Parts of a Poem

Parts of a Poem The short poem Little Boy Blue contains four lines with end rhymes. Universal History Archive/Getty Images

A poem is a kind of literature. The people who write poems are called poets.

Poems can be any length. They can be about any subject. Some poems tell a story. Some poems are about the poet’s thoughts and feelings.

There are many different types of poems. But all poems have the same basic parts. They include a title, lines, stanzas, rhythm, and rhyme.

The title is the name of a poem. It might tell the reader what a poem is about, or it might only give a hint.

The words in a poem are organized in lines. A line is like a sentence. Lines are organized in stanzas. A stanza is like a paragraph.

The words below are from a poem. It is called “Happiness.” It was written in the twentieth century. Raymond Carver wrote this poem. The words are in seven lines and two stanzas:

• So early it’s still almost dark out.
• I’m near the window with coffee,
• and the usual early morning stuff
• that passes for thought.
• When I see the boy and his friend
• walking up the road
• to deliver the newspaper.

Some poems have just a few lines. Others have thousands of lines. Each line in a poem may be a sentence. But a line can be just one word.

A poem may have just one stanza or several stanzas. Each stanza in a poem can have a different number of lines.

Rhythm is a pattern of sound in a poem. Poets carefully choose the words in a poem. They create rhythm. Rhythm can be heard in a poem.

Poets use the syllables in words. They use them to create rhythm. A syllable is a part of a word. It has at least one vowel. It makes one sound when spoken.

Rhyme is a sound that repeats. Some poems have rhyme. But others do not.

End rhyme is the most common type. The words at the end of lines rhyme.

These lines are from the poem “Sick.” It was written in the twentieth century. Shel Silverstein wrote this poem.

• I cannot go to school today,
• Said little Peggy Ann McKay.
• I have the measles and the mumps,
• A gash, a rash and purple bumps.