Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Styles of Poetry


Poety has always held a soft spot in my heart. Here some forms of poetry that I enjoy. Do you write poetry? Do you find this helpful? Let me know. Next week, I'll have another post about some more forms of poetry that I enjoy.

Acrostic

This is a popular style where the first letter of each line spells a word, usually using the title. Acrostics are easy to compose and the poem should "tie in" with the title.

NEW YEAR

Nice
Ethereal
Wind

Young
Exciting
Accepting
Rain



Diamante

A Diamante poem is a 7 line poem set up in a diamond shape.

Line 1: a noun/subject
Line 2: 2 adjectives describing line 1
Line 3: 3 "ing" words related to line 1
Line 4: use 2 words to describe the noun then 2 words to describe the antonym or synoym in line 7 (if there is an antonym used in line 7, the shift occurs here)
Line 5: 3 "ing" words related to line 7
Line 6: use 2 adjectives descibing line 7
Line 7: the 1st word's antonym or synonym.

THE FLIGHT OF LIGHT

Light
brilliant, white
dazzling, heartstopping, pulse-pounding
vibrant, awake, asleep, opaque
daring, biting, grasping
obsidian, cool
Night
Ode

An ode is a poem praising a person, place, or thing. Generally, there are no rules or rythme schemes to follow.

TORCHWALK

Foreign Country, Foreign Land
Foreign Language, Foreign customs,
I want to learn all I can.

There is a small town by the water,
Steep hills overlook the Rhein River
And the colors of Autumn blossom on the leaves.

A custom from old comes to town
Every Autumn, Every year,
A walk is offered, for fun, for cheer…

Maria and I, though foreign we are,
Start the march as evening falls,
Accompanied by friends, we begin at the start…

Our walk brings us to a castle,
I light my torch, Maria has some tea…
Our friends partake of the local food and beer.

By the river we walk, our friends full of excitement…
Another stamp, another beer, another torch, another path…
A barge comes by, glistening in the night.

I know for weeks to come, Maria and I will talk
Of this time and place and our beloved Torchwalk.

7 comments:

  1. Steph, being old fashioned I prefer the odes.

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  2. Steph, nice post. So many styles of poetry to chose from -- why did you pick these?

    Nice Diamante, by the way.

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  3. Mona, I like odes myself.

    Maggie, I enjoy all these forms. I'm glad you like the diamante. That was very challenging. My favorites will come next week with the villanelles, quarterns, and kyrelles.

    Smiles
    Steph

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  4. I've been writing poetry my whole life and I loved your tips today. I still can't remember or keep up with all the styles so it's intimidating to admit I write poetry, especially to writes with BA and MA degrees in English or Literature. I guess you could say mine comes from the heart. IF that is your work above, it's very, very good! Enjoyed the post!

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  5. Hi Steph, I've dabbled in poetry since my teen years, but my favorite is free verse. Some say that doesn't count as poetry, but of course it does if you're using poetic devices and not just putting lines of thoughts in a row. ;-)

    I did an acrostic for a contest once I liked but I don't think anyone else did. LOL!

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  6. Wonderful post, Steph. I used to write poetry while in college so it was nice to be reminded of the different types again. Btw, I love the romantic picture of the couple.

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  7. Dani,
    Yes, that's my work above. I used to write free form a lot before studying styles, but my free form had a Robert Frost influence.

    Loraine, free form counts for me, but I really like kyrelles and quaterns.

    Diane, I love the picture, too! It's fun.

    Smiles
    Steph

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