Poetry Cheatsheet

Poetry is a matter of trope; and verse, of scheme or design. … a shopping list or roadsign can be rhymed—which is why most verse is not poetry.

Forms

There are Italian/Petrarchan sonnets and English sonnets. The English version is shown below.

The modern English haiku is derived from a Japanese form. A short lyric which presents a vivid snapshot of nature that leads to a spiritual insight.

three (or fewer) lines
no more than 17 syllables (2, 3, and 2 feet per line)
a caesura between the snapshot of nature and the spiritual insight

Three things are certain:
Death, taxes, and lost data.
Guess which has occurred.

Now then, let's go out
to enjoy the snow... until
I slip and fall!

A valley village
Lies in the grip of moonlight:
How lovely it is.

A limerick is a ribald five line verse, popularized by Edward Lear in this Book of Nonsense.

five lines
usually A-A-B-B-A rhyme scheme
lines 1, 2, and 5 have three feet; lines 3 and 4 have two feet
anapestic meter (short, short, long), though many substitutions are common
line 1 introduces a person and place
last line often a twist/surprise ending

There was a small boy of Quebec
Who was burried in snow to his neck
When they said, "are you friz?"
He replied, "Yes, I is—
But we don't call this cold in Quebec."

A Wonderful bird is the pelican
His bill can hold more than his belican
He can take in his beak
Food enough for a week
But I'm damned if I see how the helican.

There was a fair maiden of Exeter
So pretty that guys craned their necks at her.
One was even so brave
As to take out and wave
The distinguishing mark of his sex at her.

References

Haiku [Wikipedia]
Limerick [Wikipedia]