Writing
How to Write Good Poetry
23
Sep
Sep
Poetry is such a beautiful thing. Poetry is, in the technical form, literary work given special intensity to the expression of feelings and ideas by the use of distinctive style and rhythm. You can do anything with words, and to create such an arrangement of rhythmic tones and images is a gift. To picture what someone else does or to give someone a piece of you through the art of the written and spoken word is just amazing. Open your mind to greatness. Here are ways that can help you achieve this:
- Know Your Goal
This is not always the case in poetry. Yes, know what you want your poem to do and how you want it to affect people, but some of my best work has come from just sitting down and writing without knowing where I want the poem to go. There is always a revision stage, and there you can truly decide how you want it to read and be interpreted. - Avoid Clichés
Stephen Minot defines a cliché as: “A metaphor or simile that has become so familiar from overuse that the vehicle … no longer contributes any meaning whatsoever to the tenor. It provides neither the vividness of a fresh metaphor nor the strength of a single unmodified word….The word is also used to describe overused but no metaphorical expressions such as ‘tried and true’ and ‘each and every'” (Three Genres: The Writing of Poetry, Fiction, and Drama, 405). This is a great quote because of the truth in it. Clichés in poetry make a poem less creative and can hinder its whole meaning or intent to the reader. - Avoid Sentimentality
Many people will say it detracts from the quality of work, but I say otherwise. Again, I write poems with sentimentality. I won’t say all are to the best they could be, but I do have many that benefitted from adding the sentiment. I guess it depends on the skill you have of intertwining it into the poem so it doesn’t stick out in such a blunt way, but more so the reader can feel it from the words you are using. Imply the feeling of sentiment, and you have a winner. - Use Images
Imagery is a powerful tool when writing poetry. It is what holds the reader to the page. Without it, what is the point in trying to feel what the author felt without the help of a picture? Be a painter with the words. Poetry should stimulate these six senses: sight, hearing, smell, touch, taste, and kinesiology (motion). These senses are key to everyday life. - Use Metaphor and Simile
A metaphor pretends one thing is really something else. A simile is a statement where you say one object is similar to another object. Similes use the words “like” or “as.” These two tools go hand in hand with imagery because within the comparison creates a new image of whatever the author has described in the poem. The point to remember is that comparison, inference, and suggestion are all important tools of poetry; similes and metaphors are tools that will help in those areas. - Use Concrete Words Instead of Abstract Words
This is a little tricky here because you have to know when to choose the right places to utilize concrete and abstract words. Sometimes you want mystery, and other times you want to have your reader visualize what you are trying to say instead of letting the imagination run free. Concrete words describe things that people experience with their senses. Abstract words refer to concepts or feelings. - Communicate Theme
A theme is important. It is not just a topic, but an idea with an opinion. The theme shows what a poet thinks towards a certain event, idea, or technique. The poet strives to get across his or her theme during the entire poem, using literary techniques. Sometimes you may not get it right on the first try, but you just keep trying to work those words. - Subvert the Ordinary
Poets’ strength is the ability to see what other people see every day in a new way. Take the ordinary and turn it on its head. (The word “subvert” literally means “turn upside down.”) You do not have to be a literary genius to write good poetry; all it is that you are doing is taking the ordinary and changing it into something no one else saw it could be. It is all in the level of creativity you want to express. And go from there. Experiment with objects and then ideas. - Rhyme with Extreme Caution
Rhyming is great when there is a rhyme scheme you are following with a certain type of poem, but all the best poems don’t rhyme. You can write without struggling to make every other word rhyme at the end of a line. Don’t make your poem sing-song unless that is the true intent; it will distract a reader, and they will lose focus of the actual meaning of the poem and focus on the rhythm that maybe isn’t even that important to the piece. - Revise, Revise, Revise
The first completed draft of your poem is only the beginning. Poets often go through several drafts of a poem before considering the work “done.” This is true to an extent. Yes, poems may need a few revisions until they are perfect in the poet’s eyes, but sometimes when you finish something, it is finished. It doesn’t need any more revision. I have done this, and I am happy that I didn’t change a thing because of the reviews I received from it. I think you have to feel that your poem is finished or needs work. Also, don’t be afraid to let others critique your work because then you will know if you got your intended effect across.
