Beauty in Structure: A How-To of Form Poetry
To that end, I wish to explain and explore some of my favorite methods of binding myself to structure--specifically meter. There is much more to writing form poetry than merely rhyming the words on the ends of the lines. And despite that "confine" and "bind" sound like negative words, there is nothing to fear in form poetry, and there are variations of rigidity even in those confines. For example, some fixed forms require a certain number of syllables per line and you can write in whatever rhythm you choose. Others are more rigid, requiring you to write a certain number of syllables per line, a certain sort of meter, and a certain number of lines all in the same poem (such as the sonnet).
A quick explanation of meter:
Meter is the rhythm of a poem. There are a few basic ones in English (and many are shared by similar languages, such as latinate or germanic languages). Meter is based upon stressed and unstressed syllables. The types of meter are iambs, trochees, spondees, anapests, and dactyls. Each unit of meter is called a "foot," and the number of "feet" specifies the meter. Let me give you a list:
Iambic meter has two syllables in each "foot," the first unstressed, the second stressed. For example, "I walked into the room and felt your gaze." If / means a stressed syllable and x means an unstressed syllable, then an iamb looks like this: (x /). If you write in iambic pentameter (meaning with five feet), it would look like this: (x / x / x / x / x /).
Trochaic meter has two syllables per foot also, the first stressed, the second unstressed. "Hope not love, thy beauty wanes." (/ x)
Spondaic has two, both stressed: "Die, Die, Die, eyes of gray and blue." (/ /)
Anapestic is fun: it has three syllables, unstressed, unstressed, stressed: "Give me Life, give me Death, give me Peace." (x x /)
Dactylic has three: stressed, unstressed, unstressed. Because the last is unstressed, a trochee can stand in for the last foot, instead of a final dactyl to finish it, if it has two syllables for the purpose of rhyme. (/ x x) And dactylic hexameter with a trochee: (/ x x / x x / x x / x x / x x / x)
(These are the most common meters used today, in English. There is another common unit of meter called pyrrhic, with two unstressed syllables. However, as you can imagine no one writes solely pyrrhic meter anymore because that would be dreadfully monotonous in most languages. Rather, it is used within other meters as an assistant. In the line, "In a small house on a short street," "in a" and "on a" are pyrrhic, leading up to two stressed syllables.)
How to use it:
To use each of these meters in your own poetry, you need to pick how many of each unit you will use. In my above example of iambic pentameter, the iamb is a unit, or "foot", that is unstressed/stressed, and the number of iambs used in a line of poetry further specified the meter to be iambic pentameter. It's what is often used in sonnets: "I walked into the room and felt your gaze." You can count ten syllables because there are five sets of iambs in the line. Picking the type of meter to write in, or determining what an already-existing poem is written in is called scansion, as explained in further detail earlier this week in Nichrysalis 's article: nicswaner.deviantart.com/journ…
If you use trochaic pentameter, you can also count ten syllables, but they are stressed/unstressed instead of unstressed/stressed. If you use trochaic tetrameter, you'll count eight syllables (four trochees) stressed/unstressed. Got it?
Certain forms of poetry call for certain meter, like the Shakespearean sonnet calls for iambic pentameter, but those that don't will allow you to pick which one you want. Generally speaking, it spans from monometer to octameter, but I'm sure others have been explored.
Make sense? Still not quite? Here's an example of a typical sonnet in iambic pentameter (and I apologize in advance that most of these examples are mine. It's easier to find my own than ask someone else for permission. Ahem.):
Count along with the words in your head, to practice listening for meter.
A rondelet using a somewhat loosely-followed dactylic meter:
An alliterative poem using trochaic tetrameter:
A poem of unspecified length and stanza style written in anapestic dimeter. (two anapests per line):
Now, does that make more sense, or is it just more overwhelming? Be at peace, dear friend. It's not as hard as it seems.
Writing your own metered poem:
Ok, now that we have the basic covered, how does one set about writing a metered poem?
I would suggest having an idea of what your theme is. Your theme may determine the sort of poem it is. A sonnet might be your pick for a love poem, a glosa to expand on another poet's theme, a rubaiyat for a lengthy, detailed poem, an ode for a tribute, a sestina to express a lot of emotion in a lot of words (haha, I love sestinas. They are difficult, however). If this sounds like it stifles creativity, it doesn't. If you're just feeling the desire to pour out emotion or make something beautiful, like artists often do, having a place to start is actually really helpful. If you find poetry that someone has simply begun to write and did not really know what they wanted to say before they started, it seems aimless, doesn't it? Even if the emotion behind it is genuine, it can seem a little out of place. That, in my opinion, is where meter comes in.
Once you pick your form, explore its rules. The Italian Rispetto is written in iambic tetrameter with a rhyme scheme of ababccdd. The Ottava Rima is written in iambic pentameter with a rhyme scheme of abababcc. Ok, you like the sound of the Ottava Rima. So how to keep to the form?
One trick I have used is to write on paper, and put the rhyme scheme at the beginning of each line, so my page looks like this:
a
b
a
b
a
b
c
c
This keeps me on track if I get caught up in the message or the words. Now, to write meter, it helps to read another poem someone has written in the same meter just before you write. Kind of like getting a song stuck in your head. Or, simply tap with a pen on paper or with your tongue on the roof of your mouth: da da, da da, da da, da da, da da. Doing this over and over in my head for iambic pentameter helps immensely. Eventually the words flow.
Now, some people find this easier than others. It's the same for any art. Some people can draw a hand for four hours straight and it still looks awful. Others can sketch one in thirty seconds. As Parsat, a fellow lover of form poetry, and a friend of mine, has said of poetry, "It isn't something that you could wake up doing...poetry is as much a learned skill as skateboarding or cooking. But if you don't start, give it a try, mess up (a lot!), how could you ever know?"
My advice with fixed meter is to keep trying, and remember that even the greats ignored some of the rules!
Even Shakespeare made things interesting for the reader. In his "Sonnet 129" some of the "feet" seem to have too many syllables Did he want the reader to be thrown off the rhythm or did he, for example, want "the expense" to be read, "th'expense"? Here's the link to one critic's analysis: poemshape.wordpress.com/2009/0…;
But you, as the reader, can read it how you want. The point is this: as the artist, it is your prerogative to use your artistic license. It's ok to stretch the rules a bit, especially if it is being done to make a point, further your theme, or beautify your poem. Most of the poems I am most proud of are sonnets with the rules bent a little.
Alright, I know this was a fairly introductory discussion, but I hope you are able to use it to inspire you to explore metered poetry yourself. Remember, there are other types of form poetry, as some have written about earlier this week: some require you to put breaks in the middle of your lines, ask a question and answer it later in the poem, repeat lines, use alliteration within the poem, or begin each line with a certain letter. Some have a certain rhyme scheme or specific number of syllables per line, without meter. All of them provide a wealth of opportunities for you to stretch your poetic muscles and challenge yourself.
Some of the forms I find most intriguing or challenging:
The sestina:
The lai:
The rubaiyat:
The monotetra:
If you have any questions, feel free to ask me, and if you need a place to start, try and find a challenge here on DA that requires you to write fixed form. The December Form Challenge kiwi-damnation.deviantart.com/… is a great one, as well as the February Sonnet Challenge parsat.deviantart.com/art/Febr… . There are also many groups here on DA specifically for form poetry. My challenge to you would be to consider doing National Poetry Writing Month in April and force yourself to write in only fixed form.
Are you already a veteran of fixed form poetry? My challenge to you is to write a ballad, a sestina, or a crown of sonnets.
Finally, some questions for you:
What do you think keeps you from writing fixed form? Is it frustration with the form? Is it a lack of knowledge of how to write the form, or what kinds are out there?
Would you say it is easier to express yourself when confined by form, or more difficult?
What form is your favorite, and why?
What form have you not yet conquered that you would love to try?
Sources:
Rhyming: www.dailywritingtips.com/types…
Pyrrhic meter: www.english.emory.edu/classes/…
Analyzing meter: poemshape.wordpress.com/2009/0…
Examples of words in certain meter: owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/res…
Lines of meter, examples: I made them up.
