Is This a Poem?: What makes a poem, and how YOU can write one

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In five brief free-verse lines, Hilda Doolittle (1886-1961), also known as ‘H. D.’, ponders a mysterious thing she finds in a pool, in a poem that raises more questions than it settles. Beautifully teasing yet elegant, its central image is enticing and memorable.Kevin Varrone confesses how close he feels to his lover in ‘poem I wrote sitting across the table from you’. Written in a moment of procrastination as he worked on a longer verse in a coffee shop, the poem expresses how Varrone wants his lover to partake on all of his adventures, no matter how big or small. 61. "On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous" by Ocean Vuong Tell me it was for the hunger & nothing less. For hunger is to give the body what it knows Similar to repetition, anaphora is where a word or words is repeated at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or lines. It's most famously used in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 'I Have a Dream' speech. Rhyming schemes dictate how a poem flows. Rhymes can even sometimes alter the meaning of a poem altogether. Comparisons, especially in the case of metaphors, have various uses in a poem, and their importance is second only to imagery.

When we write about form , it is important to do more than just identify what form it is. We have to think why the poet chose it and what effect they wanted. If a poem about war has a rhythm that sounds like marching, this would be worth writing about! Tragedy: dark, sorrowful, and dramatic. Tragedies are usually based around human suffering, disaster, and death. They usually end traumatically for most characters involved. Sometimes there is a traditional tragic hero. Ex. Romeo and Juliet This is where one of the five senses is described as if it were another of the senses. For example, 'a warm smell'. Anaphora Narrative: contain all the elements of a story and are normally longer than average. They can use well-rounded characters, plots, and different kinds of conflict. Narrative poems often also have a moral message. Examples include: ‘ Goblin Market ‘by Christina Rossetti, ‘ The Rime of the Ancient Mariner‘ by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and ‘ The Highwayman‘by Alfred Noyes. To write a poem, first decide whether you want to follow a specific structure such as a sonnet or haiku, or would prefer to write something free-flowing, then choose a poem type from the selection above. Once you've made your choice, we'll ask you for a few words to inspire your poem. We'll them use our extensive word lists to write a poem inspired by your input. We'll help you with devices such as counting syllables, finding synonyms and rhyming words.Katherine Mansfield has been praised for her ability to simplify complex emotions through short stories and poetry. One of the more tranquil poems on this list, ‘Camomile Tea’ paints a picture of a couple who are calm and quiet and happy with the life they’ve made for themselves, highlighting the underrated joy that peaceful familiarity and comfort can bring in a relationship. 40. "Love Elegy in the Chinese Garden, with Koi" by Nathan McClain Because who hasn’t done that —

The extended metaphor whereby ‘sun = Fair Youth’ in this poem is intended to pay homage to the young man’s beauty: he shines as brightly as that heavenly orb. Shakespeare piles on the flattery, though, with extra touches: the sun has a ‘sovereign eye’ and so, by association, has the Fair Youth – ‘sovereign’ suggesting royalty or at least nobility. The words ‘golden’, ‘gilding’, and ‘alchemy’ all reinforce this association with wealth and nobility. Intertextuality: a feature of a text that references another text. It reflects upon the latter and uses it as a reference for the new written work. Nathan McClain’s inspiration for ‘Love Elegy in the Chinese Garden, with Koi’ was a date to the Huntington Botanical Gardens. In the poem, McClain aimed to ‘explore the sense of anxiety’ between two potential lovers, and the weighty emotional baggage that previous failed relationships can bestow upon you. 41. "I think I should have loved you presently (Sonnet IX)" by Edna St. Vincent Millay I think I should have loved you presently, And given in earnest words I flung in jest; And lifted honest eyes for you to see, And caught your hand against my cheek and breast; And all my pretty follies flung aside That won you to me, and beneath you gazeA haiku has three lines, which in total make up 17 syllables - line one has five, line two has seven and line three has five. With leaves turning golden, nights drawing in and fires being lit, autumn is the perfect time to settle down in a comfy chair with some poetry for company. Here is a selection of our favourite poems about what John Keats called the ‘season of mists and mellow fruitfulness', including autmnal poems by classic and contemporary poets, including Robert Frost, Emily Brontë and Gillian Clarke.