Poetry Corner Word Search

About this puzzle

Poetry has its own toolkit. Forms give a poem its shape — the sonnet, haiku, limerick, ballad, ode and elegy — while stanzas, couplets, rhyme and meter organize its lines and sounds. Figurative language such as metaphor, simile, alliteration and imagery makes words do more than describe. The list opens on Hard and works well as revision for a literature class.

The default layout is Hard on a 15×15 grid. Easy, Medium and Hard each use their own checked layout of the same words, and every one can be printed in standard or large print on US Letter or A4.

Word notes

Sonnet

A 14-line poem.

Haiku

A short form from Japan, traditionally three lines of 5, 7 and 5 syllables.

Limerick

A comic five-line poem with an AABBA rhyme scheme, made popular by Edward Lear.

Couplet

Two lines that belong together, usually rhyming.

Metaphor

Describes something as if it were something else: "time is a thief".

Simile

A comparison using "like" or "as": "brave as a lion".

Alliteration

Repeating the same first sound in nearby words: "silly snakes slither".

Ode

A poem of praise addressed to a person, object or idea, such as John Keats's "Ode to a Nightingale".

Elegy

A poem of mourning or reflection.

Try this after the puzzle

Write a haiku together — five, seven and five syllables — about the season outside the window. Then find one example each of a simile, a metaphor and alliteration in a poem the class is reading. Confident writers can try a limerick.

All 14 words

Rhyme · Stanza · Sonnet · Haiku · Limerick · Couplet · Meter · Ballad · Metaphor · Simile · Alliteration · Ode · Elegy · Imagery