{"id":51,"date":"2020-06-11T21:12:03","date_gmt":"2020-06-11T21:12:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/buildingblocks\/chapter\/the-poem\/"},"modified":"2020-06-11T21:12:03","modified_gmt":"2020-06-11T21:12:03","slug":"the-poem","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/buildingblocks\/chapter\/the-poem\/","title":{"raw":"6.2 The Poem","rendered":"6.2 The Poem"},"content":{"raw":"\nYou may have encountered poetry in a variety of forms. Although free verse, where the line breaks do not follow any particular pattern, is the most common in contemporary poetry, there are many additional types of poem. One is the sonnet<\/strong>, a rhyming pattern of four-line stanzas with a two-line couplet to finish. Typically, sonnets are written in iambic pentameter<\/strong>: stressed and unstressed syllables following each other in a pattern. From Japan, we have the seventeen-syllable, three-line haiku<\/strong>, often employed to describe a moment in nature. Experimental Canadian poets have even written entire books out of \u201cfound\u201d material (other texts that have been adapted by the poet), or, in the case of Christian B\u00f6k\u2019s Eunoia<\/em>, a book divided into chapters in which only one of the vowels is used.\n\nThe villanelle<\/strong> is an old poetry form that is popular with contemporary poets. Originating in France, the poem has five stanzas of three lines each, finishing with a four-line stanza. The first and third lines of the first stanza are repeated in each following stanza and used to make up the last two lines of the final stanza.\n\nBeginning poets typically wait for inspiration to begin writing. Poetry is seen as something that describes a special moment, and how can one write about a special moment in an everyday mood?\n\nAlthough this is one way of looking at poetry, it isn\u2019t always helpful when you\u2019re in the classroom and you\u2019ve been asked to write. You probably don\u2019t feel very inspired!\n\nThinking about different forms your poem could take, different subjects you could write about that are important to you, or simply freewriting a poem and seeing where it goes can be helpful in getting you started. For instructions on freewriting, review Chapter 2.3 Freewriting<\/a>.\n\nIf you want to write more poetry, simply writing as much of it as you can, in whatever circumstances, is useful practice\u2014as it is with every form of writing.<\/strong>\n\n\n\n
Table 6.2 Dos and don'ts of poetry<\/caption>\n
Things to always do<\/th>\nThings to never do<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
    \n \t
  • Use vivid, descriptive language.<\/li>\n \t
  • Surprise the reader.<\/li>\n \t
  • Show, don\u2019t tell.<\/li>\n \t
  • Connect a series of images in words to build up the mood you want.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
\n