Getting Started in Poetry

Okay, you’ve read over the poetry terms, compiled some ideas in your journal, and read the assigned poetry. You’re ready to start writing your own verses! A short lyric poem will be a good place to start. Now you need to decide the following:

·        What is your subject matter? A subject you feel strongly about will most likely make for a better poem. You might want to write about a first love, a particularly painful break-up, or the death of a loved one.

·        Who is your speaker? If you’re writing about a personal painful experience, it might be easier for you to choose another person as the speaker of your poem.

·        What will your tone be? How will you treat your subject matter? Will it be solemn, humorous, mournful?

Go ahead and write a few lines without worrying about meter or rhyme scheme. After writing your verses, take a break. Chances are that you’ll come up with some more ideas.

After your break, return to your poetry. Read it again. How can you make it more interesting? Look at the verbs you have chosen. Could different verbs have more connotation? Here’s an example:

     The man walked down the road.

This doesn’t exactly paint a picture in your mind, does it? Choose a more interesting verb and watch what happens:

     The man trudged down the road.

You haven’t changed the meaning of the sentence, but you have helped make it more interesting. “Trudged” has much more connotation than “walked” has. See the difference?

Now, try adding some adjectives:

     The crooked old man trudged down the road.

By giving the man some description, you are helping your reader create a mental image. Now, add some description to the road:

     The crooked old man trudged down the rutted road.

An astute reader should now be able to picture a man, bent over by age, wearily making his way down a dirt road. And you said all this in just nine words! Remember, poetry is concise. Your words should be carefully chosen for their implied meanings. While “trudge” and “walk” are very similar in their dictionary meanings, “trudge” carries much more connotation and is much more interesting.

Here’s another example:

     The boy got up quickly from his chair when he saw the snake pass by him.

Change “got up quickly”:

     The boy bolted from his chair when he saw the snake pass by him.

Better, isn’t it? Now let’s work on the snake’s action:

     The boy bolted from his chair when he saw the snake slither by him.

Do you see how “slither” is a much better word choice than “pass”? It has much more action, and it has wonderful connotation. Readers should be able to picture and almost feel the reptile.

You can make the sentence even more interesting and evocative by adding some adjectives:

     The little freckle-faced boy bolted from his chair when he saw the long black snake slither by him.

Your choice of individual words can make all the difference between a boring poem or one full of excitement and evocation. Even if you’re writing about a simple subject, like your pet cat, your words should never be boring!

By now you should have a basic understanding of how word choice can have a great impact on your voice or style. Read over your poem and circle about half of the verbs you’ve used. Change the circled verbs to more interesting ones. Don’t change all of them – you don’t want your work to become too flowery.

Now go back and add some interesting adjectives, and change some of the boring adjectives you have used to adjectives with more connotation. Be careful. As with the verbs, too many adjectives might be detrimental to your poem.

If you decide to incorporate similes or metaphors into your poem, be creative. Avoid tired old clichés that have been used so much they have become meaningless and boring. Use something fresh and unique, instead.

After you have worked on your verbs and adjectives, decide whether or not your poem should rhyme. Some people don’t consider a work to be a poem without a rhyme scheme, but this is not true. Many wonderful poems have no rhymes at all!

If you choose for your poem to rhyme, do not force the rhyme! Never choose a word just because it rhymes with another word you are using. It will appear forced and contrived to your readers. A forced rhyme is much worse than having no rhyme at all. Your wording should seem natural and appropriate.

Once you have completed your poem, share it with others. Let your friends and family read it, and get their honest opinion of your work. If you have access to an experienced poet or to a literature teacher or professor, ask them to read the poem and to give you some honest feedback. Do not be offended by criticism! Constructive criticism can be an invaluable tool for your writing process!

After receiving feedback from someone who understands and is familiar with good poetry, edit your poem. Which parts did your critic like? Which parts did he think needed work?

Once you feel comfortable with writing a simple lyric poem, you might want to tackle something more difficult. Perhaps you could change some of your wording to create alliteration, or maybe you could incorporate the use of symbolism. It is important to remember that your readers should be able to comprehend the literal meaning of your poem before they can unravel subtle symbols crafted into your work.

Writing poetry is like any other skill. It takes work and dedication. Set aside a few minutes each day to write. Don’t try to complete a different poem every day; instead, try to write a few quality lines. Hopefully, you’ll find that you have some wonderful ideas, and perhaps some great lines, to expand upon.