One of the very earliest art forms
undertaken by humanity is poetry. Poetry could be described as
playing with words to create an effect. It is erected on a
framework called verse, or a series of artificial end-stops on lines.
It is a powerful form of self-expression. Many of the earliest
poems were histories of peoples, passed down orally by bards and
tribal traditions. The Iliad and Odyssey, two famous Greek poems,
were passed down this way, and (it was thought) finally recorded by
Homer. Tribal mythologies, including early Judaism, were passed
down orally and eventually recorded onto scrolls. By early
medieval times, poetry was already well established. Kings were
entertained and informed by lyric poems, some set to music. Beowulf
and other epic poems recounted mythical tales and beliefs. People
and poetry were a natural fit. Poetry was and is a natural
expression of human spirit and creativity.
As time went on, in the 17th
and 18th centuries, poems took on a much more formal and
structured appearance, for the most part. The simple Sonnet form
evolved into more complex variations. The Sonnet itself arose in
the 14th century in Italy. (Sonnet was Italian for
'little song'). The vilanelle and Pantoum, among other forms,
arose and spread around Europe. Ballads were recited and sung in
courts far and wide, recounting heroic deeds and mis-deeds. Elegies
and epitaths were increasingly common. More elegant forms like the
Sestina arose, as well as comic forms like the limerick and the
epigram. Verse could be played with, and if one had enough of a
reputation, new forms could be propagated far and wide. And
throughout, but especially in recent times, free verse has also been
popular. In the 20th century, free verse seemed to take
academic precedent over formal methods. Some have said that rhyming
forms were distracting because of the rhyme, and were too sing-songy
as well. Be that as it may, formal poetry is still widely popular
with many people.
Now what follows will be a
description of some poetic forms:
A Sonnet is a 14-line poetic form,
in Iambic Pentameter. The rhymes alternate in the first three
quatrains (groupings of four lines). Then, the last couplet rhymes.
The format can be described in letters as ABAB CDCD EFEF GG.
With each letter corresponding to an end rhyme.
For example - “You compare better to
a rose,
than any line
I could compose.”
That would correspond to the GG or
rhyming couplet.
Shakespearean or Elizabethan
sonnets have the above rhyming schemes. But Petrarchan Sonnets vary
in their rhyme schemes: ABBA CDDC EFFEGG. They all use Iambic
Pentameter, meaning the first syllable of each word is unstressed,
the second is stressed. This lends a lyrical beat to them.
Many prefer Sonnets as a good
jumping-in point to writing formal or structured poems.
The Vilanelle is another popular
form. Made famous by Dylan Thomas and his “Do not go gently into
the night” poem, they alternate lines in each stanza. There are
six stanzas, and the middle lines in the stanzas must all end-rhyme,
and many are written in metrical form, IE Iambic or Trochaic. It
uses two rhymes throughout. ABA, ABA, ABA, ABA, ABA, ABAA . The
first and third lines repeat for a refrain. This has been used
effectively on a number of subjects other than “raging against the
dying of the light!”
The Pantoum is another fun form to
play with. It originated in Malaysia. It is an indefinite number of
abab quatrain stanzas. Line 2 and 4 of the previous group, in their
entirety, become 1 and 3 of the next stanza. At the end, the lines
are reversed. One can find many examples of this on the Internet.
It can be an entertaining form to play with and express your
thoughts.
The Sestina is another complex form.
Do not attempt these without a lot of patience and time. The rhyme
scheme is quite complex.
There are some short forms that are
enjoyable and simple (though not necessarily easy.) The Haiku is a
popular three-line form. Five words, then seven, then five. Some
vary the number of words, and some use punctuation, others do not.
Most of the time, no title is used. The Limerick is a fun form
that was invented sometime in the early 1800's. It has five lines,
the first, second and fifth rhyme. And the 2nd and 3rd
rhyme with each other. Many college students have whiled away the
hours composing silly limericks, at least until the advent of
television and later, the Internet.
The Epitaph is another short form.
It is for words on a tomb, commemorating the dead. But the form has
also been used for humorous or comedic writes. The Epigram is
another short form, for humorous jots. Epigrams are four-line gems,
like this one from Alexander Pope:
“Sir, I admit your gen'ral rule
that every poet is a fool,
But you yourself may serve to show it,
That every fool is not a poet.”
The Cinquain is a five-line form.
One version simply starts with one word, then two, then three, four,
and the last line, one single word again. It is a simple form, good
for playing with various concepts. Another form is line 1, a noun,
two, 2 adjectives, 3, three -ing words, 4 – a phrase, and 5 –
another word for the noun in line 1.
There is also the Clerihew, another
four-line gem.
Ekphrastic is a poetry form based on a
visual piece of artwork. Poets write whatever comes to mind when
they are viewing a picture or piece of sculpture. They can be long
or short.
Poems have another quality as well:
Tone, or mood. A poem can convey a bright, happy mood, like some by
e e cummings. Or they can be sad, like Dylan Thomas's work.
There are forms like the Acrostic
poem, or the Abecadarian. Acrostic spells out a predetermined word
with the first letter of each line of the poem. Sometimes the word
or phrase is included in the title. The Abecedarian uses the letters
of the alphabet to start each line of a poem. There are many other
forms out there, and new ones pop up every so often.
But free verse also deserves some
discussion here. Free verse poems can be quite powerful, given the
word choices and arrangements by the poet. Greats like e e
cummings started out writing formal poetry and immersing themselves
in techniques. Then they branched out, confident they could spin a
rhymed, metrical poem. And went on to compose some delightful free
verse gems. When the words contain imagery, emotion, tone and
feeling, they can be just as effective as any rhyming poem. Walt
Whitman conveyed much emotion with his writings of Lincoln, “My
Captain, oh my captain....” Modern-day beat poets like Alan
Ginsburg and his “Howl” broke new literary ground, conveying
much feeling along the way. These free-verse poems can hit you in
the gut with their painful irony or insights. Many seem to show as
much skill as composing a rhymed, metrical piece.
Of course, somewhere in the mists
of time, lyrical words were set to music, and another art form was
born. Today some popular hits contain a relatively small number of
poetic words, sometimes repeated in refrains. Song lyrics I have
personally heard decades ago are still memorable today, by their
rhythm and the music behind them, and also by the emotions they
helped generate back in the day.
Lyrical words and sounds have a lot of
power. Even some speeches by politicians, when written well and
spoken eloquently, can carry a lot of weight, and resonate down
through the years. (“Fourscore and Seven years ago...”) It all
started with human language, and a very early component of that was
poetry.
Here are a few examples of modern
poetry.
Lyric Tidbit - Anon
No
hefty paycheck can replace
a
sunlit river flowing at lazy pace;
Big
bank accounts do not compare
with
gorgeous mountain vistas out there.
Two
Voices - Anon
The first intoned a gentle refrain:
Southern express route, Northern
Special,
Vent car before unloading - Manifest
Present,
Load Limit - serial number - chemicals
inside...
On and on went the official
inscriptions.
The second screeched louder than a
sticking brake:
“KUSH, Vanity Rulz, M8domin8m,
Charles was here,
KULZ, SPS6, Always into Something...”
Graffiti noise insinuated itself over
every orderly
procession of wheels, walls and welds.
I sat there on a bike, musing on the
discordant
harmonizing of civilizations
influences.
Suddenly a telltale rumble, the loud
thrumming
of diesel locomotives pushing the
entire
two-toned visual orchestration past my
vision.
Informing voices faded from concern as
I
watched the big yellow engines pass.
Time to pedal through the now vacant
crossing;
home, dinner and a hungry cat await.
There will be many other chances to
watch
those discordant long-distance voices
holler
their endless competition with one
another.
The switching yard is right around the
corner.
Me Up At Does – e e Cummings
out of the floor
quietly Stare
a poisoned mouse
still who alive
is asking What
have I done that
You wouldn't have.
Poetry is often used on special
occasions, even by Television announcers. Commercials feature
rhyming jingles. And, of course, greeting cards are full of
poetry, from the maudlin to the humorous to just plain awful. But
we keep buying them, hoping they can express feelings which we feel
inadequate to write down ourselves. I guarantee you, when you write
someone a note or a poem, in your own words, it carries far more
weight than any “canned” poem. Because it comes from your heart
and your own hands. I have saved letters written to me over thirty
years ago. They mean a lot because they were written (from the
heart) by my friends or loved ones.
Happy writing, and thank you for
reading this.
Links for further reading:
and last but not least,
- end
