A Cinquain is a type of poetry that uses a pattern with five lines. It was once used to describe any five-line poem, but now it refers to specific types of poems that have specific rules and guidelines.

American cinquain

The modern form, called the American cinquain, is based on Japanese haiku and tanka. It shares similarities with the style of the Imagists.

In her 1915 poetry collection titled Verse, published one year after her death, Adelaide Crapsey included 28 cinquains. Crapsey’s American cinquain form developed in two stages. The first stage was a stanza with five lines of accentual verse, where the lines had, in order, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 1 stressed syllables. Later, Crapsey changed the form to a stanza with five lines of accentual-syllabic verse, where the lines had, in order, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 1 stresses and 2, 4, 6, 8, and 2 syllables. Iambic feet were used as the standard for the cinquain, making the two criteria match perfectly. Some sources describe classic cinquains as only iambic, but this is not always the case. Unlike the Eastern forms that inspired them, Crapsey always gave her cinquains titles, which acted as a sixth line. Crapsey’s cinquain relies on strict structure and vivid imagery to express a mood or feeling.

An example of this form is Crapsey’s poem November Night:

*List en… With faint dry sound,
Like steps of passing ghosts,
The leaves, frost- crisp'd, break from the trees
And fall.*

The Scottish poet William Soutar also wrote over 100 American cinquains (he called them "epigrams") between 1933 and 1940.

Didactic cinquain[11]

The didactic cinquain is similar to the Crapsey cinquain. It is a simple form often taught in elementary schools and has been used in children's books and shows like Junie B. Jones and PBS Kids. This style is also used by young adults and older poets because it is easy to understand and express feelings. The rules for this type of cinquain are based on the number of words, not the number of syllables or stresses. Usually, the first line is a single word that names the subject of the poem. The second line has two adjectives that describe the subject. The third line is a phrase with three words that adds more details about the subject (often three verbs ending in "-ing"). The fourth line has four words that express feelings connected to the subject. The fifth line is a single word that is a synonym or another name for the subject from the first line. For example:

Snow
Silent, white
Dancing, falling, drifting
Covering everything it touches
Blanket