POETRY LESSON 04:
POETRY WRITING CLASSES


DOES POETRY NEED A PLOT?

*   CAN I JUST RAMBLE ALONG?
*   DOES A POEM HAVE TO MAKE SENSE?
*   CAN I FIGURE OUT MY POEM AS I WRITE?
*   CAN I WRITE MY POEM PLOT IN ANY ORDER?



*  YOU ARE THE POEM MOVIE DIRECTOR

Start thinking of yourself as a movie director, directing a poem.  In the first stanza or line we're going to show neutral person not in love.  In the second and third stanzas the love of her life comes on the scene.  In the fourth stanza, something prevents the lovers from getting together.  In the final stanza, they lovers unite and live happily ever after.

Yes, you can ramble along.  Yes you can figure out your poem as you write.  Yes you can write your poem in an order.  Yes, if you want your readers to understand what you wrote--your poem has to at least make sense to you!

Keep in mind usually around the poem middle contains the peak of your poem. And you'll have a beginning and ending as well.  If you start doing this in your mind, you'll find it get easier and easier to plot out your poem.  Poems are short in nature.  So you can easily contained the entire sweep of the poem in your mind.   Whereas this is a little more difficult with a novel.  *laughing*



*  POEM BY LINES OR STANZA

POEM DIRECTOR I

Line 1            or Stanza 1:  An emotion is a color is an object

Lines 2 and 3 or Stanza 2: It takes action, action, action, but not an action.

Line 4            or Stanza 3: Takes action in familiar object making the poet suffer

Lines 5 and 6 or Stanza 4: Poet ponders following the object in Line 1 or Stanza 1.

Lines 7 and 8 or Stanza 5:  Poet wants something the opposite of Line 4 or Stanza 3.

Line 9            or Stanza 6.  Poet wants Line 1 or Stanza 1 object.

If you recognize this poem plot, well I just used it for the Rosy Cloud Poem



*  POEM BY WORDS

POEM DIRECTOR 2

WORDS are structure.  For example you can take any poem, novel and take one word from each line or as many lines as you want.  Then you can make a new poem using those words.


blue
bloom
wings
Why
follow
flowers
ground
out
rose


Blue Ground Poem
(c) Cupideros September 25, 2007

Blue mood, blue moon, where in my heart is room.
Bloom mood, zoom mood, let my blood run hot.
Wings fling, trust things, not yet, the unseen.

Why blue, blue mood cause tide-like scenes?
Follow the moment, travel the now in love
Flowering all around.  Listen, look and leap
Off the rocky, lonely ground
Out into waiting arms, warm as the
Rose is red.

Now I used those words from Rosy Cloud poem mostly in the beginning of the new Blue Ground Poem.  However, you could have put the chosen words in the beginning, middle of the line or stanza!


POEM DIRECTOR 3

Line 1: Three words
Line 2: Three words
Line 3: Three words



* POEM BY IDEAS OR CONCEPTS

The poem director grabs certain qualities about things.  She then decides to mix and match them into poem lines or stanzas.  Like baking a cake.  She says, "I want to talk about this, then that, a little about science, a tad about love."  Then she orders these items.  Then she writes her poem.

POEM DIRECTOR 4

Courage
Bravery
Persistence
Integrity
Vitality

Temperance – strengths that protect against excess
Forgiveness and mercy
Humility and Modesty
Prudence
Self-regulation [self-control]


Line/Stanza 1:Forgiveness and mercy
Line/Stanza 2:Vitality
Line/Stanza 3:Bravery
Line/Stanza 4:Self-regulation [self-control]
Line/Stanza 5:Prudence
Line/Stanza 6:Persistence
Line/Stanza 7:Humility and Modesty
Line/Stanza 8:Integrity



POEM DIRECTOR 5

Cubing (DCAAAA): a process of exploring a topic from six different sizes or perspectives.  Cubing because cube  has 6 sides. 
Line/Stanza 1:Describing: What does love is hell for example  look like?  Size,
Texture? Color? Parts named?
Line/Stanza 2:Comparing: What is love is hell similar to or different from?
Line/Stanza 3:Associating: What does it make  you think of?  What connections does
it have to anything else you’ve experienced?  Be creative think of
any connections.
Line/Stanza 4:Analyzing: How is love is hell made?  Where did it come from?  Where
is it going?  How are it parts related?
Line/Stanza 5:Applying: What can you do with love is hell?  What uses does it have?
Line/Stanza 6:Arguing: What arguments can you make for Love is Hell.  What
arguments can you make against it?


You could also write poems about these subjects.  Since your subjects practically provide the plot anyway.

POEM DIRECTOR 6

Pastoral – Rural landscape lines of lovers, nymphs and shepherds, idyllic landscapes

Arspoetica (The art of Poetry Poem) subject, of poetic art, usually explaining the poets reasoning for writing.

Aubade (Alba Poem) composed at dawn, usually in the voice of  departing love.

Carpe Diem (Act Now Poem) urging one to live in the moment because time passes quickly.

Adventure of the Goddess Poem

Encomium Celebration for a hero or heroine, now a laudatory poem for a legendary or real person.

Epithalamier – celebration for a wedding poem

Rune –magical character incantation  poem

Palinode poem—retractracting a regrettable statement or previous poem


*  POEM BY RAMBING OR WRITING AS YOU GO.


POEM DIRECTOR 7
Set down the structure but leave space to fill structure in.  In this case you already have a few things you want to write about.

Title:

Line/Stanza 1:?



Line/Stanza 2:?



Line/Stanza 3:Bravery




Line/Stanza 4:Self-regulation [self-control]



Line/Stanza 5:?



Line/Stanza 6:?



Line/Stanza 7:Humility and Modesty



Line/Stanza 8:?



POEM DIRECTOR 8

More poem subjects:

































SO GET OUT THERE AND PUT PEN/PENCIL TO PAPER
OR COMPUTER KEYBOARD TO SCREEN AND WRITE YOUR POEM!






This page was last updated: August 31, 2009
Netflix, Inc.
Writing Lessons
Poetry Lessons
CupiderosBooks Blogs
Fujitsu Computer Systems Corporation
Fujitsu Computer Systems Corporation