PART 1 CWPP POETRY

WHAT POETRY IS
It’s important to know what poetry is—and isn’t—before we discuss
how to write a poem. The following quote de nes poetry nicely:
“Poetry is language at its most distilled and most powerful.”
—Former US Poet Laureate Rita Dove

POETRY CONVEYS FEELING

People sometimes imagine poetry as stuffy, abstract, and dif cult to
understand. Some poetry may be this way, but in reality poetry isn’t
about being obscure or confusing. Poetry is a lyrical, emotive method
of self-expression, using the elements of poetry to highlight feelings
and ideas.
A poem should make the reader feel something.

In other words, a poem should make the reader feel something—not

by telling them what to feel, but by evoking feeling directly.
Here’s a contemporary poem that, despite its simplicity (or
perhaps because of its simplicity), conveys heartfelt emotion.
Poem
by Langston Hughes
I loved my friend.
He went away from me.
There’s nothing more to say.
The poem ends,
Soft as it began—
I loved my friend.

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POETRY IS LANGUAGE AT ITS RICHEST

AND MOST CONDENSED
Unlike longer prose writing (such as a short story, memoir, or novel),
poetry needs to impact the reader in the richest and most condensed
way possible. Here’s a famous quote that enforces that distinction:
“Prose: words in their best order; poetry: the best words in the best order.”
—Samuel Taylor Coleridge

So poetry isn’t the place to be lling in long backstories or doing

In poetry, every single
leisurely scene-setting.

word carries maximum impact.

POETRY USES UNIQUE ELEMENTS

Poetry is not like other kinds of writing: it has its own unique forms,
tools, and principles. Together, these elements of poetry help it to
powerfully impact the reader in only a few words.
The elements of poetry help it to powerfully impact the reader in only a few words.
Most poetry is written in verse, rather than prose. This means that it
uses line breaks, alongside rhythm or meter, to convey something to
the reader. Rather than letting the text break at the end of the page (as
prose does), verse emphasizes language through line breaks.
Poetry further accentuates its use of language through rhyme and
meter. Poetry has a heightened emphasis on the musicality of language
itself: its sounds and rhythms, and the feelings they carry.
These devices—rhyme, meter, and line breaks—are just a few of the
essential elements of poetry, which we’ll explore in more depth now.

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UNDERSTANDING THE ELEMENTS

OF POETRY
As we explore how to write a poem step by step, these three major
literary elements of poetry should sit in the back of your mind:
1. Rhythm (Sound, Rhyme, and Meter)
2. Form
3. Literary Devices

1. ELEMENTS OF POETRY: RHYTHM

“Rhythm” refers to the lyrical, sonic qualities of the poem. How does
the poem move and breathe; how does it feel on the tongue?
Traditionally, poets relied on rhyme and meter to accomplish a
rhythmically sound poem. Free verse poems—which are poems that
don’t require a speci c length, rhyme scheme, or meter—only became
popular in the West in the 20th century, so while rhyme and meter
aren’t requirements of modern poetry, they are required of certain
poetry forms.
SOUND
Poetry is capable of evoking certain emotions based solely on the
sounds it uses. Words can sound sinister, percussive, uid, cheerful,
dour, or any other noise/emotion in the complex tapestry of human
feeling.

Take, for example, this excerpt from the poem “Beat! Beat! Drums!”
by Walt Whitman:
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Red — “b” sounds

Blue — “th” sounds
Green — “w” and “ew” sounds
Purple — “s” sounds
Orange — “d” and “t” sounds
This poem has a lot of percussive, disruptive sounds that reinforce the
beating of the drums. The “b,” “d,” “w,” and “t” sounds resemble
these drum beats, while the “th” and “s” sounds are sneakier,
penetrating a deeper part of the ear. The cacophony of this excerpt
might not sound “lyrical,” but it does manage to command your
attention, much like drums beating through a city might sound.

RHYME
It would be a crime if you weren’t primed on the ins and outs of
rhymes. “Rhyme” refers to words that have similar pronunciations,
like this set of words: sound, hound, browned, pound, found, around.
Many poets assume that their poetry has to rhyme, and it’s true that
some poems require a complex rhyme scheme. However, rhyme isn’t
nearly as important to poetry as it used to be. Most traditional poetry
forms—sonnets, villanelles, rimes royal, etc.—rely on rhyme, but
contemporary poetry has largely strayed from the strict rhyme
schemes of yesterday.
There are three types of rhymes:
• Homophony: Homophones are words that are spelled differently
but sound the same, like “tail” and “tale.” Homophones often
lead to commonly misspelled words.
• Perfect Rhyme: Perfect rhymes are word pairs that are identical
in sound except for one minor difference. Examples include
“slant and pant,” “great and fate,” and “shower and power.”

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• Slant Rhyme: Slant rhymes are word pairs that use the same
sounds, but their nal vowels have different pronunciations. For
example, “abut” and “about” are nearly-identical in sound, but
are pronounced differently enough that they don’t completely
rhyme. This is also known as an oblique rhyme or imperfect
rhyme.

METER
Meter refers to the stress patterns of words. Certain poetry forms
require that the words in the poem follow a certain stress pattern,
meaning some syllables are stressed and others are unstressed.
What is “stressed” and “unstressed”? A stressed syllable is the sound
that you emphasize in a word. The bolded syllables in the following
words are stressed, and the unbolded syllables are unstressed:
• Un•stressed
• Plat•i•tud•i•nous
• De•act•i•vate
• Con•sti•tu•tion•al
The pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables is important to
traditional poetry forms. This chart, copied from our article on form in
poetry, summarizes the different stress patterns of poetry.

Meter Pattern Example

Iamb Unstressed–stressed Exist
Trochee Stressed–unstressed Sample
Pyrrh Equally unstressed Pyrrhic
Spondee Equally stressed Cupcake
Dactyl Stressed–unstressed–unstressed Freshener
Anapest Unstressed–unstressed–stressed Comprehend

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Amphibrach (rare) Unstressed–stressed–unstressed Flamingo

2. ELEMENTS OF POETRY: FORM

“Form” refers to the structure of the poem. Is the poem a sonnet, a
villanelle, a free verse piece, a slam poem, a contrapuntal, a ghazal,
a blackout poem, or something new and experimental?
Form also refers to the line breaks and stanza breaks in a poem.
Unlike prose, where the end of the page decides the line breaks, poets
have control over when one line ends and a new one begins. The
words that begin and end each line will emphasize the sounds, images,
and ideas that are important to the poet.

3. ELEMENTS OF POETRY: LITERARY

DEVICES
“Poetry: the best words in the best order.” — Samuel Taylor Coleridge

How does poetry express complex ideas in concise, lyrical language?

Literary devices—like metaphor, symbolism, juxtaposition, irony, and
hyperbole—help make poetry possible.

HOW TO WRITE A POEM, IN 7 STEPS

To condense the elements of poetry into an actual poem, we’re going
to follow a seven-step approach. However, it’s important to know that
every poet’s process is different. While the steps presented here are a
logical path to get from idea to nished poem, they’re not the only
tried-and-true method of poetry writing. Poets can—and should!—
modify these steps and generate their own writing process.
Nonetheless, if you’re new to writing poetry or want to explore a
different writing process, try your hand at our approach. Here’s how to
write a poem step by step!
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1. DEVISE A TOPIC
The easiest way to start writing a poem is to begin with a topic.
However, devising a topic is often the hardest part. What should your
poem be about? And where can you nd ideas?
Here are a few places to search for inspiration:
• Other Works of Literature: Poetry doesn’t exist in a vacuum—
it’s part of a larger literary tapestry, and can absolutely be
in uenced by other works. For example, read “The Golden
Shovel” by Terrance Hayes, a poem that was inspired
by Gwendolyn Brooks’ “We Real Cool.”
• Real-World Events: Poetry, especially contemporary poetry, has
the power to convey new and transformative ideas about the
world. Take the poem “A Cigarette” by Ilya Kaminsky, which
nds community in a warzone like the eye of a hurricane.
• Your Life: What would poetry be if not a form of memoir?
Many contemporary poets have documented their lives in verse.
Take Sylvia Plath’s poem “Full Fathom Five”—a daring poem
for its time, as few writers so boldly criticized their family as
Plath did.
• The Everyday and Mundane: Poetry isn’t just about big, earth-
shattering events: much can be said about mundane events, too.
Take “Ode to Shea Butter” by Angel Na s, a poem that
celebrates the beautiful “everydayness” of moisturizing.
• Nature: The Earth has always been a source of inspiration for
poets, both today and in antiquity. Take “Wild Geese” by Mary
Oliver, which nds meaning in nature’s quiet rituals.
• Writing Exercises: Prompts and exercises can help spark your
creativity, even if the poem you write has nothing to do with the
prompt! Here’s 24 writing exercises to get you started.

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2. JOURNAL
At this point, you’ve got a topic for your poem. Maybe it’s a topic
you’re passionate about, and the words pour from your pen and align
themselves into a perfect sonnet! It’s not impossible—most poets have
a couple of poems that seemed to write themselves.
However, it’s far more likely you’re searching for the words to talk
about this topic. This is where journaling comes in.
Sit in front of a blank piece of paper, with nothing but the topic
written on the top. Set a timer for 15-30 minutes and put down all of
your thoughts related to the topic. Don’t stop and think for too long,
and try not to obsess over nding the right words: what matters here is
emotion, the way your subconscious grapples with the topic.
At the end of this journaling session, go back through everything you
wrote, and highlight whatever seems important to you: well-written
phrases, poignant moments of emotion, even speci c words that you
want to use in your poem.
Journaling is a low-risk way of exploring your topic without feeling
pressured to make it sound poetic. “Sounding poetic” will only leave
you with empty language: your journal allows you to speak from the
heart. Everything you need for your poem is already inside of you, the
journaling process just helps bring it out!

3. THINK ABOUT FORM

As one of the elements of poetry, form plays a crucial role in how the
poem is both written and read. Have you ever wanted to write
a sestina? How about a contrapuntal, or a double cinquain, or a series
of tanka? Your poem can take a multitude of forms, including the
beautifully unstructured free verse form; while form can be decided in
the editing process, it doesn’t hurt to think about it now.

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4. WRITE THE FIRST LINE

After a productive journaling session, you’ll be much more acquainted
with the state of your heart. You might have a line in your journal that
you really want to begin with, or you might want to start fresh and
refer back to your journal when you need to! Either way, it’s time to
begin.
What should the rst line of your poem be? There’s no strict rule here
—you don’t have to start your poem with a certain image or literary
device. However, here’s a few ways that poets often begin their work:
• Set the Scene: Poetry can tell stories just like prose does. Anne
Carson does just this in her poem “Lines,” situating the scene in
a conversation with the speaker’s mother.
• Start at the Con ict: Right away, tell the reader where it hurts
most. Margaret Atwood does this in “Ghost Cat,” a poem about
aging.
• Start With a Contradiction: Juxtaposition and contrast are two
powerful tools in the poet’s toolkit. Joan Larkin’s poem
“Want” begins and ends with these devices. Carlos Gimenez
Smith also begins his poem “Entanglement” with a juxtaposition.
• Start With Your Title: Some poets will use the title as their rst
line, like Ron Padgett’s poem “Ladies and Gentlemen in Outer
Space.”
There are many other ways to begin poems, so play around with
different literary devices, and when you’re stuck, turn to other poetry
for inspiration.

5. DEVELOP IDEAS AND DEVICES

You might not know where your poem is going until you nish writing
it. In the meantime, stick to your literary devices. Avoid using too
many abstract nouns, develop striking images, use metaphors and
similes to strike interesting comparisons, and above all, speak from
the heart.
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6. WRITE THE CLOSING LINE

Some poems end “full circle,” meaning that the images the poet used
in the beginning are reintroduced at the end. Gwendolyn Brooks does
this in her poem “my dreams, my work, must wait till after hell.”
Yet, many poets don’t realize what their poems are about until they
write the ending line. Poetry is a search for truth, especially the hard
truths that aren’t easily explained in casual speech. Your poem, too,
might not be nished until it comes across a necessary truth, so write
until you strike the heart of what you feel, and the poem will come to
its own conclusion.

7. EDIT, EDIT, EDIT!

Do you have a working rst draft of your poem? Congratulations!
Getting your feelings onto the page is a feat in itself.
Yet, no guide on how to write a poem is complete without a note on
editing. If you plan on sharing or publishing your work, or if you
simply want to edit your poem to near-perfection, keep these tips in
mind.
• Adjectives and Adverbs: Use these parts of speech sparingly.
Most imagery shouldn’t rely on adjectives and adverbs, because
the image should be striking and vivid on its own, without too
much help from excess language.
• Concrete Line Breaks: Line breaks help emphasize important
words, making certain images and themes clearer to the reader.
As a general rule, most of your lines should start and end with
concrete words—nouns and verbs especially.
• Stanza Breaks: Stanzas are like paragraphs to poetry. A stanza
can develop a new idea, contrast an existing idea, or signal a
transition in the poem’s tone. Make sure each stanza clearly
stands for something as a unit of the poem.

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• Mixed Metaphors: A mixed metaphor is when two metaphors

occupy the same idea, making the poem unnecessarily dif cult to
understand. Here’s an example of a mixed metaphor: “a watched
clock never boils.” The meaning can be discerned, but the image
remains unclear. Be wary of mixed metaphors—though some
poets (like Shakespeare) make them work, they’re tricky and
often disruptive.
• Abstractions: Above all, avoid using excessively abstract
language. It’s ne to use the word “love” 2 or 3 times in a poem,
but don’t use it twice in every stanza. Let the imagery in your
poem express your feelings and ideas, and only use abstractions
as brief connective tissue in otherwise-concrete writing.

Lastly, don’t feel pressured to “do something” with your poem. Not all
poems need to be shared and edited. Poetry doesn’t have to be “good,”
either—it can simply be a statement of emotions by the poet, for the
poet. Publishing is an admirable goal, but also, give yourself
permission to write bad poems, unedited poems, abstract poems, and
poems with an audience of one. Write for yourself—editing is for the
other readers.

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HOW TO WRITE A POEM:

DIFFERENT APPROACHES AND
PHILOSOPHIES
Poetry is the oldest literary form, pre-dating prose, theater, and the
written word itself. As such, there are many different schools of
thought when it comes to writing poetry. You might be wondering
how to write a poem through different methods and approaches: here’s
four philosophies to get you started.

HOW TO WRITE A POEM: POETRY AS

EMOTION
If you asked a Romantic Poet “what is poetry?”, they would tell you
that poetry is the spontaneous emotion of the soul.
The Romantic Era viewed poetry as an extension of human emotion—
a way of perceiving the world through unbridled creativity, centered
around the human soul. While many Romantic poets used traditional
forms in their poetry, the Romantics weren’t afraid to break from
tradition, either.
To write like a Romantic, feel—and feel intensely. The words will
follow the emotions, as long as a blank page sits in front of you.

HOW TO WRITE A POEM: POETRY AS

STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS
If you asked a Modernist poet, “What is poetry?” they would tell you
that poetry is the search for complex truths.
Modernist Poets were keen on the use of poetry as a window into the
mind. A common technique of the time was “Stream of
Consciousness,” which is un ltered writing that ows directly from
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the poet’s inner dialogue. By tapping into one’s subconscious, the poet
might uncover deeper truths and emotions they were initially unaware
of.
Depending on who you are as a writer, Stream of Consciousness can
be tricky to master, but this guide covers the basics of how to write
using this technique.

HOW TO WRITE A POEM: MINDFULNESS

Mindfulness is a practice of documenting the mind, rather than trying
to control or edit what it produces. This practice was popularized
by the Beat Poets, who in turn were inspired by Eastern philosophies
and Buddhist teachings. If you asked a Beat Poet “what is poetry?”,
they would tell you that poetry is the human consciousness,
unadulterated.

HOW TO WRITE A POEM: POEM AS

CAMERA LENS
Many contemporary poets use poetry as a camera lens, documenting
global events and commenting on both politics and injustice. If you
nd yourself itching to write poetry about the modern day, press your
thumb against the pulse of the world and write what you feel.

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