11 Rules for Writing Good Poetry

First, settle on a theme or event you’d like to write about. Try to set the scene in your head and go from there. Then write down some key words that relate to your story. Since you don’t need to worry about matching up words and rhyming them, you should be able to incorporate most of these words in your poem.

Definition of Free Verse Free verse is a literary device that can be defined as poetry that is free from limitations of regular meter or rhythm, and does not rhyme with fixed forms. Such poems are without rhythm and rhyme schemes, do not follow regular rhyme scheme rules, yet still provide artistic expression.

• Read a lot of poetry. If you want to write poetry, start by reading poetry.
• Listen to live poetry recitations.
• Start small.
• Don’t obsess over your first line.
• Embrace tools.
• Enhance the poetic form with literary devices.
• Try telling a story with your poem.
• Express big ideas.

Step 1: Learn What a Poem Is Poems are typically written in verses, rather than paragraphs. They can include complete sentences or incomplete sentences and often have a rhythm. Keep in mind, poems do not have to rhyme.

As with narrative, there are “elements” of poetry that we can focus on to enrich our understanding of a particular poem or group of poems. These elements may include, voice, diction, imagery, figures of speech, symbolism and allegory, syntax, sound, rhythm and meter, and structure.

In the countable sense, a verse is formally a single metrical line in a poetic composition. However, verse has come to represent any division or grouping of words in a poetic composition, with groupings traditionally having been referred to as stanzas.

In poetry, a quatrain features four lines of verse. A quatrain is a foundational poetic device because it is compatible with different rhythmic patterns and rhyme schemes.

Quatrains