Repetition
Topic: Repetition
Repeating Yourself

Repetition ? the repeating of words, phrases, lines, or stanzas.

Do you remember learning your multiplication tables? Writing and reciting them over and over until they were ingrained in your head? Have you ever noticed that most television commercials repeat their company?s name several times within a 30 second spot, whether in writing or out loud?
There?s a reason for that -- repetition emphasizes whatever it is that is repeated, making it stand out so the it becomes the most important part of whatever you?re reading/watching or learning.

When you repeat a word (or a line) in poetry, that appears to be more important than other parts of the poem. It can also affect the rhythm a poem and the way it sounds. Repeating individual sounds or groups of sounds can strengthen the rhythmic structure. Some forms of poetry use the repetition of whole lines as part of their structure. Pantoum, and villanelle are two examples of repeating poetry where the repetition is dictated by the form.

When using repetition, keep in mind that, though it may emphasize the line or word in question, to overuse this device can lead to a sense of monotony. This is especially true when the word or phrase being repeated is one that has little appeal to a reader to begin with. Be sure that the line or word is worthy of the special emphasis it will be receiving, otherwise, you may be writing an exercise in boredom.

?It is a cardinal sin to bore the reader.?~ Larry Niven

How to comment on/critique a poem
Topic: How to Critique
We?ve had a rash of people lately who say that they believe they haven?t the knowledge or experience to offer a true critique. Today?s tip addresses that idea and explains how to do a critique in terms that even the newest of writers can follow. Remember that the process of doing a critique is as helpful and educating to the person giving it as it is to the receiver, because a thoughtful critique requires you to take a poem apart, examine its parts and pieces and see why they do, or don?t, fit together in a successful way.

Start on a positive note
Whenever replying to a poem, especially if you?re doing an in depth critique, find 1 or 2 redeeming qualities, something(s) the writer did right. Discuss them, explain why they worked for you in the context of the poem. This helps soften the blow of hearing the negatives you?re about to point out.

Clarity
Bring to the writer's attention any imagery, lines or passages you don?t understand. This is the time to discuss standard spelling, punctuation and grammar; they are vital to the clarity of the poem.

Locate the subject
Figure out what the poem is about. If the subject matter is unclear, tell them so. If you find a poem that you find you can?t decipher the subject, any further commentary would probably be of no help to the writer.

Interpret the writer?s motivation/inspiration
This is a separate issue from subject. As a writer, one has to be able to convey why they wrote this poem at this time. Many poems can be written about war for example. While one author may write it to praise the soldiers, another may write to speak against war in general, and yet another may write to memorialize one soldier in particular. This motivation must be made clear in a successful poem, or the writer has not treated the subject effectively.

Offer suggestions for revision
Be specific, the more specific you are the more helpful it will be to the writer. Are there lines that could be cut without damaging the integrity of the poem? Word choices that could be better, more descriptive? Are the images clear, Are the metaphors pure? Are there cliches that need to be weeded out or reworded?

Critical Direction
Refrain from commenting on the poet vs. the poem, and be careful of your tone. Remember that you?re critiquing a piece of writing, not the person who wrote it. Don?t make personal commentary on their beliefs or opinions. This is considered a personal attack, and is rarely allowed on poetry forums. Also keep in mind that in this electronic medium, there are no physical cues such as facial expressions, voice intonations or body language to help interpret your tone, so carefully choose your words so as not to offend the writer.

If you offend them, they go on the defensive, and stop hearing what you?re saying, which means you?ve wasted the time it took you to do this thoughtful critique.

Now go forth and crit!

The Image Progression Plot
Topic: Image Progression
When you are composing a poem that is primarily a series of images, the image progression plot is probably the most effective plot to use. In this plot, the images in the poem are arranged in some way that makes sense. Some examples of this progression are:

moving through the senses as if one were slowly approaching a scene -- the phenomenon is seen, then heard, then smelt, then tasted, then touched.

You can order the progression through the senses in other ways, as well; try reversing the order and moving away from the scene.
going from vague, abstract images to clear, concrete ones
progressing from gentle imagery (soft, misty, warm) to harsh (sharp, loud, burning)
increasing the contrast
There are many other progressions one can use to organize the imagery in a poem; simply be aware of the imagery you are using, and group it in whichever way will achieve the effect you want.

Title
Topic: Title
sometimes labels are a good thing

1. An identifying name
2. A general or descriptive heading

Poems were once known by their first lines or by the author and general subject. In Shakespeare's time, titling a poem separately became popular.

Some poets complete a poem without adding a title, but a smart poet uses a title to lure the reader into the poem. Your title can be used to define the work, or be a tease with a hint about the subject of the poem. It can summarize the piece, or be a play on words.

Sometimes the title is the poem's first line, and is meant to be read as such, though I think this leads to confusion for the reader.

Regardless of the way you choose your title, remember that, particularly in the realm of internet poetry and forums, your title may be the thing that decides whether anyone reads your poem at all. Make the title interesting, something to give a reader reason to open the page and read it. Avoid the mundane or cliche. Use an interesting title to be 'advertisement' of sorts, to sell your work to the reader.

Flow
Topic: Flow
1. To move or run smoothly with unbroken continuity, as in the manner characteristic of a fluid.
2. To move with a continual shifting of the components.
3. To proceed steadily and easily.
4. To exhibit a smooth or graceful continuity and smoothness.

It's important for a poem to have a sense of flow to it, one that, in a successful piece, helps to move the reader along and through the poem. If the poem lacks flow, it destroys the coherence and connections within the poem. It will feel disjointed and the reader will inevitably, feel disconnected from the original intent of the piece.

Flow is achieved through the proper use of line breaks and syllable count, word choices and punctuation. Try reading your piece out loud. Are your line breaks in logical places, where you normally pause to take a breath? Do the words you've chosen sound good together or are they disharmonious? Does the punctuation you've used indicate a pause or full-stop in a place that causes an unexpected halt?

Of course, there will be times when you choose a subject matter that may be enhanced by the use of discordant word choices or line breaks, where you want the line breaks to reflect a conflict within your poem. This is also a common usage for 'flow' -- by purposefully doing without it.

In either case, make sure that flow is something you're consciously aware of as you're writing. Make the choices based on your subject matter, and be informed about the effect of your choices.

Shiftless Tenses
Topic: Shiftless Tenses
Past, Present, Future

Verb tense, as in yesterday, today, tomorrow,
we all understand the concept of conjugating a verb based on time
-- (yesterday) I ran, (today) I run, (tomorrow) I will run ?

right?

In poetry, consistent verb tense is important, because generally speaking, poems are much shorter than, say, an essay. This leaves the reader with more opportunity to get confused about when something happened, because of the lack of context from which to make that decision. In a story or essay, we can shift tenses a bit more easily, especially in the case of dialogue, where people in the present tense discuss events in the past tense for example. The length of the piece gives the writer time and context enough to explain which tense applies to which part of the story. However, in poetry we lack that opportunity, it?s very difficult to shift tenses within a poem without leaving it with a case of jet lag, though it can be done, if the piece is fairly long, or in a case where the writer uses some form of formatting to clarify.

Each tense can give a piece a different mood.
Past tense can feel wistful and nostalgic ? reflective.
Present tense tends to give you the feeling of being solid and current and tangible.
Future tense can give you a feeling of uncertainty perhaps.

Each tense can serve its own purpose, add its own effect. The important thing is that they don?t shift and confuse your reader. It is much more effective to ensure that your tenses always agree, from one stanza to the next, throughout the entire piece. Give your reader solid footing to walk on while he reads. Don?t give him reason to stumble or become perplexed.

Cosmetics
Topic: Cosmetics
Sometimes we write according to the requirements of a particular form, such as Haiku, or (one of my new favorites) Tetractys.
Sometimes, breaking the line, or stanza in a particular place creates the pause or stress we want for a specific thought or idea within a piece. We center a poem, for the aesthetics, we indent a stanza to create emphasis, we create a particular appearance that may (or may not) add to the message of the piece. Each of these choices can be an effective tool in allowing us to show our readers how we want the piece to be read or interpreted.

And then sometimes . . .

We allow our message to be

S
u
c
k
e
d

~*~

swirled

L
o
s
t
in an


ABYSS

Of visual

?art?

Trust me on this one. You want the reader to get your point without having to jump all over the page, scroll down, then back up, shift from side to side, stand on their head, or try to interpret Morse code, or ASCII. Let your words ? or rather the meaning of them ? tell your story.

Use ellipsises sparingly, and use them correctly, they are three (3) periods, separated with space. (. . . ) Not 7 periods, not two periods. Three, spaced. They?re used to show that a sentence or thought was unfinished, don?t hang a few dots on the end of a line and then finish the sentence in the next line.

Avoid using question marks whenever possible, find a way to word the question so that the ?doubt? or ?uncertainty? is conveyed without the actual question being spelled out, questions are weak, and lend only their weakness to poetry.

Avoid cutesy little flowers (ex: ~*~ or ---<@) because they don?t lend anything to a piece, except the feeling you?re either in a chat room, or a classroom.

Don?t use all capitals, it?s rude. It doesn?t work to convey anger, especially if the language itself doesn?t show the anger, and if your language does show the anger, why use the caps at all?

Should you decide that you simply must use these gimmicks, have at least five good reasons in your own mind why you can?t do without them, and be prepared to share them.

Rhyme
Topic: Rhyme
1.correspondence in the sounds of two or more lines (especially final sounds)
2. a piece of poetry
3. compose rhymes
4.be similar in sound, especially with respect to the last syllable

Rhyme is a pretty basic concept in poetry,
or, is it? There?s perfect rhyme, or half-rhyme: masculine, feminine or triple, as well as eye rhyme and internal rhyme. Maybe not so simple as most think. We tend to think of rhyme as simple, more for it?s effect on poetry than the level of difficulty involved in understanding it and employing it.
Unfortunately, many people are so ingrained from childhood that rhyme is the defining characteristic of poetry, that some never overcome that belief and fail to understand that rhyme is more complex than ?cat? and ?hat?. There?s a reason they teach perfect rhyme in elementary school ? because it creates elementary poetry!
Another problem with rhyme is what?s called ?forced rhyme?. This is a situation where the writer is so concerned about the integrity of the rhyme scheme that he sacrifices the integrity of the piece itself, by adding or subtracting words or lines simply for the sake of getting a rhyming word into the right spot. This results in poetry full of unnecessary language and lines that make little sense or are unrelated to the original message. In a case like this, the rhyme cannot serve to strengthen poetry, only to weaken it.

This can be solved by using a different type of rhyme or a looser rhyme scheme, or, believe it or not, doing away with rhyme all together, depending on which works better within the piece. Whichever you choose to do, be informed and educated on the different types of rhyme to give yourself, and your piece, a better chance to succeed.

Perfect Rhyme:
Also known as exact rhyme

The words start with different consonant sounds, and have identical stressed sounds. In the case of a multiple-syllable word, all following syllables are rhymed as well.
Ex:
mine, fine, wine, line, tine
sending, mending, tending, lending
slow, flow, glow, snow

Half Rhyme:
Also known as near rhyme

Rhyme in which the final consonant sounds of two words are the same, but the initial consonants and the vowel sounds are different.
Ex:
soul, oil, foul
taut, sat, knit

Masculine:
Words beginning in different consonant sounds end in identical stressed syllables
Ex:
Support, retort, extort

Feminine:
Also known as double rhyme
Words where the first syllables are different, and then are followed by a stressed rhyming syllable, and an unstressed rhyming syllable.
Ex:
Survival, revival, arrival
Triple
The words have different consonant sounds followed by identical stressed vowel sounds and then two identical unstressed syllables.
Ex:
Greenery, scenery, machinery

End Rhyme:
Also known as Terminal rhyme
End rhyme is self explanatory ? the rhyming words fall at the end of two rhyming lines.
Ex:
?They walked slowly, hand in hand
and found the nearest hot dog stand?

Internal rhyme:
This also refers to the location of the rhyming words in the lines. Internal rhyme is when two rhyming words are placed within a single line.
Ex:
?She sang her song, sweet and long
Until he fell asleep?

And for the fun of it:
Eye Rhyme:
When two words appear to rhyme, but don?t.
Ex:
Bough, tough, though


And you thought rhyme was simple!?

Brevity vs. Verbosity
Topic: Brevity vs Verbosity
how much is too much?


Brevity:
1. The quality or state of being brief in duration.
2. Concise expression; terseness.

If your message is conveyed more successfully in 10 words, why use 100?

Verbosity
1.Using or containing a great and usually an excessive number of words.
2.Wordy.

The idea of poetry is to convey a message, an image, an emotion, to the reader. To do this successfully, the reader has to be left with an impression of your work that lasts beyond the actual reading of it. It has to have enough power that they remember it.

In order to accomplish this feat, we often use flowery language and too many words, trying to convince them to hold on to the idea we?re trying to get across to them,. Unfortunately, that usually has the opposite effect of what we?re trying to achieve. Too many words, particularly modifiers (adjectives, describing words) tends to bury our idea, hide it from the reader, who is then forced to dig through the excess to get to the good stuff, which, frankly guys, they?re probably NOT going to do.

The solution is to cut out the overkill, make every word count, make every word mean something, and have a reason for every word choice.

The Plan
Topic: The Plan
beginning, middle, and end

How many times has something you?ve seen or heard sparked your creativity? An image, or one of those ?perfect word combinations? that get to floating around in your head that demands that you write it a poem? We get our inspiration from anywhere, everywhere, and occasionally, nowhere at all, but inspiration is just the start of a poem. As writers we have to take that spark and build on it.

A successful poem has to have a logical progression the reader can follow, a distinguishable beginning, middle and end, just like a story. If we lack any of them, the reader will infallibly be left with a feeling that he?s been cheated out of the experience of what a good poem is.

Beginning
This, the beginning, is the most important part of a poem. Without a strong beginning, particularly a first line or thought, you?ll never have[/r] readers. You have to start with something strong enough to get their attention, and interesting enough to draw them in.
The strongest of ideas, the most brilliant inspiration, will go unnoticed if you can?t get your reader inside your poem.

Middle
Now that you?ve got them this far, you owe it to them to make it worth their while. Walk them through your thought/idea/image/story with strong language, and a feeling of progression. Don?t draw them in and leave them bewildered as to why they bothered. Readers are a fickle lot, and in this day of point and click especially, it?s all too easy to move on to something they find more interesting. It?s your job to hold them there, not their job to muddle through confusing or bland poetry to discover your hidden meaning. Another thing to remember, your reader is not a mind reader, make sure that you?re being clear and the piece is accessible. You know your inspiration, make sure you?re expressing it to your reader.

Ending
Smack ?em! (Or rather, make them smack themselves, in the forehead.)
Make your last line strong, compelling, forceful, powerful, stimulating and unmistakable.
The last thing they read is the thing they remember. Make your piece stand out in their mind, make them remember it, think about it all day. All the rest of the work you?ve done is for the sole purpose of this final stanza/line. Don?t disappoint your reader with some weak little bit of something. Make sure you give this a lot of thought and consideration. And be careful about sounding like you just couldn?t find anything, ran out of ideas, and slapped something on here at the end. They?ve gotten emotionally involved by this point (as long as you?ve done it right anyway) now give them their reward. Use the ending to tie the rest of it together, wrap it up and make it cohesive, and intense.

Alliteration, Assonance, and Consonance
Topic: Alliteration
alliteration
1. The repetition of the same sounds or of the same kinds of sounds at the beginning of words or in stressed syllables.
assonance
1. The repetition of similar vowels in the stressed syllables of successive words
2.The repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds, especially in stressed syllables, with changes in the intervening consonants.
3.Rough similarity; approximate agreement.
consonance
1.The repetition of consonants or of a consonant pattern, especially at the ends of words, as in blank and think or strong and string.
2.The property of sounding harmonious


Now I realize this is pretty elementary terminology, and these are probably three of the most basic of poetic devices, but don?t email me about my ?Poetry for Dummies? series just yet, ok? I want to delve into the uses of these three things, simply because I think most writers tend to use these without thinking much about it, and therefore, we become comfortable with them and don?t pass along to new writers just how or why they work, or don?t. Often we use them with so little conscious thought that even we don?t consider how they work, we just ?get a feel? for it, and off we go.

1. Alliteration is often over-used by less seasoned writers, leaving their readers as though they?ve come away from a tongue twister. She sells seashells on the seashore, The poor parched pooch perched on the post on the porch, Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. No one wants to read, or for that matter write a poem that the reader can?t keep straight in his head. However there are ways to use alliteration that can lend a piece a complimentary effect. Personally, I find this true more with the softer consonant sounds, such as ?s? ?z? and ?th? as well as ?j? and the soft ?g? sound.
*Note that alliteration refers to the initial sound in a word, or the first letter/letter combination.

2. Assonance is a sort of ?trick word?. Ask most newer or younger writers, and they couldn?t define the word, yet they tend to be the ones who use it most. They can write in rhyme, and not know they use assonance in their work.
*Note that assonance refers to the internal sound or letter/letter combination of the stressed syllable.

3.Consonance is useful when looking to create a staccato effect, as a drum beat. It?s probably the least utilized of these three. We tend to think more about the end of our poem than the end of our individual words.

Enjambment
Topic: Enjambment
1. The continuation of a syntactic unit from one line or couplet of a poem to the next with no pause.

2. the breaking of a phrase, clause or sentence by the end of a line or between two verses.


Enjambment is in contrast with end-stopping,
where each linguistic unit corresponds with the line length.

Meaning flows from line to line, and the reader's eye is pulled forward. Enjambment creates a feeling of acceleration, as the reader is forced to continue reading after the line has ended. However it can also cause some confusion and unnecessary mental pauses within a thought or idea when used in an unusual manner or placement.

T.S. Eliot's poem "Gerontion" is heavily enjambed:

"After such knowledge, what forgiveness? Think now
History has many cunning passages, contrived corridors
And issues, deceives with whispering ambitions"

while Alexander Pope's "An Essay on Criticism", are completely end stopped:

"Nature to all things fix'd the Limits fit,
And wisely curb'd proud Man's pretending Wit:"

Enjambment is another of the poetic devices that can serve good or evil, depending on the writer's usage, and intentions.

When writing about inner-city construction and traffic, creative enjambment may be just the trick, to add that jumpy jarring effect. When writing about a waterfall, one can create the movement and "flow" with enjambment used in a traditional manner. When writing about the serenity of early morning sunrise, end-stopping is probably more effective.

Metaphor and simile
Topic: Metaphor and Simile
Metaphor and simile
Metaphor:
1. A figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one thing is used to designate another, thus making an implicit comparison.

2. a figure of speech in which an expression is used to refer to something that it does not literally denote in order to suggest a similarity.

3. One thing conceived as representing another; a symbol.

Simile
1. figure of speech in which two essentially unlike things are compared, often in a phrase introduced by like or as.

2. a figure of speech that expresses a resemblance between things of different kinds (usually formed with `like' or `as')

As you see, metaphor and simile are similar. They serve like purposes. Metaphors however are a purer form of symbolism, and leave your reader to make an inference as to the subject of you poem, rather than making it obvious, as does a simile. Metaphors deliver your message with more emotional impact than direct language, or similes. However, be careful not to use cliched metaphors (Life is a roller coaster, etc) or you nullify the effect. Also, when using metaphor in a poem, use the same metaphor throughout. Be consistent and avoid mixed metaphors. To mix metaphors also weakens the effect and weakens the piece by confusing the reader, particularly if the metaphors you choose are vastly different.

Gerunds and Participles
Topic: Gerunds and Participles
Gerunds and participles are often confused, one for another. Here are the definitions of each and an explanation of their differences.

A gerund is a verb that ends in -ing and functions as a noun, since a gerund functions as a noun, it occupies some positions in a sentence that a noun ordinarily would.

Ex: (direct object/subject)
They do not like my writing.

(subject compliment)
My brother?s favorite hobby is skating.

(object of preposition)
He was suspended for fighting.

Gerunds have one of two effects on writing. When properly used, gerunds can be used effectively to add a sense of movement to poetry. To do this, the writer must pre-think (and often re-think) his choices of frequency and placement.
When overused, or used without forethought, they tend to weaken the piece, because rather than giving the reader a concrete bit of foot placement from which to make the next step, they just whisk the reader along, never giving them a chance to stop and consider the path he?s followed. For a strong piece of poetry, one should use gerunds sparingly, and for a preconceived effect. Let your reader make his own way through the piece, give him time to consider, the opportunity to take in the message.

A participle is a verb that is used as an adjective and most often ends in -ing or ?ed, they function as adjectives, and modify nouns or pronouns.

Ex:
Carrying his bag, he trudged through the snow.
The home, destroyed by fire, was a total loss.
She walks sadly through the whispering forest.

Although often mistaken for gerunds, participles usually don?t weaken a piece to the same degree as a gerund, because they are used as an adjective. Most readers subconsciously understand that an adjective isn?t a necessary part of the sentence as is the subject, and can differentiate the two. However, too many participles take us away from the core of the message we try to convey, and therefore leave us with a weaker result.

In poetry particularly, this is a fine line. We wouldn?t want to say ?She walked through a forest? and try to call it poetry. It isn?t descriptive enough without any modifiers, it lacks the ?art?. The secret lies in being able to judge when enough is enough. Perhaps my advice here should be two-fold (here come the cliches. . . )
?Look before you leap.? and
?All things in moderation.?

Cliche:
Topic: Cliche
Cliche:
1. A trite or overused expression or idea.
2. A person or character whose behavior is predictable or superficial.
3. A trite or obvious remark.
4. Anything that has been overused before, or is being overused now, any word or phrase you remember being used a certain way more than once.
5. A time-worn expression which has lost its vitality and to some extent its original meaning.

Example: ?Busy as bees?

Synonyms -
platitude
banality
commonplace

Now, understand that without fail, using cliches in your poetry will serve no purpose other than to weaken it, to bore your reader into turning away.

To use cliches is to use someone else's words rather than your own. There is nothing original or creative about copying someone else. There's also nothing interesting about your results when you do so.