Tuesday, June 24, 2008

“How To Write Free Verse Poetry” Article

"To have great poets, there must be great audiences." ~Walt Whitman~

Free verse is just that – free verse. It is free. It is liberal. It is dandelion fluff blowing on the summer breeze. Poetry in any form is creation, is life, is oxygen, and is water. Free verse is an art form.

Free verse is hugely popular in modern poetry. Free verse is poetry with no rules, no borders, and no hidden agendas. It has no set rhyme or metre, (although rhyme may appear sporadically).

It should not be confused with ordinary prose where there are few if no bells and whistles, no fancy frills. Prose is written in paragraph form where free verse is written in stanzas. Free verse poetry is meant to show not tell.

Free verse may borrow from other poetic forms. Alliteration, onomatopoeia, metaphor, personification, simile, imagery, repetition of words or phrases, or any other poetic devices may be used. Emphasis is placed on the end word, the end line, and the end stanza.

Free verse can be viewed through many eyes. It is open to multiple interpretations by many people.

The poet or poetess of the poem makes their own rules as they go along for free verse has no set pattern. In free verse line length has numerous possibilities – three lines, eleven lines, fifty lines. You decide.

Free verse poetry can be on any topic. The poet or poetess has a wide choice.

Free verse can have any layout. You can mould free verse in to any shape.

Free verse is similar to fashion design:
an idea is born
pieces are fitted together
the whole is tried on – maybe altered, maybe not
free verse walks the runway and has an audience.

Steps:

· Pick a topic or idea
· Write it using poetic devices if you desire
· Edit
· Publish (homemade i.e. on a card,)or( professionally,) for yourself or someone else


Tips:

· Keep a positive image or someone in mind as you write your free verse
· Do avoid clichés
· Look to Walt Whitman, Ezra Pound, and Carl Sandburg for free verse examples

In essence, free verse poetry is an opportunity to express you in a number of ways without any real restrictions. You may write about whatever comes to mind, in any tone with any emotion, using any imagery or poetic devices.

"If you done it, it ain't bragging." ~Walt Whitman~

Source: Walt Whitman Quotes Brainy Quote Retrieved June25/08 http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/w/walt_whitman.html

Copyright © June 2008, Michelle Kafka

3 comments:

domain name registration said...

I think that, you are a poetry. Nice guide for me to become a poetry. Thanks for sharing.

Dho Marketing said...

Thanks for the tips..To bring life to your poem, focus on incorporating the five senses into your poem; devote one line to each sense, or sprinkle them throughout. This will help make the reader understand exactly what image or scene your poem illustrates, and encourage your audience to fully experience your work.

Ann@CodeSpark said...

To bring life to your poem, focus on incorporating the five senses into your poem; devote one line to each sense, or sprinkle them throughout. This will help make the reader understand exactly what image or scene your poem illustrates, and encourage your audience to fully experience your work.