Poem Types: Acrostic

An acrostic poem is characterised by the use of a topic word or phrase, where each line contains a letter of a word, whether this be at the beginning or end of the line. Each line should have one letter from the topic word in it, and most – if not all – lines should relate to the topic as a whole.

Famous Acrostic Poems

To Doctor Empiric is an acrostic poem by Ben Jonson using the topic word wolf. Whilst this poem is short and to-the-point, it will appeal to a lot of people. It’s wonderfully written and uses clever hidden meaning to surprise even the most expectant of readers.

An Acrostic, by Edgar Allan Poe, is a wonderful acrostic that spells out the subject’s name in the first letter of each line. The entire poem comes off as very light-hearted and flows almost effortlessly throughout. This poem wasn’t published when Poe was alive – it was found at a later date and released to the public.

Although included in a novel, the final chapter of Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll is a nameless acrostic poem that spells out Alice’s full name. Known universally as A Boat Beneath a Sunny Sky, this poem is simplistic and wonderfully written and provides a powerful message in the final line.

Acrostic Poetry on Mibba

Sweet Pea | Little Boy is a beautiful little poem that looks back on a friendship that is no longer. With simple language that the reader can relate to and a bittersweet ending, this acrostic poem will be sure to leave you impressed!

Sweet Pie uses the acrostic poem to take a more humorous approach to poetry. An ode to a delicious sweet pie, this poem will doubtlessly leave you with a smile on your face!

Confusion can be a difficult poem to read, but is definitely a powerful one! Dealing with a sensitive subject, the message is wonderful and the emotion so obviously poured into this acrostic makes it an impressive read.

Of all the types of poems that the world has to offer, writing an acrostic poem is perhaps the easiest. So if you’re looking for a place to kick-start your poetry-writing career, look no further than Mibba’s acrostic section!

Special thanks to Airi. and Fandango for editing!