Be a Better Writer--Formatting Poetry
Posted: Sat Nov 07, 2015 9:54 am
Poetry has its own set of conventions—rules or customary ways of formatting that aren’t covered by the same rules you’d use for prose. I’ll go over a few of those here; keep in mind that I’m not covering rhyme, meter, or any of figurative language that is expected in poetry—I’ve got lessons on those elsewhere. Check out the list of topics for poetry writers here (you’ll have to scroll down a bit).
TRADITIONAL (rhymed and metered) POETRY:
1. It’s most common to begin each line with a capital letter, even if it’s in the middle of a sentence. Take a look at the poem below for an example:
I wrap myself in night, that velvet shroud—
I have no need for brazen light of day,
Nor little stars shall charm me. I have vowed
To dwell henceforth in sullen shades of grey.
No food is savory to me—no taste
Shall linger on my tongue. No melodies
Can penetrate the fortress I have placed
Around my icy heart. ‘Tis a disease
That stifles every sense. I cannot feel
A tender touch, compassion, mercy, grace—
And I defy capricious God to heal
When I have turned my back to His embrace.
Yet—through the leaden sky—a golden beam
Shoots forth. I spurned my God, but He found me.
Notice that the 3rd line begins with a capitalized word (Nor) even though it’s not a proper noun, nor is it the beginning of a sentence. In fact, only lines 1, 2, 5, and 13 would be capitalized if this was written out as prose, but all of them are capitalized here.
Capitalization of the first word in each line is not a rule—in the past several decades, many rhyme-and-meter poets have chosen not to do so. If you want your poem to look traditional, use this format. If you want it to look more modern, you may decide not to do so.
If you’re going to submit your poem for publication, check previously published poems in that site or magazine or anthology, and use their preferred format.
2. Many people who write traditional poetry feel the need to put some sort of punctuation (usually a period or a comma) at the end of each line. This is not necessary. In fact, it’s wrong.
Look again at the poem above—you’ll see that I ended some lines with punctuation; there are periods, dashes, and commas. Other lines have no end punctuation at all. This is called enjambment, by the way, and there’s an entire lesson on that, too. Follow the link above.
So how did I decide what to put at the end of each line? As I mentioned in the hint on capitalization, I looked at the poem as if it were prose, and I punctuated it accordingly.
I wrap myself in night, that velvet shroud—I have no need for brazen light of day, nor little stars shall charm me. I have vowed to dwell henceforth in sullen shades of grey. No food is savory to me—no taste shall linger on my tongue. No melodies can penetrate the fortress I have placed around my icy heart. ‘Tis a disease that stifles every sense. I cannot feel a tender touch, compassion, mercy, grace—and I defy capricious God to heal when I have turned my back to His embrace. Yet—through the leaden sky—a golden beam shoots forth. I spurned my God, but He found me.
Incidentally—if you have occasion to read a poem out loud, there’s no reason to pause at the end of every line. If there’s no punctuation there, just keep on going—maybe with the tiniest of pauses.
FREE VERSE
1. There are no rules. That’s why it’s called free verse.
However, I do have a few suggestions for formatting free verse.
• Unlike traditional poetry, in which the meter tends to determine the lengths of the lines so that they’re nearly the same length (or there’s a discernable pattern of line lengths), free verse sometimes contains lines of widely varying lengths. Choose which words go into each line with intention. Isolate some words or phrases for emphasis. Leave some lines long to contain a complete thought. If you’re using repetition, arrange your lines to stress that. Here’s a sample free verse poem for you to study:
But…
But I
am a leaf
slightly quivering…
But I have
been a ripple
that tickles silver sands…
But I have stilled
the thump of my heart with
the syllables of Your holy name…
But I have stilled and quieted my soul…
Like…
Like a
breath, a
whispered breeze…
Like a weaned
kitten who purrs with
throaty and contented rumbles…
Like a weaned child
no more blind and panicked
rooting, no more grasps from dimpled fingers…
Like a weaned child with its mother…
Like…
Like a
whisper, a
sweetly spoken caress…
Like a weaned child
ready to stand, to stretch,
to step, I grasp your hand, and trust…
Is…
Is my
hushed, hushed,
soothed and rested self…
Is my soul
when You quiet me
when You cover me, when You surround me…
Is my soul within
my soul without, my soul
yesterday and tomorrow, my soul there and here…
Is my soul within me
when You lead me to the place
where all is still—is still—is still…
Like a weaned child is my soul within me...
In this poem, I wanted each section to increase in intensity and then quieten down, so I started with one-word lines and increased the word count in each 3-line grouping. And there are other intentional patterns of word lengths there, too. Even though this poem doesn’t have meter, it has rhythm.
The key is to choose your line lengths with intention, for their effect on the reader, and to enhance meaningfulness.
• Similarly, capitalization and punctuation are entirely up to you. Choose them—you know what I’m going to say here—with intention. For example, in the poem above, I used several dashes and ellipses, because I wanted those lines to trail off. I used capitalization only for the first word of each set of three lines, to reinforce the rhythm that I referred to above.
Please, please--don't just randomly arrange lines of prose and call it free verse. (There's a lesson on that, too.)
Finally, for both traditional poetry and free verse:
1. Single space within stanzas or meaningful groupings, and put a blank space between them.
2. Don’t center everything unless you have a very compelling reason to do so. In most cases, poetry should be left-justified on the page.
Well, this is a longer lesson than most. If you’re still here, here’s the homework.
1. Make a comment or ask a question about poetry conventions.
2. Link to a poem that you’ve entered in the Writing Challenge and say something about your poetry conventions there.
3. Write a short poem (no more than 8 lines, please) and tell about your use of poetry conventions. Or ask a question.
4. Post up to 8 lines of poetry by a famous poet, and comment on that poet’s use of conventions.
TRADITIONAL (rhymed and metered) POETRY:
1. It’s most common to begin each line with a capital letter, even if it’s in the middle of a sentence. Take a look at the poem below for an example:
I wrap myself in night, that velvet shroud—
I have no need for brazen light of day,
Nor little stars shall charm me. I have vowed
To dwell henceforth in sullen shades of grey.
No food is savory to me—no taste
Shall linger on my tongue. No melodies
Can penetrate the fortress I have placed
Around my icy heart. ‘Tis a disease
That stifles every sense. I cannot feel
A tender touch, compassion, mercy, grace—
And I defy capricious God to heal
When I have turned my back to His embrace.
Yet—through the leaden sky—a golden beam
Shoots forth. I spurned my God, but He found me.
Notice that the 3rd line begins with a capitalized word (Nor) even though it’s not a proper noun, nor is it the beginning of a sentence. In fact, only lines 1, 2, 5, and 13 would be capitalized if this was written out as prose, but all of them are capitalized here.
Capitalization of the first word in each line is not a rule—in the past several decades, many rhyme-and-meter poets have chosen not to do so. If you want your poem to look traditional, use this format. If you want it to look more modern, you may decide not to do so.
If you’re going to submit your poem for publication, check previously published poems in that site or magazine or anthology, and use their preferred format.
2. Many people who write traditional poetry feel the need to put some sort of punctuation (usually a period or a comma) at the end of each line. This is not necessary. In fact, it’s wrong.
Look again at the poem above—you’ll see that I ended some lines with punctuation; there are periods, dashes, and commas. Other lines have no end punctuation at all. This is called enjambment, by the way, and there’s an entire lesson on that, too. Follow the link above.
So how did I decide what to put at the end of each line? As I mentioned in the hint on capitalization, I looked at the poem as if it were prose, and I punctuated it accordingly.
I wrap myself in night, that velvet shroud—I have no need for brazen light of day, nor little stars shall charm me. I have vowed to dwell henceforth in sullen shades of grey. No food is savory to me—no taste shall linger on my tongue. No melodies can penetrate the fortress I have placed around my icy heart. ‘Tis a disease that stifles every sense. I cannot feel a tender touch, compassion, mercy, grace—and I defy capricious God to heal when I have turned my back to His embrace. Yet—through the leaden sky—a golden beam shoots forth. I spurned my God, but He found me.
Incidentally—if you have occasion to read a poem out loud, there’s no reason to pause at the end of every line. If there’s no punctuation there, just keep on going—maybe with the tiniest of pauses.
FREE VERSE
1. There are no rules. That’s why it’s called free verse.
However, I do have a few suggestions for formatting free verse.
• Unlike traditional poetry, in which the meter tends to determine the lengths of the lines so that they’re nearly the same length (or there’s a discernable pattern of line lengths), free verse sometimes contains lines of widely varying lengths. Choose which words go into each line with intention. Isolate some words or phrases for emphasis. Leave some lines long to contain a complete thought. If you’re using repetition, arrange your lines to stress that. Here’s a sample free verse poem for you to study:
But…
But I
am a leaf
slightly quivering…
But I have
been a ripple
that tickles silver sands…
But I have stilled
the thump of my heart with
the syllables of Your holy name…
But I have stilled and quieted my soul…
Like…
Like a
breath, a
whispered breeze…
Like a weaned
kitten who purrs with
throaty and contented rumbles…
Like a weaned child
no more blind and panicked
rooting, no more grasps from dimpled fingers…
Like a weaned child with its mother…
Like…
Like a
whisper, a
sweetly spoken caress…
Like a weaned child
ready to stand, to stretch,
to step, I grasp your hand, and trust…
Is…
Is my
hushed, hushed,
soothed and rested self…
Is my soul
when You quiet me
when You cover me, when You surround me…
Is my soul within
my soul without, my soul
yesterday and tomorrow, my soul there and here…
Is my soul within me
when You lead me to the place
where all is still—is still—is still…
Like a weaned child is my soul within me...
In this poem, I wanted each section to increase in intensity and then quieten down, so I started with one-word lines and increased the word count in each 3-line grouping. And there are other intentional patterns of word lengths there, too. Even though this poem doesn’t have meter, it has rhythm.
The key is to choose your line lengths with intention, for their effect on the reader, and to enhance meaningfulness.
• Similarly, capitalization and punctuation are entirely up to you. Choose them—you know what I’m going to say here—with intention. For example, in the poem above, I used several dashes and ellipses, because I wanted those lines to trail off. I used capitalization only for the first word of each set of three lines, to reinforce the rhythm that I referred to above.
Please, please--don't just randomly arrange lines of prose and call it free verse. (There's a lesson on that, too.)
Finally, for both traditional poetry and free verse:
1. Single space within stanzas or meaningful groupings, and put a blank space between them.
2. Don’t center everything unless you have a very compelling reason to do so. In most cases, poetry should be left-justified on the page.
Well, this is a longer lesson than most. If you’re still here, here’s the homework.
1. Make a comment or ask a question about poetry conventions.
2. Link to a poem that you’ve entered in the Writing Challenge and say something about your poetry conventions there.
3. Write a short poem (no more than 8 lines, please) and tell about your use of poetry conventions. Or ask a question.
4. Post up to 8 lines of poetry by a famous poet, and comment on that poet’s use of conventions.