Poem Types and Ratings
One of the most common mistakes seen in the poem section is the mislabeling of poem types and ratings. To help prevent the unintentional mislabeling of poems, this article with thoroughly explain each poem type and rating, as well as certain acceptable exceptions. If you have any questions about poetry types and ratings, please contact a poem editor.
Poem Types
Acrostic
An acrostic poem is a series of lines or verses where the first, last or other particular letters, when taken in order, spell out a word, phrase, etc. It is not a regular free-verse poem. However, the poem title does not have to be what the actual poem spells. For example, Glad You Found Me is an acceptable acrostic poem.
Ballad
This poem is usually a song that tells a story, but with more structure than a narrative. It sometimes consists of repeated lines or a refrain. The intent of a song should be considered when composing a ballad. Basically, it’s a song that tells a story.
Elegy
An elegy is a poem that’s a sad song usually played at a funeral regarding someone's death as a memorial. Like the ballad, it doesn’t have to be in song form. An elegy doesn’t have to be a song at all, but it must be mournful and usually regards the dead.
Epic
An epic poem is a very long poem that consists of supernatural elements such as gods and goddesses, upper and lower worlds (heaven and hell, etc.), a hero, and a villain. However, it could be acceptable if your epic does not include multiple supernatural elements, but it should always be lengthy and include a protagonist and an antagonist and/or a quest for something or someone. Epics normally rhyme, but rhyming is not a necessity. An epic is not an "awesome" poem, or any slang meaning of the word "epic."
Free-verse
Free-verse poems have no structure, no expected rhyme, or any patterns at all. If your poem has no specific amount of lines per stanza, random or no rhyme, then it’s a free-verse. If your poem does have structure or rhyme, there may be a more suitable category.
Haiku
A haiku poem is a three line, one stanza poem where the first and last lines consist of five syllables and the second line consists of seven. Haiku poems are usually about nature. However, with Haikus the rules are slightly flexible. It is acceptable to have multiple haikus in one haiku poem. It is also acceptable to slightly change the syllable count (so long as the middle line is longer than the other two). But, it’s not acceptable to have a haiku with more than three lines per stanza, because that defeats the purpose of a haiku: brevity. If your poem has more than three lines, doesn’t follow the stanza rule, and has multiple haikus in it, type it as something else.
Limerick
A limerick is normally a five line, humorous or witty poem with a anapaest or amphibrach meter that has a strict rhyme scheme (AABBA).The meter is sometimes disregarded in a limerick, however, poem editors wouldn’t find it acceptable if the limerick wasn’t humorous.
Lyrics
Lyrics are a poem that is written in the form of a song (consisting of verses, chorus, bridges and/or hooks) with the intent of the lyrics being sung or rapped. But the poem doesn’t have to have subtitles (chorus, verse, etc.) so long as it’s truly meant to be a song. It could also be a poem based on emotional feelings alone.
Narrative
A narrative poem is a poem that intends on telling a story. But, although it’s supposed to tell a story, that does not mean it should be written in story form with paragraphs. It’s good to be creative, but if the poem does not consist of lines and/or stanzas, then post it as a drabble in the story section, not a poem.
Ode
An ode is a poem of praise (usually a person) of someone or something that the writer admires. Odes are pretty flexible, as long as they favor a dedication or praise of some type.
Rhyme
A rhyme is basically a poem that has a patterned or irregular rhyme scheme. Structure of the poem shouldn’t matter. This is one of the easiest to categorize. Basically, if it follows none of the other poem types, but rhymes, then it’s a rhyme. A good example of a rhyme would be the poem Ninety Nine Babies. The poem has structure and it rhymes; therefore, it’s a rhyme.
Sonnet
This poem is a fourteen line poem, where each line consists of ten syllables, that follows a rhyme scheme of abab-cdcd-efef-gg. However, the rules for this can be slightly flexible, with twelve lines instead of fourteen and varying syllable and rhyme schemes. You can find more information on Sonnets here.
Verse
A verse poem is one that has a very structured amount of syllables per line, and lines per stanza. Basically it’s a neat and structured looking poem. No rhyme scheme or syllable count is necessary. Memories is a good example of a verse poem. Each stanza has four lines and each line has four to ten (mostly seven) syllables.
Poem Ratings
G: No profanity, sexual innuendo, sexual situations, violence, drugs, etc. Good clean fun.
PG: Mild implied sexual innuendo, mild bad words used occasionally, violence or serious (though not mature) topics are allowed.
PG-13: Some violence and gore permitted. Sexual innuendo, implied sexual relations [but never sex scenes however mild]. May include serious topics such as suicide, sexuality, mild drug/alcohol advocacy, rape aftermath, details of childbirth. Not intended for those under 13.
R: Just-short-of explicit sex allowed. Graphic torture, violence, and gore permitted. Rape just-short-of explicit is allowed. Extreme language, slurs, and drug usage are allowed. Not recommended for minors.
NC-17: Explicit sex scenes and excessively gory violence allowed, as well as everything above. Not intended for minors.