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      2
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      33
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      18
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      15
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      4
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Poetry Forms

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Poetry Forms

Rediscovering the Sonnet: An Interview with Poet Theresa Rodriguez by Carol Smallwood

The Society
July 10, 2019
Essays, Interviews, Poetry, Poetry Forms
7 Comments
  This interview was conducted by Carol Smallwood with poet Theresa Rodriguez following the release of Sonnets by Rodriguez, published by Bardsinger Books, 2019; the work is 43 pages and can be found on...

‘Reprobate’s Prayer Sestina’ by Mike Bryant

The Society
July 6, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry, Poetry Forms
13 Comments
  I lift my eyes and pray to God above, deliver me, dear Lord, from Satan's Hell. I come to You with heart brimful of Love, content to drink life's water from Your well. And if, by chance, I do...

Six Clerihews by Peter Hartley

The Society
June 1, 2019
Culture, Humor, Poetry, Poetry Forms
36 Comments
The clerihew is a kind of epigrammatic verse (normally) consisting of a pair of rhyming couplets. The first line will usually introduce the name of a famous person. The following three lines will describe some...

Some Truncated Quatrains by Bruce Wren

The Society
May 29, 2019
Culture, For Educators, Humor, Poetry, Poetry Forms
12 Comments
A truncated quatrain is a form I have invented in an attempt to find some appropriate English form similar—for its brevity and single-mindedness in theme—to the Japanese haiku. They consist in four lines...

A Beginner’s Guide to Sapphic Verse (with Audio)

The Society
November 27, 2018
Essays, For Educators, Poetry, Poetry Forms, Readings
31 Comments
by James A. Tweedie My interest in Sapphic verse arose from a discussion thread on an SCP post some months ago. I researched the subject and decided to try my hand at it. Recently, I submitted my poem to...

How to Write a Kyrielle

The Society
June 26, 2018
For Educators, Poetry, Poetry Forms
6 Comments
by Dusty Grein Like many of the old French refrain forms, the kyrielle originated in the 15th century with the traveling troubadours. It is a rhymed form, written in either 2 line couplets, or 4 line...

‘Sestina of Night’ by Karen Melander Magoon

The Society
April 21, 2018
Beauty, Poetry, Poetry Forms
4 Comments
The lamp holds sway along the shadowed streets A penumbra encircles its sweet shine As night rests softly like a feathered cloak Upon a multitude of dancing stars And night and stars and lamp become a...

Thirty-one Sonnets: Renaissance to New Millennial

The Society
March 3, 2018
Culture, Essays, For Educators, Poetry, Poetry Forms
7 Comments
by Lew Icarus Bede "A sonnet is a coin: its face reveals The soul—its converse, to what Power 'tis due: Whether for tribute to the august appeals Of Life, or dower in Love's high retinue, It serve; or,...

How to Write an Alexandroid

The Society
August 5, 2017
For Educators, Poetry, Poetry Forms
13 Comments
By C.B. Anderson Anyone writing formal poetry today has to be grateful for the arsenal of fixed forms—most of them bequeathed to us from masters of the past—that is available to lend structure to poetic...

New Publication: ‘How to Write Classical Poetry’ Released by the Society of Classical Poets

The Society
May 31, 2017
For Educators, From the Society, News of Note, Poetry, Poetry Forms
7 Comments
We are pleased to announce the release of a new publication from The Society of Classical Poets titled How to Write Classical Poetry, which features a guide to common poetry forms, brief essays on the...

How to Write a Rhupunt (with Example)

The Society
March 23, 2017
For Educators, Poetry, Poetry Forms
9 Comments
By Elizabeth Spencer Spragins Poetry has been an integral component of Welsh culture for centuries. Indeed, the Welsh word “bardd” (poet) has been traced back to 100 B.C. Depending on their skills,...

How to Write a Limerick

The Society
February 8, 2017
For Educators, Poetry, Poetry Forms
2 Comments
Related How to Write a Sonnet How to Write a Haiku How to Write a Rondeau How to Write a Villanelle How to Write a Poem Like the Raven by Dusty Grein The history of the poetry form we know as the...

How to Write a Terza Rima (With Examples)

The Society
January 5, 2017
For Educators, Poetry, Poetry Forms
6 Comments
By Dusty Grein Dating to the thirteenth century, the terza rima (Italian for "third rhyme") is a classic form of writing poetry in three-line stanzas called tercets, which are interlinked by their rhyming...

How to Write a Sestina (with Examples and Diagrams)

The Society
December 14, 2016
For Educators, Poetry, Poetry Forms
2 Comments
by Dusty Grein The sestina originated among the troubadours of medieval France's Provence region, and the modern thirty-nine line form is attributed to one of these traveling poet entertainers of the...

How to Write a Triolet (with Examples)

The Society
November 29, 2016
For Educators, Poetry, Poetry Forms
4 Comments
By Carol Smallwood The triolet is a medieval French poetry form that has eight lines and was introduced to the English language by poets in the 17th century:   1. A 2. B 3. a  Rhymes with 1st...

How to Write a Haiku

The Society
November 13, 2016
Essays, For Educators, Poetry, Poetry Forms
9 Comments
A Quick Haiku Guide. A haiku should... Be three lines of five syllables, seven syllables, and five syllables. Contain a nature or seasonal reference. Be in the present tense (swims...

How to Write a Rubaiyat (with Examples)

The Society
November 2, 2016
For Educators, Poetry, Poetry Forms
9 Comments
By Sathya Narayana The rubaiyat (pronounced “roo-bái-yát”) is a Persian form of several quatrains. Its name is derived from the Arabic plural of the word for "quatrain," rubá'íyah. This, in turn,...

How to Write a Villanelle (with Examples)

The Society
October 19, 2016
For Educators, Poetry, Poetry Forms
10 Comments
by Dusty Grein Hailing from 15th and 16th century French and Italian roots, the villanelle is arguably one of the strongest repeating refrain forms in classical poetry. Related How to Write a Sonnet How...

How to Write a Rondeau (with “In Flanders Fields” by John McCrae)

The Society
October 5, 2016
For Educators, Poetry, Poetry Forms
2 Comments
Related How to Write a Sonnet How to Write a Haiku How to Write a Limerick How to Write a Villanelle How to Write a Poem Like the Raven by E. V. Wyler Created by French troubadours during the Middle...

How to Write a Pantoum (With Example)

The Society
September 19, 2016
Beauty, For Educators, Poetry, Poetry Forms
12 Comments
By Carol Smallwood The pantoum is a poetry form that originated in 15th century Malaysia and drifted West in the 19th century with French writer Victor Hugo, among others. While it never quite took off like...

How to Write a Poem Like Edgar Allan Poe’s ‘The Raven’

The Society
April 5, 2016
Beauty, Essays, For Educators, Poetry Forms
8 Comments
By Dusty Grein and Evan Mantyk “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe remains one of the English language’s most popular and influential poems since it was written in 1845. Much of this was Poe’s own doing,...

How to Write Poetry with Meter

The Society
January 29, 2016
Essays, For Educators, News of Note, Poetry Forms
2 Comments
By Dusty Grein Most of us enjoy poetry in one form or another. I am going to attempt to lay out the basics of writing classical style poetry in English, based on standard poetry terms and references. This...

How to Write a Sonnet

The Society
December 2, 2015
Essays, For Educators, From the Society, Poetry, Poetry Forms
11 Comments
A Quick Sonnet Guide. A traditional sonnet should have... 14 lines. X Rhyming. The most common is the Shakespearean rhyme scheme: ABAB CDCD EFEF GG X Meter. Most commonly iambic pentameter....

Why Poetry Should be Metered

The Society
October 1, 2012
Essays, Featured, From the Society, Poetry, Poetry Forms
4 Comments
Poetry should be metered, because metered poetry is, quite simply, better than free verse.  This is for the same reason that realist art trumps impressionist art and that Baroque music trumps rock and roll...

Writing Classical Poetry Is Easy (At Least to Begin With)

The Society
September 7, 2012
Essays, For Educators, From the Society, Poetry Forms
1 Comment
Updated August 1, 2019 by Evan Mantyk Some people have raised concerns about the technical difficulty of writing classical poetry. Actually, there is very little difficulty behind writing classical poetry...

Resources

            1. How to Write a Sonnet

           2. How to Write a Haiku

           3. Poetry Lesson Plan

           4. A Timeline of English Poetry

           5. Poems by High School Students

           6. What Is Poetry?

           7. Ten Great Class Novels

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