A Rudimentary Guide to Writing Poetry

NEW UPDATE: Added additional techniques to (Literary Techniques and...)

GOALS: Add poems to (Types of Poetry) section, finish (Literary Techniques and How They're Used) section, establish a Table of Contents, anything else brain? [Not at the moment, no]

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It behooves me to say,

Poetry makes me gay

With a great big smile

A mile wide!

-OP

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Ah, poetry, one of the many creative outlets that some indulge in, and one that (You) may wish to participate in. If so, hopefully this guide may be of use to you. I’ll admit that I’m not an expert on the topic of poetry, however, it doesn’t take an expert to understand and explain the basic fundamentals; in a similar vein, anyone can write poetry, including good poetry.

 

Below is a Table of Contents detailing the different sections for ease of access. Those who are new should go in the order presented and skip Section 3 when it starts to list literary techniques as Section 3 is for reference.

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Section 1 - ‘What is Poetry? What’s the Point?’ – Line XXX

Section 2 - ‘Types of Poetry’ – Line XXX

Section 3 - ‘Literary Techniques and How They’re Used’ – Line XXX

Section 4 - ‘A Lesson on Meter’ – Line XXX

Section 5 - ‘Additional Thoughts for Beginners’ – Line XXX

Section 6 - ‘Additional Resources for Poetry’ – Line XXX

 

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Section 1 - What is Poetry? What’s the Point?

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If you’ve ever read a book that’s pulled at your heartstrings, made you pensive or filled you with awe or wonder, then imagine those feelings as a liquid. Poetry is that liquid, but concentrated, and injected directly in a person’s bloodstream. To put it simply, I’ll reference what Samuel Coleridge spoke long ago:

 

>“Prose = words in their best order; — poetry = the best words in the best order.”

 

Poems can be short, and poems can be long. Poems can rhyme, have rhythm or strict meter, or a lack of these things. Poetry consists of many different styles, but what’s consistent about every poem is that each one has a theme.

 

‘What’s a theme?’ I hear you cry. Or maybe not. I can’t tell, the ability is beyond me, but in case you don’t know, a theme is a topic or message of a literary piece. Themes differ from morals as not all themes are attempting to teach a virtue, sometimes they state the obvious. ‘War is hell.’ ‘Love is beautiful.’ ‘OP’s a faggot.’ Regardless, poems contain themes, and before a poet writes a poem, they need to think about a topic or message they wish to convey.

 

Poetry is, in essence, the conveyance of a message or idea by making the reader feel something. The purpose of a poem is to make the reader feel and/or think, and if a poet can manage to do that, then they’ve accomplished their goal. The question, however, is how the poet can manage such a thing, but before we tackle literary techniques, we'll first go over...

 

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Section 2 - Types of Poetry

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May I endeavor to suade

Your thoughts and eyes to poems

Of various types for I

Am sure it will be of use.

-Anonymous

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Poems can come in many different formats, and although a poet may gravitate towards a particular form, it’s still a good idea to know a wide array that’s available to use. Shakespeare and Robert Frost were in love with blank verse. Walt Whitman and Langston Hughes wrote free verse, and so on and so forth, you get the idea. Below includes some formats in alphabetical order:

 

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Ballads-

Ballads are poems that narrate a story by typically using rhyming quatrains. The rhyme scheme can be any number of combinations, A B A B for the first stanza and C D C D for the second, or A B C B for the first stanza and D E F E... the major point is that usually the second and fourth lines of each quatrain rhyme.

 

Notable poems that are ballads include...

 

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Blank Verse-

Blank verse is the drill instructor of poetry. You WILL use a set amount of feet in each line. You WILL have some semblance of a pattern regarding stress and unstressed syllables, and YOU WILL NOT, and I repeat, WILL NOT be breaking protocol EXCEPT in the instance in which you intentionally do so, maggot!

 

In all seriousness, blank verse has the strictest form of meter, and when you read blank verse, it’s likely you’ll come across iambic pentameter the most.

 

Notable works that are blank verse include...

 

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Epics-

Epics are long-form stories in poetic form. They’re, well... epic. That’s it, not much else to be said other than acknowledging the poets who undertake such a form have massive cajones.

 

Notable works that are epics include...

 

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Free Verse-

Ok, so imagine you’ve got, like, five kids, right? Now imagine those kids are hopped up on coke. It’s likely those kids are gonna do some crazy shit, right? Running in the street, breaking stuff and having no respect for the law. That’s free verse.

 

Free verse has one rule: TheRe ArE nO Ru3LZZ!?!

The point that I’m getting at is there’s no set rhyme scheme or meter for free verse, so this form is what most beginners dive into usually.

 

Notable works that are free verse include...

 

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Haikus-

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If you know haikus

Then you’ll know a special word.

Refrigerator.

-Anonymous

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Haikus are poems that follow a 5-7-5 syllable pattern. Haikus, fun fact, also originated in Japan.

 

Notable works that are haikus include...

 

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Limerick-

Limericks are short, jaunty poems that consist of solely five lines with a rhyme scheme of A A B B A. Usually limericks consist of anapests, although that’s not always the case.

 

Notable works that are limericks include...

 

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Narrative Poetry-

Narrative poems are poems that tell a story. ‘But wait, isn’t that the same as a ballad?’ Nope, they aren’t the same. Ballads consist of rhyming quatrains or just rhyme schemes, but narrative poems don’t have to follow any kind of strict rules. Think of narrative poems like free verse poems, but poems that tell a story.

 

Notable works that are narrative poems include...

 

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Rhyme Poetry-

Rhyme poems rhyme with a set scheme. As long as the poem rhymes and has a rhyme scheme, then it’s a rhyme poem.

 

Notable works that are rhyme poems include...

 

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Sonnets-

Sonnets are poems that consist of fourteen lines total. Sonnets follow a strict rhyme scheme and can come in different styles. Petrarchan and Shakespearean sonnets are the ones you’ll likely read, though other styles do exist.

 

Notable works that are sonnets include...

 

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Villanelles-

A villanelle is a poem that has nineteen lines. These poems have five tercets, a quatrain, and an internal rhyme scheme as well as a recurring refrain based on the first and last lines of the first tercet.

 

Notable works that are villanelles include...

 

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Alright, so we know what poetry is, what the point of poetry is, and some different poetic forms. What now? Well, a poem isn’t just about meter and rhyme. If poetry only consisted of meter and rhyme, then there wouldn’t be any flavor, which is why it’s important to know...

 

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Section 3 - Literary Techniques and How They’re Used

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In a bundle,

In a basket

Lay some techniques

Too numerous to carry.

-Anonymous

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The heart and soul of poetry lies in the use of literary techniques; without them, poems would be cold to the touch, without breath and, most importantly, a drag to read. When a poet writes a good poem, they use their arsenal of techniques to the best of their ability to enhance the reader’s experience. In understanding the numerous techniques at their disposal, a poet can better convey the message they’re attempting to communicate.

 

The techniques below are in alphabetical order, but I will list here some of the techniques that are commonly used: ((WIP))

 

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Alliteration-

Alliteration is the sound of a consonant at the start of a word that’s repeated in a sentence. An example of this is:

 

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>The pale, purple pony politely pranced around prominently

>Exuding exquisite excellence elegantly.

-Anonymous

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‘P’ale, ‘P’urple, ‘P’ony...

‘EX’uding, ‘EX’quisite ‘EX’cellence... you get the gist of it.

 

The ‘pa’ sound is repeated, including the ‘x’ sound. Alliteration can be quite the wonderful thing.

This technique can be used for a variety of reasons, but from what I’ve found, it lengthens the line and leaves the reader wondering what comes after all the repeating sounds.

 

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Allusion-

Allusion is a reference, and it can be a reference about anything, but usually it’s of something with some form of significance.

 

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>Tentatively, she reached for the apple with a hoof,

>And as she bit into it, her pupils dilated, her mind racing

>With thoughts never imagined before.

-Anonymous

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If you couldn’t tell, the short example above alludes to the apple Eve ate in the book of Genesis. It’s not the best example, I know, but you get the point.

 

The reason why a poet may use an allusion or allusions is to better convey what they mean by framing it with a reference.

 

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Analogy-

Analogy is like juxtaposition, however, it deals in situations or events, not characters or things.

 

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>The words he spoke pierced her mind

>As a cactus’ spines poking through paper.

-Anonymous

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Analogies lend themselves well to better describing the situation, enhancing the imagery the poet is attempting to establish.

 

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Anthropomorphism-

Yeah, it’s exactly what you’re thinking, but thankfully not quite; it’s not those furry OC’s you’re picturing of at this moment in time (and I know you are because I am too). Think of personification that’s on steroids: it isn’t just one or two characteristics being highlighted, it’s trying to hit you upside the head with a sledgehammer that says ‘HUMAN.’

 

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>After examining her books, Lyra stood on her hind legs as a biped would,

>Covered her mouth with a hoof strapped with hot dogs and hummed in pleasure.

-Anonymous

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The example above isn’t the best, but you can understand that it isn’t just one trait being highlighted. If you stand on a ladder and feel it move, it’s ‘walking,’ but it doesn’t speak or move in an animated way. Your skin can ‘crawl,’ but it doesn’t do much else. Think of any character that’s not human, but is human in spirit by acting like one (whether they are bipedal/not bipedal) and you’ve got yourself anthropomorphism.

 

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Assonance-

Haha, ass... anyways, assonance is essentially alliteration, however, it deals with vowels, and not necessarily at the start of each word. They can be in the same line, or in different lines. An example of this is:

 

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>The fillies heard a sound and found

>Upon the ground a bunny bound atop a mound.

-Anonymous

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***Note that assonance in poems don’t always rhyme, as is the case with ‘BAttered’ and ‘BAlance.’

 

‘[s]OUnd,’ ‘fOUnd,’ ‘grOUnd,’ ‘bOUnd’ and ‘mOUnd.’

 

As you might’ve heard, the short example above all had the common sound of ‘ow’ among the highlighted words; that’s assonance at work.

This technique provides a pleasant sound to the ear; it’s musical and feels good to listen to and adds onto the listening quality of the poem.

 

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Asyndeton-

Hmm, how do I put this... ok. So you know what conjunctions are? For, but, yet, so, or and nor? Okay, well now you don’t. Don’t use them, they don’t exist, and not for nothing, either. Asyndenton has a purpose.

 

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>’You should’ve seen me, I was killing it, wrecking it, destroying it!’

>’Is there an ‘and’ in there?’ ‘Pfft, I’m not an egghead like you, Twi.’

-Anonymous

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Asyndenton’s used to enhance the rhythm of a poem and to emphasize the point being made. If you’ve heard the line ‘I came, I saw, I conquered,’ then you know of asyndentons. Needless to say, they’re nice to use when used appropriately, but more often than not, you’ll find that you’ll rarely, if ever, use it.

 

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Colloquialism-

I ain’t gonna lie, hoss, but them there critters’ll make you wish you had a pardner with you. Colloquialism is somewhat strange as it’s not the dialect of a region, it’s the common words or phrases used.

 

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>”Sugarcube, ah ain’t gonna ask ya again, ya hear? So whatcha want?”

>”Well, umm... oh, nevermind,” Fluttershy squeaked, crawling away.

-Anonymous

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Examples include pop and soft drinks when referring to soda, the ubiquitous ‘y’all’ of the south and ‘ope’ for the mid-west in the United States and, of course, Australia and Britain’s ‘cunt.’

If you have a poem that’s meant to be from a certain region, inserting some colloquialisms can aid in injecting some charm into your poem; that, and maybe some authenticity.

 

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Consonance-

Consonance, the inverted, redheaded step-child of alliteration. What do I mean? I’ll tell you; it’s the repeating sound of consonants with one caveat: it repeats at the end of each word. Yep, I know. Clever, huh? Also, they can be in the same or different lines. An example of this is:

 

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>Clutching his sweaty mammaries, he clambers forward.

>Eager of the chance to encase his pony wife, he leaves.

-Anonymous

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‘S’ sounds... ‘s’ sounds galore at the end of ‘mammarieS,’ ‘clamberS,’ ‘chanCE,’ ‘encaSE,’ ‘hiS’ and ‘leaveS.’

 

This technique is similar to assonance as they both increase the listening quality of the poem.

 

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Enjambment-

Ok, so this deals with how a poem can be structured as opposed to what you’d think of as a traditional technique. In most poems, you’ll find that a line ends with a punctuation like a period, exclamation point or question mark, right? Alright, well with enjambments, no punctuation is used, and the point is to keep the reader reading or speaking to the next line instead of stopping.

 

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>Today, I’ve found that things are rather strange for

>I have seen a shadow following me from Ponyville’s alleyways.

-Anonymous

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As said before, the reader will not stop and will keep reading on. What this does is aid in potentially maintaining a poem’s euphony instead of stopping it abruptly. Now do this for me, read the next sentence aloud, ok? It could also help to build tension as you keep reading without stopping and its as if you’re losing your breath and struggling to breathe yet it keeps going on without your input until something happens. Get what I mean? It all makes you wonder when it’ll stop and you’re allowed to finally breathe.

 

As an aside, you’ll likely use this without even realizing it, and I wouldn’t worry about using this too often unless your poem’s schtick is that every line has an enjambment/no enjambments/a scheme for enjambments.

 

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Hyperbole-

OH MY GOD, PANIC! PANIC! THIS IS DEFCON I, IT’S A MAJOR EMERGENCY. ANON SAID A SWEAR! I REPEAT, ANON SAID A SWEAR!

 

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>’Celestia’s gonna have my hide!’ Twilight cried, clutching her book with a slightly bent page.

>’It was an accident,’ Spike said, trying to console his devastated friend.

-Anonymous

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Spilled milk isn’t just spilled milk, it’s the end of the world. Using a spoon instead of a fork for pasta salad and chicken isn’t a ‘preference,’ it’s a tragedy. And don’t get me started on hoof holding, ‘cause that shit ain’t lewd, it’s an affront to common decency and anyone who partakes in such debauchery is a degenerate.

 

Hyperbole has the potential to be great if used right, but you should aim to not overuse this. Remember, a hyperbole is a tool, and if you misuse it, it won’t just ruin someone’s day, it’ll destroy them.

 

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Imagery-

Alright, I want you to metaphorically close your eyes with me here. Imagine you’re lying in a meadow, the cool, spring air gently lapping your face as the sun up above warms your body. The scent of morning dew with a hint of lavender surrounds you as you feel yourself floating among the clouds... Isn’t that better than ‘You’re in a field?’

 

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>From the tops of Canterlot, the hills and valleys

>Meld together, a mirage of blending greens and browns

>Beneath a blanket of clouds and lonely pegasi.

-Anonymous

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Imagery doesn’t just tell you what’s going on, it puts you in the scene by describing what is seen, heard, tasted, smelt of felt. Sure, it’d be easy to say a donut’s delicious, but wouldn’t it be better to describe it by writing about the filling bursting in a character’s mouth with vanilla flooding across their tongue since the sweet, doughy dam has cracked? Of course the latter’s better. Any good writer or poet worth their words uses imagery, and you should too.

 

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Metaphor-

Ah, metaphor, the improved version of similes. When thing one is compared to thing two by directly representing it as thing two. The beauty of metaphor is that there are two forms: your standard METAPHOR and EXTENDED METAPHOR.

 

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METAPHOR

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>”Ya know, Twilight, Big Mac’s an ox when it comes to hauling apples.”

>”But Applejack, Big Mac’s a pony, not an ox!”

-Anonymous

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EXTENDED METAPHOR

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>Pinkie’s cheerful visage cracked, an indestructible concrete wall crumbling

>To the floor from a sledgehammer of grief, and when she fell,

>She crashed, tumbling to the ground, and on the ground she stayed,

>An immovable mountain suffocating in snow.

-Anonymous

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Metaphor usually isn’t done over an extended period of time, whereas extended metaphor is done over an extended period of time. Simply put, metaphors are fantastic to use and can add a bunch of flavor to your writing, just don’t go overboard with it. Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing.

 

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Onomatopoeia-

Onomatopoeia is the imitation of a sound. Words such as ‘bang,’ ‘pow’ and the ‘ticking’ of a clock represent this technique.

 

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>The pans clattered and clanged against the floor

>Finishing with a final bang.

-Anonymous

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That’s it, there’s no real use for it other than to provide a better description or image to the reader. It’s simple and effective, but it shouldn’t be overused.

 

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Oxymoron-

Two words, combined in one phrase, that ultimately contradict one another. Sound familiar? It should, although oxymorons differ from paradoxes as paradoxes are statements that can reveal truths whereas oxymorons do not.

 

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>There he stood, studious yet stupid

>As he stared at her soft, rugged fur.

-Anonymous

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Angelic demons, healthy invalids, something being horribly wonderful or disgustingly tasteful...

What do oxymorons do? They help to provide clarity for what a poet is meaning to communicate. It can be, at times, illogical, but it can work to a poet’s benefit.

 

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Paradox-

A paradox is a contradiction in a statement that can sometimes reveal a truth.

 

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>’All that I know is that I know nothing’ she said,

>Lying on the grass and gazing at the stars.

-Anonymous

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Paradoxes can be great as it can show certain truths by pairing it with something that can be perceived as potentially nonsensical. If you’ve ever heard of ‘less is more’ or ‘I am nobody,’ then you may know the power that paradoxes can have.

 

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Personification-

‘Objects can’t move, talk or listen!’ But, and just bear with me here, what if they could? Have you felt a ladder walk? Seen a branch wave? That’s what personification does, and no, you aren’t insane. Or maybe you are?

 

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>The wind howled, screaming past her exposed ears

>And ran across her withers, forcing her hair to stand at attention.

-Anonymous

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Personification is, in my opinion, a fantastic literary device as it breathes life into the inanimate or natural world by giving it some human characteristics. It’s wonderful to use, but as with anything, too much of it can make your piece dull, annoying or unfun to read. Oh, and personification is different from anthropomorphism as it only adds some characteristics and doesn’t make the thing ‘fully human’ if that makes sense.

 

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Polysyndeton-

Remember asyndenton? Remember how we essentially forgot what conjunctions are? Well, now you remember them, and it’s coming back HARD.

 

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>’You should’ve seen it! She was cool and spectacular and she went WOOSH and-’

>’Okay Pinkie, we get it! Rainbow was great,” Twilight groaned, halting her word vomit.

-Anonymous

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Polysyndeton is the use of conjunctions back-to-back, word-after-word, sometimes with punctuation, but usually without. So, if you remember the purpose of asyndeton, it’s the same for polysyndeton: rhythm. Again, you usually won’t see this technique used, but it’s good to keep in the back of your head just in case.

 

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Pun-

A play on words in the sense that they sound or look the same, yet have different meanings. Need. I. Say. More? If you don’t know this device, I envy you, or maybe not.

 

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>”Dude, this is totally not awesome. I’m bored!”

>”Uh, sugarcube, you don’t look like no board.”

-Anonymous

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If you have puns in your poem, I dub thee a dad poet. Oh, and these aren’t used that often, even to the point of never being used. Simply put, if you use this in a serious poem, you should probably rethink your choice, and if you use this in a not-so-serious poem, then... have at it?

 

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Repetition-

I shouldn’t have to repeat myself, young’in. I shouldn’t have to do anything!

Ok, repetition is repetitious, however, there are different kinds of repetition. Interesting, I know.

 

First off are ANAPHORAS, words or phrases repeated at the beginning of each line.

 

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>He shouted from the hills.

>He shouted to the heavens.

>He shouted at each pony he came across.

-Anonymous

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And then we have the opposite of anaphoras: EPISTROPHES, words or phrases repeated at the end of each line.

 

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In my dreams, she came from nowhere.

In my thoughts, she came from nowhere.

Even at breakfast, she came from nowhere!

Please. Make. Lyra. Stop!

-Anonymous

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The idea of repeating oneself is to ‘hammer home’ the message you’re getting at. It isn’t just a one and done thing, it’s important, and the reader will know that. Oh, and be careful not to use this technique too much as it can be obnoxious to read all the time.

 

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Rhyme-

Ah rhyme. At times I’ll rhyme for the fun of it, but if I do it too much, people will see it as a crime and expel from their stomachs chyme and limes will rain from the heavens and leave... zime? No, that won’t work, dammit...

 

On a serious note, rhyming is something that can enhance a poem’s sound and make it sing-songy, but there’s a big ‘however’ as not all poems should or need to rhyme. What I will say is that if you do intend to rhyme, and I don’t mean a random, coincidental rhyme in the middle of a poem, then a poet should be consistent with it by maintaining the rhyme scheme present.

Also, there are different types of rhymes.

 

END RHYMES

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>These are the ones that people think of,

>And they can be as sweet as a dove.

-Anonymous

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NEAR/SLANT RHYMES

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>The same consonant or vowel sound, I’ll say,

>Though the rhymes appear to not be the same.

-Anonymous

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***They don’t rhyme exactly, so think of consonance or assonance.

 

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IDENTICAL RHYME

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>I saw a homophone upon the saw table,

>So I edged near to grab it from the table.

-Anonymous

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***Identical rhymes can include both homophones as well as repeating the same word.

 

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AND INTERNAL RHYME

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>If you have half a mind, then you may find,

>That there is internal rhyme in the line above.

-Anonymous

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Oh, and a note on rhyming: if you’re new to writing poetry, I highly, highly encourage you to not rhyme; I suggest this not because I’m some crotchety asshole, but because if you begin writing poetry by rhyming, then finding a suitable rhyme may be all that you focus on which, in turn, can detract from the quality of your poem. Start with getting the basics down and work your way up. Rhyming is not something a poet can do easily while making the poem both coherent and pleasant.

 

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Simile-

So, like, I was thinking they were, like, SO great, like, a smoothie, you know???

While simile's may make you want to bash your head against a wall because it can sound like a valley girl talking, they use ‘like’ or ‘as’ to compare two things to each other.

 

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>’What do you mean ‘it’s just a bent page?’ A bent page is like

>Spilling water on it and letting some mold grow!’ Twilight screamed.

-Anonymous

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My opinion on similes is this: could you just use a metaphor instead? Metaphors are directly relating one thing to another without using ‘like’ or ‘as’ and saying one thing is similar. Ask yourself a genuine question when you write a simile and think which would be more powerful: saying one thing IS another thing, or one thing is kinda, sorta like another.

 

If you wanna use a simile in place of a metaphor, by all means, do so. Hell, sometimes you’d wanna use a simile instead. If a character says a simile and it makes sense for their speech, then it’d be a great idea, but in all other cases, I personally wouldn’t use similes as they are a weaker form of a metaphor. Again, that’s just my opinion and you’ll ultimately have to find what works for you. In all honesty, the use of similes is all about feel, and you’ll get a better understanding of it over time. Oh, and use similes sparingly, same thing applies for metaphors because no one wants to constantly read the metaphorical.

 

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Symbolism-

Ah, the bread and butter of any literary piece... Symbolism uses an image or thing to represent an idea or concept.

 

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>As the night descended upon the three fillies, they gasped and

>Sunk to the ground realizing they’d never see the sun again.

-Anonymous

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In the example above, the night represents an oppressive force or the feeling of hopelessness, and if you look at any literary piece, always keep in mind these three things: the weather, the presence of light or lack thereof, and any personal effects (belongings) that a character or characters may have as they almost always have some meaning attached to them.

 

Symbolism can be amazing and should always, ALWAYS be used, but don’t use simple, yet specific, cliches such as ‘a dove flew over a battlefield and the fighting stopped’ or anything similar to them as it’s cheesy and will make you wanna roll your eyes. If you wanna have a character sad as it rains, do it! Is it common, yes, but it’s something to be expected. Just because something is cliche doesn’t mean it can’t ever be used, it’s just that some cliches are incredibly difficult to pull off right; a character being sad as it rains or vengeful during a thunderstorm isn’t difficult to pull off and it can easily suit the situation without coming off as awkward.

 

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Tautology-

Have you ever heard or read someone repeat themselves or saying the same thing? Consistently explaining over and over again that one fact without changing the meaning? Or maybe they say the same thing twice or three times in a row? I’m kinda tipsy right now, but I think you get the point of tautology.

 

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>’The party was fun! Fantastic! Great! Enjoya-’

>’We get it, Pinkie,’ Twilight shouted, muffling her speech.

-Anonymous

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Tautology is when you say the same thing, but in different ways. Use it too much, and you’ll likely annoy your reader, but what it can do is hammer home your point via repetition. In essence, this is repetition without saying the exact same thing.

 

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Tmesis-

Sometimes, things are abso-fucking-lutely fubar. Other times, things are fan-bloody-tastic! Of course, you also have people who are ri-goddamn-diculous. Tmesis is the splicing of words or phrases to insert another word in them.

 

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>’Dude, you could say that was ter-rainbow-riffic!’

>Twilight shook her head in embarrassment as Rainbow’s fans chanted her name.

-Anonymous

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Tmesis can be fun to use, but ask yourself if its appropriate in the situation you’re writing and if the character/speaker would actually say such a thing. If so, using it may add some flavor to the character. You’ll likely find this technique used in prose rather than poetry.

 

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Tone-

You know how when you receive a message from someone and you’re left wondering if they’re content, pissed off, annoyed or any other emotion? Well, with prose or poetry, tone is how a writer or poet expresses their feelings or thoughts within their creative work. Tone can be for or against what they’re writing about, can be hopeful, dreary or even sarcastic, and you can tell a piece’s tone through the writer or poet’s choice of diction and punctuation.

 

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>Crawling along her face, a teardrop fell into Marble’s reflection.

>’It isn’t fair,’ she croaked, brushing her cheek with a hoof.

>’We were meant for each other. He was supposed to be mine. Mine.

>’Mine!’ she screamed, wildly flinging her forelegs into the lake as she wailed.

-Anonymous

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Don’t confuse tone with mood. Tone is how the creator’s emotion or intent is portrayed from their diction and punctuation whereas mood is the overall atmosphere of the piece. The tone of a piece may be indicative of what the character is saying or doing; that said, if a character’s tone is filled with despair, it can cause the reader’s mood to change to that of being depressed. Additionally, tone and mood do not need to be similar, they can be different. A poet may use an indifferent tone by refusing to write emotionally charged words while the piece their writing may have a bleak or hopeless mood due to the subject matter (think of war, but instead of focusing on a civilian or soldier’s suffering, it highlights casualty statistics or the power of the weapons used).

 

To explain simply: Tone is the ‘HOW’ or ‘CAUSE’ that leads to the Mood or ‘EFFECT.’ Tone and Mood can be both similar or different. Just remember that Tone and Mood are two separate techniques that mean two different things.

 

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Zoomorphism-

Ok, this is the opposite of anthropomorphism. Whatever your describing isn’t human, it’s a feral, untamed animal.

 

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>’Back I say! Back!’ Pinkie barked, thrusting a stool forward towards

>Fluttershy, causing her to snarl with drool dripping from her foamy mouth.

-Anonymous

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I think you get the point, the character or inanimate object isn’t human. Nails aren’t nails, they’re claws. Teeth aren’t teeth, they’re fangs or jagged edges. Something doesn’t hunt, it stalks its prey, hanging close to the ground until it can pounce, rip and tear into their dinner, and without cutlery or good table manners!

 

Zoomorphism is great if you’re trying to display the difference between what’s ‘human’ or ‘right,’ and what’s ‘inhuman’ or ‘wrong.’ That, or you just want to add extra flare to something that isn’t human.

 

NOTE TO SELF::: ALPHABETIZE THE ONES BELOW

 

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Irony-

Dramatic Irony-

Situational Irony-

Verbal Irony-

 

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Isocolon-

 

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Juxtaposition-

 

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Malapropism-

 

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Mood-

 

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Motif-

 

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Section 4 - A Lesson on Meter

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Alright, so I’m gonna do my best to simplify meter without boring you because there’s a lot to cover.

 

First off, we’ll focus on how a poem is structured. Every poem has stanzas, and stanzas, in essence, are a group or block of lines that look like a misshapen paragraph. Below are three stanzas:

 

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Stanza’s may vary both in length and size.

Lines may be longer than most, I know, leaving

Some rather short,

But those with four lines are considered quatrains.

 

The stanza before was quite the quatrain

Yet in this one, only three will remain

For stanza two will be called a tercet.

 

Now there will only be two for the third.

Just a couplet, a couplet, a couplet.

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Each ‘block’ is an individual stanza, and stanzas can come in many different sizes. You’ll usually hear the words ‘couplet,’ ‘tercet’ and ‘quatrain’ thrown around occasionally. As in the example above, couplets are stanzas with two lines, tercets are stanzas with three, and quatrains have four. Simple enough, right?

Ok, so we’ve gotten the basics on structure, but now we have to go over STRESS and no, it’s not anxiety stress, but syllable stress.

 

Every word contains syllables, and every word also has some form of ‘stress’ attached to them. In poetry, we usually highlight the amount of syllables in each line through ‘feet,’ and each ‘foot’ usually consists of two syllables (I say usually as some feet contain three). There are many different kinds of feet with each one describing a different variation of stress.

I won’t beat around the bush any longer, so we’ll just jump into it.

 

IAMBS-

No, I’m not talking about dog food. Iambs are feet that contain an unstressed syllable (usually denoted by u or x) and a stressed syllable (usually denoted by /).

A couple examples of an iamb would be:

 

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x / x / x /

preDICT aWAY toDAY

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Of course, a poem isn’t just a couple of words, so we’ll string together something that’s in iambic pentameter (penta means five, and when it’s combined with meter, it means five feet or five iambs).

 

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x / x / x / x / x /

just TAKE the TIME to HEAR my WORDS anON

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I know this is strange, but do this for me: clap your hands or tap a finger to your leg or desk to the DUMs as you say daDUM daDUM daDUM daDUM daDUM. That’s how stress and unstressed syllables should sound, with the ‘da’ being light, unstressed, and DUM being heavy and having more emphasis (ergo, being stressed).

 

Most poems have a kind of rhythm to them, and that rhythm is typically iambic or trochaic since it usually alternates with stressed and unstressed syllables. Of course, that brings us to:

 

TROCHEES-

Trochees are essentially the inverse of iambs as they start with a stressed syllable and end with an unstressed syllable.

A couple examples of trochees would be:

 

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/ x / x / x

DOUble HOLDing SHATter

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Now we’ll see something in trochaic pentameter.

 

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/ x / x / x / x / x

MAKing SWEETS is NOT so GREAT, it’s AWful.

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You’ll likely find trochees in iambic pentameter such as with Shakespeare’s works when it deviates from the norm. Of course, there are other feet that exist, such as:

 

PYRRHICS-

Pyrrhics are feet with two unstressed syllables. So if I were to join two unstressed words together, it’d form a pyrrhic.

 

You’ll find an example of a pyrrhic in the line below:

 

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x / x / x / x x x /

if I could FLY real HIGH as few birds DO

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It’s likely you won’t find any poems with an entire line of pyrrhics, however, pyrrhics do exist and are occasionally found in poems, but always keep in mind that each foot isn’t an accident, it has a purpose, and that purpose is to vary the meter, and another foot that helps to vary meter includes:

 

SPONDEES-

Spondees are the opposite of pyrrhics, so instead of two unstressed syllables, it’s two stressed syllables.

 

You’ll find an example of a spondee in the line below:

 

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/ x / x / x / x / /

IN the DISTance YOU will FIND a SKYLINE

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Same thing with pyrrhics, spondees are used to vary a poem’s meter. Now, I’ll share with you some:

 

TRISYLLABLES-

At this point, you understand what I’m getting at with stress, so I’m not gonna provide examples for the following, but I’ll throw them out there so that you’re aware they exist.

 

TRIBRACH – ( x – x – x )

 

DACTYL – ( / – x – x)

 

AMPHIBRACH – ( x – / – x)

 

ANAPEST – ( x – x – / )

 

BACCHIUS – ( x – / – / )

 

ANTIBACCHIUS – ( / – / – x )

 

CRETIC – ( / – x – / )

 

MOLOSSUS – ( / – / – / )

 

With all that said, I’ll briefly cover what meter can do.

 

Meter is used to provide euphony (pleasant sounds) and cacophony (jarring sounds) to a piece, and the variation of it helps to support the poet’s craft.

 

If the meter of a poem is consistent (such as with iambic pentameter), then the rhythm will be the same and can produce something that’s nice to listen to; when combined with, say, consonance (repeating consonant sounds at the end of a word), assonance (repeating vowel sounds) or rhyme, then the previously pleasant effect can become even more pleasant to listen to.

 

That said, if you maintain consistent meter and/or a rhyme scheme that may or may not include consonance or assonance, and then abruptly change it, then the pleasant sound of the poem will halt and indicate a change. If you’ve ever been shopping for Pony Pony in an aisle and someone abruptly comes up from behind you and screams ‘WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE PONY, MINES [Insert pony here]!?!’ then you’ll understand what I mean. It causes you to pay attention because there’s something wrong, there’s something different. Thankfully, this is poetry, and having the reader’s attention from switching up your meter can be a good thing depending on why you’re doing it.

 

So let me ask you a question: would you scream in horror if you spot a speck of dirt on someone’s shirt or when you see a monster plowing through a crowd of people? Which would be more appropriate? The point that I’m getting at is that screaming (switching up the meter) isn’t always the answer. If you vary the meter in a random spot, it’s gonna sound off and not in a good way. Take the time to listen to what you’ve written and ask yourself ‘does this sound wrong’ and ‘is this a place where I want the reader to pay attention?’

 

Oh, and finally an interesting note: it’s contrary to popular belief, but blank verse that’s in iambic pentameter isn’t all in iambic pentameter. Things in iambic pentameter are usually iambic and have five feet, but it CAN vary, and that’s a good thing. A perfect example would be a famous line in Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’ (the ‘x’ in the parentheses represents an extra syllable).

 

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x / x / x / / x x / (x)

‘to BE or NOT to BE | THAT is the QUEStion’

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There’s a couple of things to understand here, and that’s the inverse (the trochee) after the caesura (the | in the line) which leads into an iamb and the feminine ending (the extra ‘x’). Take the time to read the line again. Go ahead, do it. Now, did anything sound wrong? Probably not, and the reason being is that inverses work rather well in creative works and usually don’t produce cacophony, but euphony. Moreover, the feminine end is light, and if the next line were to continue with an inverse (trochee) or an iamb, it probably wouldn’t sound off or wrong. It’d likely sound natural, pleasant even.

 

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Section 5 - Additional Thoughts for Beginners

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There’s a lot that goes into making poetry, and it can make anyone feel overwhelmed, but you shouldn’t. You don’t have to memorize every literary technique nor follow any set pattern. As I’ve said at the beginning, the point of poetry is to share emotion, and in sharing that emotion, it can spread a message.

 

If you want to write poetry, I recommend you start with free verse, and I highly recommend that you don’t rhyme. Learn to walk by getting symbolism and metaphor down before you run and start challenging yourself with blank verse, rhyming and more. Also, to get better at writing poetry, it's the same as how you get better at writing prose: read. Search online for 'famous poets' and read their works. Find a poet you could describe as your favorite, watch videos and read texts that analyze those poems and eventually start analyzing some poems yourself. Doing this helps, I'm not kidding.

 

And one last thing to note: everyone has to start somewhere. This is true for any creative outlet. Take a look at your favorite content creators and ask yourself if they were making whatever they were making as kids. Probably not, and it’s because we’re all shit at the start. Don’t be too hard on yourself as it does nothing to help you improve.

 

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Section 6 - Additional Resources for Poetry

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There’s a fair amount of good resources for poetry; some of them are listed below:

 

Dictionaries and Thesauruses (Physical or Digital)

This is for finding new words to use and what they mean (obviously)

Rhymezone- https://www.rhymezone.com/

This is good for helping you find a rhyme for that one word you’re having troubles with, just make sure you’re choosing a word that fits your poem’s context