How to Write a Poem

Poetry Techniques 1 Here are some tips that can help you write better poetry. How to write a poem - what to write about? The first step in any poem is coming up with something to write about. Don't feel that you have to choose profound or "poetic" material. Anything can be the subject for a poem. Great poems have been written about such topics as a gas station (Elizabeth Bishop, The Filling Station"), a clothesline full of laundry (Richard Wilbur, "Love Calls Us to the Things of the World"), and pieces of broken glass on the beach ("Amy Clampitt,"Beach Glass"). It's easiest to write a good poem about something you know well, that you have experienced first-hand, or that you have nearby so that you can observe it carefully. This is because what make the poem profound and interesting will be the hidden details or qualities you discover, or what the subject reminds you of, your unique perspective. With poems, as with other things (or so I hear), it's not the size that matters; it's what you do with it. If you're stuck for inspiration, check out the CWN poetry prompts for lots of poetry ideas. How to write a poem - getting outside yourself In his book Poetry in the Making, the poet Ted Hughes talks about how to write a poem about an animal. The key, he says, is to concentrate hard enough on the animal, to choose the words that best capture the animal you have in your mind. You can use this approach with any subject matter. In the beginning, you don't have to worry about "style," about writing in a "beautiful" or a "poetic" way. In fact, if you start to think about "being poetic," it can distract you from what you're actually writing about and hurt your poem. Have you ever tried to have a conversation with someone who was trying to impress you? Then you know how boring this can be. The person is really thinking about himself or herself, not about the conversation. Similarly, if your attention is focused on "being poetic," if you are worrying about what impression your poem will make, then that takes your attention away from the animal or weather or whatever the subject of your poem is. Even if the poem's about you or your life, try to take the perspective of a careful reporter when you write it down. You should focus on accurately communicating an aspect of your experience, instead of focusing on what impression you are making when you do it. How to write a poem - expressing your insights So far, I've talked about paying careful attention to your subject matter. But paying attention is obviously not enough - you also have to communicate your insights to the reader. Here are some tips that will help: 1. Don't state the obvious. Everyone knows that grass is green, and that snow is cold. If you mention grass, readers will suppose it is green unless you inform them otherwise. It's not necessary to mention the color of the grass unless you have something to say about it that the reader doesn't already know. 2. But don't force originality. If the grass is actually green, you don't have rack your brain for another way to express the color just to be "different." Keep looking; focus on your subject matter, to find the real details that make it unique, the hidden meaning. 3. Choose the right words. I'm not talking about words that are "poetic" or impressive," I'm talking about words that express your subject matter. In his essay about animal poems, Hughes

talks about words as if they themselves were living animals, each with a certain appearance and sound and way of moving. Think of the words "glow" and "glitter." Both describe light, but different kinds of light. When I see the word "glow," I think of a gentle warm light coming from inside of something. When I see the word glitter," I think of many tiny pieces of light reflecting off of a hard surface. The word "glitter" gives me more of an idea of motion. The sounds of the words also create different feelings. "Glow" has a soft, round sound; "Glitter" has a hard sound and is broken into two parts, like light that is fragmented or moving. Poetry Techniques 2 This is Part 2 of the CWN series on how to write a poem. (Click here to go to part 1). Poetry techniques - expressing the invisible In Part 1 of this series, I talked about how to choose something to write about, and how to start turning your subject into the poem. The poetry techniques I've recommended all have to do with careful observation of your subject matter. But what if you're not writing about a person, place, animal, plant, or thing, but about a feeling or an abstract concept such as Love or Death? How can you observe and describe something that can't actually be seen or heard? Here are some suggestions: 1) Think of like looking at the wind through a window. You can't see the wind, right? The wind is invisible. But at the same time, you can see the wind because of its impact on the things that are visible. You see the leaves flapping. You see the surface of a puddle ripple. You see a girl hunched inside her coat, her hair blowing into her face. You see someone try to light a cigarette and the match go out. Abstractions like Love and Death don't look, sound, or smell like anything. But they affect everything around them. And you can describe the places they've touched. 2) Make it specific. Instead of Love, for example, write about "the love between my parents." Then try making it even more specific: "the love between my parents and the silent ways it shows itself when they are eating dinner together." Try relating it to a certain person, place, and event. Love, Death, Anger, Beauty -- these concepts do not occur in a vacuum. They are not grown in test tubes. They are experienced by individual people, in particular situations. And our deepest understanding of these concepts is at the human level, through the ways they touch us personally and the people around us. Creating this human connection will give your poem a stronger emotional power for your reader. And it puts your idea in a form where you can observe it carefully and discover aspects of it that have never been described before. Poetry techniques - meaning and form I've talked about different kinds of poem content. But what about form? For very experienced poets, formal aspects of poetry can become second nature, so that they sometimes know right away what form they want to use for a poem. This is probably not your situation. My suggestion is to focus first on your subject and get all your ideas down on paper. Then, once you've written down your ideas, start experimenting with the shape. You can read about poem structure here. Try organizing your poem in different ways and see what happens. Try shorter lines and longer ones; try breaking the lines in various places and observe the effects. The best form for your poem will depend on what it's about and the mood and feelings you want to create in the reader. The length of the line can make the reader go faster or slower, change the look of the poem on the page, focus attention on certain words. You may decide to incorporate

other structural elements such as a certain number of syllables per line, a regular meter , or a rhyme scheme . All of this should work with, and contribute to, the poem's meaning. Write different versions, then look them over and compare. How do they look on the page? Dense and heavy, or light and delicate? How well does their appearance fit your poem? What about the sound? Try reading them out loud. What is the rhythm like, for example, short and choppy, bouncy, smooth? Are there places where your eye or voice pauses? Are these the right places? Which versions are most interesting to read? Are there any places where the look or sound becomes distracting (for example, if you have one very long line that sticks out too much)? Poetry techniques - writing and rewriting Behind most successful poems, there's a huge amount of rewriting. According to Robert Wallace in the book Writing Poems (HarperCollins, 1991), one seemingly simple poem by E.E. Cummings went through more than 175 versions. Every poet has his or her own way of working -- there's no right or wrong method. But here's one idea for a process that you might find helpful: 1) In the first stage, as I've suggested, you might want to focus your attention on the poem's subject, considering it from different angles, developing strong ideas about it. 2) Then, you can look for the best words to bring it to life on the page, to create a mental picture for the reader that matches the ideas in your own mind. Don't start correcting yourself or editing too soon. That can stop the ideas from flowing. Give yourself time to get everything on paper. Maybe sleep on it, then write some new ideas. When you feel that you've gotten everything down, then take a look at what you've got: *. Are there words that don't seem quite right for what they're describing? Are there words that don't serve a purpose? If you can remove something without hurting the poem, it's usually a good idea to remove it. *. Is there anything there that doesn't feel genuine, that's only there because it seems poetic," to impress the reader? Remove or replace anything that is just "showing off." *. Are there parts of the poem that you like better than others? Are there parts you should delete? Are there parts that don't quite fit, that should be cut out or integrated better? Is there a particularly interesting part that might suggest taking the poem in a new direction? 3) Experiment like crazy. Try different forms, different angles. Try putting the ideas in a different order. Try everything that you think might improve the poem. You've got nothing to lose -- you can always go back to a previous draft. Compare versions; see what works better and worse. You might decide to combine parts of one version with parts of another. Work to come up with the ideal version of your poem. Poetry techniques - keep reading Poetry Techniques 3 This is Part 3 of the CWN series on How to Write Poems. To go to Part 1, click here. How to write poems - poetry problems you can avoid Here are some common problems that often hurt the poetry of new writers. Of course, there is no law against doing any of these things; you can try to get away with them if you want. But you have a better chance of writing a good poem if you can avoid them. Top poetry pitfalls:

1) Thinking beautiful things make a beautiful poem. Roses and jewels, we can agree, are beautiful. Including them in your poem does not make it more beautiful. You can write just as beautiful a poem about rotting fish or the gunk under my refrigerator (not beautiful). The beauty of a poem comes from how it's made and what it does, not from what it's about. 2) Sentimentality. Sentimentality is false or excessive emotion. Have you ever had to listen to someone repeatedly saying, "Isn't that nice?" or "Isn't that lovely?" or "Isn't this fun?" about something you didn't honestly think was all that nice, lovely, or fun? You may have noticed that the more the other person insisted, the less nice/lovely/fun whatever it was began to seem to you. In general, we don't like to have emotions rammed down our throats. We all like to decide for ourselves how we feel about things. When I was about twelve, I wrote to my Turkish pen pal that I felt like a prisoner because my parents didn't let me (I don't remember what, although I do remember writing the letter from my "jail cell"). This is an example of an emotional response totally out of proportion to the situation. It could have been the beginning of a very bad poem. Sentimentality in a poem can end up feeling whiney, self-pitying, insincere, or sickeningly sweet, depending on which emotions the poet is overdoing. So how to write poems with the right amount of emotion? What's the right amount of emotion to feel about a subject? The best practice is usually to let the readers decide for themselves. Instead of telling them that something is sad, show them the aspects of it that make you feel sad. Chances are readers will come to the same conclusion. And whatever conclusion they come to will be genuinely felt. 3) Archaic or "poetic language". Yes, a lot of the great English poets used words like thou," "doth," and said things like "O! Beauteous moon..." They also lived in times when this was a normal way of writing. If they had lived during the 21st century, they would have written in 21st century English, as should we. 4) Clichs. Sparkling like diamonds," "pure as snow," "fiery hot," "a warm heart," "silent as the grave," - these are examples of clichs. They are phrases or ideas that have been used so many times that they have lost all freshness. When I say that someone is "as sweet as sugar," the "as sugar" part is a waste of words. It doesn't provide any additional information about this person. And it doesn't offer a new perspective on sweetness -- you've heard it before. It waters down a poem because it takes up space without adding any power. It also gives the reader the impression that I, the poet, don't have anything original to say. This is a pity, because every poet does have something original to say. If I am writing about someone's sweetness, I should think harder about what exactly makes this particular person sweet, and what this person's particular sweetness is like. Instead of using ready-made phrases, I should choose words that express the unique qualities of my subject.

Learning to Write Poetry

Posted on May 10th, 2010 in Style by Ruby Hawk 50 Learning to write poetry is a worthy undertaking. There are rules and techniques to be followed but many of us fear that if we study, our creative juices may dry up and we will have nothing to write about. At least thats my excuse but maybe we should learn the rules of poetry writing and see what happens. I have been studying (somewhat) and this is what I am in the process of learning.

Many poets complain that they dont want to be held back by technical considerations in writing poetry. Why do we who write poetry feel this way? We seem to think its an infringement on our creativity to follow any rules. Some of it comes from poets like Dylan Thomas in Fern Hill and Allen Ginsburg in How They wrote their poems as if they were talking to us. It sounds as if they wrote these poems straight off the tops of their head. But, of course, that isnt true. These poets were so skillful that we cant detect the craft of their technique. What are the techniques of poetry writing? Ezra Pound divided them into three categories. (sight), (sound), and (voice). [image] Image via Wikipedia Sight Image is the heart and soul of poetry. It is the most basic of all communication. Our earliest memories are in pictures. We think in pictures. Our ancestors of thousands of years ago made images of stone. The cavemen drew pictures on the walls of caves. Pictures tell a story. Pictures are an important aspect of poetry. Following are the picture aspects of poetry. image-a simple picture metaphor-a comparison simile-an indirect comparison, such as like or as figure-an image and an idea conceit-extended Sound Sound and rhythm has its source in the beat of our own heart. If we are excited it may skip and jump at a frantic pace. There are the sound of drumbeats and marching feet in parades, the sounds of children playing, the sound of wind tossed trees, the splash of water in the creek. Following are poetic devices for sound. assonance-rhyme of vowel sounds alliteration-repetition of consonants rhyme-one word echoing the sound of another metrics-a simple notation system of rhythm. [image] Read more in Style Writing a Successful Subject The Way to Get That +a Grade Contents of My Life Story Image via Wikipedia Voice Voice is the unmistakable voice of the poet. You would never mistake Something there is that doesnt love a wall as anyone other than Robert Frost. Following are the poetic devices for voice. denotation- the literal meaning of a word connotation-an indirect meaning of a word. personification-presenting the object in a humane fashion diction-choice of words syntax-the arrangement and structure of words rhetoric-an adornment of speech to impress persona-an assumed voice, pretending to be other than what he is The only way for any real learning and progress is endless writing and rewriting. Master all the poetic devices until they become familiar as a second skin. Go to your library and check out

books explaining the devices of poetry writing. Check out poetry books by Robert Frost, Dorothy Parker, Walt Whitman, John Keats, and other great poets. And continue to enjoy and write poetry. There is nothing like it for expressing our feelings. Continue to enjoy writing your poetry even if you never pick up a book to study. Click here to publish your articles and earn income. http://writinghood.com/writing-business/getting-published/ http://writinghood.com/writing/write-a-magazine-article/ http://writinghood.com/writing-business/poetry-writers-published/ http://writinghood.com/writing/learning-to-be-a-writer/

Instructions
1. Read poems. The best way to learn how to write poems is to read a variety of poems. You can find poems online on sites like Poetry.com or you can read collections of poetry in books. Famous poets include Maya Angelou, Robert Frost and E.E. Cummings. 2. Learn different styles of poetry. Some styles of poetry include free verse, Haikus, sonnets, ballads, blank verse and lyric poetry. 3. Learn poetic techniques and vocabulary. Basically, you need to learn about rhythm and how it relates to poetry. You also need to know what lines and stanzas are in poetry. Understanding the vocabulary associated with poetry will help you to learn to write poetry. Some poems rhyme, other poems do not rhyme. Some syllables in words are stressed with other syllables being unstressed. Learning this information will help you to decide the type of poem that you would like to learn to write. In the resources at the bottom of this page, you will find information about beats and rhythm in poetry. 4. Brainstorm. Put your thoughts into words. Its helpful if you think of a theme for your poem, like love for example. Then write all of the words that come to mind when you think of love. You may end up with words such as the following: hate, rose, heart, pain, joy, beauty, children, sunsets, etc. Continue to list the words until you cant think of any others. 5. Find an example of the type of poem that you would like to write. Find your favorite poem and use the format as an example as the type of poem that you would like to write. We often learn best from examples. 6. Choose the type of poem that you would like to write. Are you going to write a poem in free verse or a sonnet? Will your poem rhyme? Free verse poems are probably the easiest poems for beginners to write because there are few rules. 7. Write your poem. Use your example poem to write your poem in your selected format. Use words from your brainstorming session to help you focus your thoughts for your poem. Your poem doesnt have to be fancy; it simply must portray your thoughts and feelings in poetic form. Tips & Warnings *. Poems do not have to be long. Try writing a poem in free verse with three lines for your first poem.