Welcome to Gaia! :: A Guide to the Art of Poetry (new and improved!)

The most common complaint I've gotten about this guide is that "poetry has no rules." How dare I post something that restricts the creativity of poets? xp Let's take a moment before diving into this guide to understand why it's here and how it can benefit you, regardless of your style, use, or preferred writing method of poetry.

Art, in any form, has a wonderful duality: the technical aspect, and the emotional aspect. Both aspects are equally important in any work of art. Some people are masters of technique and can execute amazingly difficult things; others just have a knack for communication through art and can connect to an audience in a way that may be simple, but elegant.

It is very difficult to teach the emotional side of art. In fact, it comes naturally to everyone: we can all feel emotion and do on a constant basis. However, just because you have felt something deeply, it doesn't mean you can instantly write fantastic poetry. That's where the duality comes in. If you lack the tools to express yourself, you end up sounding muddled, boring, or even perhaps completely nonsensical.

On the other hand, we can teach the technical aspects of an art with some degree of success. It is possible to become a master of the technical without having any love for the emotional impact of an art, but that's between the artist and his/her work. Therefore, to produce a resource that is useful for everyone who visits this forum, I have oriented it to focus on the things that we can teach, control, and fix in a workshop setting. 3nodding The information in this sticky is meant to inspire you to explore some of the amazing things that the technique of poetry can offer.

There is also a distinction to make between "therapy" and "craft" poetry. Therapy poetry is any poem which is written to release an emotion (sometimes used in actual therapy), and craft poetry is any poem that is written with the intent of polish and refinement into a work of art. Neither form of poetry is necessarily more valuable than the other. However, please keep in mind when looking for poetry to share that therapy poetry might not have a place in a workshop forum such as this one. As a final note to this portion, I've kept Angelina Lecter's therapy poetry myths for reference, as they directly and accurately describe the view of poetry on this forum.

With that behind us... let's get on with the guide!

Sounds pretty obvious, right? However, much like a painter ought to know his/her brushes, a poet must be able to appreciate and understand his/her own tools. In our case, we have words and punctuation.

The Importance of Spelling

Spelling is about the only absolute in poetry. There are some words that have flexibility based on which side of the pond you're from, but aside from cultural differences, it remains an important part of our language that cannot be disputed.

Why should this concern the poet? In the first place, good spelling shows care for your work. It shows your audience that you took the time to go through and remove any mistakes. A well-spelled poem is not necessarily a great poem, but it does present polish to the presentation as well as displays a basic respect for the language you're using.

Most importantly, there is no excuse for presenting a poem with spelling mistakes. Resources such as http://www.dictionary.com/ are available whenever you need them, and you can find dictionaries in any bookstore. They are a necessary tool for anyone, especially poets.

Does this mean you are never allowed to take creative liberties with spelling ever? Heck no. I'd be very sad if that were the case. However, you need to be able to differentiate between a liberty and a mistake.


The Yes and No of Grammar

While grammar may be the most annoying part of any poem to write, it remains an essential part of poetry. The rules of grammar are no different in poetry as they are in prose; poetry merely offers more flexibility.

Some poetry is successfully written without punctuation or lots of stretching when it comes to grammatical rules. That does not make it any less legitimate than a poem which uses perfect grammar and punctuation. However, the use of poetic license is only possible once you have mastered the rules which you plan to break. It is actually more difficult to break the rules well than to follow them.

Buy or borrow a good book on grammar, and make sure to study it well before attempting to jump into a poem without it.


Punctuation, Done Properly

Just because you're entering a more flexible world of writing doesn't mean grammar stops applying. Sorry. xp However, punctuation shouldn't be viewed as a chore. It is a useful tool for emphasizing specific parts of your poem and managing its flow. A brief rundown of the types of punctuation follows.



There are a couple of key things to note about punctuation. For instance, it isn't required at the end of each line. I cannot number how many times I've seen people throw commas at the end of lines without purpose. Not even the old dead guys do that. Your best bet is to lay them exactly where they should be.

Tip: If you're not sure about your grammar, write your poem out in a paragraph. Insert appropriate punctuation, then reassemble it using your already set line breaks. Voila!

Can you take liberties with punctuation? Of course. However, it will generally fit better if you stay mostly faithful to the rules of the language. Don't use commas to separate independent clauses, don't put a period after a dependent clause... you know the drill.


Vocabulary: When is it too much?

Blood? Sadness? Passion? I'll pass.
Consanguinity? Abasement? Concupiscence? I thought I was reading a poem, not a thesaurus. gonk

It's a constant struggle for poets. If your words are too simple, you might lose the interest of your reader because the vocabulary doesn't invigorate them. If they're too complex, you have them reading your poem in one hand and their dictionary in the other. I know many experienced poets feel indignant if people would prefer they "dumb down" their works simply so it's more accessible to the reader.

It never hurts to expand your vocabulary. (I just did! I didn't even know how to pronounce "concupiscence." wink Learning new words is a wonderful experience - at least, it should be, if you're interested enough to read this guide. wink I myself am the proud owner of The Superior Person's Book of Words and The Highly Selective Dictionary for the Extraordinarily Literate. Does that mean I'm going to turn around and start using words like "operculum" and "jactation" in my poems?

It depends. Jactation, which means "boasting [or] bragging," has some delightful pun possibilities as well as a rather simplistic definition. I might lose the reader for a word, but with enough contextual support, I could create a use for the word as well as a way for the reader to keep moving through the poem without having to stop and look things up. Now, if I used that word along with 15 other uncommon ones, I might bring readers to unnecessary tears.

The key to vocabulary, then, is balance. If you wish to use more difficult words, be ready to build strong supports for them. Use them with purpose. Avoid overloading your reader, but live up to your abilities. You still want to be able to communicate with your audience. Do so with elegance.


Words and Wordplay

This is the fun part of using words! xd

Maybe you can't spell to save your life. Maybe the word "participle" sends you into convulsions. I won't necessarily say that's okay, but it's not the end of your life as a poet. After all, that's what peers and reviews and English textbooks are for. Another necessary aspect to the words of your poetry is the sound of your words.

One common example of this is alliteration, or a series of words all starting with the same letter/sound: "stark staples staring stagnantly," or "foaming fog fears fish." This is a beneficial tool because consonant sounds can change the feel of your piece. Consonants like t and k are harsh (known in diction as "plosives" wink , where f and sh are softer (known as "fricatives" wink . If you want to take a class in diction, it's tons of fun and really informative when it comes to the relationship of consonants and vowels and all that.

Why does this help? The mere sound of your words can help set the mood of your piece. You can adjust the aural sensation by placing more pleasing sounds together, or line up a string of explosive repetition that gives sharp accent to your piece.

Even if you don't often read poetry aloud or hear is spoken, sounds plays a very important role. Check out the poet's glossary below for some other important words to know.

Another thing to consider is puns. Offering a bit of humor or drawing out the juice of that double meaning can make your poem that much fun to read and write.

There are two other aspects of rhyme that deserve noting: internal rhyme (this comes in especially handy in free verse poetry), and exact rhyme. For example,


Note "whistling" and "chiseled." First of all, they're not at the end of the line, and there is no established meter in the poem. We achieved an internal rhyme here (though one might call it assonance). When you're working free of restrictions, it's still fun to integrate some of the more classic devices.

Now, some of you might glare at me for thinking "whistle" and "chisel" rhyme. You're right - to an extent. This is not an exact rhyme, due to the s/z sounds, respectively. Instead, we have an off-rhyme. For a really good example on how to blend exact and off-rhymes, go here.

No matter what you write, though, remember that rhyme is part of the parsley of your poetry. When writing in a rhyming form, never let your rhymes dictate what you say. Otherwise, your message will sound forced, and your reader won't enjoy it as much. Work with them, not against them.

One of the keys to good poetry is successful imagery. Sure, you can convey emotion with something like, "I cry when you're away." But how far do you really expect that to go?

Imagery is a form of comparison. It offers poets a way to transcend simple description and draw their reader deeper into the experience. It is most easily conveyed through figurative language - especially metaphor and simile.

A simile is a comparison of two objects using "like" or "as." Examples: "Her hair is like a field." "That house is as big as a whale!"

A metaphor is a direct comparison. It differs from a simile in its lack of a connecting word. Examples: "You are my sun." "All the world's a stage." (Thanks, Billy. xd )

Imagery, then, is the blend of these comparisons that are linked through a common theme. I worked with a poet here on the concept of imagery, and I'll post the before-and-after as an example.


Rather than simply talk about sadness and stabbing things, she's now describing it through earthen imagery. The knife is the worm; the body the soil. It adds a new layer to the concept and thusly makes it more interesting for the reader.

Tip: When you next write a poem, take your idea, and make a list of ten possible images that you think correspond to the idea. Experiment with two or three of them to get a feel for the comparison.

* Indispensable tools