Does the poetic form generally encourage the poet to write about a particular theme?
Students should then turn to a specific poem written in the poetic form they are studying. Each description in the Academy of American Poets list offers several examples to choose from. If possible, have students print out a copy of the poem. Ask them to mark the various formal features of the poem, such as rhyme scheme and stanza breaks, and to underline the appropriate themes often found in that poetic form.
