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Poetry Niche
Writing Style As a novice poetry editor I made a checklist of all the styles of poetry I
could find. I listed at least ten different styles, most I never heard of.
At the side of each poetic style I listed the meters needed and the rhyme
scheme. I went to edit the poetry and discovered it would take forever just
figuring out the style of each poem. The poor poet would have no idea what
I commented on. I spent hours changing the checklist so I would have
something both the poet and I could work with. I began to think about the
way I write poetry. I never did say to myself, 'I am going to write a
sestina or couplet today,' I just wrote. Thinking on how, who, what, when,
and why I write began a journey of self-discovery. I discovered I just
write. The words come, I write. Oh, it takes a while to mold the words
into a worthwhile poem, but never do I ever think about writing a certain
poetic form. My poetry has to be lyrical. My poetry has to delve deep
within the subject. Style? What Style? I write, I whittle the words to
fit the tale. Reading aloud always helps me hear the lyrical quality;
whether or not the words fit the musical story I tell.
Not until it was suggested that I turn a story into a Villanelle did I
consider poetic form, then, I looked up the Villanelle and the strict form
overwhelmed me. How on earth is one to write a form which the first and
last lines of the first stanza are repeated alternately at the end of each
stanza. And the first and last lines of each stanza have to rhyme? Not to
mention all the middle lines of each stanza has to rhyme. Four lines make
up the last stanza. The first and last lines of the first stanza are
repeated. The meters also had to fit within the form...no more then ten per
line. A nineteen-line poem, 5 three-line stanzas and one four line stanza.
Whew! The rules boggled my mind. However I was stuck and knew I had to do
something. I gritted my teeth and dug in. I found a Villanelle, placed it
beside my blank paper and went to work. Finally, filled with unexpected
beauty, a story, I could not tell any other way. Today, I am hooked on
Villanelles. I love the strict form and the word play. I take comfort in
the fact rhyme scheme is all-important in this style; no sense needs to be
made. It is the form that is emphasized. I adore the sensible and at
times non-sensible word play the Villanelle allows. I am sharing a
Villanelle I recently wrote. Alas, at this time I cannot share The
Accident, which started my obsession with this form, as it is soon to be
published.
Blowing, heaving, pushing, sweeping "Lady!" The great Lord cries weeping, Sleep crawls slowly laboring. The Lady's wind comes strongly stealing "Sleep softly," she says, "Until the dawning The great Lady returns sighing. Lea
(C) 1997
I find writing a Villanelle that one must at times take small creative
license with the verse to paint the picture completely. An extra word or
meter at the end of a line as long as the flow is not changed is
acceptable. The challenge is not to lose the lyrical flow of the French
Verse. Looks like fun doesn't it? When nothing else works I begin to try
other forms.
I am eager to try the Sestina, invented by the Troubadours. Six stanzas of
six lines ending in the same words in a fixed, although evolving pattern.
Studying a Sestina show the end-words do not have to be in the same order
as the first stanza; just the same end-words. Creating Poetry by John
Drury has an example of a Sestina on page 120. I am going to take on the
Sestina challenge. I will let you know how my Sestina evolves. Other
poetry styles abound. Songs, Odes, Pantoums, Sapphics, Sonnets, Ballads,
and the Haiku are all styles of poetry. Imagine the joy of writing a Haiku
capturing the joy and trials of a season within three short lines of 5-7-5
syllables.
Multi colored leaves Lea
(c)1997
Writing the above Haiku brought warm fuzzies to my heart.
We try different poetic forms searching for a unique voice. Our own voice!
Once we find a voice we may go onto to different forms. It is fun to play
around. Ah, the satisfactions of writing a Sonnet with a song like quality
while pretending to be Shakespeare. Sounds fun to me. I may not write verse
with every different style but I will experiment. I encourage you to do
the same. Go ahead. Try a style you have never written before.
Investigate, read poems written in the style that you would like to try.
Then, write poetic verse in that form. Remember whatever form or style of
poetry you write your voice and your unique style will come through. You
are the creator. Find a voice, create a world filled with words and style
will follow.
I will use examples of poetry, my own and others, from time to time.
Look for the next article on Ideas.
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