Write a Poem

6 Parts:

Basic Steps in Writing a Poem:

Rules in Writing a Poem:

Rhymes in Poetry:

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Questions and Answers

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Poetry is a form of literature. It is about life, love, and other things. Poetry has many types, but many people prefer to write a free-verse poem. This is because it is easier than writing with a set of structure to follow. In fact, rhyme, meter and feet in poetry can attract the readers, and they will be amazed if you can write such a poem well. Writing a poem does not have to be structured with rhymes and proper meter. A poem is about your emotions. If readers feel your poem, it means they appreciate and empathize with it. If you do not know how to write a poem, then it is not a problem. Read below to learn about how to write a poem:

1. 1
   Look for an inspiration

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   Inspiration can be a person or a thing, but you do not need to force yourself to look for inspiration. Sometimes, if you feel something new, like you are in-love, you can write a poem about how you feel right now. Generally, if you force yourself to look for inspiration just to write a poem, then you cannot write a brilliant poem. This is because you are just forcing yourself. Whenever you feel inspired, write a poem. Your writing and ideas will then flow naturally.

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2. 2
   Write if you want to write

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   Write a poem only when you feel like writing. Do not be conscious about your grammar and punctuation issues. A poem does not have to be grammatically correct. A poem is a literature: Connotations are needed in writing a poem and not denotation. It does not have to be formal, like writing an academic essay; a poem helps you express your emotions, regardless of your grammar. Literature goes beyond grammar and proper diction. Use words and give your own connotation of them. For example, if you want to describe a woman, you can use the connotative word "butterfly".

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3. 3
   Choose a type of poetry

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   Poetry has many types, one of which is a free-verse poem. In this type, you can write naturally without following any structures of writing a poem, such as rhymes and meter. A sonnet is an example of a type of poetry that requires a rhyme and a meter in each line. Ode, lyrical poem, ballad, haiku, and epic are among the types of poetry, but these are difficult to write, unless you have the passion to write a certain type. If you want to learn more about rhymes and meters, a guideline for writing a structured poem is written below.

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4. 4
   Incorporate figures of speech in your poem

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   Figures of speech include simile, personification, hyperbole, oxymoron, etc. You can use them in writing a poem. You can also make your own figures of speech. A poem is mystical and a disguise of your actual emotions. It is the readers' responsibility to understand what the writer is trying to convey in his or her poem. This is what a poem is all about - disguising emotions to cover what is real. Therefor, you do not have to specify someone or something in you poem, but you can use symbolism to hide the truth.

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5. 5
   Be inspired by a poet

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   In order to write a good poem, you should choose a poet you really like and be inspired by how he or she wrote or writes his or her poems. Follow his or her style so that you can become like that poet. It is almost impossible to write a poem if you do not have an idol. There have been many great poets out there, from the 15th to the 21st century. William Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe, Emily Dickinson, Ben Jonson, and Robert Frost are among the best poets of all time. Read how they write and be inspired.

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If writing a free-verse poem is not challenging enough for you, you can try following a set of structure in writing a poem. Robert Frost and William Shakespeare wrote great and brilliant poems, because they include rhymes and meters. Below is an easy-to-understand guideline for writing a poem:

Meters: Feet and Line Lengths in Poetry:

Meters in poetry refer to stressed [accented] and unstressed [unaccented] syllables in a line. A meter is a set of syllables which can help one to read a poem in a right way. The first set of meters is called a foot.

1. 1
   Feet in Poetry:

    

   1. Iambic: [unaccented and accented] - two syllables
   2. Anapestic: [unaccented - unaccented - accented] - three syllables
   3. Trochaic: [accented - unaccented] - two syllables
   4. Dactylic: [accented - unaccented - unaccented] - three syllables
   5. Spondaic: [accented - accented] - two syllables
   6. Pyrrhic: [unaccented - unaccented] - two syllables
   7. Amphibrachic: [unaccented - accented - unaccented] - three syllables

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The example below is a title of the Sonnet 18 written by William Shakespeare.

Shall - I / com - PARE / thee TO / a SUM / mer's DAY?

The above line is an example of iambic feet. Each slash means one foot. Every second syllable [capitalized letters] in one foot is accented or stressed, and it reflects the meaning above of an iambic: unaccented and accented. There are five feet in a line, so it is called pentameter. Penta means five. The next section is the types of line lengths in poetry.

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   Types of Line Lengths in Poetry

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   A line length determines the number of feet occur in a line of a poem.  

   1. Monometer: One foot
   2. Dimeter: Two feet
   3. Trimeter: Three feet
   4. Tetrameter: Four feet
   5. Pentameter: Five feet
   6. Hexameter: Six feet
   7. Heptameter: Seven feet
   8. Octameter: Eight feet

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Shall - I / com - PARE / thee TO / a SUM / mer's DAY? What type of foot and meter is this line? Can you guess? The answer is iambic pentameter, which William Shakespeare used in his sonnets. Iambic pentameter is the most popular type of foot and meter used in poetry, because of the popular sonnets written by William Shakespeare. Let's take a look of his Sonnet 18:

Now, can you try to break each line down like the example previously? Shall - I / com - PARE / thee TO / a SUM / mer's DAY? After breaking them down, see answers for the first 7 lines below:

• Shall - I / com - PARE / thee TO / a SUM / mer's DAY?
• Thou - ART / more - LOVE / ly - AND / more - TEM / per - RATE
• Rough - WINDS / do - SHAKE / the DAR/ ling BUDS / of MAY
• And SUM / mer's LEASE/ hath ALL / too SHORT / a DATE
• Some TIME / too HOT / the EYE / of HEA/ ven SHINES
• And OF/ ten IS / his GOLD / com PLE / xion DIMMED
• And E/very FAIR / from FAIR/ some TIME / de-CLINES

As you can see, all lines above are iambic pentameter and so are the rest of the lines of Sonnet 18. Five feet in each line with recurring unstressed and stressed syllables, or what we call iambs, is called iambic pentameter.

In a free-verse poem, you can write without rhyming sounds. However, if you want to create a poem with music, you can follow a structure of rhyming format - a, b, b, a, c, c, etc. It all depends on how you construct the rhyming format. Below is a rhyming format of Sonnet 18:

• You do not have to follow a specific structure in writing a poem. If you feel you want to write, then write. It will just flow naturally beyond expectation.
• Use connotations and do not be too specific in writing a poem.
• In times of great sadness and happiness, write a poem. You will be amazed by how well you do in writing. In order to write a poem, you have to have strong feelings. These feelings will burst out by writing and all your emotions will be reflected in the poem.

Do you know how can I write poetry in a fancy font?

How can I choose a great font to make my poetry look like fancy handwriting when I print it out.. I have tried: I have tried looking at lots of fonts but not sure which one looks best.. I think it was caused by: I don't know how to download the poetry fonts that I want to use onto my computer.

You can download and install a free calligraphic font online.

1. 1
   Navigate to http://www.fontspace.com/category/calligraphy

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   This resource has some good choices.

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2. 2
   Move the cursor over the font you like and click "Download" under it

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   The file will be downloaded to a location on your computer. You have to find the location of the file. Browsers will offer to open the file. Open it. You will see a *.ttf file.

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3. 3
   If you use Windows, double-click the *.ttf file and click "Install" at the top.

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4. 4
   If you use OS X, double-click the *.ttf file and click "install font" at the bottom.

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You can also choose one of the beautiful gothic fonts. However, it may be overwhelming to see a whole poem written in such fonts.

I wish to write a poem using a pretty font.Can this be done in a simple way?

I want to write a poem using a pretty font on a paper with a border.

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If you have problems with any of the steps in this article, please ask a question for more help, or post in the comments section below.

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