Poetry Maps: Mapping Out The Structure Of Each Poem Type So You Can Write More Efficiently
Poetry may contain physical language, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to visualize how a poem’s structure should look.
In an effort to increase comprehension of my blog “Different Poetry Styles and What Topics They Work Best With,” I thought it may help to provide poetry maps for each different poetry type. Now, the term “poetry map” has multiple definitions, but when I say it, I mean I’m going to lay out the structure of each poem type based on rhyme scheme, stressed syllables, and stanza length. That way, beginner poets like myself may have an easier time identifying which poem type works best with the topic they want to write about, and they won’t spend quite as long trying to figure out how to write it properly. Let’s get into it!
Syllables: represented by dashes (-)
Rhyme Scheme: represented by letters/numbers (ABAB, A1 A2, etc.)
Haiku
A haiku has three lines, the first and third of which have five syllables, and the second line has seven syllables. Haikus do not rhyme. Thus, its map would look like this:
- - - - -
- - - - - - -
- - - - -
Find some examples of haikus here.
Limerick
Limericks are five-line poems, in which the first, second, and fifth lines rhyme with each other, and the third and fourth lines rhyme with each other. Here is its map:
A
A
A
B
B
A
Find some examples of limericks here.
Cinquain
Cinquains are also five lines long, where there are two syllables in the first and last lines, four syllables in the second line, six in the third, and eight in the fourth. These do not need to rhyme, but they can if you wish. Its map would look like this:
- -
- - - - -
- - - - - -
- - - - - - - -
- -
Find some examples of cinquains here.
Sapphic Ode
Sapphic Odes are written with any number of quatrains, the first three 11-syllable lines, and the last a five-syllable line – these odes do not rhyme, but they do have a strict meter. Typically, the first three lines contain two trochees (one stressed syllable followed by one unstressed syllable) followed by one dactyl (a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables) and then two more trochees, and the last line is composed of one dactyl followed by one trochee.
For this particular poem, stressed syllables will be represented with dashes (-) and unstressed syllables will be represented with slashes (/). Here’s the map:
-/-/-//-/-/
-/-/-//-/-/
-/-/-//-/-/
-//-/
Find some examples of Sapphic Odes here.
Shakespearean/English Sonnet
These sonnets are written in three quatrains with a concluding couplet and a specific rhyme scheme, where all quatrains rhyme, but don’t rhyme with each other:
A
B
A
B
C
D
C
D
E
F
E
F
G
G
Petrarchan Sonnet
This sonnet type is written in two octaves and one sestet with a specific rhyme scheme:
A
B
B
A
A
B
B
A
A
B
B
A
A
B
B
A
C C
D D
C Or E
D C
C D
D E
Find some examples of petrarchan sonnets here.
Italian Sonnet
This is the same as the Petrarchan Sonnet, except the final sestet has a different rhyme scheme. Its map goes:
A
B
B
A
A
B
B
A
A
B
B
A
A
B
B
A
C
D
D
C
E
E
Find some examples of Italian sonnets here.
Curtal Sonnet
This sonnet is a shorter version of the Italian Sonnet. We replace the two quatrains in the octaves with two, six-stress tercets, and the final sestet with four and a half lines, the first three of which are six-stress and the final line three-stress. With such a strict rhyme and syllable structure, here is its map, bringing back the dashes for stressed syllables (-) and slashes for unstressed (/):
-/-/-/-/-/-/ A
-/-/-/-/-/-/ B
-/-/-/-/-/-/ C
-/-/-/-/-/-/ A
-/-/-/-/-/-/ B
-/-/-/-/-/-/ C
-/-/-/-/-/-/ D
-/-/-/-/-/-/ B
-/-/-/-/-/-/ E
D
-/-/-/ B
Find some examples of curtal sonnets here.
Spenserian Sonnet
This is a variation of the Shakespearean Sonnet with a slightly different rhyme scheme that ends up making almost all the stanzas interlock with each other:
A
B
A
B
B
C
B
C
C
D
C
D
E
E
Find some examples of spenserian sonnets here.
Villanelle
Villanelles are 19-line poems of five tercets and one quatrain at the end, where the first and third lines of the first stanza repeat alternately throughout the poem. These two lines also form the final couplet at the end of the poem:
A1 (repeating line)
B
A2 (second repeating line)
A
B
A1
A
B
A2
A
B
A1
A
B
A2
A
B
A1
A2
Find some examples of villanelles here.
Sestina
A sestina is made up of six sestets and ends with one tercet. Sestinas don’t repeat whole lines like villanelles, but they do repeat words. These words will appear at the end of each line, but not in the same order in every stanza. The final tercet however includes these words, but one is in the middle of each line, and one is at the end. If you were to choose six words to write a sestina with, and they were labeled ABCDEF in the first stanza, your poem would map out like this:
A
B
C
D
E
F
F
A
E
B
D
C
C
F
D
A
B
E
E
C
B
F
A
D
D
E
A
C
F
B
B
D
F
E
C
A
BE
DC
FA (the final tercet)
Find some examples of sestinas here.
Pantoum
Pantoums are similar to villanelles in that they repeat lines. They’re written in quatrains, where the second and fourth line of each stanza become the first and third line in the next. Most times, the first line of the poem also becomes the last line of the poem, and the third line of the poem becomes the second line of the last stanza. They can rhyme or not, but traditional ones rhyme. Here’s what the map would look like:
A
B
A
B
Second line of poem
A
Fourth line of poem
A
Second line of previous stanza
B
Fourth line of previous stanza
B
Second line of previous stanza
A
Fourth line of previous stanza
A
Second line of previous stanza
B
Fourth line of previous stanza
B
Second line of previous stanza
Third line of the poem
Fourth line of previous stanza
First line of the poem
Find some examples of pantoums here.
Ghazal
Ghazals consist of somewhere between five and fifteen couplets. There is no strict meter, but each line must be the same length. The first couplet introduces a rhyme followed by a refrain; the rest of the couplets only follow the scheme in the second line, repeating the refrain and rhyming the second line with both lines of the first stanza. The final couplet usually refers to the author in first or third person by name. Here’s its map:
A
A (include refrain)
B
A (include refrain)
C
A (include refrain)
D
A (include refrain)
E (author name somewhere in this couplet)
A (include refrain)
Find some examples of ghazals here.
Ballad
Ballads are written in any number of quatrains with either an ABAB or ABCB rhyme scheme and four-stress first and third lines and three-stress second and fourth lines. The map would like either of these two, depending on your preferred rhyme scheme:
-/-/-/-/ A
-/-/-/ B
-/-/-/-/ A
-/-/-/ B
Or
-/-/-/-/ A
-/-/-/ B
-/-/-/-/ C
-/-/-/ B
Find some examples of ballads here.