So many word-loving teenagers who could, with practice, become great poets give up in middle school because they believe writing poetry is just too hard. From the myriad of poetic terms introduced in English classes—metaphor, pentameter, tyrannosaur—it truly appears so. I fear so many writers are scared away from poetry because of its daunting façade and turn to fiction because it seems to have less rules. Don’t assume that writing poetry is boring or difficult! Delve into the world of poetry for yourself, starting with the simplest forms and subjects. Build up a tolerance for writing poetry, and you may develop a passion.
Nevertheless, the children who have creative writing assignments due in a week don’t want a detailed explanation of the merits of poetry. So without further ado, here is a list of ten helpful ideas for how to write the best possible poem:
- Unless you consider yourself to be on the level of Shakespeare, avoid writing, at first, about the most common topics of poetry, such as love, death, or the future. What should you write about? Your own unique experiences! The world needs more poems from the perspective of a TCK, a homeschooler, or even just a Christian.
- Be descriptive: show rather than tell. Describe what you hear, feel, taste, or see rather than just narrating what happens. Although a poem usually deals with an abstract concept, it should use concrete, or sensory, words to express them. Don’t name the emotion you are experiencing, such as “happy” or “dejected.” Make the reader come to that conclusion on their own.
- That said, don’t be so vague that you aren’t descriptive! Use precise language– do your best to find the perfect word for every situation– while also being unique. Make up your own onomatopoeia (a word that, when pronounced, makes the sound it describes), or use synesthesia (blending words from two senses, such as “the green silence”).
- Capture the wonder of the moment. Help your reader be as amazed as you were when you saw the grasshopper with the dewdrop on its back. Be the storyteller of God’s magnificent creation, through your unique view.
- A poem doesn’t have to explain the meaning of everything. Let your readers do the work to interpret some of your thoughts and feelings. (Sometimes they’ll believe your poem has a much deeper theme than you intended!)
- Make a creative title. It shouldn’t give away the meaning, but let it lure the reader into the poem.
- Use at least one unique metaphor or simile. Compare your subject in an unexpected, but appropriate, way.
- Make every line count! The essence of poetry is in its conciseness. Find a way to pack your message into as few words as possible. Sometimes that means having to google synonyms with fewer syllables or using Rhymezone to find a closer rhyme. It’s not cheating (I think)! [Disclaimer: Check with your teacher before using Rhymezone for an English assignment to ensure it is not academic dishonesty. However, for domestic poetry writing, it truly is a lifesaver.]
- Use your line endings well. Cut off a sentence so that the reader has to move to the next line to hear the rest of the thought. You are in control of the poem, so you decide whether to use punctuation on line endings or not, whether to use rhymes or near rhymes or none and how many syllables each line should have. Some say beginners should stick to free verse, some say to traditional forms—it really doesn’t matter!
- You probably don’t want to hear this, but the best advice every beginner poet can take is to read good poetry! That doesn’t mean you have to wade through the classics. Children’s poetry can still be of great quality, yet the classics may surprise you. Shakespeare, Eliot, Dickinson, Frost, Yeats, and other famous writers pack their works with unexpected metaphors, surprising language, and innumerable writing lessons for those who care to look. Try some of the modernist poets, who can be easier to understand than the Romantics but still use some traditional form and meter.
In the end, the goal of a poem should not be to express your emotions but to make the reader feel emotions. A good poem is created for the reader and for the glory of God, as opposed to the author being the “center of the poem’s universe.” All of these ideas are to help you get into the mindset of tailoring a poem to the reader’s interests and perspective. Not only will this mindset make you less self-centered in your writing, it will help you be more creative and descriptive since the reader can’t see what’s going on in your mind unless you show them.
Hopefully, these tips are constructive to new writers who are willing to take a stab at poetry, as well as those who are more experienced. Even the best poets can get into a rut of slapping words onto paper or writing just to express their emotions, without really thinking about the purpose of a poem. In the words of Archibald MacLeish’s Ars Poetica, “A poem should not mean / But be.”
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Sources:
“Glossary of Poetic Terms.” Poets.org, Academy of American Poets, https://poets.org/glossary.
Herlong-Bodman, Ann. “TenTips.” Poetry Society of SC, 2011, https://www.poetrysocietysc.org/_files/ugd/bd37f2_8a8e45a3a2754898a61d167cd59cee94.pdf.
Jerz, Dennis G. “Poetry Writing Tips: 10 Helpful Hacks for How to Write a Poem.” Jerz’s Literacy Weblog, 21 July 2011, https://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/creative1/poetry-writing-tips-how-to-write-a-poem/.
MacLeish, Archibald. “Ars Poetica by Archibald MacLeish.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/17168/ars-poetica.