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How To Write Poetry

Akw

But, one might reasonably ask, what different methods are there which

can be tried in order to get started? Well...

Don't Wait For Inspiration

But don't take that as an absolute which suggests that one should not

be inspired at all. Of course, we all want inspiration. Yet if we wait to

be inspired for the whole poem, most of us will have taken the very

short answer given above and we shall write very little and very

infrequently.

You probably know the old adage about any form of art being ten

percent inspiration and ninety percent perspiration. It's mostly like that

with poetry. The very short answer above is saying: write only when you

feel moved to write and have something urgent to communicate. But don't

expect the inspiration to carry you through the whole poem. On some

occasions it will but, at least in my experience, that will not happen all

that often.

Inspiration can come in various ways. At one end it can come

as a complete poem; at the other, it comes simply as an idea, a concept

or a way of looking at something. Then the poem has to be built around

that in some way.

How To Build A Poem

This is getting to the nitty gritty of the question. The answer to

How do I build or write a poem depends to some extent on what

you are starting with. Suppose you have just had an idea, a concept, a way

of looking at something. One might, for example, have a sudden flash

of inspiration that a person's life could be summarised by the array of

cups they have in the kitchen. Okay, how might one approach the

development of that?

First is to have some idea of the probable length of the poem. The cups/life

idea might be interesting but it's not going to stretch to the length of "The

Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner" It's going to be quite a short poem. In

fact, with an idea of this kind short becomes very important. Trying to

stretch it out will probably result in loosing any potential for impact.

So one is thinking of a few lines, and probably quite short ones. Next is

the syllabic or the rhythmic structure of the lines. A great deal can be said

about these aspects and so we can say very little in this short article.

The way the lines are constructed should be contributing to the overall

impact or impression made by the poem. Lines may have the same

number of syllables, or some lines may be long and other short. Verses,

like lines may be all of the same or of differing lengths. These aspects

may be part of a deliberate overall scheme, or they may be due to the

way you feel the poem should evolve. Experience will usually

contribute to the development of these kinds of instincts.

The poem may also be one without thyme, or with rhyme at the end of

each line, or with rhyming lines alternating or rhyming every third line and

so forth. Alternatively, the lines may have internal rhyming in that two

words rhyme within the same line.

Consider the following poem as an example.

CUPS

Used to buy the cups in tied sets

batched identical or matching.

But that's a now flawed memory

and for a long time we rhymed them

into pairs, merging his and hers,

protocol of shape and colour.

Now I buy only one-by-one,

each detached and unmatchable,

self-chosen oddments on a shelf

Note that: there are eight syllables in each of nine lines. There are no end

rhymes but each line has an internal rhyme, though some are less obvious

than others. In the first line "buy" and "tie" in tied"

rhyme. Due to the "d" in tied" the echo of the

rhyme is subdued or more subtle than otherwise. (Note also that there are

different kinds of syllables, which we do not have space to discuss here)

Compare this poem with an alternative approach, albeit little different in length:

THE MUG-STAND

On the mug-stand (a)

handles once hung (b)

cups of pristine sameness (c)

beautiful and aimless (c)

in the song they sung (b)

at secondhand. (a)

Mugs are still hung (d)

but different (e)

shapes and colours, chipped, cracked - (f)

and spaces from the fact (f)

of life. Refluent (e)

the song now sung. (d)

Now "The Mug Stand" has a much more complicated structure.

There is no internal rhyming but the end-rhymes are arranged to give

sometimes stronger, sometimes more subtle echoes. The letters

at the end of the lines (a, b, etc.) indicate those which rhyme with each

other. The pattern is the same in each verse so that, for example, the

first and last lines in both are seen to rhyme.

Notice also that the syllabic length of lines vary within each verse but have

the same pattern for each verse (i.e. 4,4,6,6,5,4,). The end of any line

should not be chosen in an arbitrary way, but should add something to

the overall effect.

Discipline In Writing

Every poem you write should have its own form of discipline. Some

people think that so-called free verse is easy to write and that

one can do anything in such a poem. All this is untrue.These are ideas

that contribute to a lot of bad verse.Good free verse is in many

ways the most difficult to write, precisely because there is no obvious

discipline enjoined on the writer by which the poem might be made to

work. Yet somehow it does have to create a desired effect.

Writing to a defininte pattern or rule imposes a discipline which, with

some practice, will initially help one to produce rather better verse.

If you are just starting out to write poetry, do begin with rhymed verse.

But try not to make the rhymes too heavy and obvious. Look for

different words to create an effect rather than use the first that come

to mind. Try an abab or abcabc type of structure rather than aabb.

Make every effort to avoid cliches. Using them is so easy a trap to

fall into simply because they are phrases we have heard so often that

they just creep or spring into our mind. A good poem has to have

some degree of originality. Cliches are as irratating as fleas on a dog.

Combe through the poem to discover any cliches - looking for phrases

like Combe through! Are there any more in this paragraph?

When the poem is finished, it is good practice to put it away for some

weeks. Then take it out and re-read it. Be severe with yourself!

Remove anything which is not right (cliches, repeats of the same word,

clumsy phrasing etc.) and re-work the poem until you feel you can do no

better.

Then submit it to some publication which uses poetry. There is little point in

writing poetry purely for oneself. Don't be put off by rejections. Some

editors may offer suggestions for improvement. Accept them if they seem

valid. But keep submitting. Not every one will like what you have written.

But you must like it.

About The Author

A K Whitehead

Web Site: http://www.christianword.co.uk

email: akw@christianword.co.uk

Experience: Over twenty years in Christian healing, teaching and writing.

Qualifications: B.A., M.Phil., Cambridge University Certificate in

Religious Studies.

Conditions of use: This article may be reproduced on condition

that it is unaltered and that all this information is included.

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Video on How To Write Poetry