How Long Should a Poem Be?

The longest poem ever written is “The Mahabharata,” a Sanskrit epic with 200,000 verse lines, amounting to over 1.8 million words. It took 500 years to write. And in the 1970s, Aram Saroyam wrote a one-letter poem consisting of a four-legged version of the letter “m.” (Does that even qualify as a poem?) Clearly, you have a lot of wiggle room when it comes to how long a poem should be. But before you go off handing a one-letter poem to your professor or publisher, consider the expectations of your audience and the conventions of poetic form.

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A renaissance couple talks about how long a poem should be.

How Long Are Most Poems?

The length of a poem depends on its purpose, form, and message. At the most basic, that means the content of your poem can be as short or as long as you need to get your point across. However, the form you’re using usually dictates how long a poem should be.

Short-Form Poem Length

Short-form poems generally consist of fewer than 10 lines or 60 words. Specific types include:

  • Cinquain
  • Couplet
  • Haiku
  • Limerick
  • Monostitch
  • Tanka

Mid-Form Poem Length

Mid-form poems fall between 10 and about 40 lines, which is usually just long enough to develop themes and imagery. These include:

  • Canzone
  • Ghazal
  • Rondeau
  • Sonnet
  • Triversen
  • Villanelle

Long-Form Poem Length

Long-form poems can be the size of novels, although most of them have fewer than 1.8 million words. Long-form poetry includes:

  • Allegory
  • Ballad
  • Epic
  • Free verse
  • Narrative
  • Ode

If you’re looking to expand your poetic repertoire, explore our top poetry writing resources to find guides, workbooks, and tools that can help you craft poems of any length and style. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced poet, these resources are perfect for improving your writing skills and unlocking inspiration:

👉 BUY – A Poetry Handbook

👉 BUY – The Poet’s Companion: A Guide to the Pleasures of Writing Poetry

👉 BUY – Poetry For Dummies

how many lines should be in a poem

How Many Lines Should Be in a Poem?

Many types of poems have structural rules, which often include a specific length. Some well-known (and not-so-well-known) examples are:

Cinquain

Cinquains contain five lines. In the American version, developed by Adelaide Crapsey, each line has a set number of syllables (2-4-6-8-2).

Limerick

A limerick is a witty, poetic form that originated in Ireland and has roots dating back to the 18th century. Limericks consist of five lines with an A-A-B-B-A rhyme structure.

Sestina

Sestinas have 39 lines arranged into seven stanzas. They also have a strict pattern that rotates the same six words at the end of each line.

Sonnet

William Shakespeare championed the sonnet in the 16th and 17th centuries. It always has 14 lines arranged into three quatrains and a couplet, written in iambic pentameter.

Tanka

Similar to a haiku, a tanka is a traditional Japanese poem with 31 syllables structured into five lines, with each line having a set number of syllables (5-7-5-7-7).

Villanelle

The Italian-born villanelle has six stanzas that add up to a total of 19 lines. The first and third lines of the first stanza are repeated in a rigid pattern throughout the poem.

a long poem with lines forming a swirl

Finding the Perfect Length for Your Poem

So, how long should a poem be? Unless you’re writing a poem with strict structural rules, it should be as long as it needs to be. I would recommend an initial length that takes you somewhat less than 500 years to accomplish, though!

Just for fun, share the longest poem you’ve ever written in the comments below! Plus, check out some figures of speech that can help make your poems more dynamic.

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