How to master the basics of poetry

How to ...
Analyze poetry • Critique poetry Explicate a poem Scan a poem Read poetry aloud Perform poetry Become inspired Master the basics Turn prose into poetry Overcome writer's block Be a poet
How to write ...
A poem • A song A metaphor • A couplet Dark poems • Emo poetry Emotional poetry Gothic poetry Love poetry • Nature poetry Metered verse • Rhyming verse A meaningful poem Good poetry
How to write ...
Acrostic poetry • Ballads Cinquains • Concrete poetry Epic poetry  • Free verse Ghazals • Haiku • Limericks Sestinas • Sonnets • Tanka Tetactrys poetry • Tyburn poetry Villanelles
How to write for PPP
Wikia Help:Contributing Adding articles on poets Adding poems Adding external links

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Did your teacher just ask you to write a poem for class? Just feel like writing one? What do you do? If you've never written a poem before, here's how to get started – quickly!

Steps

1. Know what style of poem you want to write. There's many to choose from. For ideas, you may search the Internet by "types of poetry". The following steps can guide you in writing rhyming poetry. Rhyming poetry is an old style you may be familiar with from school textbooks. Modern poetry does not rhyme at the ends of lines; it may have internal rhymes or none at all.
2. Know your rhyme schemes. A rhyme scheme is how your lines will rhyme and flow. Some include:
   1. a-b-a-b
   2. a-a-b-b
   3. a-a-b-b-c
   4. a-b-a-b, c-d-c-d
3. Think of what you want your poem to be about. Try to make it about something that interests you (it'll be easier!), and something you have a lot to say about.
4. Sit in a quiet place and let it come. Don't expect a poem to just spill out, though. Writing good poems takes time.

Tips

• Try going through your day a little slower to see if something inspires you.
• It is absolutely essential that you read some good poetry by famous authors. It's okay to model your poetry after someone else's, just don't copy it.
• Not all poems have to rhyme. A poem, really, is just words that "flow" and sound good together.

Warnings

• Do not try to give your poem perfect grammar. This may seem impossible. It is okay to put in a "'till" or a "'cause".
• Remember that poems take time, so don't get frustrated.

Things You'll Need

• An inspiration
• Paper
• Pen/pencil
• Quiet place
• Possibly some good poetry books

See also

• How to Write a Poem About Nature
• How to Write a Cinquain Poem
• How to Write a Limerick
• Outline of poetry

External links

• [http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/ Library of Congress, Poetry 180: a poem a day for high schools.

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