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will we rise?

no way 0.1 10.0% [ 1 ]
probably not 0.6 60.0% [ 6 ]
again, no 0.3 30.0% [ 3 ]
Total Votes:[ 10 ]
1

so it seems like this sub-forum has fallen into a bit of rut these past months. i wish to revive it, and so should you! in this thread, we will all provide "lessons" of sorts on the different pieces that make up a successful poem. this is a work in progress, so you will need to bear with us. if you wish to lay claim to any particular topic, or have a suggestion for a topic that should be covered, let me know, and i'll mark you down for it next to the topic that will be discussed.

the following are topics that we will discuss in this thread, the bolded being the topics that need authors:

-grammar - passy indoors
-punctuation - passy indoors
-spelling - passy indoors
-linebreaks (also known as enjambment) - passy indoors
-rhyme - aphrodite flytrap
-meter - aphrodite flytrap
-imagery - vannak
-allusions/allegories
-free verse vs. structured formats

-critique - passy indoors
-editing - DCB
-cliches - rumirumirumirumi

happy learning!
GRAMMAR


intro
i am not going to go over every single thing about english grammar because that would take far too long and most of you probably know how to form a basic sentence (we all make mistakes though), so i will go over why correct grammar is important, and when stylistic grammar/incorrect grammar are appropriate in a poem.

why correct grammar is important
if you listen to the way a child speaks and the way an adult speaks, you will notice that more often than not, a child is just barely stringing words together in order to get their point across. often, it's not correct grammar and sounds a little silly, but they speak well enough in order to communicate what it is they need. adults usually (hopefully) use correct grammar and are able to communicate not just the simple "we did this and that" but how it was done, why, etc. using grammar correctly shows the difference between an adult writer and a childish writer; using correct grammar makes people take you seriously and is, honestly, just how you're supposed to speak anyway.

when it is okay to use incorrect grammar
poetry is one of those things that has rules, but is also flexible enough to allow you to break those rules. breaking rules should only be done when you have been able to master following the rules and you have an understanding of how poetry works and how it is supposed to function. when you get to that level, then you'll know how and when to break the rules.

it's okay to break grammatical rules when you are conveying dialogue, because people don't always speak correctly, or if you are trying to write and convey a certain vernacular/accent, or if you are writing as a child.

you'll notice that i don't use capital letters. that is my stylistic choice because i like to contrast harsh words and sounds with the soft look of all lowercase letters, which creates a sort of duality that can't be done merely by the words and linebreaks alone.

there are other ways to manipulate grammar and somehow make it work, but i'll let you figure out those parts for yourself, because they are few and far between, and when you stumble upon that discovery, the magic begins.
PUNCTUATION



intro and commas
punctuation is one of those things that can really change the meaning of a sentence. just the one small dash of a comma or dot of a period can make the sentence, "i'm going to watch my little brother, shower, and then eat," into "i'm going to watch my little brother shower then eat," which are two entirely different sentences.

so let's examine the difference between those two sentences: in the first, the speaker is going to watch his little brother, presumably babysitting or whatnot, then the speaker is going to shower, and then he is going to eat. in the latter sentence, the speaker is going to watch his brother take a shower, which is so many kinds of wrong, and then he'll either eat or watch his brother eat, depending on how you interpret it.

apostrophes
there is also the miracle of apostrophes, which changes ill (being sick) into i'll ( "i will" ). if one writes "ill do this," not only does it not make any sense, but adjectives such as ill can't do anything. if you turned it into a noun, such as by saying "my illness does this," then that is an entirely different sentence, but that is also delving into grammar, which i will steer clear of from now.

the wonderful world of semi-colons
semi-colons are probably my favorite of the punctuation marks. i never thought i would say that i have a favorite punctuation mark. but in any case, a semi-colon joins two separate clauses that could be separated by a period but not by a comma. the semi-colon is supposed to indicate a pause shorter than a period but longer than a comma. example:

"i came to see my mother. she was gone" vs "i came to see my mother; she was gone."

in the first sentence, there is a sharp pause, an entire beat being skipped, but with a semi-colon, the pause is softer, and more like half a beat rather than a full one. this gets into the musicality of poetry, which makes your favorite poems stick in your head.
SPELLING

[reserved]
LINEBREAKS

[reserved]
RHYME


Rhyming is what happens when two words sound similarly.

There are a lot of ways to use rhyme in poetry, and the key is always to service the poem with rhyme or lack thereof, and not to service the rhyme (or lack) with a poem.

Let's start with some terms

Perfect Rhyme

Masculine Rhyme - this is when the last syllable rhymes.
can/man
ham/sam
inkling/sting

Feminine Rhyme - this is when generally the last syllable is the same, and instead the prior syllable rhymes
going/mowing
rover/over
travelling/unraveling

Slant/Near Rhyme - this is when the rhyme is not perfect, or, the sound doesn't match completely. This can be further broken into Family Rhyme, Assonance, and Consonance

Family Rhyme:

Assonance:

Consonance:

Additive/Subtractive Rhyme
stun/runt

External Rhyme

Internal Rhyme
METER

[reserved]
Imagery

Reserved?
Dibs!

Aekea Scarface

Editing

-reserved-

You've written your poem. Perhaps by utilizing the tools taught here, you've written what you consider to be a great work of art. However, people come and critique it. They address concerns, confusion, and other things you hadn't thought of. What do you do‽ Do you panic‽ Do you give up writing poetry altogether‽ Stop right there! Of course you don't give up. Like it or not, editing is probably the most important aspect of any writing -- but most especially poetry. Here, I'll discuss the different aspects of editing, including wait-time, whom to listen to, and what exactly is appropriate for editing.

When should I edit?

As much as this sounds like a cop-out, it's up to you. While it is nice whenever you get a critique of your poem soon after writing it, this often isn't the case. By chance it does occur, though, I would suggest begin editing immediately. On the chance you wait a week {or even two} and still have no critiques, here's what I suggest. Due to it having been some time before the initial creation of the poem, you should have somewhat fresh eyes. Read the poem again, out loud even, to yourself. Give yourself a critique of sorts. If you notice some clumsy wording or think of better ways to phrase certain sections, make note of that. After you're finished, you can begin editing.

Theoretically, a poem is never at a stage where it can't be edited. Realistically, though, it's best to edit a poem when it's still relatively fresh. If you wait even a year before editing, you won't be in the same mindset. This sounds obvious, but by that point you might not remember exactly what your thought process was for writing the poem. Sure, you might read the old poem and decide to rewrite it, which brings me to my next brief point.

Is a rewrite the same as an edit?

A rewrite is a type of edit that is exactly what it says on the tin. A rewrite should be done only in cases of emergency. The most likely example would be that you look back on an old poem and realize you don't really like it. By this point, you will have probably written many poems and have increased in skill. Even though you dislike the poem itself, perhaps you still like the overall concept of it. In this case, a rewrite is probably best.

Say, however, that you get a critique with nothing good to say about your poem. Should you completely rewrite it? Not necessarily. Completely negative critiques are no fun, but we can still learn from them. Read the critique carefully and note what it's saying.

[in progress]
CRITIQUING

[reserved]
another bump just for please

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