On Poetry

In a previous post (here) I listed nineteen poetry forms which I thought would give me some frameworks to write poetry, but when I looked closely a lot are more about the style than the formats. I do prefer a defined format then I feel I can call it poetry. My previous attempts prior to my first sonnet were very free form.

So far my sonnets have used the iambic pentameter (ten syllables per line with an up downish rhythm) plus a defined rhyming pattern.

When I looked properly the only defined formats were the Limerick , the Sonnet and The Villanelle, which I thought sounded familiar and is the name of the comic book assassin played by the wonderful Jodie Marie Comer in “Killing Eve”.

So if you want to start to write a poem , with a defined format here is my guide. The links will be to Wikipedia as it doesn't have loads of pop ups and is fairly clear.

Poetry Forms

The Limerick is a five line poem , so it is short with a defined framework . It is usually humorous and frequently rude, in five-lines with a strict rhyme scheme in which the first, second and fifth line rhyme, while the third and fourth lines are shorter and share a different rhyme. More information and examples here.

The Haiku is an even simpler Japanese form consisting of three lines o 5 syllables , 7 syllables , 5 syllables with not need for rhyme. More information and examples here. There are other forms of Japanese poetry which I may explore in the future. A Japanese Haiku is written as a single line , but in English it becomes three lines.

The Sonnet is basically a fourteen line poem usually an expression of love consisting of two quatrains and two tercets. I have written and published four of these on Vocal and one is listed below. More information and examples here.

The perameter is known as the Italian Sonnet is split into two parts. The first part flows a-b-b-a-a-b-b-a, while the second can consist of two to three rhyming sets. For this, I chose the simplest, which flows c-d-c-d-c-d. Thank you to Natasja Rose for sharing this.

The Villanelle is nineteen-line poem consisting of five tercets and a quatrain, with a highly specified internal rhyme scheme. I recently completed my first one which I think strayed slightly from the absolute definition but is an excellent defined poetic format , if more difficult that the Sonnet. More information and examples here.

The Ballad is a series of rhyming quatrains with no defined length or metre so is ideal for writing songs. I haven't used this as a poetic format yet, only in songs that I have written. More information and examples here

Odes , Elegies , Pastoral , Epics and Soliloquies are other forms that use rhythms and rhyming forms but are not nailed down like the forms I have mentioned above, but can be found on the net if you wish to look.

This article is mainly about how I write my poetry and hopefully may give you some ideas on how to write yours, and you may end up creating a song or writing an epic.

Here are some of my poetry attempts, these are single but if you check my writing you will find more:

Free Form

Sonnet

Villanelle

I was recently made aware of a poetic form called the Crown Cinquain by Talia Devora and her poem Dvarim Ktanim (Little Things)

This page gives a detailed insight into it.

This site lists a lot of variations which means I have a lot of poetic forms to practice on in the coming weeks.

There are some new forms as well developed and shared by Cendrine Marrouat in the article below.

Abecedarian Poetry

A 26-line poem with

the first letter of each line spelling out the alphabet (a to z)

and the last letter of each line spelling out the alphabet in reverse (z to a).

ABC: Abecedarian Poem - Cuyahoga County Public Library (cuyahogalibrary.org)

To lead on this I am going to include another poem by the Bard of Salford Dr John Cooper-Clarke. His poetry is available to read on his website here. I’m including his piece for The National Trust “The Nation’s Ode To The Coast” .Note this poem is very clean but some of his can be heavy on swearing but no less excellent for that , but not for children.

He has also published several anthologies such as "Ten Years In An Open Neck Shirt" but all his poetry is free to read on his website (link above)

So if this is useful let me know , leave a heart or even a tip.

Thank you for reading and taking your time to take this in.