Position:Home>Poetry> Help on writing Free Verse Poems...?

Well, on it's face, free verse may seem to be the lazy man's sonnet!. But, as with any art, free verse is poetry in the sense that when it is done skillfully, the words have a lyrical quality that allows the reader to go beyond the need for rhyme!.

Free verse is analogous to jazz, in that you are able to build melody within melody!. One can use words to form rough sketches of concepts, and allow the audience to fill in the blank spots!. Yes, it is more forgiving in that you are not necessarily tied to a particular rhyme scheme or structure, but this freedom comes at a cost!. Where the construct of a rhyming, metered (though there are no rules to say that free verse cannot adopt a metered outline) poem compels the reader to follow the lead of it's outline, free verse demands that the author keep the audience engaged through interesting syntax and a cohesion of ideas!. Though the piece should not read like a grocery list, your images should be strong enough to stand separately, but should flow in a manner that effortlessly leads your reader from one to the next!.

The great thing about free verse is that the lack of rigidity that is often inherent in traditional form!. Alliteration, direct rhyming within lines/stanzas, couplets/sestets/quatrains within the piece to offer contrast-all of these and more can be employed to illustrate the richness of the form (or lack thereof)!.

As far as punctuation is concerned, commas, semi-colons and periods work as in any poem, but the ability to use line breaks to highlight a single word or phrase is quite helpful!. Staggering words/phrases to give a halting reading lends itself especially well to highlight a dramatic or weighty concept!.

I hope that this helps, and that it clears up a bit of misconception that many people have about free verse!. As I said above, the truest mark of an artist is the ability to transcend the ideas of form and concept, and to engross the audience to such a degree that they move past their notions of what poetry should be; to disregard the fact that they are reading a "poem" and allow themselves to be consumed by the images set before them!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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i am sweet and kind
i know what's happening in my mind

i listen to my teacher all the time
and if i don't is that a crime!?

i all ways help my mom and dad
if i don't why is that bad!?

i go to sleep early every night
but first i must turn off the lightWww@QuestionHome@Com

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Bright as the sun
Gentle as a summers breeze
with skin soft as silk
i can make any man melt

You can use this as a guide, just describe your self using comparisons !Www@QuestionHome@Com

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