Form The form of a poem, like the meter, is a prescribed pattern, but in fact is even stricter, often involving the meter, structure, rhyme scheme and tone of a poem. The basic unit of form is the stanza , the series of lines that follow the form before it starts over again. So think of a stanza in poetry as like each new verse or chorus of a song. Often, a new stanza is preceded by a blank line. Even if you're not familiar with the form of the poem you're reading, a pattern will still most likely become evident as you read along.
Poets are deep.
You may have begun to notice that modern poets don't much like to follow a lot of rules. The stuff you scribble in your diary may have some value to you, but without some kind of discipline it most likely really is just scribbling. Common forms Blank verse , or unrhymed iambic pentameter, is one of the simplest forms, in that each line is essentially a new stanza. We've provided a chart below of some of the longer forms. Diction refers to the language of a poem, and how each word is chosen to convey a precise meaning.