Peggy Strickland

How to Write Poetry

by Peggy Strickland

*Some casual thoughts for a beginner, and just for the love of it.

Poetry can be loosely defined as writing in language composed to evoke an emotional response through rhythmic arrangement and creative use of words. Used adjectively, the words poetry or poetic can also be used to describe something that is displayed most eloquently, as in “poetry in motion,” or something that is rendered most “poetically.”

Inherent in this singular art form that is poetry are a love for the written and spoken word and a reverence for the intrinsic grace and power of expressive language.

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When writing your first poem you should think of your words coming together in such a way that not only expresses your own poignant emotions or unique and distinctive thoughts, but also makes your reader “feel” in a very real way what you are trying to convey. That feeling might emerge as tears, laughter, love, provocation or foreboding; all depending on how well you communicate your ideas, both transparent and hidden between the lines.

While there are no hard and fast rules for creating your own memorable poetry, there are a few basic exercises that can greatly increase that skill of using your words creatively. Use these tips to finesse your words and help refine your thoughts more poetically.

Consider Rhythmic Arrangement

Arranging the words in your poem in a way that come across as rhythmic does not mean that you must follow some predefined and rigid form of composition.

You have likely heard terms like rhyme, meter, stressed or unstressed syllables. In school you may have been required to memorize the meanings of varying types of poetry, like sonnet or narrative, and terms like the dreaded iambic pentameter or onomatopoeia. But, in writing your first poem you should perhaps put all those terms aside.

As you put together words to create your first poem read it aloud to yourself. Determine whether it resonates in a way that is pleasing to the ear. Your poetry may not be intended as a smooth progression of syllables flowing naturally into each other, but you want its rhythm to make sense in the manner of its delivery.

Enhance Your Words Creatively

One idea for starting your first poem is to jot down words that might be included in your idea, but in no particular order.

If your poem, for example, is to be a celebration of the word “green,” you might write down a list of words that make you think of green things; like trees, grass, broccoli, emeralds.

Look at the words and consider synonyms or alternatives that might be a little more descriptive or perhaps more eloquent. Consider words that convey the idea of green descriptively, rather than so straightforward, and put them together appealingly.

Here are some examples of words expressing “green,” from a related poem:

Salad greens, parrot’s plumes

Money’s somber tones

Sordid shades of jealousy

Bitter taste of bile

***Click HERE for the full text of the poem “Paradise is Green.”

Remember that your poem does not have to rhyme at the end of each or every other line. Forcing words into a poem simply to create rhyme makes for stilted and unnatural verse.

Bring Your Basic Premise into Focus

Whether your fledgling poem is to be whimsical or thought provoking, you have a basic idea to put forth.

Bring together thoughts to create the main idea or point of your poem, reading them aloud over and over again as you add words or phrases. You can show the way to the crux of your idea in a manner that is clear and concise, or as is often the case with poetry, cloaked in a veil of mystery that leads to contemplation or introspection. Again, you want your reader to “feel” something from the imagery in your poetry.

If your poem is a light and frivolous love poem, guide your reader toward that revelation with words that are a bit flowery yet capricious. If the idea behind your poem is meant to show the depth of pain from a love gone wrong, demonstrate that intensity of feeling through perhaps a more circuitous and thought provoking route, leading to your basic idea with discernable weight and passion.

Insert Pauses or Transitions

Rather than rhyming words at the end of a line, consider an ending that is transitional to the next line or phrase. Use pauses or breaks, or allow a thought to be left incomplete at a point where a rhythmic progression might create a natural pause.

Rather than, “She would sing while she scrubbed the floors…” try something like..

She would

sing while she worked

scrubbing hardwood floors, burnishing grandmother’s silver service

plumping feather beds

***from “Sainted Memory...” Click HERE for the full text.

When you read your poetry aloud you can better determine where you would like for your reader to pause, to contemplate or to gather and interpret the essence of your thought.

Test the Finished Product

Reading your poem out loud to yourself is one way of measuring and controlling its cadence and flow. Reading to another person or group will give you needed feedback, to help determine if your poetry is received as you intend.

An audience who offers nothing but praise because they love you is gratifying but might not prepare you for responses from a more critical group. Test the waters gradually as you become confident in your writing. By all means read to your family or friends but also consider submitting poetry that you are serious about to a group of like-minded writers or those who have a real appreciation for quality poetry. Be ready to accept constructive criticism in the spirit with which it is offered.

Above All Enjoy the Craft of Poetry Writing

Take pride in your work; creating poetry that is worthy of your most diligent efforts.

Bring forth the very best of yourself through language that will paint a vast and wondrous panorama for your readers.