How to Write Poetry

In order to write a poem, the poet must first become one with the subject at hand. A poem requires much more love and thought than a simple short story or essay does. The artist must not only be able to relate to the words, but must actually become those words. The thing that sets artists such as Edgar Allen Poe, Robert Frost, or Emily Dickinson apart from much lesser known poets, is the fact that you can tell by comparing their poetry to their life story, that they lived what they wrote. It is popular opinion that poets of that caliber no longer exist, and they were the last of their kind, but it just takes a few simple characteristics to start you on your way to becoming a good poet.

The most important part of any poem is the meaning behind the words. Before you even start to write a poem you should have at least a central idea that you want to get across in your words. This idea is going to be applied to your poetry, and since poetry is art, your idea can be anything. Once you have your central idea, keep in mind that poetry can be one of many things, or it can be many different aspects of one thing. It's a pretty open floor for you to work with. Nothing you come up with is wrong in anyway, because it's something you created. Remember, once you get your poem the way you want it, that's as far as you need to take it. If Edgar Allen Poe had listened to his critics his poetry wouldn't be near as good as it is today.

Once you have your central idea, you need to think of the format. Do you want a rhyming poem, or a non-rhyming poem. If you want a rhyming poem, what type of pattern do you want to use. There are a number of different patterns, and for the sake of saving your eyes from having to read them all, they have been left out. You can either create your own rhythmic pattern, or use a basic ABAB pattern.

That is to say that your first line (A) rhymes with your third line (also A), and your second line (B) rhymes with your fourth line (also B)

Whatever your pattern is, it is important to remember to stick to it. This has to do with the flow of the words. Most people view poetry as good or bad based simply on how the words flow together. The flow of the words is usually something that's fairly difficult to pick out, but, with further examination you can easily determine what has a good flow and what doesn't. The flow of words usually pertains to the number of syllables along with rhyming pattern.

Example : Of everything that was to be
To be was everything
And nothing else makes me the same
The same as anything

Notice the first line has 8 syllables and so does the third line. The same can be applied for the second and fourth line. They both have 6 syllables.

Some lesser developed poems do not flow as well as that example.

Example : I'm not the same as I once was
I'm not the same at all
Nothing ever changes
But still I seem to fall

The line "Nothing ever changes" throws off the flow of the verse, causing it to not sound as good as the first example.

Keep in mind that regardless of rhyme of flow, good poetry cannot be judged. To say that all poems have to be the same is ludicrous, but to say that all poems are good is absurd. When writing your poetry, simply remember that you're poetry's only as good as your perceive it to be. Be proud of what your mind comes up with, and don't allow others to belittle you for it.

After you have thought about it, and formed a few lines that relate someway or another to your central idea, expand upon that idea. Warp it into something completely different, or pick it apart. Since poetry can be many different things at once, you could simply write a one verse poem. Some poets choose to write short complex poems because they word them in such a way that readers sit and ponder the meanings behind it. Other poets write exceptionally long poems that tell a story, or paint a picture. Whatever the case is, stick to your central idea at all times. No matter how far fetched your poem may be, or how far you venture from your original idea, always bring it back, unless you meant to change ideas mid poem.

If you are wanting to write a poem that will amaze other people, and are more concerned with other's opinions rather than in what you can create on your own, follow these instructions. People are interested in things they don't understand. Think of something simple. Come up with a sentence that is clear and cannot be mistaken for anything else. Example : "The grass is green"

Now, apply that sentence to some aspect of life, whether it's yours or someone else's. Start to pick the sentence apart. Change the words around until you have something that you think that you can work with. Think of each word as it's own complete thought. Add or take away until you have something usable that either makes sense, or gives the illusion of making sense. Once you have your sentence disfigured and rearranged, you have your starting point.

Example : "My mind has turned against me now
I'm not sure what to do
Jealousy is shining through
droplets of green grass dew"

Congratulations you have just successfully written your first verse. You have the option now of expanding upon that idea even further, or leaving it as it is. You will learn quickly that the fun in poetry doesn't lie in writing great things, but in finding yourself. You will start to notice, if you apply the formula above, that the meanings of your poetry jumps out at you after you've completed it, and not a second before. There's no better feeling in the world, than writing a poem, and starting it off with a simple idea, and finding out just where your mind was when you wrote it. If you attain that level, there is nothing that anybody can ever say against your poetry. Once you create something beautiful, that you fully understand, it doesn't matter who else understands, and if it turns out that it does, you can always explain it.