Basically there are two poetic structures: closed and open.

Closed (fixed) forms—adhere more closely to prescribed requirements concerning line length, rhyme, and stanzaic structure.

1. Include epics, ballads, pictograms (poems that look like shapes), and sonnets.

Sonnets include:

q Shakespearian [abab, cdcd, efef, gg rhyme scheme]

q Petrarchan [abba,abba,cde,cde, or cd cd]

q Spenserian [abab, bcbc, cdcd, ee]

2. Other closed forms include:

q couplets (two rhyming lines, a a)

q tercets (a a a, aba, bcb, cdc, etc.)

q quatrains (abcb, abab, abba, aabb, aaaa)

q Cinquains (syllables—first line 2, second line 4, third line 6, fourth line 8, fifth line 2)

Example of a Cinquain:

Kitty,

Furry, fluffy

Always ready to pounce.

He makes me a youngster again.

Purr-fect!

Open forms—do not follow a prescribed pattern of rhyme or stanzaic structure (free and loose but not formless)

1. free verse—still has rhythm and balance