I've done my version of research (meaning not much) on various types of poetry. Most of what I found about the different kinds focused on definitions. Examples I found interesting:
ABC poems have 5 lines. Lines 1-4 the first words are in alphabetical order. Line 5 starts with any letter.
Cinquains also have 5 lines. Line 1 is one word title, line 2 is a two word description, 3 is three words that tell action, 4 is four words that express feeling, 5 is a one word recall of the title.
Haiku - three unrhymed lines with 5, 7 and 5 syllables.
Sestina - 6 six-line stanzas and a three line envoy (look it up - I had to.) The six end words of the first stanza are variously repeated as end words in following stanzas.
Sonnets, Petrarchan, Terza Rima and Villanelle all have some kind of complicated rhyming or syllable pattern that confuse me. I'm sure there must be some kind of math involved. (Random note: I have stories featuring horses named Terza Rima and Villanelle. Many horses I own are given names that have some kind of literary association, from obvious (Eliot and Chaucer) to more obscure: Random (House) and Parker (Pens).
While these descriptions and definitions are fascinating, some seem easy to understand while others are hard to imagine. Seeing examples of these types of poetry would make it clear that the ones that seem easy to understand are not easy to write. Poems of the types that are hard to imagine are incredible.
To truly appreciate the different kinds of poetry you have to read a lot of poems of each type, which I believe is a worthwhile exercise for any writer, whatever their preferred genre (for reading or writing) is.
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