fixed form
Prescribed verse structure
Fixed form refers to poetry written according to established patterns of rhyme, meter, stanza length, and other structural requirements.
Sonnets, villanelles, haiku, and limericks are fixed forms—each with specific rules poets must follow.
The term contrasts with free verse, which has no predetermined structure.
She preferred writing in fixed forms because the constraints sparked her creativity.
- sonnetFourteen-line metered poem
- fourteen linesSonnet's defining measure
- villanelleRepeating-refrain verse structure
- haikuJapanese seventeen-syllable verse
- syllable countNumber of word segments
stanza · rhyme · rhyme scheme · end rhyme · meter · iambic pentameter · sestina · limerick · verse · syllable · couplet · quatrain · ballad · ode · refrain · rigid · strict rules · structured
fixed formfree verse
Poetry without fixed structure
prose poetry · experimental poetry · stream of consciousness
fix, fixed, fixes, fixing, fixer, fixable, fixation, fixative, fixity