What is an Acrostic?

An acrostic poem is a type of poetry where the first, last or other letters in a line spell out a particular word or phrase. The most common and simple form of an acrostic poem is where the first letters of each line spell out the word or phrase.

Example – An acrostic poem using the beginning of lines

A less common and slightly more difficult type of an acrostic poem is where the last letter of each line spells out the word or phrase.

Example - An acrostic poem using the end of lines

Finally, the more difficult type is where letters in the middle of the acrostic spell out the word or phrase.

Example - An acrostic poem using the middle of the lines

Why don't you try writing an acrostic poem and enter it into one of our poetry competitions.

For information on poetry types other than an acrostic visit our poetry glossary – poetry types.