, and a maximum of fifteen couplets. Ghazals traditionally consist of lines with the same meter and length. Ghazals have a complicated rhyme scheme—both lines in the first couplet end with the same word (or phrase), and the word preceding the last word of each line must rhyme. In following couplets, the last line must end with the same word as the word the first couplet ended with, along with having the word preceding the last word of that couplet rhyme with the rhymes used in the first couplet. The last couplet of a ghazal usually contains a proper noun, most often the name of the poet who wrote the ghazal. Ghazals deal with topics of nostalgia, religion, love, or grief.
Example:
Tonight - Agha Shahid Ali
“Where are you now? Who lies beneath your spell tonight?
Whom else from rapture’s road will you expel tonight?

Those “Fabrics of Cashmere—” “to make Me beautiful—”
“Trinket”—to gem—“Me to adorn—How tell”—tonight?

I beg for haven: Prisons, let open your gates—
A refugee from Belief seeks a cell tonight.

God’s vintage loneliness has turned to vinegar—
All the archangels—their wings frozen—fell tonight.

Lord, cried out the idols, Don’t let us be broken;
Only we can convert the infidel tonight.

Mughal ceilings, let your mirrored convexities
multiply me at once under your spell tonight.

He’s freed some fire from ice in pity for Heaven.
He’s left open—for God—the doors of Hell tonight.

In the heart’s veined temple, all statues have been smashed.
No priest in saffron’s left to toll its knell tonight.

God, limit these punishments, there’s still Judgment Day—
I’m a mere sinner, I’m no infidel tonight.

Executioners near the woman at the window.
D*mn you, Elijah, I’ll bless Jezebel tonight.

The hunt is over, and I hear the Call to Prayer
fade into that of the wounded gazelle tonight.

My rivals for your love—you’ve invited them all?
This is mere insult, this is no farewell tonight.

And I, Shahid, only am escaped to tell thee—
God sobs in my arms. Call me Ishmael tonight.”
Glosa
A glosa is similar to a cento—a glosa quotes four lines from a poem and uses these four lines as the last line of each stanza. There are a total of four stanzas, each stanza containing ten lines.
Golden Shovel
A golden shovel is a poem in which the last line of each line forms the words of a pre-existing poem.
Example:
The Golden Shovel - Terrance Hayes (Part I. 1981), taken from We Real Cool - Gwendolyn Brooks
“When I am so small Da’s sock covers my arm, we
cruise at twilight until we find the place the real

men lean, bloodshot and translucent with cool.
His smile is a gold-plated incantation as we

drift by women on bar stools, with nothing left
in them but approachlessness. This is a school

I do not know yet. But the cue sticks mean we
are rubbed by light, smooth as wood, the lurk

of smoke thinned to song. We won’t be out late.
Standing in the middle of the street last night we

watched the moonlit lawns and a neighbor strike
his son in the face. A shadow knocked straight

Da promised to leave me everything: the shovel we
used to bury the dog, the words he loved to sing

his rusted pistol, his squeaky Bible, his sin.
The boy’s sneakers were light on the road. We

watched him run to us looking wounded and thin.
He’d been caught lying or drinking his father’s gin.

He’d been defending his ma, trying to be a man. We
stood in the road, and my father talked about jazz,

how sometimes a tune is born of outrage. By June
the boy would be locked upstate. That night we

got down on our knees in my room. If I should die
before I wake. Da said to me, it will be too soon.”
Minute Poetry
Minute poetry follows the form of time. There are a total of 60 syllables in 12 lines. The first line of each stanza uses 8 syllables, and the second, third, and fourth lines of each stanza use 4 syllables. There are a total of 3 stanzas, and the poem is written in iambic meter with a rhyme scheme of AABB.
Ode
There are a multitude of types of odes that I will not cover in this workshop, but if you’re interested in how to write a proper ode, you can google the different ways there are to write an ode. In general, an ode is any poem that is addressed to another person, place, concept, or object.
Palindrome Poetry
A palindrome poem is a poem that reads the same forward and back. This can be on a letter-by-letter basis (“A man, a plan, a canal: Panama”) or a word-by-word basis (“fall leaves when leaves fall.”).
Pantoum
Pantoum poems are used to give a hypnotic, repetitive feel to the reader. Pantoums follow an ABAB pattern and typically consist of four stanzas, but there can be as many stanzas as the poet wishes to have. The second stanza’s first and third lines are the same as the first stanza’s second and fourth lines, respectively. The third stanza’s first and third lines are the same as the second stanza’s second and fourth lines, and this cycle continues until the last stanza. In the last stanza, the first and third lines are the same as the second and fourth lines of the previous stanza, the second line is the same as the third line in the first stanza, and the fourth line is the same as the first line in the first stanza.
Example:
Another Lullaby for Insomniacs - A. E. Stallings
”Sleep, she will not linger:
She turns her moon-cold shoulder.
With no ring on her finger,
You cannot hope to hold her.

She turns her moon-cold shoulder
And tosses off the cover.
You cannot hope to hold her:
She has another lover.

She tosses off the cover
And lays the darkness bare.
She has another lover.
Her heart is otherwhere.

She lays the darkness bare.
You slowly realize
Her heart is otherwhere.
There's distance in her eyes.

You slowly realize
That she will never linger,
With distance in her eyes
And no ring on her finger."
Quatern
A quatern consists of four quatrains, each line containing eight syllables. The first line of the first stanza becomes the second line of the second stanza, the third line of the third stanza, and the fourth line of the fourth stanza.
Sestina
A sestina is a 39-line poem, broken up into six sestets and a final tercet. The words that end the six lines of the first stanza must end the lines of the next five stanzas, and these words must be in a line that it has not occupied in any previous stanza (if I used the word “lasagna” at the end of the first line in the first stanza, I can no longer use the word “lasagna” to end the first line of the next five stanzas, and I must use the word “lasagna” in the second, third, fourth, fifth, or sixth line—once I use the word “lasagna” in one of those lines, I can no longer have the word “lasagna” occupy that line in any of the stanzas after it.) The final tercet must contain all six words; each line contains two of the words.
Example:
Sestina - Algernon Charles Swinburne
“I saw my soul at rest upon a day
As a bird sleeping in the nest of night,
Among soft leaves that give the starlight way
To touch its wings but not its eyes with light;
So that it knew as one in visions may,
And knew not as men waking, of delight.

This was the measure of my soul's delight;
It had no power of joy to fly by day,
Nor part in the large lordship of the light;
But in a secret moon-beholden way
Had all its will of dreams and pleasant night,
And all the love and life that sleepers may.

But such life's triumph as men waking may
It might not have to feed its faint delight
Between the stars by night and sun by day,
Shut up with green leaves and a little light;
Because its way was as a lost star's way,
A world's not wholly known of day or night.

All loves and dreams and sounds and gleams of night
Made it all music that such minstrels may,
And all they had they gave it of delight;
But in the full face of the fire of day
What place shall be for any starry light,
What part of heaven in all the wide sun's way?

Yet the soul woke not, sleeping by the way,
Watched as a nursling of the large-eyed night,
And sought no strength nor knowledge of the day,
Nor closer touch conclusive of delight,
Nor mightier joy nor truer than dreamers may,
Nor more of song than they, nor more of light.

For who sleeps once and sees the secret light
Whereby sleep shows the soul a fairer way
Between the rise and rest of day and night,
Shall care no more to fare as all men may,
But be his place of pain or of delight,
There shall he dwell, beholding night as day.

Song, have thy day and take thy fill of light
Before the night be fallen across thy way;
Sing while he may, man hath no long delight.”
Tetractys
A tetractys is a poem that has five lines, the first line containing one syllable, the second line containing two syllables, the third line containing three syllables, the fourth line containing four syllables, and the fifth line containing ten syllables.
Triolet
A triolet is a poem consisting of eight lines, following the pattern ABaAabAB (capital letters refer to a repetition of a line, and lowercase letters represent rhyming).
Example:
Triolet - Sandra McPherson
“She was in love with the same danger
everybody is. Dangerous
as it is to love a stranger,
she was in love. With that same danger
an adulteress risks a husband’s anger.
Stealthily death enters a house:
she was in love with that danger.
Everybody is dangerous.”
Villanelle
A villanelle is a 19-line poem consisting of 6 stanzas (first five stanzas are tercets, the last stanza is a quatrain). Villanelles follow the form of A1bA2 abA1 abA2 abA1 abA2 abA1A2 (capital letters representing repeated lines, lower case letters representing rhymes).
Example:
Do not go gentle into that good night - Dylan Thomas
“Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”

There are more poetry forms I didn’t cover, such as rondeaus, tyburns, kyrielles, tankas, ottava rimas, and much more. If you’re interested in learning more poetry forms, feel free to search up and learn about more poetry forms (I’m running out of time for this workshop ahahaha).

Literary Devices Used in Poetry:
Allegory
An allegory is a poem that symbolizes a deeper meaning; there is a hidden meaning beyond the literal meaning of the poem.
Allusion
Allusions are references to well-known figures, works of art, literature, pop culture, events, and more (ex. Sini is going to be the next Hemmingway for all we know)
Ambiguity
Ambiguity is the purposeful choice to allow phrases to have multiple meanings and interpretations. This occurs when a phrase or word can have multiple definitions, or if a phrase can be interpreted differently by others depending on knowledge or circumstance.
Analogy
An analogy is used to compare two different things based on how they resemble a certain characteristic (ex. Polar bears are to mammals as red robins are to birds)
Anaphora
Anaphora is a type of repetition in which phrases are repeated in succession.
Example from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s “I have a Dream” speech:
“Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana…”
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is when non-human characters or objects are displayed and written as human-like characters. This usually results in talking animals (a bunch of Disney movies lol) and objects that move on their own (the first thing that comes to mind is the tea set from Beauty and the Beast). This is different from personification; personification is only metaphorical, while anthropomorphism is literal.
Antithesis
An antithesis is when you put two contrasting ideas side by side of each other in a parallel structure. A famous example of this is Neil Armstrong’s quote, “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”
Apostrophe
An apostrophe is a reference to a person, idea, or object that isn’t actually present in the poem. The thing being referred to can’t actually respond back, but you refer to it in the poem as if it can give a response. You will normally see the word “O” to indicate an apostrophe (ex. “O Death, listen to me…”; “Where have you gone, Hope, despair fills the world, come back…”, etc.)
Asyndeton
Asyndeton is the choice of removing conjunction in a list where it otherwise should be required (ex. “I was shivering, panting, crying.”; “never thought I’d see you here, the water’s foggy, less than clear” (from Alba’s Chlorine song), “all he ever did was win, lie, manipulate” etc.)
Cliche
A cliche is a well-known idea that is overused to the point that a reader can expect it to happen.
Connotation/Denotation
Connotation is the emotion and tone a word invokes, while denotation is the literal definition of the word.
Enjambment
Enjambment is when you break a sentence or phrase apart so it continues into the next line without any punctuation.
Example from Finley’s poem:
“Stone slabs
Slanting sideways as the world flips”
Euphemism
A euphemism is a replacement of a phrase with a more vague term. This is typically used to cover up the fact the euphemism means something offensive, inappropriate, or unpleasant (ex. “Sleeping under the ground” to refer to somebody who has died, “dodging sticks” to refer to physical abuse, etc.)
Foreshadowing
Foreshadowing is a hint earlier in a poem (or any piece of writing) that warns about something that will occur later on.
Hyperbole
A hyperbole is a statement that is an extreme exaggeration to emphasize something (ex. “I could eat a horse right now,” “I could fall asleep and not wake up for an entire week,” etc.)
Hypophora
A hypophora is when the speaker asks a question to the audience and answers it right after (ex. “Do you know why I’m writing this workshop? Because Kat will murder me if I don’t. That’s why.”; “Who should you bow down to right now? The hosts, of course. They’ll eat you if you don’t obey them.” etc.)
Idiom
An idiom is an expression that won’t be understood if you don’t learn it beforehand (ex. “Butterfingers” means you drop things easily, “green thumb” means you’re good with plants, etc.).
Irony
There are three types of irony: verbal, situational, and dramatic irony. Since this isn’t a workshop on irony, I won’t go in-depth about what each type means, but irony generally means that the idea being described is not the actual idea that is being expressed/expected (ex. “Oh wow, I am so happy that I failed my test (verbal irony)”)
Juxtaposition
Juxtaposition is when you place two concepts next to each other. This is similar to antithesis, however, antithesis has two contrasting concepts that are complete opposites of each other, while juxtaposition usually has two concepts that are either similar or different. An antithesis is by definition a juxtaposition, but a juxtaposition is not always an antithesis.
Kenning
A kenning is a phrase consisting of two or more words that are meant to replace a noun (ex. “couch-potato” to refer to a lazy person, “swan road” to refer to the sea, “icicle of blood” to refer to a sword, etc.)
Metaphors/Conceits
A metaphor is comparing two things without using like or as. Similarly, a conceit is a metaphor that is extended throughout the writing piece. Conceits usually draw comparisons between two very different things and are more abstract (and can use like or as), while metaphors draw comparisons between two things that have some similarities (ex. “The sky is a multicolor painting (metaphor),” “the spinning world is a party I never attend—it keeps going on, even without me (conceit)” etc.)
Metonymy
A metonymy is when you refer to a noun based on a characteristic of that noun or something associated with that name. Nicknames usually use metonymy (ex. I like the show How to Get Away With Murder, so I’ll use that as an example xD Wes is referred to as “Waitlist” by Connor because he was on the college’s waitlist, Oliver is referred to as “Hacker” by Michaela and “IT Guy” by Wes, Frank is referred to as “Beard” by Connor, etc.). The difference between kennings and metonymies is that kennings are a group of words that aren’t necessarily associated with the word being described, while metonymies use characteristics and attributions commonly associate with the word being described (“vast water” is a metonymy while “whale-road” is a kenning)
Motif
A motif is a symbol that occurs multiple times throughout a piece. While symbols may only appear once in a piece of writing, motifs appear multiple times throughout a piece.
Oxymoron
An oxymoron is a phrase or sentence that contradicts itself (ex. “Original copy,” “same different,” “I know your unknown secret” etc.)
Paradox
A paradox is similar to an oxymoron, in which ideas, concepts, or themes contradict themselves (oxymorons have words contradicting, while paradoxes are more abstract and have ideas that contradict) (ex. “It’s kind to be cruel” is a paradox, while “kindly cruel” is an oxymoron)
Personification
Personification is when you describe something non-human to have non-human characteristics. Personification is only descriptive and metaphorical, while anthropomorphism is literal (ex. “The sun smiled at me” is personification, unless the sun actually has a face and is smiling at you, which in that case it’s an anthropomorphism)
Pleonasm
Pleonasm is when you use unnecessary words to add emphasis to a certain part of your writing. Typically, people discourage pleonasms, but it can be impactful if done correctly (ex. “I saw it myself with my very own eyes”; “a warm, burning fire emitting heat” etc.)
Polysyndeton
Polysyndeton is the opposite of asyndeton—instead of an absence of conjunctions, you have the overuse of conjunctions in a list (ex. “I went to the store, and the mall, and the movies, and the park, and the pool”; “He always lies to me, and he never truly loved me, and he keeps manipulating me”; “She is running, and sprinting, and straying away from fear,” etc.)
Prosthesis
A prosthesis is when you add an extra letter in front of a word without changing the word’s meaning, typically to match a meter (ex. “Atapping” adds an a in front of “tapping,” “awaking” adds an a in front of “waking” etc.). Apheresis is the opposite of prosthesis, which is the removal of letters from the beginning of a word (“ ‘til “ instead of “until”; “ ‘cause “ instead of “because” etc.)
Proverb
Proverbs are similar to epigrams; proverbs are wise sayings that give advice. Epigrams are meant to be a witty way of getting a thought across, while proverbs try describing a lesson.
Rhetorical Question
A rhetorical question is a question that is asked but not meant to have an answer. A rhetorical question is used to get an idea across (ex. “Do you realize what you have done?”; “Why do bad things keep happening to me?” etc.)
Similes
Similes are comparisons between two things using “like” or “as” (ex. “Polar bears are as smart as Honey”; “My passion for eating food is just like Birdi’s passion for taking amazing photographs and you should probably go on Birdi’s profile and congratulate her” etc.)
Symbolism
Symbolism is when you use a symbol to represent a concept or theme (ex. Fire to represent anger, red lights to represent a block or pause, etc.)
Synecdoche
Synechdoches are a type of metonymies; synecdoches use a part of the noun to refer to a noun (ex. Heads to refer to people, stove to refer to the kitchen, set of wheels to refer to a car, etc.)
Tmesis
Tmesis is when you separate a word by inserting another word in between it (ex. “Everyday” is separated into ‘every single day”; “another” is separated into “a whole nother” etc.)
Understatement/Meiosis
An understatement, also known as meiosis (science people, don’t get it confused, it’s weird I know) is when you give something less importance than it deserves (ex. Referring to a skyscraper as a “shack”; “I walked into a store and saw a person get shot in the head. That was too bad; I proceeded to pay for my chicken nuggets at the checkout” etc.)
Volta
A volta is a shift or turn in thought in a poem, typically near the end of a poem as a revelation or change in emotions. Voltas can be distinguished beginning with a conjunction such as “and,” “but,” “for,” etc.
Zeugma
A zeugma is when you refer to two subjects with a verb that literally affects one of the subjects, and metaphorically affects the other subject (ex. “My life and papers were shredded into pieces”; “I watched as the birds and my love fly away from me”; “seeing him on the screen lights up the room” etc.) — this is by far one of my most favorite literary devices to use in poetry (notice how I used a pleonasm in that hehe)
Zoomorphism
Zoomorphism is when you give animal-like characteristics to something that is not an animal (ex. “My sister runs like a cheetah”; “my stomach growled at me”; “the wind was clawing at my skin” etc.)


Conclusion
You’ll see that this workshop has mainly informed you on the aspects of poetry, however, it does not mention how to actually write poetry. There is no clear define way of writing poetry, and every poet uses a different method of style to write their own poetry. Poetry is about finding your own personal voice, and you can only do that by experimenting on your own. Don’t feel that you have to follow a certain form or use a certain technique in your poetry; style is created by picking the parts of poetry you enjoy writing, and it’s fine to ignore certain aspects that you don’t like (for me, I personally hate using most types of poetry forms because I feel constrained by them, and I find it difficult to write descriptive imagery, so my style can just get rid of all those parts I don’t like). Poetry is not meant to constrain what you can write, but to give you the freedom to express concepts and stories in whatever format you prefer. And if poetry is not for you, that’s fine too (okay possibly a lie it’s not fine to not like poetry but whatever I am definitely totally not biased right now /s)! Anyways, this concludes my workshop, I hope you learned something interesting

Websites referenced:
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/
https://poets.org/
http://www.shadowpoetry.com/
https://literarydevices.net/

FIRST <33 FANTASTIC WORK! IT'S SO DETAILED :star_struck:

Also ty for using my poem as an example <33 You deserve credit for that too because you really helped me edit it, Master of Poetry

GOTTA LOVE FINLEY’S POEM

Meiosis, haha….. I was confused for a sec and now I know how much of a nerd I am. Also, how did u write all of this like whaaaat, I could barely read the whole thing, its so long!

wow!! thank you so much for writing this workshop, zai, i can't wait to get started! i learned so much about poetry without even starting to write yet xD

AMAZING <33 I was absolutely intrigued eheh

This is amazing!! It's honestly more than I've learned in the entire poetry section of my literature curriculum, thank you!!!

Polarbear_17 wrote:

Apologies in advance for any typos or errors, I worked on this quite last second so it’s very rushed ahaha, I hope you enjoy my first ever workshop anyway xD

Intro to Poetry and Structure:
Prose vs Poetry
A good starting point to learn about poetry is knowing the difference between prose and poetry. Generally, prose is writing that follows regular sentence structure and is what you commonly read in articles and novels. In fact, this entire workshop is written in prose (excluding the poetry snippets). Poetry, on the other hand, sprinkles in imagery and details to make an expressive form of writing. Poetry takes advantage of a variety of techniques to appeal to aestheticism and patterns. There isn’t a clear definition that splits prose and poetry, but taking a glance at a piece of writing is usually enough to distinguish whether something is written in prose or poetry.
Rhyme Scheme
Rhyme scheme! I’m sure all of you know what a rhyme scheme is: it’s a rhyming pattern that is followed throughout a poem. There are many names dedicated to certain rhyme schemes, but you can get away with not knowing the names of these rhyme schemes. Rhyme schemes are normally written using letters to show which lines rhyme (ex. ABAB rhyme scheme, ABBA rhyme scheme, ABCB rhyme scheme, ABCCBA rhyme scheme, etc.).
Lineation
Lineation is simply the technique of breaking sections apart with blank lines. Lineation takes advantage of line breaks to get a certain point across and is used to divide thoughts into different sections. Poets take advantage of lineation to add emphasis to certain sections or better develop a central idea.
Isometric—isometric poetry has lines that are of the same length throughout the poem or stanza (iso means equal, meter is how poetry lengths are measured in)
Heterometric—heterometric poetry has lines that have varying lengths throughout the poem or stanza (hetero means different, meter is how poetry lengths are measured in)
Quasi-stanzaic—quasi-stanzaic poetry have irregular lengths and patterns (compared to heterometric, which is written in meter and may have a rhyme scheme)
Stichic—stichic poetry contains lines with around the same meter and length, all contained in one stanza.
Stanza
A stanza is just a group of lines isolated in a poem. Stanzas are given different names depending on how many lines are in the stanza. Here are the stanza names for stanzas consisting of one to ten lines, in order: Monostitch, Couplet, Tercet, Quatrain, Quintain, Sestet, Septet, Octet, Nonet, Dizain.

Sound Mechanics:
Alliteration
Alliteration is a sentence or phrase in which the first letter of each word in the sentence or phrase is the same as each other (ex. Alba always amazing and awesome!)
Assonance
Assonance is a type of rhyme in which the sound of the vowel match each other (ex. Fight and eyes, bate and fake, bone and boat)
Cacophony
Cacophony is the use of harsh-sounding sounds in a sentence.
Example from Finley’s (@The-Book-Worm) poem, Fractured Fragments
“Finally, silence
As smoke settles
Secretly sparking
Waiting for sharpened shards
To shatter bits of broken light”
Notice how the k, t, c, and p sounds give almost a hushed tone to the poem due to the clashing of the sounds.
Consonance
Consonance is a type of rhyme in which the last consonant match with each other (ex. Kat and great, book and bake, cope and clump)
Euphony
Euphony is the opposite of cacophony; it is the use of pleasant-sounding sounds in a sentence.
Example from Finley’s poem again:
“Flares of false wishes
Welding flaws
Of wistful futures”
Notice how the r, sh, w, and st sounds give a whimsical feel to the poem due to the pleasant unity of those sounds.
Meter
Meter is the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a poem. (ex. The word “polar,” the first syllable is stressed while the second syllable is unstressed—the word “adapt,” the first syllable is unstressed while the second syllable is stressed).
Meters can be measured using the following feet (meter is the unit of measure to find the length of a line, while feet is the sequence of stresses and unstresses): Iamb, Trochee, Pyrrh, Spondee, Dactyl, Anapest, Amphibrach — you can search up what pattern of stresses and unstresses each of these feet use. Depending on the number of meters, lines can be categorized as Mono, Di, Tri, Tetra, Penta, Hexa, Septa, Octa, Nona, or Decameter).
Modulation
Modulation is the inflection and the way you express words when you speak them aloud. Modulation is a term most used in associated with spoken word poetry.
Oronyms
Oronyms are a set of sentences or phrases that sound close to identical (ex. “I scream” and “ice cream,” “the stuffy nose” and “the stuff he knows”)
Repetition
Repetition of the use of a certain word, phrase, line, or idea multiple times to show emphasis and get a point across.
Rhyme
Rhyme is the process of matching corresponding sounds together, typically at the end of a poem. Perfect rhymes, as the name suggests, have perfectly corresponding sounds together (Night and might, life and knife, big and fig, etc.). Eye rhymes are rhymes that appear to rhyme but actually don’t (cough and dough, thread and bead, etc.). Half rhymes use assonance or consonance to rhyme. There are other categories of rhymes, so if you’re interested in that, you can search up more examples.
Rhythm
Rhythm in poetry is hard to describe, but essentially, it’s how well a poem flows, similar to how music flows along to a beat.
Pauses
Pauses in poetry are areas in which the reader is meant to take a small break in reading or listening. In written poetry, this can be achieved using line breaks and punctuation; in spoken poetry, this can be achieved by stopping a recitation temporarily.
Onomatopoeia
Onomatopoeia is when words sound just as they are pronounced (ex. pop, ring, oof, growl, etc.).
Sibilance
Sibilance is the use of s and sh sounds to give a hushed, almost hissing tone to the poem.

Common Poetry types:
Acrostic
An acrostic is a poem where certain letters in a poem combine to spell out a word. Usually, you will see these letters at the beginning of each line, but technically, these letters can appear anywhere in the poem. Acrostics have a variety of uses, but common reasons to use acrostics are to help with memory or to show understanding of a topic.
Example:
An Acrostic - Edgar Allan Poe (look at the first letter of every line)
“Elizabeth it is in vain you say
“Love not” — thou sayest it in so sweet a way:
In vain those words from thee or L. E. L.
Zantippe's talents had enforced so well:
Ah! if that language from thy heart arise,
Breathe it less gently forth — and veil thine eyes.
Endymion, recollect, when Luna tried
To cure his love — was cured of all beside —
His folly — pride — and passion — for he died.”
Ballad
Ballads are song-like poems that are typically used to tell a quick-paced narrative. Usually, ballads are split into quatrains and use an ABCB rhyme scheme, along with having three to four stresses per line.
Example:
Rime of the Ancient Mariner - Samuel Taylor Coleridge (first quatrain)
“It is an ancient mariner
And he stoppeth one of three.
—"By thy long grey beard and glittering eye,
Now wherefore stoppest thou me.”
Blackout Poetry
Blackout poetry is a type of poetry where you remove or “blackout” words from any literary text that was written by somebody else. You can do this by taking a page from a book or magazine and redacting words until you form a poem out of the words on the page. (For some examples, just google “blackout poetry”). Blackout poetry is a great way to find inspiration for stories or other poems.
Cinquains
Cinquains are a broad class of poetry that consists of five lines. The most common type of cinquain that you will normally learn about are didactic cinquains, but you can research cinquains on your own if you are curious about them.
Elegy
An elegy is any poem that deals with a reflection about a person’s death. The broadest definition for an elegy is a poem that deals with grief or loss. There are no specific patterns an elegy needs to follow.
Epics
An epic is a narrative poem that spans an extensive length. Epics typically talk about heroes who complete remarkable tasks and deal with supernatural forces. The most famous example of this is The Odyssey by Homer.
Epigram
An epigram is a witty saying—while it can be considered a poetic form, it’s most commonly used as a poetry technique instead.
Example:
“I can resist everything but temptation." - Oscar Wilde
Epitaph
An epitaph is extremely similar to an elegy but is typically much shorter. Epitaphs are also commonly found on gravestone inscriptions.
Free Verse
Free verse, not to be confused with blank verse, is any poetry that does not have a rhyme scheme, nor does it have a consistent meter. Walt Whitman is known as the father of free verse, and googling his poems can give you plenty of examples of free verse poetry. Free verse is great for improving word choice and conveying ideas to an audience.
Haikus
Haikus are probably one of the most well-known types of poetry. Originating in Japan, a haiku consists of three lines. The first line has five syllables, the second line has seven syllables, and the third line has five syllables. (An important note: certain words, such as “fire,” are technically one syllable long, but are typically pronounced in two syllables—for these words, it’s up to the poet to decide how many syllables to count the word as, but make sure to stay consistent). Haikus are typically used to describe phenomena in nature.
Limericks
Limericks can be complicated, but the simplest definition of a limerick is a poem consisting of five lines that follow the rhyme scheme AABBA. The first, second, and fifth lines are around nine syllables long, and the third and fourth lines are around six syllables long. Traditional limericks follow a certain meter, but similar to most contemporary poetry, the meter characteristic is not required. Limericks are meant to have a humorous effect.
Lyrical
Lyrical poetry, as the name suggests, contains song-like qualities throughout a short poem. Lyrical poetry is typically used to discuss emotions and feelings and can be sung with a musical instrument.
Monorhyme
A monorhyme poem is a poem where every line rhymes with each other. Typically, the rhymes are perfect rhymes, but they can also use different rhymes such as half rhymes. Monorhymes are typically used in comedy or puzzles.
Slam Poetry
Slam poetry is one of the most different poetry forms. Instead of being read, slam poetry is meant to be recited or performed. Slam poetry takes advantage of emphasis, tone, and other qualities of voice to help the poem come to life. Slam poetry is typically performed live in competitions. Slam poetry, typically, but not always, discusses topics about diversity, current/controversial issues, storytelling, or personal hardship.
Sonnets
Sonnets are poems containing 14 lines of iambic pentameter. There are a variety of types of sonnets, such as Miltonic, Petrarchan, and Shakespearean sonnets, each following a different set of rules for the number of stanzas and rhyme scheme. Sonnets typically discuss topics of love and romance but also can be used to describe religion and nature.
Example:
Death, be not proud - John Donne
“Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;
For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow
Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.
Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,
And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well
And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally
And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.”
Tounge Twister
Tounge twisters are a series of words, typically alliterative, that are difficult to pronounce quickly.
Example: “How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?”
Visual Poetry
Visual poetry depends on the formatting and placement of words on the page. There are many different subcategories of visual poetry, such as concrete poetry and calligrams. Google visual poetry can give you some interesting results.

Other Basic types:
Cento
Cento poetry is an interesting form of poetry. Centos have no “new” words written—they are composed of lines from poems written by other poets.
Diamante
Diamante poetry contains seven lines, and the first and last lines are always a noun. The first, second, third, and half of the fourth line are about the noun in the first line, and the other half of the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh line describe the noun in the seventh line. The second and sixth lines consist of two adjectives, the third and fifth lines consist of three verbs, and the fourth line consists of four nouns. There are plenty of examples online for reference. Diamantes are used to compare or contrast two subjects.
Didactic Poetry
Didactic poetry is technically a broad genre of poetry, not a form. Didactic poetry is meant to teach a deeper lesson by instructing about morals and informing about a variety of topics.
Ekphrastic
Ekphrastic is another broad genre of poetry that discusses an art subject. These art subjects can range from famous paintings to sculptures to broad objects.
Etheree
Etherees are 10-line poems that have decreasing or increasing amount of syllables. If the first line has 10 syllables, the next lines will decrease syllables until the tenth line has one syllable. If the first line has 1 syllable, the next line will increase syllables until the tenth line has ten syllables. While etherees traditionally have ten lines, you can increase or decrease the total amount of lines to your liking. Etherees are used for topics of growth, decay, or change.
Example: Cabin intro of Poetry cabin, July 2021 (I led this cabin hehehehe, goes from 12 syllables to 1 syllable)
“low timbres of embers, distant heat arising,
amidst the lone forest, light beacon shining,
warm glows with shadows, beckons though silent,
entranced to flames dance, seek to find it,
once arrived, ideas revived,
introductions recited,
three storytellers stand,
greetings; outstretched hands,
'Welcome to the
Poetry
Fire-
side.’”
Narrative Poetry
Narrative poetry tells a story. There are no other constraints. (There’s barely anything to say for poetry forms that are more genres than poetry forms per se)
Pastoral Poetry
Pastoral poetry describes landscapes, nature, and rural life.
Prose Poetry
Prose poetry is basically poetry written in prose. It consists of the techniques normally found in poetry but is structured and formatted like prose. Prose poetry tells a story or describes a concept.
Example:
Information - David Ignatow
“This tree has two million and seventy-five thousand leaves. Perhaps I missed a leaf or two but I do feel triumphant at having persisted in counting by hand branch by branch and marked down on paper with pencil each total. Adding them up was a pleasure I could understand; I did something on my own that was not dependent on others, and to count leaves is not less meaningful than to count the stars, as astronomers are always doing. They want the facts to be sure they have them all. It would help them to know whether the world is finite. I discovered one tree that is finite. I must try counting the hairs on my head, and you too. We could swap information.”
Septolet
A septolet has a total of fourteen words and seven lines. Septolets consist of two stanzas, and the two stanzas can be separated into any number of combinations (first stanza is one line, second stanza is six lines; first stanza is three lines, second stanza is four lines, etc.). Septolets are used to paint a mental picture of a concept.
Soliloquy
A soliloquy is basically a monologue in the form of a poem. A character talks about their emotions and thoughts to themself. This is a common technique found in plays and musicals. The purpose of soliloquies is to reveal a character’s mindset or motives.

More Complicated types:
Blank Verse
Blank verse, not to be confused with free verse, is a poem with no rhyme scheme, but it does have some form of a meter (usually iambic pentameter). Blank verses are commonly paired with soliloquies or speeches, and they deal with self-reflection, description, narratives, power, or eccentricity.
Ghazal
Ghazals are poems that contain sets of couplets, with a minimum of five couplets, and a maximum of fifteen couplets. Ghazals traditionally consist of lines with the same meter and length. Ghazals have a complicated rhyme scheme—both lines in the first couplet end with the same word (or phrase), and the word preceding the last word of each line must rhyme. In following couplets, the last line must end with the same word as the word the first couplet ended with, along with having the word preceding the last word of that couplet rhyme with the rhymes used in the first couplet. The last couplet of a ghazal usually contains a proper noun, most often the name of the poet who wrote the ghazal. Ghazals deal with topics of nostalgia, religion, love, or grief.
Example:
Tonight - Agha Shahid Ali
“Where are you now? Who lies beneath your spell tonight?
Whom else from rapture’s road will you expel tonight?

Those “Fabrics of Cashmere—” “to make Me beautiful—”
“Trinket”—to gem—“Me to adorn—How tell”—tonight?

I beg for haven: Prisons, let open your gates—
A refugee from Belief seeks a cell tonight.

God’s vintage loneliness has turned to vinegar—
All the archangels—their wings frozen—fell tonight.

Lord, cried out the idols, Don’t let us be broken;
Only we can convert the infidel tonight.

Mughal ceilings, let your mirrored convexities
multiply me at once under your spell tonight.

He’s freed some fire from ice in pity for Heaven.
He’s left open—for God—the doors of Hell tonight.

In the heart’s veined temple, all statues have been smashed.
No priest in saffron’s left to toll its knell tonight.

God, limit these punishments, there’s still Judgment Day—
I’m a mere sinner, I’m no infidel tonight.

Executioners near the woman at the window.
D*mn you, Elijah, I’ll bless Jezebel tonight.

The hunt is over, and I hear the Call to Prayer
fade into that of the wounded gazelle tonight.

My rivals for your love—you’ve invited them all?
This is mere insult, this is no farewell tonight.

And I, Shahid, only am escaped to tell thee—
God sobs in my arms. Call me Ishmael tonight.”
Glosa
A glosa is similar to a cento—a glosa quotes four lines from a poem and uses these four lines as the last line of each stanza. There are a total of four stanzas, each stanza containing ten lines.
Golden Shovel
A golden shovel is a poem in which the last line of each line forms the words of a pre-existing poem.
Example:
The Golden Shovel - Terrance Hayes (Part I. 1981), taken from We Real Cool - Gwendolyn Brooks
“When I am so small Da’s sock covers my arm, we
cruise at twilight until we find the place the real

men lean, bloodshot and translucent with cool.
His smile is a gold-plated incantation as we

drift by women on bar stools, with nothing left
in them but approachlessness. This is a school

I do not know yet. But the cue sticks mean we
are rubbed by light, smooth as wood, the lurk

of smoke thinned to song. We won’t be out late.
Standing in the middle of the street last night we

watched the moonlit lawns and a neighbor strike
his son in the face. A shadow knocked straight

Da promised to leave me everything: the shovel we
used to bury the dog, the words he loved to sing

his rusted pistol, his squeaky Bible, his sin.
The boy’s sneakers were light on the road. We

watched him run to us looking wounded and thin.
He’d been caught lying or drinking his father’s gin.

He’d been defending his ma, trying to be a man. We
stood in the road, and my father talked about jazz,

how sometimes a tune is born of outrage. By June
the boy would be locked upstate. That night we

got down on our knees in my room. If I should die
before I wake. Da said to me, it will be too soon.”
Minute Poetry
Minute poetry follows the form of time. There are a total of 60 syllables in 12 lines. The first line of each stanza uses 8 syllables, and the second, third, and fourth lines of each stanza use 4 syllables. There are a total of 3 stanzas, and the poem is written in iambic meter with a rhyme scheme of AABB.
Ode
There are a multitude of types of odes that I will not cover in this workshop, but if you’re interested in how to write a proper ode, you can google the different ways there are to write an ode. In general, an ode is any poem that is addressed to another person, place, concept, or object.
Palindrome Poetry
A palindrome poem is a poem that reads the same forward and back. This can be on a letter-by-letter basis (“A man, a plan, a canal: Panama”) or a word-by-word basis (“fall leaves when leaves fall.”).
Pantoum
Pantoum poems are used to give a hypnotic, repetitive feel to the reader. Pantoums follow an ABAB pattern and typically consist of four stanzas, but there can be as many stanzas as the poet wishes to have. The second stanza’s first and third lines are the same as the first stanza’s second and fourth lines, respectively. The third stanza’s first and third lines are the same as the second stanza’s second and fourth lines, and this cycle continues until the last stanza. In the last stanza, the first and third lines are the same as the second and fourth lines of the previous stanza, the second line is the same as the third line in the first stanza, and the fourth line is the same as the first line in the first stanza.
Example:
Another Lullaby for Insomniacs - A. E. Stallings
”Sleep, she will not linger:
She turns her moon-cold shoulder.
With no ring on her finger,
You cannot hope to hold her.

She turns her moon-cold shoulder
And tosses off the cover.
You cannot hope to hold her:
She has another lover.

She tosses off the cover
And lays the darkness bare.
She has another lover.
Her heart is otherwhere.

She lays the darkness bare.
You slowly realize
Her heart is otherwhere.
There's distance in her eyes.

You slowly realize
That she will never linger,
With distance in her eyes
And no ring on her finger."
Quatern
A quatern consists of four quatrains, each line containing eight syllables. The first line of the first stanza becomes the second line of the second stanza, the third line of the third stanza, and the fourth line of the fourth stanza.
Sestina
A sestina is a 39-line poem, broken up into six sestets and a final tercet. The words that end the six lines of the first stanza must end the lines of the next five stanzas, and these words must be in a line that it has not occupied in any previous stanza (if I used the word “lasagna” at the end of the first line in the first stanza, I can no longer use the word “lasagna” to end the first line of the next five stanzas, and I must use the word “lasagna” in the second, third, fourth, fifth, or sixth line—once I use the word “lasagna” in one of those lines, I can no longer have the word “lasagna” occupy that line in any of the stanzas after it.) The final tercet must contain all six words; each line contains two of the words.
Example:
Sestina - Algernon Charles Swinburne
“I saw my soul at rest upon a day
As a bird sleeping in the nest of night,
Among soft leaves that give the starlight way
To touch its wings but not its eyes with light;
So that it knew as one in visions may,
And knew not as men waking, of delight.

This was the measure of my soul's delight;
It had no power of joy to fly by day,
Nor part in the large lordship of the light;
But in a secret moon-beholden way
Had all its will of dreams and pleasant night,
And all the love and life that sleepers may.

But such life's triumph as men waking may
It might not have to feed its faint delight
Between the stars by night and sun by day,
Shut up with green leaves and a little light;
Because its way was as a lost star's way,
A world's not wholly known of day or night.

All loves and dreams and sounds and gleams of night
Made it all music that such minstrels may,
And all they had they gave it of delight;
But in the full face of the fire of day
What place shall be for any starry light,
What part of heaven in all the wide sun's way?

Yet the soul woke not, sleeping by the way,
Watched as a nursling of the large-eyed night,
And sought no strength nor knowledge of the day,
Nor closer touch conclusive of delight,
Nor mightier joy nor truer than dreamers may,
Nor more of song than they, nor more of light.

For who sleeps once and sees the secret light
Whereby sleep shows the soul a fairer way
Between the rise and rest of day and night,
Shall care no more to fare as all men may,
But be his place of pain or of delight,
There shall he dwell, beholding night as day.

Song, have thy day and take thy fill of light
Before the night be fallen across thy way;
Sing while he may, man hath no long delight.”
Tetractys
A tetractys is a poem that has five lines, the first line containing one syllable, the second line containing two syllables, the third line containing three syllables, the fourth line containing four syllables, and the fifth line containing ten syllables.
Triolet
A triolet is a poem consisting of eight lines, following the pattern ABaAabAB (capital letters refer to a repetition of a line, and lowercase letters represent rhyming).
Example:
Triolet - Sandra McPherson
“She was in love with the same danger
everybody is. Dangerous
as it is to love a stranger,
she was in love. With that same danger
an adulteress risks a husband’s anger.
Stealthily death enters a house:
she was in love with that danger.
Everybody is dangerous.”
Villanelle
A villanelle is a 19-line poem consisting of 6 stanzas (first five stanzas are tercets, the last stanza is a quatrain). Villanelles follow the form of A1bA2 abA1 abA2 abA1 abA2 abA1A2 (capital letters representing repeated lines, lower case letters representing rhymes).
Example:
Do not go gentle into that good night - Dylan Thomas
“Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”

There are more poetry forms I didn’t cover, such as rondeaus, tyburns, kyrielles, tankas, ottava rimas, and much more. If you’re interested in learning more poetry forms, feel free to search up and learn about more poetry forms (I’m running out of time for this workshop ahahaha).

Literary Devices Used in Poetry:
Allegory
An allegory is a poem that symbolizes a deeper meaning; there is a hidden meaning beyond the literal meaning of the poem.
Allusion
Allusions are references to well-known figures, works of art, literature, pop culture, events, and more (ex. Sini is going to be the next Hemmingway for all we know)
Ambiguity
Ambiguity is the purposeful choice to allow phrases to have multiple meanings and interpretations. This occurs when a phrase or word can have multiple definitions, or if a phrase can be interpreted differently by others depending on knowledge or circumstance.
Analogy
An analogy is used to compare two different things based on how they resemble a certain characteristic (ex. Polar bears are to mammals as red robins are to birds)
Anaphora
Anaphora is a type of repetition in which phrases are repeated in succession.
Example from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s “I have a Dream” speech:
“Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana…”
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is when non-human characters or objects are displayed and written as human-like characters. This usually results in talking animals (a bunch of Disney movies lol) and objects that move on their own (the first thing that comes to mind is the tea set from Beauty and the Beast). This is different from personification; personification is only metaphorical, while anthropomorphism is literal.
Antithesis
An antithesis is when you put two contrasting ideas side by side of each other in a parallel structure. A famous example of this is Neil Armstrong’s quote, “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”
Apostrophe
An apostrophe is a reference to a person, idea, or object that isn’t actually present in the poem. The thing being referred to can’t actually respond back, but you refer to it in the poem as if it can give a response. You will normally see the word “O” to indicate an apostrophe (ex. “O Death, listen to me…”; “Where have you gone, Hope, despair fills the world, come back…”, etc.)
Asyndeton
Asyndeton is the choice of removing conjunction in a list where it otherwise should be required (ex. “I was shivering, panting, crying.”; “never thought I’d see you here, the water’s foggy, less than clear” (from Alba’s Chlorine song), “all he ever did was win, lie, manipulate” etc.)
Cliche
A cliche is a well-known idea that is overused to the point that a reader can expect it to happen.
Connotation/Denotation
Connotation is the emotion and tone a word invokes, while denotation is the literal definition of the word.
Enjambment
Enjambment is when you break a sentence or phrase apart so it continues into the next line without any punctuation.
Example from Finley’s poem:
“Stone slabs
Slanting sideways as the world flips”
Euphemism
A euphemism is a replacement of a phrase with a more vague term. This is typically used to cover up the fact the euphemism means something offensive, inappropriate, or unpleasant (ex. “Sleeping under the ground” to refer to somebody who has died, “dodging sticks” to refer to physical abuse, etc.)
Foreshadowing
Foreshadowing is a hint earlier in a poem (or any piece of writing) that warns about something that will occur later on.
Hyperbole
A hyperbole is a statement that is an extreme exaggeration to emphasize something (ex. “I could eat a horse right now,” “I could fall asleep and not wake up for an entire week,” etc.)
Hypophora
A hypophora is when the speaker asks a question to the audience and answers it right after (ex. “Do you know why I’m writing this workshop? Because Kat will murder me if I don’t. That’s why.”; “Who should you bow down to right now? The hosts, of course. They’ll eat you if you don’t obey them.” etc.)
Idiom
An idiom is an expression that won’t be understood if you don’t learn it beforehand (ex. “Butterfingers” means you drop things easily, “green thumb” means you’re good with plants, etc.).
Irony
There are three types of irony: verbal, situational, and dramatic irony. Since this isn’t a workshop on irony, I won’t go in-depth about what each type means, but irony generally means that the idea being described is not the actual idea that is being expressed/expected (ex. “Oh wow, I am so happy that I failed my test (verbal irony)”)
Juxtaposition
Juxtaposition is when you place two concepts next to each other. This is similar to antithesis, however, antithesis has two contrasting concepts that are complete opposites of each other, while juxtaposition usually has two concepts that are either similar or different. An antithesis is by definition a juxtaposition, but a juxtaposition is not always an antithesis.
Kenning
A kenning is a phrase consisting of two or more words that are meant to replace a noun (ex. “couch-potato” to refer to a lazy person, “swan road” to refer to the sea, “icicle of blood” to refer to a sword, etc.)
Metaphors/Conceits
A metaphor is comparing two things without using like or as. Similarly, a conceit is a metaphor that is extended throughout the writing piece. Conceits usually draw comparisons between two very different things and are more abstract (and can use like or as), while metaphors draw comparisons between two things that have some similarities (ex. “The sky is a multicolor painting (metaphor),” “the spinning world is a party I never attend—it keeps going on, even without me (conceit)” etc.)
Metonymy
A metonymy is when you refer to a noun based on a characteristic of that noun or something associated with that name. Nicknames usually use metonymy (ex. I like the show How to Get Away With Murder, so I’ll use that as an example xD Wes is referred to as “Waitlist” by Connor because he was on the college’s waitlist, Oliver is referred to as “Hacker” by Michaela and “IT Guy” by Wes, Frank is referred to as “Beard” by Connor, etc.). The difference between kennings and metonymies is that kennings are a group of words that aren’t necessarily associated with the word being described, while metonymies use characteristics and attributions commonly associate with the word being described (“vast water” is a metonymy while “whale-road” is a kenning)
Motif
A motif is a symbol that occurs multiple times throughout a piece. While symbols may only appear once in a piece of writing, motifs appear multiple times throughout a piece.
Oxymoron
An oxymoron is a phrase or sentence that contradicts itself (ex. “Original copy,” “same different,” “I know your unknown secret” etc.)
Paradox
A paradox is similar to an oxymoron, in which ideas, concepts, or themes contradict themselves (oxymorons have words contradicting, while paradoxes are more abstract and have ideas that contradict) (ex. “It’s kind to be cruel” is a paradox, while “kindly cruel” is an oxymoron)
Personification
Personification is when you describe something non-human to have non-human characteristics. Personification is only descriptive and metaphorical, while anthropomorphism is literal (ex. “The sun smiled at me” is personification, unless the sun actually has a face and is smiling at you, which in that case it’s an anthropomorphism)
Pleonasm
Pleonasm is when you use unnecessary words to add emphasis to a certain part of your writing. Typically, people discourage pleonasms, but it can be impactful if done correctly (ex. “I saw it myself with my very own eyes”; “a warm, burning fire emitting heat” etc.)
Polysyndeton
Polysyndeton is the opposite of asyndeton—instead of an absence of conjunctions, you have the overuse of conjunctions in a list (ex. “I went to the store, and the mall, and the movies, and the park, and the pool”; “He always lies to me, and he never truly loved me, and he keeps manipulating me”; “She is running, and sprinting, and straying away from fear,” etc.)
Prosthesis
A prosthesis is when you add an extra letter in front of a word without changing the word’s meaning, typically to match a meter (ex. “Atapping” adds an a in front of “tapping,” “awaking” adds an a in front of “waking” etc.). Apheresis is the opposite of prosthesis, which is the removal of letters from the beginning of a word (“ ‘til “ instead of “until”; “ ‘cause “ instead of “because” etc.)
Proverb
Proverbs are similar to epigrams; proverbs are wise sayings that give advice. Epigrams are meant to be a witty way of getting a thought across, while proverbs try describing a lesson.
Rhetorical Question
A rhetorical question is a question that is asked but not meant to have an answer. A rhetorical question is used to get an idea across (ex. “Do you realize what you have done?”; “Why do bad things keep happening to me?” etc.)
Similes
Similes are comparisons between two things using “like” or “as” (ex. “Polar bears are as smart as Honey”; “My passion for eating food is just like Birdi’s passion for taking amazing photographs and you should probably go on Birdi’s profile and congratulate her” etc.)
Symbolism
Symbolism is when you use a symbol to represent a concept or theme (ex. Fire to represent anger, red lights to represent a block or pause, etc.)
Synecdoche
Synechdoches are a type of metonymies; synecdoches use a part of the noun to refer to a noun (ex. Heads to refer to people, stove to refer to the kitchen, set of wheels to refer to a car, etc.)
Tmesis
Tmesis is when you separate a word by inserting another word in between it (ex. “Everyday” is separated into ‘every single day”; “another” is separated into “a whole nother” etc.)
Understatement/Meiosis
An understatement, also known as meiosis (science people, don’t get it confused, it’s weird I know) is when you give something less importance than it deserves (ex. Referring to a skyscraper as a “shack”; “I walked into a store and saw a person get shot in the head. That was too bad; I proceeded to pay for my chicken nuggets at the checkout” etc.)
Volta
A volta is a shift or turn in thought in a poem, typically near the end of a poem as a revelation or change in emotions. Voltas can be distinguished beginning with a conjunction such as “and,” “but,” “for,” etc.
Zeugma
A zeugma is when you refer to two subjects with a verb that literally affects one of the subjects, and metaphorically affects the other subject (ex. “My life and papers were shredded into pieces”; “I watched as the birds and my love fly away from me”; “seeing him on the screen lights up the room” etc.) — this is by far one of my most favorite literary devices to use in poetry (notice how I used a pleonasm in that hehe)
Zoomorphism
Zoomorphism is when you give animal-like characteristics to something that is not an animal (ex. “My sister runs like a cheetah”; “my stomach growled at me”; “the wind was clawing at my skin” etc.)


Conclusion
You’ll see that this workshop has mainly informed you on the aspects of poetry, however, it does not mention how to actually write poetry. There is no clear define way of writing poetry, and every poet uses a different method of style to write their own poetry. Poetry is about finding your own personal voice, and you can only do that by experimenting on your own. Don’t feel that you have to follow a certain form or use a certain technique in your poetry; style is created by picking the parts of poetry you enjoy writing, and it’s fine to ignore certain aspects that you don’t like (for me, I personally hate using most types of poetry forms because I feel constrained by them, and I find it difficult to write descriptive imagery, so my style can just get rid of all those parts I don’t like). Poetry is not meant to constrain what you can write, but to give you the freedom to express concepts and stories in whatever format you prefer. And if poetry is not for you, that’s fine too (okay possibly a lie it’s not fine to not like poetry but whatever I am definitely totally not biased right now /s)! Anyways, this concludes my workshop, I hope you learned something interesting

Websites referenced:
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/
https://poets.org/
http://www.shadowpoetry.com/
https://literarydevices.net/

Hi,It was amazing although I have a doubt, it is how many lines should a lyrical poetry have

This was such a cool workshop <33 very detailed n informative!! <33

Purvitekriwal wrote:

Hi,It was amazing although I have a doubt, it is how many lines should a lyrical poetry have

Lyrical poetry can have as many lines as you need to convey the idea across

Ok because I have a long one… It will have I think as many words as the activity

Infact it js a mix of blank verse and lyrical

Wow, great workshop, I learned so much from this! (Seriously, my knowledge of poetry types before reading it were “Uh… there's haikus, and free verse… and, um, acrostic, and… the rhyming one?” xD)

Wow! This is so interesting to read. You did an amazing job Zai! I read every single word! <33 I've learned a lot more about poetry than I ever did in English class lol.

ahh this is insane though so much detail <3