Masnavi (or mathnawi) are a poem form that emerged from the middle east, and most likely the Persian empire, sometime between the 4th and 10th century. The form is entirely comprised of couplets, though triplet variants exist, with isosyllabic lines of either ten or eleven syllables and varies from region to region.
The interlocking rubaiyat is a quatrain-based verse form tracing its origins to ancient Persia. The version of the poem we know today was popularized by Edward Fitzgerald, who first introduced the form to western audiences. It utilizes an AABA rhyme scheme that has come to be known as the ‘rubaiyat quatrain.’
The kimo is an Israelite adaptation of the internationally popular haiku form. It, like the haiku, consists of just three lines with set syllable counts. The kimo has a syllable structure of 10/7/6, making it noticeably more top-heavy than its parent form, and introduces a focus on stillness.
An abecedarian poem is another form of an acrostic poem. Abecedarian poems consist of verses wherein the first letter of each line is a letter of the alphabet in succession. Abecedarian poetry traces back its roots to as early as the biblical period. Thus, the earliest forms of abecedarian poems can be found in the Hebrew Bible.
Epics are long narrative poems that typically tell stories of the glorious deeds of legendary heroes. Epic poetry deals with different subjects, from myths to histories, to religious stories, legends, and even animal tales.