how to make a speech poetry

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6 Tips for Using Poetry in a Speech

The term “public speaking” may be defined as relaying information to a group of people in a structured, deliberate manner intended to inform, influence, or entertain the listeners. People may choose to give a speech in order to transmit information, motivate people to act, or simply to tell a story. A good orator should be able to change the emotions of their listener and not just inform them. Hey, we get it. Writing a speech on top of actually performing it in public can be super scary and intimidating, but it gets easier once you think of a speech as an epic spoken word poem. Check out our tip guide for getting over some of those spoken word nerves. Most speeches actually use the same literary devices you already use in tons of your poetry. Think of John F. Kennedy’s inaugural speech: “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country” (why hello there, chiasmus). Now, don’t you feel better? By using the boss poet skills you already have, you can create a speech with descriptive and moving language that really entices your listeners. Keep on reading to find out how to write a speech that grabs your listeners and holds their attention.

• Why Do I Have to Write This Thing Anyway? Think about the atmosphere of the occasion at which you’ll present your speech. This will affect the style and tone of your words, just like in a poem (example: a political poem would use a much more serious tone than a poem about a funny memory between you and your best friend). Also pay attention to your audience. For example, a wedding is an event that occurs frequently but no two weddings are exactly alike. This is because different guests with varying personalities attend each one. So, if you were to write a wedding speech, you’d tailor it to match the specific personalities of the couple as well as the guests. Use your poet’s intuition to choose which literacy devices you think everyone will best respond to.
• Use Metaphors and Similes. Ah, oldies but goodies. A metaphor is a stylistic device that assigns the characteristics of one thing to another. For example, in his famous "I Have a Dream" speech, when Martin Luther King described Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation as, "a great beacon light of hope for millions of Negro slaves," he used a metaphor to imply that the Emancipation Proclamation had the attributes of a shining beacon light. A simile is a literary device that compares two unlike things using the words “like” or “as.” If King had said the Emancipation Proclamation was " like a great beacon light of hope," he would have been using a simile. Metaphors and similes are elegant ways of saying something-- and listeners respond well to this type of fancy language that’s also easy to understand.
• Describe, Describe, Describe! Appeal to your listeners' senses by using concrete, vividly descriptive language. Let’s look at this in action. In a famous nineteenth-century murder case, the senator and powerful orator Daniel Webster recreated the murder scene in the minds of the jurors with expressive descriptions: "The room is uncommonly open to the admission of light. The face of the innocent sleeper is turned from the murderer, and the beams of the moon, resting on the gray locks of his aged temple, show him where to strike. The fatal blow is given!" By honing your ability to create intense imagery, you can entice your listeners to use all five of their senses and make your speech that much more impressive .
• This Isn’t an Essay for School-- Go Ahead and Repeat Yourself . Repetition is when a word or phrase is used more than once. In a speech, repetition forces the attention of your audience, quickens the pace of your words, and creates an insistent rhythm. Consider this famous example uttered by Winston Churchill during World War Two: "We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing-grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills." Bet’cha the next thought in your head is “we shall…” See, it totally works! Repetition helps to drill key words and ideas into your listeners’ minds so that they remember the most important sections of your speech.
• Practice your Delivery and Be CONFIDENT . If you’re confident when speaking and passionate about your speech topic, it will definitely come across as powerful  in your delivery. Read your speech quietly aloud to yourself, listening for its musicality or beat. Then, start over again but a little louder. Each time you read your speech out loud, increase your volume. It might sound silly screaming your speech, but it’ll definitely help with your confidence and once it’s time to perform it for real, speaking at a normal yet assertive register will be a piece of cake. Familiarize yourself with the core ideas and images in your speech. The more you understand the speech, the more likely your audience will understand it and respond to the points you are trying to get across. The more strongly you identify with your work the easier it will be for your audience to follow.
• Power Poetry . Now that you’re more familiar with how to write a speech using poetic elements, it’s time to test it out. The ability to read your written work aloud is a gift of immense value because it expresses with grace and clarity thoughts and feelings that are often difficult to find appropriate words for in ordinary prose. Share your poetic speech with Power Poetry and better yet, record yourself so that you can see how much your hard work paid off!

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To learn how to write a poem step-by-step, let’s start where all poets start: the basics.

This article is an in-depth introduction to how to write a poem. We first answer the question, “What is poetry?” We then discuss the literary elements of poetry, and showcase some different approaches to the writing process—including our own seven-step process on how to write a poem step by step.

So, how do you write a poem? Let’s start with what poetry is.

How to Write a Poem: Contents

What Poetry Is

• Literary Devices

How to Write a Poem, in 7 Steps

How to write a poem: different approaches and philosophies.

• Okay, I Know How to Write a Good Poem. What Next?

It’s important to know what poetry is—and isn’t—before we discuss how to write a poem. The following quote defines 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 difficult 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.

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 filling in long backstories or doing leisurely scene-setting. In poetry, every single 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.

More About What Poetry Is

Learn more about what poetry is here:

https://writers.com/what-is-poetry

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:

• Rhythm (Sound, Rhyme, and Meter)

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 specific 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.

Poetry is capable of evoking certain emotions based solely on the sounds it uses. Words can sound sinister, percussive, fluid, 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:

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.

To learn more about consonance and assonance, euphony and cacophony, onomatopoeia , and the other uses of sound, take a look at our article “12 Literary Devices in Poetry.”

https://writers.com/literary-devices-in-poetry

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.”
• Slant Rhyme: Slant rhymes are word pairs that use the same sounds, but their final 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 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.

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.

To learn more about rhyme, meter, and poetry forms, read our full article on the topic:

https://writers.com/what-is-form-in-poetry

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. Learn how to write and master these devices here:

https://writers.com/common-literary-devices

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 finished 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!

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 find 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 influenced 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 finds 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 Nafis , 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 finds 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.

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 finding 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 specific 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!

Learn more about keeping a daily journal here:

How to Start Journaling: Practical Advice on How to Journal Daily

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.

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 first 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 Conflict : 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 first 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 finish 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.

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 finished 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 first 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.
• Mixed Metaphors: A mixed metaphor is when two metaphors occupy the same idea, making the poem unnecessarily difficult 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 fine 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.

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 unfiltered writing that flows directly from 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.

To learn more about the art of leaving your mind alone , take a look at our guide on Mindfulness, from instructor Marc Olmsted.

https://writers.com/mindful-writing

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 find yourself itching to write poetry about the modern day, press your thumb against the pulse of the world and write what you feel.

Additionally, check out these two essays by Electric Literature on the politics of poetry:

• What Can Poetry Do That Politics Can’t?
• Why All Poems Are Political (TL;DR: Poetry is an urgent expression of freedom).

Okay, I Know How to Write a Poem. What Next?

Poetry, like all art forms, takes practice and dedication. You might write a poem you enjoy now, and think it’s awfully written 3 years from now; you might also write some of your best work after reading this guide. Poetry is fickle, but the pen lasts forever, so write poems as long as you can!

Once you understand how to write a poem, and after you’ve drafted some pieces that you’re proud of and ready to share, here are some next steps you can take.

Publish in Literary Journals

Want to see your name in print? These literary journals house some of the best poetry being published today.

https://writers.com/best-places-submit-poetry-online

Assemble and Publish a Manuscript

A poem can tell a story. So can a collection of poems. If you’re interested in publishing a poetry book, learn how to compose and format one here:

https://writers.com/poetry-manuscript-format

How to Write a Poem: Join a Writing Community

Writers.com is an online community of writers, and we’d love it if you shared your poetry with us! Join us on Facebook and check out our upcoming poetry courses .

Poetry doesn’t exist in a vacuum, it exists to educate and uplift society. The world is waiting for your voice, so find a group and share your work!

Sean Glatch

37 comments.

super useful! love these articles 💕

Finally found a helpful guide on Poetry’. For many year, I have written and filed numerous inspired pieces from experiences and moment’s of epiphany. Finally, looking forward to convertinb to ‘poetry format’. THANK YOU, KINDLY. 🙏🏾

Indeed, very helpful, consize. I could not say more than thank you.

I’ve never read a better guide on how to write poetry step by step. Not only does it give great tips, but it also provides helpful links! Thank you so much.

Thank you very much, Hamna! I’m so glad this guide was helpful for you.

Best guide so far

Very inspirational and marvelous tips

Thank you super tips very helpful.

I have never gone through the steps of writing poetry like this, I will take a closer look at your post.

Beautiful! Thank you! I’m really excited to try journaling as a starter step x

[…] How to Write a Poem, Step-by-Step […]

This is really helpful, thanks so much

Extremely thorough! Nice job.

Thank you so much for sharing your awesome tips for beginner writers!

People must reboot this and bookmark it. Your writing and explanation is detailed to the core. Thanks for helping me understand different poetic elements. While reading, actually, I start thinking about how my husband construct his songs and why other artists lack that organization (or desire to be better). Anyway, this gave me clarity.

I’m starting to use poetry as an outlet for my blogs, but I also have to keep in mind I’m transitioning from a blogger to a poetic sweet kitty potato (ha). It’s a unique transition, but I’m so used to writing a lot, it’s strange to see an open blog post with a lot of lines and few paragraphs.

Anyway, thanks again!

I’m happy this article was so helpful, Eternity! Thanks for commenting, and best of luck with your poetry blog.

Yours in verse, Sean

One of the best articles I read on how to write poems. And it is totally step by step process which is easy to read and understand.

Thanks for the step step explanation in how to write poems it’s a very helpful to me and also for everyone one. THANKYOU

Totally detailed and in a simple language told the best way how to write poems. It is a guide that one should read and follow. It gives the detailed guidance about how to write poems. One of the best articles written on how to write poems.

what a guidance thank you so much now i can write a poem thank you again again and again

The most inspirational and informative article I have ever read in the 21st century.It gives the most relevent,practical, comprehensive and effective insights and guides to aspiring writers.

Thank you so much. This is so useful to me a poetry

[…] Write a short story/poem (Here are some tips) […]

It was very helpful and am willing to try it out for my writing Thanks ❤️

Thank you so much. This is so helpful to me, and am willing to try it out for my writing .

Absolutely constructive, direct, and so useful as I’m striving to develop a recent piece. Thank you!

thank you for your explanation……,love it

Really great. Nothing less.

I can’t thank you enough for this, it touched my heart, this was such an encouraging article and I thank you deeply from my heart, I needed to read this.

great teaching Did not know all that in poetry writing

This was very useful! Thank you for writing this.

After reading a Charles Bukowski poem, “My Cats,” I found you piece here after doing a search on poetry writing format. Your article is wonderful as is your side article on journaling. I want to dig into both and give it another go another after writing poetry when I was at university. Thank you!

Thanks for reading, Vicki! Let us know how we can support your writing journey. 🙂

Thank you for the nice and informative post. This article truly offers a lot more details about this topic.

Very useful information. I’m glad to see you discussed rhyming, too. I was in the perhaps mistaken idea that rhyming is frowned upon in contemporary poems.

Thanks alot this highly needed for a starter like me

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Spoken poetry goes beyond the traditional written form, as it focuses on the sonic qualities of language and the impact of vocal delivery. By infusing rhythm, cadence, and intonation, spoken poetry creates a dynamic and evocative experience for both the performer and the audience.

Table of Contents

What Is The Meaning Of Spoken Poetry?

Spoken poetry is a captivating art form that blends the power of words with the expressive delivery of oral performance. It is a medium through which individuals can creatively express their thoughts, emotions, and experiences in a unique and engaging manner.

How To Write A Spoken Poem?

Writing a spoken poem requires striking a balance between the written word and speech delivery.

To ensure the effectiveness of your spoken poem, practice reading it aloud several times. Focus on your delivery, using tone, volume, and gestures to enhance the emotional impact. Adjust the wording or phrasing if necessary to create a more powerful and cohesive performance.

What Is The Difference Between Spoken Poetry And Poems?

What is a spoken poem called.

A spoken poem is commonly referred to as a spoken word poem or simply slam . This term encompasses the art form that merges poetry with performance, emphasizing the oral presentation and the impact of the spoken word. Spoken word poems are crafted to be performed and experienced in live settings, such as poetry slams, open mic nights , or spoken word events.

What Are The Elements Of Spoken Poetry?

Firstly, the use of vivid imagery plays a vital role in creating a sensory experience for the listeners. Through carefully chosen words and descriptions, spoken poets paint pictures in the minds of the audience, transporting them into the world of the poem.

What Are The Characteristics Of Spoken Poetry?

Spoken poetry is a captivating and immersive art form that blends the power of language with the expressive qualities of oral performance. It encompasses the use of vivid imagery, rhythm, and authentic storytelling to create a profound impact on both the performer and the audience.

1. How can I improve my spoken poetry performance?

2. is it necessary to memorize spoken poems, 3. can anyone perform spoken poetry, 4. how can i find spoken word events or communities.

Look for local poetry slams, open mic nights, or spoken word events in your area. Check with local coffee shops, art venues, or cultural organizations that often host spoken word performances. You can also search online platforms, social media groups, or websites dedicated to poetry and spoken word to find events and communities.

5. Can spoken poetry be recorded and shared online?

6. can i combine other art forms with spoken poetry, 7. can spoken poetry be used for activism or social change.

Yes, spoken poetry has been widely used as a powerful tool for activism and social change. Its ability to address social issues, share personal narratives, and create empathy makes it an effective medium for raising awareness and inspiring action. Spoken-word artists often use their platform to shed light on systemic injustices, challenge societal norms, and advocate for equality and justice.

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Whether you’re writing poetry for a class or as a hobby, it can be difficult to get started. Precisely how do you write a poem, and how to write a good poem at that? Do poems have to rhyme? How to write a free verse poem? The questions are endless, but the process is more or less the same.

So let’s unravel the art of poem-writing! We’ll tell you everything from how to start a poem to how to end one. But first, you’d probably want to go through our article on what a poem is , its elements, and its types. Now, let’s get started!

Enhance your poetry with an expert review! Learn more

Here’s how to write a poem:

• Read at least ten other poems
• List topics you feel passionate about
• Consider poetic form, but not too much
• Start writing, prioritizing sound
• Google synonyms, antonyms, and rhyming words
• Create original and striking imagery
• Use literary devices
• Choose an appropriate title
• Edit and proofread your poem

As you can see, this is a complete guide on how to write a poem for beginners. Let’s take an in-depth look.

1. Read at least ten other poems

All good poem writing comes from reading. If you want your poem to resonate with readers, you need to find out what resonates with you. Ideally, you should be a habitual reader of poetry. But if you’re writing a poem for class or tying it out as a hobby, try reading at least ten different types of poems . 

Here are some poems you should read as a beginner:

• The Sun Rising by John Donne (Metaphysical poem)
• In Kyoto… by Matsuo Basho (Haiku)
• Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare (Sonnet)
• I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud by William Wordsworth (Pastoral lyric)
• Because I could not stop for Death by Emily Dickinson (Lyrical poem)
• The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost (Narrative poem)
• Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll (Nonsense poem)
• Howl by Allen Ginsberg (Free verse, “Beat epic”)
• Tonight by Agha Shahid Ali (Ghazal)
• Concrete Cat by Dorthi Charles (Concrete poetry)

Likely, you won’t understand many of these poems on the first read; most readers don’t. Read them three or four times and once you get the gist, look up their explanations. That’ll clear things up and show you the possibilities in every type of poetry.

2. List topics you feel passionate about

Do you want to know how to write good poetry? Know what you’re writing about. Your poem will ring hollow if you write from a shallow state of mind.

“Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility.” —William Wordsworth

Now, emotion is quite important in poetry, but your poem doesn’t always have to come from an emotional place. You should, however, care deeply about your topic. You can write a good poem only if the topic matters to you.

Here’s how you can narrow down some topics:

• Reflect on your life experiences, friendship, family, romance, joy, and heartbreak.
• Think about philosophy: What are your big existential questions?
• Observe plants, animals, and natural phenomena and document how they make you feel.
• Ponder upon the social issues around you.
• Try freewriting and journaling.
• If you want to challenge yourself, use poetry writing prompts .

3. Consider poetic form, but not too much

The type of poem you write can affect your poem-writing process. A haiku, for example, dwells on stark images whereas a limerick is likely to be funny. If you really want to try your hand at a concrete poem, your theme, word choice, and tone will change accordingly. Plus, some forms like sonnet or ghazal are inherently trickier than a haiku or free verse.

So, you should consider the poetic form you’d be most comfortable with. Make sure not to get caught up in the rules, though. Everyone’s creative process is different. Some poets thrive under the limits of form while others prefer the freedom of composition. Find what works for you and practice it a few times.

4. Start writing, prioritizing sound

Sound is incredibly important in a poem: It’s responsible for rhythm, which makes poetry pleasing to read. So when you begin to write, pay attention to how your words sound together. Try to create rhyming words, consonance, and assonance as you write. If you’re unsure about this, watch some poetry recitations online and compare them to written poems. This will help you “hear” the words as you write them down.

Consonance:

“Na r y a g r in g r inne d R u d olph R ee d ” — The Ballad of Rudolph Reed by Gwendolyn Brooks

“The lady is a s i ght

        a m i ght

        a l i ght” — Le sporting-club de Monte Carlo by James Baldwin

You’re probably wondering how to start a poem when you’ve never done it before. It’s simple, really: Just start! No one’s first attempt is Nobel-worthy, but that’s not the point. Simply focus on getting your words out as creatively as you can. If you happen to use a startling image or a tender metaphor while you’re at it, all the better!

It’s best to use pen and paper on your first try. It’s not only easier to organize your thoughts and cancel out lines, but also quicker. Plus, physical activity can help you focus better. 

Does poetry have to rhyme? No, poetry does not have to rhyme. Many poems achieve a musical effect through assonance alone while many others don’t have a musical effect at all. It all depends on your taste and preference while writing poems!

5. Google synonyms, antonyms, and rhyming words

As beginners, it’s difficult to find the right words for your poem. So it’s perfectly fine to use Google or other tools to look for rhyming words, synonyms, or homophones . Even seasoned poets sometimes have to google synonyms while writing poems!

Make sure you’re not asking an AI to produce a poem for you, though. That would defeat the purpose of the exercise! (Not to mention, AI-written poems lack originality, nuance, and soul.) But AI tools can be extremely useful while hunting for that slippery word that’s just the right fit in your line.

6. Create original and striking imagery

Imagery is the art of painting a picture using words, and you’re likely to do this in your poem without even realizing it. So pay attention to the images you create and make sure they’re not typical. This is quite important when learning how to write poetry for beginners. Images like a rose, the moon, and the nightingale are so overdone in poetry that they can cheapen your poem.

Depending on the tone and theme of your poem, imagery can even be jarring and disturbing. Here’s an example of how to write such a poem:

“What a thrill –

My thumb instead of an onion.

The top quite gone

Except for a sort of hinge

A flap like a hat,

Dead white.

Then that red plush.” — Cut by Sylvia Plath

Observe how Plath creates the original and raw image of the cut thumb. She uses metaphor (hinge of skin), simile (a flap like a hat), and color (dead white, red plush). You can also describe the senses of sound, smell, taste, and touch to create unique images.

So, make sure that the images you use are vivid and striking. Also, check whether they’re appropriate for your poem: Your images shouldn’t stick out for the wrong reason!

7. Use literary devices

Remember consonance and assonance? Those are literary devices or tools that make your writing more interesting to read. There are more of these, and you should use them in your poem:

Simile: Comparing dissimilar objects using “as” or “like”.

“O my Luve is like a red, red rose” — A Red, Red Rose by Robert Burns

Metaphor: Comparing two objects by saying that one thing is another.

“‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers -” — “Hope” is the thing with feathers by Emily Dickinson

Personification : Giving human characteristics to non-human entities.

“The fog comes

on little cat feet.” — Fog by Carl Sandburg

Symbolism: Using symbols to depict ideas or qualities.

The raven in Edgar Allen Poe’s poem The Raven symbolizes the narrator’s descent into madness.

Oxymoron: Placing contradictory terms together.

“Parting is such sweet sorrow.” — Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Hyperbole: An exaggerated statement.

“Belinda smiled, and all the world was gay.” — The Rape of the Lock by Alexander Pope

Repetition: Repeating a word or phrase for impact.

“Break, break, break,

On thy cold gray stones, O Sea!” — Break, Break, Break by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Juxtaposition: Placing two things together for a direct comparison.

“Some say the world will end in fire,

Some say in ice.” — Fire and Ice by Robert Frost

Of all the tips on how to write a poem, this can be the toughest for beginners. In the beginning, using these poetic devices may come off as crafty or put-upon, but you’ll get better at it with practice. When in doubt, think of proverbs and adages: You’ll find the best figures of speech used naturally!

8. Choose an appropriate title

A poem deserves a fitting title; it’s sort of a crowning moment while writing poetry! If you’ve got a strong first line in your poem, you can just use that as the title. Another method is to use the central image, symbol, or theme of your poem as the title. You can even use an interesting line connected to your poem, so your title starts the poem before your first line does.

Whatever route you choose, the title of your poem should be impactful and fitting for the poem. Here are some great examples:

• Night Sky With Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong
• Wild nights – Wild nights! By Emily Dickinson
• The Language of Dust by Asotto Saint
• A Small Needful Fact by Ross Gay
• [Didn’t Sappho say her guts clutched up like this?] by Marylyn Hacker

9. Edit and proofread your poem

The biggest rule of editing any document is to leave it alone for at least a week. This way, you can come back to your poem with a fresh, (slightly more) objective perspective. If you spend this time reading, you’ll have many examples of how to use literary devices in a poem. Enriched with this new knowledge, you can examine your poem and improve it further.

Here’s a poetry editing checklist for your poem:

• Read your poem aloud. Can you improve its rhythm and sound?
• If you’ve followed a meter, count the syllables and check the stress pattern.
• Check line breaks and stanzas to see if the poem can be more impactful if it’s structured differently.
• Examine your word choice and try out variations and synonyms where you’re unsure.
• Check your images: Are they vivid? Are they appropriate?
• Ensure you aren’t using any cliches.
• Remove all spelling, punctuation, and grammar errors .

The last step can be tricky for new poets since you have to balance poetic license with readability. This is precisely where poetry editing services can step in, helping you refine your poem with expert advice. If you can’t hire an editor, seek feedback on your poem from family, friends, or teachers.

That’s about everything you need to know about how to write a poem! Now, start reading poems so you can start writing one. You can begin brainstorming and list down all ideas for poem writing. If you’d like some more writing tips, here are some resources that can help:

• What Is Show, Don’t Tell? (Meaning, Examples & 6 Tips)
• How to Write a Novel in Past Tense? 3 Steps & Examples

Frequently Asked Questions

How do i end a poem, how do i get started with writing a poem, how can i make a poem more rhythmic and musical.

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Poetry writing tips: 10 helpful hacks for how to write a poem.

Jerz > Writing > General Creative Writing Tips [  Poetry  | Fiction  ]

If you are writing a poem because you want to capture a feeling that you experienced , then you don’t need these tips. Just write whatever feels right. Only you experienced the feeling that you want to express, so only you will know whether your poem succeeds.

If, however, your goal is to communicate with a reader — drawing on the established conventions of a literary genre (conventions that will be familiar to the experienced reader) to generate an emotional response in your reader — then simply writing what feels right to you won’t be enough.  (See also “ Poetry is for the Ear ” and “ When Backwards Newbie Poets Write .”)

These tips will help you make an important transition:

• away from writing poetry to celebrate, commemorate, or capture your own feelings (in which case you, the poet, are the center of the poem’s universe)
• towards writing poetry in order to generate feelings in your reader (in which case the poem exists entirely to serve the reader).

• Avoid Clichés
• Avoid Sentimentality
• Use Metaphor and Simile
• Use Concrete Words Instead of Abstract Words
• Communicate Theme
• Subvert the Ordinary
• Rhyme with Extreme Caution
• Revise, Revise, Revise

Tip #1 Know Your Goal.

If you don’t know where you’re going, how can you get there?

You need to know what you are trying to accomplish before you begin any project. Writing a poem is no exception.

Before you begin, ask yourself what you want your poem to “do.” Do you want your poem to explore a personal experience, protest a social injustice, describe the beauty of nature, or play with language in a certain way? Once your know the goal of your poem, you can conform your writing to that goal. Take each main element in your poem and make it serve the main purpose of the poem.

Tip #2 Avoid Clichés

Stephen Minot defines a  cliché as: “A metaphor or simile that has become so familiar from overuse that the vehicle … no longer contributes any meaning whatever to the tenor. It provides neither the vividness of a fresh metaphor nor the strength of a single unmodified word….The word is also used to describe overused but nonmetaphorical expressions such as ‘tried and true’ and ‘each and every'” ( Three Genres: The Writing of Poetry, Fiction and Drama , 405).

Cliché also describes other overused literary elements. “Familiar plot patterns and stock characters are clichés on a big scale” (Minot 148). Clichés can be overused themes, character types, or plots. For example, the “Lone Ranger” cowboy is a cliché because it has been used so many times that people no longer find it original.

A work full of clichés is like a plate of old food: unappetizing.

More creative writing tips.

Clichés work against original communication. People value creative talent. They want to see work that rises above the norm. When they see a work without clichés, they know the writer has worked his or her tail off, doing whatever it takes to be original. When they see a work full to the brim with clichés, they feel that the writer is not showing them anything above the ordinary. (In case you hadn’t noticed, this paragraph is chock full of clichés… I’ll bet you were bored to tears.)

Clichés dull meaning. Because clichéd writing sounds so familiar, people can finish whole lines without even reading them. If they don’t bother to read your poem, they certainly won’t stop to think about it. If they do not stop to think about your poem, they will never encounter the deeper meanings that mark the work of an accomplished poet.

Examples of Clichés:

How to Improve a Cliché

I will take the cliché “as busy as a bee” and show how you can express the same idea without cliché.

• Determine what the clichéd phrase is trying to say. In this case, I can see that “busy as a bee” is a way to describe the state of being busy.
• Think of an original way to describe what the cliché is trying to describe. For this cliché, I started by thinking about busyness. I asked myself the question, “What things are associated with being busy?” I came up with: college, my friend Jessica, corporation bosses, old ladies making quilts and canning goods, and a computer, fiddlers fiddling. From this list, I selected a thing that is not as often used in association with busyness: violins.
• Create a phrase using the non-clichéd way of description. I took my object associated with busyness and turned it into a phrase: “I feel like a bow fiddling an Irish reel.” This phrase communicates the idea of “busyness” much better than the worn-out, familiar cliché. The reader’s mind can picture the insane fury of the bow on the violin, and know that the poet is talking about a very frenzied sort of busyness. In fact, those readers who know what an Irish reel sounds like may even get a laugh out of this fresh way to describe “busyness.”

Try it! Take a cliché and use these steps to improve it. You may even end up with a line you feel is good enough to put in a poem!

Tip #3 Avoid Sentimentality.

Sentimentality is “dominated by a blunt appeal to the emotions of pity and love …. Popular subjects are puppies, grandparents, and young lovers” (Minot 416). “When readers have the feeling that emotions like rage or indignation have been pushed artificially for their own sake, they will not take the poem seriously” (132).

Minot says that the problem with sentimentality is that it detracts from the literary quality of your work (416). If your poetry is mushy or teary-eyed, your readers may openly rebel against your effort to invoke emotional response in them. If that happens, they will stop thinking about the issues you want to raise, and will instead spend their energy trying to control their own gag reflex.

Tip #4 Use Images.

“BE A PAINTER IN WORDS,” says UWEC English professor emerita, poet, and songwriter Peg Lauber. She says poetry should stimulate six senses:

• kinesiology (motion)
• “Sunlight varnishes magnolia branches crimson” (sight)
• “Vacuum cleaner’s whir and hum startles my ferret” (hearing)
• “Penguins lumber to their nests” (kinesiology)

Lauber advises her students to produce fresh, striking images (“imaginative”). Be a camera.  Make the reader  be there with the poet/speaker/narrator. (See also: “ Show, Don’t (Just) Tell “)

Tip #5 Use Metaphor and Simile.

Use metaphor and simile to bring imagery and concrete words into your writing.

A metaphor is a statement that pretends one thing is really something else: Example: “The lead singer is an elusive salamander.” This phrase does not mean that the lead singer is literally a salamander. Rather, it takes an abstract characteristic of a salamander (elusiveness) and projects it onto the person. By using metaphor to describe the lead singer, the poet creates a much more vivid picture of him/her than if the poet had simply said “The lead singer’s voice is hard to pick out.”

A simile is a statement where you say one object is similar to another object. Similes use the words “like” or “as.” Example: “He was curious as a caterpillar” or “He was curious, like a caterpillar” This phrase takes one quality of a caterpillar and projects it onto a person. It is an easy way to attach concrete images to feelings and character traits that might usually be described with abstract words.

Note: A simile is not automatically any more or less “poetic” than a metaphor. You don’t suddenly produce better poems if you replace all your similes with metaphors, or vice versa. The point to remember is that comparison, inference, and suggestion are all important tools of poetry; similes and metaphors are tools that will help in those areas.

Tip #6 Use Concrete Words Instead of Abstract Words.

Concrete words describe things that people experience with their senses.

A person can see orange, feel warm, or hear a cat.

A poet’s concrete words help the reader get a “picture” of what the poem is talking about. When the reader has a “picture” of what the poem is talking about, he/she can better understand what the poet is talking about.

Abstract words refer to concepts or feelings.

“Liberty” is a concept, “happy” is a feeling, and no one can agree on whether “love” is a feeling, a concept or an action.

A person can’t see, touch, or taste any of these things. As a result, when used in poetry, these words might simply fly over the reader’s head, without triggering any sensory response. Further, “liberty,” “happy,” and “love” can mean different things to different people. Therefore, if the poet uses such a word, the reader may take a different meaning from it than the poet intended.

Change Abstract Words Into Concrete Words

To avoid problems caused by using abstract words, use concrete words.

Example: “She felt happy.”

This line uses the abstract word “happy.” To improve this line, change the abstract word to a concrete image. One way to achieve this is to think of an object or a scene that evokes feelings of happiness to represent the happy feeling.

Improvement: “Her smile spread like red tint on ripening tomatoes.”

This line uses two concrete images: a smile and a ripening tomato. Describing the smile shows the reader something about happiness, rather than simply coming right out and naming the emotion. Also, the symbolism of the tomato further reinforces the happy feelings. Red is frequently associated with love; ripening is a positive natrual process; food is further associated with being satisfied.

Tip #7 Communicate Theme.

Poetry always has a theme. Theme is not just a topic, but an idea with an opinion.

Theme = Idea + Opinion

Topic: “The Vietnam War”

This is not a theme. It is only a subject. It is just an event. There are no ideas, opinions, or statements about life or of wisdom contained in this sentence

Theme: “History shows that despite our claims to be peace-loving, unfortunately each person secretly dreams of gaining glory through conflict.”

This is a theme. It is not just an event, but a statement about an event. It shows what the poet  thinks about the event. The poet strives to show the reader his/her theme during the entire poem, making use of literary techniques.

Tip #8 Subvert the Ordinary.

Poets’ strength is the  ability to see what other people see everyday in a new way . You don’t have to be special or a literary genius to write good poems–all you have to do is take an ordinary object, place, person, or idea, and come up with a new perception of it.

Example: People ride the bus everyday.

Poets’ Interpretation: A poet looks at the people on the bus and imagines scenes from their lives. A poet sees a sixty-year old woman and imagines a grandmother who runs marathons. A poet sees a two-year old boy and imagines him painting with ruby nail polish on the toilet seat, and his mother struggling to not respond in anger.

Take the ordinary and turn it on its head. (The word “subvert” literally means “turn upside down”.)

Tip #9 Rhyme with Extreme Caution.

Rhyme and meter (the pattern of stressed and unstressed words) can be dangerous if used the wrong way. Remember sing-song nursery rhymes? If you choose a rhyme scheme that makes your poem sound sing-song, it will detract from the quality of your poem.

I recommend that  beginning poets stick to free verse . It is hard enough to compose a poem without dealing with the intricacies of rhyme and meter. (Note: see Jerz’s response to this point, in “ Poetry Is For the Ear .”)

If you feel ready to create a rhymed poem, refer to chapters 6-10 of Stephen Minot’s book Three Genres: The Writing of Poetry, Fiction, and Drama . 6 th ed., for more help.

Tip #10 Revise, Revise, Revise.

The first completed draft of your poem is only the beginning. Poets often go through several drafts of a poem before considering the work “done.”

• Put your poem away for a few days, and then come back to it. When you re-read it, does anything seem confusing? Hard to follow? Do you see anything that needs improvement that you overlooked the first time? Often, when you are in the act of writing, you may leave out important details because you are so familiar with the topic. Re-reading a poem helps you to see it from the “outsider’s perspective” of a reader.
• Show your poem to others and ask for criticism. Don’t be content with a response like, “That’s a nice poem.” You won’t learn anything from that kind of response. Instead, find people who will tell you specific things you need to improve in your poem.

26 May 2000 — originally submitted by Kara Ziehl, as an assignment for Prof. Jerz’s technical writing class 01 Aug 2000 — modified and posted by Jerz 30 Nov 2001 — minor edits by Jerz 21 July 2011 — minor refresh 22 May 2013 — added intro before the tips. 24 Dec 2017 — minor formatting tweaks 09 Apr 2019 — corrected a 1000-year error caused by a typo in the above line

Handouts >  Creative Writing >  Poetry Tips

Poetry is for the Ear  — Whatever poetry you write or read, learn to listen with the ears of your audience. Pay attention to the sounds the words make, even if you write in free verse.

Short Poems: Little Exquisite Vessels of Thought   –A few good lines of verse can pack as much emotional content as a whole paragraph of ordinary prose. Just because a poem is short does not mean writing it is easy.

Getting College Credit for your High School Poems  –Poems that perfectly record how you felt about events in your life probably won’t work as submissions for college writing classes. Most professors will expect you to revise in-progress poems.

305 thoughts on “ Poetry Writing Tips: 10 Helpful Hacks for How to Write a Poem ”

It’s an interesting one

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I jumped from the introduction to the cliché section and kept reading until the end of the rhyming advice. This is powerful to post for someone to use as a subtle guideline during the writing process. Going through one of my poems on my blog, I rewrote it several times, making sure it hits the spot. Now, I feel once I post all 30 of my blogs, I’m going to go through each one and continue making modifications until it is perfect and sounds correct.

I am much impressed by the site,,it has motivated me as a poetry beginner In 1 year time I believe I shall be a great poet,thank you.

Poetry is a genre of literature, a genre of art, and a genre of life. It is a form of literary artwork due to its matchless beauty and magnitude of emotion.

I love poems

the above mentioned tips are amazing. i have got an outline on how this work of writing poems is done. soon i’m going to come up with my writings..thanks

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Hey sir, I want you to offer me some suggestions regarding my writing, I’m just a newbie. I don’t know where am I heading. Here is my piece of work down below. Have a look, please. Thank you.

My love has bruised my naive heart. All of my senses went jerked a lot.

She ran off, after approaching, where did she go? Her gestures had driven me crazy from the start. All of my senses went jerked a lot.

I had started out pursuing her path carelessly. waiting for her, turned me into ashes under the pot. All of my senses went jerked a lot.

I wish you to pass by my needy door someday. My faded eyes are being waited for you on spot. All of my senses went jerked a lot.

If you please remove this veil, my remiss love? As I’m burning in your remembrance, Oh my mascot. All of my senses went jerked a lot.

I have rubbed ashes on my body, don’t you go far. Would you keep pride to my pleas or not. All of my senses went jerked a lot.

Your vows have kept me alive to this day. Thereby, I offer my chest to every coming arrow shot. All of my senses went jerked a lot.

Ehmad there is nothing to pick on except don’t repeat the last line every time

You have poem for school childrens

Very informative article on how to write poetry thanks For sharing.

The tips for writing poem are really amazing! I really love to write poems. All the best to poem lovers!

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This will be an additional knowledge to me when I create my 2nd poetry book. Great tips!

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I can’t simply go without leaving a comment. This post is a great read.

I hope you can take the time to read my post as well: A Guide to Writing Exceptional Poetry

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Please what type of image can I give to Covid 19 as a poet

My first attempt As I gazed at the sky,I saw the beauty of Earth which is to be compared with yours It seems am an ant scavenging for crumbs of bread to behold the sight of a sheen, I could feel the warm,calm breeze touching my skin,just as I see the sun scorching like your eyes Your aura is like the sweet aroma of a banana, Your smile spread like the wings of a dove gliding over the deep blue ocean The sound of your voice could be linked to that of a mermaid….

My first attempt Please I’d like criticism

I see an engaging list of sensory details. What I’m looking for is some evidence of a revelation, an insight that changes the way the speaker (the “I” in the poem) thinks about the “you” who is the subject of the poem. Not all poems need to have that kind of a twist or revelation, but I’m looking for some kind of resolution. What new insight does the speaker gain, after gazing at the sky and doing all the comparisons listed in the poem? “Her big brown eyes were like pools that I could fall into and swim away from all my troubles.” That’s kind of silly (I claim no special talent as a poet) but it’s an example that goes beyond listing how X is like Y.

I’m not really an expert on these poem thing. But this is really a nice try of yours! Sounds very magical to me. But i kinda don’t understand some part of what you are trying to tell..it’s okay maybe because of some typos. Love it btw!

i love your first line

Ive been writing poems for a while now. My fathers death brought out feelings I could best express through poems. I’m curious if they are pretty good or need work.

Here’s one of my poems.

Baby blue eyes

When I saw you last, I looked in your eyes. You couldn’t speak, or even cry. You looked so lost and full of fear. All I could do, was wipe my tears.

I knew it was over, you felt so alone. I did what I could for your journey home. I stayed by your side, all through the night. Never leaving you, holding you tight.

My memories of you, are close to my heart. You’ll always be with me, we’ll never part. I’ll never forget how much I cried, I’ll never forget those baby blue eyes.

Dan, I would say that poems people write in order to express their feelings and to honor and commemorate a specific event in their life fall into the category of doing whatever feels right to you.

If you are interested in technical hints on becoming a better poet, I suggest you start with a poem that you feel is not “finished” — something you are still working on.

I have noticed that students who brought their “finished” high school poems into a college writing workshop are often so emotionally attached to their work that it was hard for them to cut out lines or whole stanzas or change whole organizational principles that weren’t working. This handout is focused specifically on high school poetry, but the general idea addresses using very personal poems in a writing workshop.

https://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/creative1/poetry-writing-are-your-finished-high-school-poems-okay-for-a-college-writing-workshop/

If what you’d like to do is polish this poem, then I’d say the line breaks in this submission are confusing (I’d expect line breaks after “eyes.” and “cry,” and “fear.”) Having said that, point 9 on this page cautions against rhyming for beginning poets, though I also wrote this handout that emphasizes the power of sounds in poems: https://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/creative1/poetry-is-for-the-ear/

The lines “You looked so lost and full of fear” and “I’ll never forget how much I cried” TELL me what you felt, but poetry works best when, instead of listing the emotions the poet felt, the poem instead generates feelings in the reader.

I didn’t know your father, so when I read about you looking into his eyes, I don’t have the memory of decades of looking at your father’s smirk when he gets in a zinger during a dinnertime debate about politics, or seeing the scar on his right brow from the car accident you caused when he was teaching you to drive, etc. (Of course I made up those details, and so they don’t accurately reflect who your father is. What details WOULD accurately convey your father’s personality?)

Rather than TELLING me that your memories are close to your heart, can you instead spend time bringing me along with you as you relive just one really significant event? Think of how a movie really comes to life when the camera zooms in on a person talking about a memory, and then suddenly we see a younger version of that character living through the events they remembered. Sometimes movies might have the older version of the character right there in the scene, commenting, like Scrooge does during the flashbacks the Ghost of Christmas Past shows him. That’s what movies do — they dramatize for the camera. Poems do something different — they use very specific sensory details in order to conjure up emotions in the reader. But listing the emotions you felt is not the same thing as giving your reader a reason to feel something.

This handout on Showing vs. Telling focuses on short stories, but it’s the same principle. TELLING me what you feel is different from SHOWING me something and generating a feeling in me.

https://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/creative1/showing/

The professional writing advice “murder your darlings” emphasizes that even though we might be excited by and attached to what we wrote in a burst of inspired creative emotions, the process of editing and revision only works if we are objective and willing to trade off the emotional integrity of the experience we had WRITING a draft, with the technical requirements of what experienced readers will expect when READING a poem, and what they will find that’s original and effective, and what will seem predictable and overdone. https://medium.com/mindset-matters/who-said-murder-your-darlings-6a769e3f205e

This site has a collection of poems about grief.

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/collections/137079/poems-of-sorrow-and-grieving

If you were a student in my class, and you said you wanted to write a poem about grief, I’d ask you to read a dozen or so classic and modern poems about loss, and I’d ask you to explore how those poets use sensory experiences, memory, juxtaposition, contrast and other literary techniques in order to accomplish something that moved you; and then I’d ask you to try using some of those same strategies in your own work.

How many modern works use rhyming couplets? Was your baby-blue-eyed father a 300-pound professional wrestler? Were his eyes important to his profession, or to do something he loved to do, or something he did selflessly and reliably for the family?

When I was a kid, I found where my dad kept his “to do” list, and I decided I’d spend about 30 minutes a week doing something on that list, without being asked, and without telling him. Vacuuming the stairs, watering the lawn, that sort of thing. Sometimes when he saw me doing the task, or when he went to do it and found it had been done, he would be in such a good mood that he’d invite me out for ice cream.

If I wanted to put that detail into a poem, I wouldn’t say “here’s a thing that used to happen all the time. I would do a thing on my father’s to-do list, and he’d be so happy he’d invite me out for ice cream.”

Instead, I’d introduce my father as a barrel-chested former weight-lifter, who was not a hugger, who commuted for decades to an office job that he hated, and but hummed happily when he was sanding boards and chopping wood. On one day he was grumpy after doing his taxes, and I saw him making a cup of coffee and putting on his work clothes, so I turned off my video game and dashed out the back door, so that he’d see me uncoiling the garden hose and setting up the lawn sprinkler. Instead of just TELLING you that I noticed the tension leave his body; I’d SHOW that as he took in what he saw, his hands slowly unclenched, and he went back inside. When I came in a little later, he was humming to himself while flipping through the sports page, and he asked if I wanted to go out for ice cream.

I wouldn’t add a line about how “I’ll never forget how it felt when he reached across the back of the car seat to give my neck an affectionate squeeze”. Instead, I’d come up with a simile to describe the weight of his hand on my neck, and then I’d flash back to my very first memory, which is of my father holding me above his head, telling me to straighten out like a board and pressing my nose against the ceiling; and then I’d flash forward to a few months ago when I visited him, now well into his 80s; he had some trouble getting out of a chair, and without interrupting his story about a play the Bears made, he just casually reached out his hand so I could help him stand.

My poem would be full of references to hands and touching, but I probably wouldn’t title it “The Touch of My Father’s Hand” and I wouldn’t insult the reader by announcing the poem’s theme. I would just pick these specific memories of physical contact with my father, and I would try to make each one of them meaningful sensory experiences to the reader. I wouldn’t insert commentary listing my own feelings, and I wouldn’t try to tell the reader how they were supposed to react.

What are some other ways that your father’s eyes have been meaningful to you? Let your reader get to know your father’s eyes in happier times, so that we can feel the contrast for ourselves.

Thank you for your input Dennis. This is why I put it out there. I wanted to know how and what I can improve on. I’ll look at all you examples and hopefully learn from them. Again, thank you!

Sir may I ask permission if I can cite your tips in the module that I am writing for the Senior High School? I just found your tips practical for the high school students.

Yes, you may cite these tips.

your comment is longer then the article

What an eloquently phrased and well-supported response. So persuasive, too!

That is good but I think you should work on organizing it to specific lines

I really like this poem. My own father passed recently and I totally could relate. Thank you for sharing it. I just came across it today. Sorry for your loss.

you are freaking amazing.

I am learning

I happened to write few poems without knowing how to write.. Thank you for all d informations .. I shall follow the instructions and see how my poetry writing skill changes over the months🙏Ranbir laishram

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One may secure 9/9 band in IELTS but writing poetry in English is it self a new subject. It is very well written article and if followed the correct steps as described above. It can help improve the poetry writing skills a lot. One should pay attention to the following questions.

“What should I write poems about?” “How should I decide the right form for my poem?” “What are common mistakes that new poets make, and how can I avoid them?” “How do I write free verse/blank verse/sonnets/haikus etc.?”

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I think a good poet is very good at observing their surroundings. They are able to push these elements of life into creative writing, which can be in the form of poetry. I liked the poem by Sean Francisco in the comments. Poem Spark – Beautiful title.

Wow,wonderful explanations and recommendations of poetry.I am a poet too.You can find my poetry blog here https://shreyaspoetry.blogspot.com It is a must visit for poetry lovers.

I really enjoyed your explanation, thanks a million and God bless you with more wisdom.

In the 3rd book in my Butterflies series, I am writing a 3rd section on poem structure. Now I have my own idea about how a poem is written and I just had to run a Google search for comparison.

I just wrote this poem in maybe 30 minutes, good or bad, you all call it. I like it pretty good, I think. I’m definitely adding it to my next book.

No offense, This is my Poem Spark.

An ancient Jeraboam, would want you to know, there is but one poem, it’s of our soul.

Its wine warmed in the heart, God given to man. There is just one start, with all the world at your hand.

Don’t be afraid! Yes, sing us your song. It’s your history made. You can do no wrong.

After your gold, gleams light on the dark please always be so bold, you make a Poem Spark.

Sean Francisco

thanks for the great job Dan

THANKS FOR THIS ADVICE I REALKY DASIRE THEM

My father wrote this poem; I don’t know if you can consider this as a poem coz i don’t know what figure of speech or style he employed here. Would appreciate your expertise here c: Thank you in advance!

A PEOPLE BETRAYED

My People My poor people My suffering people My forsaken people Fooled and deceived Dazzled and misled Silenced and blinded Lulled and deluded Swindled and cheated Plundered and looted Burdened and tormented Trapped and exploited Captured and manipulated Trampled and invaded Swamped and dominated Starved and enslaved Denied and deserted Blamed and derided Ignored and dismayed Shamed and prostituted Mortgaged and conveyed Condemned and uprooted Terrorized and bullied Paralyzed and BETRAYED

By ruthless self-proclaimed leaders And by scheming alien invaders Who in reality are deceivers Who in truth are exploiters Who in fact are slavers Who in short are BETRAYERS Of my poor and endangered people A PEOPLE BETRAYED

A people full of sorrows A people full of sufferings A people full of burden A people full of pain A people full of despair A people full of confusion A people full of shame A people full of difficulties A people full of tragedies A people full of nightmares

Fooled and deceived Dazzled and misled Silenced and blinded Lulled and deluded Swindled and cheated Plundered and looted Burdened and tormented Trapped and exploited Captured and manipulated Trampled and invaded Swamped and dominated Starved and enslaved Denied and deserted Blamed and derided Ignored and dismayed Shamed and prostituted Mortgaged and conveyed Condemned and uprooted Terrorized and bullied Paralyzed and BETRAYED

A nation full of fools A nation full of slaves A nation full of beggars A nation full of captives

A nation full of cowards A nation full of idiots A nation full of sycophants A nation full of robots

A nation full of liars A nation full of hypocrites A nation full of clowns A nation full of puppets

A nation full of rascals A nation full of maniacs A nation full of crooks A nation full of monkeys

A nation full of deserters A nation full of bystanders A nation full of profiteers A nation full of racketeers

A nation full of pretenders A nation full of blusterers A nation full of squanderers A nation full of blunderers

A nation full of deceivers A nation full of invaders A nation full of conspirators A nation full of saboteurs

A nation full of slanderers A nation full of distorters A nation full of captors A nation full of tormentors

A nation full of exploiters A nation full of plunderers A nation full of oppressors A nation full of traitors

My people My poor people My suffering people My forsaken people My starving people My condemned people A people deceived A people misled A people exploited A people dominated A people enslaved A PEOPLE BETRAYED!

that’s not a poem, just a list of words. it literally does the opposite of all the tips given above, i.e. not a single concrete image to help the reader see in their own head. “my poor people” gives the reader zero visually, emotionally. who are the people? if concrete details were described — their unique clothes, or land, or actions — the reader would see them. right now, they are invisible.

a tip not given above: Compress! make the poem as short as possible to convey the idea. who wants to read or hear the phrase “a nation” 36 times, or “people” 30 times?.

I can certainly imagine an in-person recitation of this composition being very personal, very passionate, and very meaningful. Spoken-word performances are very different creatures from the kind of literary poetry that this page covers. This text states that a certain list of adjectives apply “in reality,” “in truth” and “in fact” to a certain group, but as “J z” mentioned a list of words doesn’t work on the reader’s emotions in the way that literary poetry does. We’d need to depend up seeing your father’s face, hearing his voice, and knowing about your relationship to your father, in order for these words to have the kind of effect on us that they may have on you.

What do these words mean to your father? What does he mean to you? How can you make us, the reader, feel those relationships?

No the above tips are useful only bro 😉😉😉

Just a list of words, where the author tries too hard to make it relevant that they know an average amount of vocabulary. There is no story, no continuity, no rhythm.

Do you have any constructive criticism to offer? It’s okay if this poem doesn’t use the techniques you prefer.

I don’t know exactly it is a poem or not. I can feel it because now in my country, Myanmar (formerly Burma), our People are suffering the same the author writes about.

YES! This is a poem.. Superb

My first attempt:

Her red lipstick covered lips raised like the oceans blue waves.

Her happiness is like the silver stared night sky.

The night sky is like a calm breeze brushing against her skin on a warm summer night.

The breeze is like her inner breath. Breathing comes to her like a diligent and vibrant brush stroke.

Her happiness is like the sweet aroma of the calming ocean saltwater.

Her happiness relies on others like stain colored glass relies on the very sand beneath her fingertips.

What do you guys think!! I need constructive criticism!

Very well, thought out

This is totally the best I’ve seen. It’s also an inspiration.

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The Art of Narrative

Learn to write.

How to Write a Poem: In 7 Practical Steps with Examples

Learn how to write a poem through seven easy to follow steps that will guide you through writing completed poem. Ignite a passion for poetry!

This article is a practical guide for writing a poem, and the purpose is to help you  write a poem!  By completing the seven steps below, you will create the first draft of a simple poem. You can go on to refine your poetry in any way you like. The important thing is that you’ve got a poem under your belt. 

At the bottom of the post, I’ll provide more resources on writing poetry. I encourage you to explore different forms and structures and continue writing poetry on your own. Hopefully, writing a poem will spark, in you, a passion for creative writing and language. 

Let’s get started with writing a poem in seven simple steps: 

• Brainstorm & Free-write
• Develop a theme
• Create an extended metaphor
• Add figurative language
• Plan your structure
• Write your first draft
• Read, re-read & edit

Now we’ll go into each step in-depth. And, if your feeling up to it, you can plan and write your poem as we go.

Step 1: Brainstorm and Free-write 

Find what you want to write about 

Before you begin writing, you need to choose a subject to write about. For our purposes, you’ll want to select a specific topic. Later, you’ll be drawing a comparison between this subject and something else. 

When choosing a subject, you’ll want to write about something you feel passionately about. Your topic can be something you love, like a person, place, or thing. A subject can also be something you struggle with . Don’t get bogged down by all the options; pick something. Poets have written about topics like: 

And of course…  cats   

 Once you have your subject in mind, you’re going to begin freewriting about that subject. Let’s say you picked your pet iguana as your subject. Get out a sheet of paper or open a word processor. Start writing everything that comes to mind about that subject. You could write about your iguana’s name, the color of their skin, the texture of their scales, how they make you feel, a metaphor that comes to mind. Nothing is off-limits. 

Write anything that comes to mind about your subject. Keep writing until you’ve entirely exhausted everything you have to say about the subject. Or, set a timer for several minutes and write until it goes off. Don’t worry about things like spelling, grammar, form, or structure. For now, you want to get all your thoughts down on paper. 

ACTION STEPS: 

• Grab a scratch paper, or open a word processor 
• Pick a subject- something you’re passionate about
• Write everything that comes to mind about your topic without editing or structuring your writing 
• Make sure this free-writing is uninterrupted
• Optional-  set a timer and write continuously for 5 or 10 minutes about your subject 

Step 2: Develop a Theme 

What lesson do you want to teach? 

Poetry often has a theme or a message the poet would like to convey to the reader. Developing a theme will give your writing purpose and focus your effort. Look back at your freewriting and see if a theme, or lesson, has developed naturally, one that you can refine. 

Maybe, in writing about your iguana, you noticed that you talked about your love for animals and the need to preserve the environment. Or, perhaps you talk about how to care for a reptile pet. Your theme does not need to be groundbreaking. A theme only needs to be a message that you would like to convey. 

Now, what is your theme? Finish the following statement: 

The lesson I want to teach my readers about  (your subject)  is ______

Ex. I want to teach my readers that spring days are lovely and best enjoyed with loving companions or family. 

• Read over the product of your free-writing exercise.  
• Brainstorm a lesson you would like to teach readers about your subject. 
• Decide on one thing that is essential for your reader to know about your topic.
• Finish the sentence stem above. 

Step 3: Create an (extended) Metaphor 

Compare your subject to another, unlike thing. 

To write this poem, you will compare your subject to something it, seemingly, has nothing in common with. When you directly compare two, unlike things, you’re using a form of figurative language called a metaphor. But, we’re going to take this metaphor and extend it over one or two stanzas- Stanzas are like paragraphs, a block of text in a poem- Doing this will create an extended metaphor. 

Using a metaphor will reinforce your theme by making your poem memorable for your reader. Keep that in mind when you’re choosing the thing you’d like to compare your subject to. Suppose your topic is pet iguanas, and your theme is that they make fantastic pets. In that case, you’ll want to compare iguanas to something positive. Maybe you compare them to sunshine or a calm lake. This metaphor does the work or conveying your poem’s central message. 

• Identify something that is, seemingly, unlike your subject that you’ll use to compare.
• On a piece of paper, make two lists or a Venn diagram. 
• Write down all the ways that you’re subject and the thing you’ll compare it to are alike. 
• Also, write down all the ways they are unalike.
• Try and make both lists as comprehensive as possible.  

Step 4: Add more Figurative Language 

Make your writing sound poetic. 

Figurative language is a blanket term that describes several techniques used to impart meaning through words. Figurative language is usually colorful and evocative. We’ve talked about one form of figurative language already- metaphor and extended metaphor. But, here are a few others you can choose from.

This list is, by no means, a comprehensive one. There are many other forms of figurative language for you to research. I’ll link a resource at the bottom of this page. 

Five types of figurative language:

• Ex. Frank was as giddy as a schoolgirl to find a twenty-dollar bill in his pocket. 
• Frank’s car engine whined with exhaustion as he drove up the hill.  
• Frank was so hungry he could eat an entire horse. 
• Nearing the age of eighty-five, Frank felt as old as Methuselah.  
• Frank fretted as he frantically searched his forlorn apartment for a missing Ficus tree. 

There are many other types of figurative language, but those are a few common ones. Pick two of the five I’ve listed to include in your poem. Use more if you like, but you only need two for your current poem.   

• Choose two of the types of figurative language listed above 
• Brainstorm ways they can fit into a poem 
• Create example sentences for the two forms of figurative language you chose

Step 5: Plan your Structure 

How do you want your poem to sound and look? 

If you want to start quickly, then you can choose to write a free-verse poem. Free verse poems are poems that have no rhyme scheme, meter, or structure. In a free verse poem, you’re free to write unrestricted. If you’d like to explore free verse poetry, you can read my article on how to write a prose poem, which is a type of free verse poem. 

Read more about prose poetry here.  

However, some people enjoy the support of structure and rules. So, let’s talk about a few of the tools you can use to add a form to your poem. 

Tools to create poetic structure:

Rhyme Scheme – rhyme scheme refers to the pattern of rhymes used in a poem. The sound at the end of each line determines the rhyme scheme. Writers label words with letters to signify rhyming terms, and this is how rhyme schemes are defined. 

If you had a four-line poem that followed an ABAB scheme, then lines 1 and 3 would rhyme, and lines 2 and 4 would rhyme. Here’s an example of an ABAB rhyme scheme from an excerpt of Robert Frost’s poem,  Neither Out Far Nor In Deep: 

‘The people along the sand (A)

All turn and look one way. (B) 

They turn their back on the land. (A) 

They look at the sea all day. (B) 

Check out the Rhyme Zone.com if you need help coming up with a rhyme!

Read more about the ins and outs of rhyme scheme here.

Meter – a little more advanced than rhyme scheme, meter deals with a poem’s rhythm expressed through stressed and unstressed syllables. Meter can get pretty complicated ,

Check out this article if you’d like to learn more about it.

Stanza – a stanza is a group of lines placed together as a single unit in a poem. A stanza is to a poem what a paragraph is to prose writing. Stanzas don’t have to be the same number of lines throughout a poem, either. They can vary as paragraphs do. 

Line Breaks – these are the breaks between stanzas in a poem. They help to create rhythm and set stanzas apart from one another. 

• Decide if you want to write a structured poem or use free verse
• Brainstorm rhyming words that could fit into a simple scheme 
• Plan out your stanzas and line breaks (small stanzas help emphasize important lines in your poem) 

Step 6: Write Your Poem 

Combine your figurative language, extended metaphor, and structure.

Poetry is always unique to the writer. And, when it comes to poetry, the “rules” are flexible. In 1965 a young poet named Aram Saroyan wrote a poem called  lighght.  It goes like this- 

That’s it. Saroyan was paid $750 for his poem. You may or may not believe that’s poetry, but a lot of people accept it as just that. My point is, write the poem that comes to you. I won’t give you a strict set of guidelines to follow when creating your poetry. But, here are a few things to consider that might help guide you:

• Compare your subject to something else by creating an extended metaphor 
• Try to relate a theme or a simple lesson for your reader
• Use at least two of the figurative language techniques from above 
• Create a meter or rhyme scheme (if you’re up to it) 
• Write at least two stanzas and use a line break 

Still, need some help? Here are two well-known poems that are classic examples of an extended metaphor. Read over them, determine what two, unlike things, are being compared, and for what purpose? What theme is the poet trying to convey? What techniques can you steal? (it’s the sincerest form of flattery) 

“Hope” is a thing with feathers  by Emily Dickenson.

“The Rose that Grew From Concrete”  by Tupac Shakur. 

• Write the first draft of your poem.
• Don’t stress. Just get the poem on paper. 

Step 7: Read, Re-read, Edit 

Read your poem, and edit for clarity and focus .

When you’re finished, read over your poem. Do this out loud to get a feel for the poem’s rhythm. Have a friend or peer read your poem, edit for grammar and spelling. You can also stretch grammar rules, but do it with a purpose. 

You can also ask your editor what they think the theme is to determine if you’ve communicated it well enough. 

Now you can rewrite your poem. And, remember, all writing is rewriting. This editing process will longer than it did to write your first draft. 

• Re-read your poem out loud. 
• Find a trusted friend to read over your poem.
• Be open to critique, new ideas, and unique perspectives. 
• Edit for mistakes or style.

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Continued reading on Poetry

A Poetry Handbook

“With passion, wit, and good common sense, the celebrated poet Mary Oliver tells of the basic ways a poem is built—meter and rhyme, form and diction, sound and sense. She talks of iambs and trochees, couplets and sonnets, and how  and why  this should matter to anyone writing or reading poetry.”

Masterclass.com- Poetry 101: What is Meter?

Poetry Foundation- You Call That Poetry?!

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• Poetry - Figures of Speech
• The Writing Process
• Paragraphs and Essays
• Unity and Coherence in Essays
• Proving the Thesis/Critical Thinking
• Appropriate Language
• Glossary of Literary Terms
• History of Literature
• How to Read Literature
• Appropriate Language - Literature
• Poetry - Definition
• Poetry - Types of Poetry
• Poetry - Point of View
• Poetry - Symbol and Allegory
• Poetry - Imagery
• Poetry - Sound and Rhythm

Terms Related to Poetry – Figures of Speech

Figurative language  –.

language that is used to mean some other or something more than it says; language that is used in a non-literal way

Figures of speech  –

various ways speech is used figuratively

a comparison using the word " like"  or " as"

Metaphor  –

a direct comparison or equivalence

Extended simile  – 

comparison using the word " like"  or " as"  which is repeated in the poem; more commonly used in an epic poem where the same comparison is used throughout.

Extended metaphor  –

direct comparison which is repeated in the poem; more commonly used in an epic poem where the same comparison is used throughout

Personification  –

attributing human qualities to a non-human or non-living object

Hyperbole  –

saying more than what is meant; exaggeration

Understatement  –

saying less than what is meant

Metonymy  –

referring to one thing by something else it is associated with: the crown refers to the king

Synecdoche  –

use of a part of a person to object to refer to the person or the object: the hand that rocked the cradle refers to the person rocking the cradle.

Apostrophe  –

where the speaker speaks to a dead or non-present person

a reference to an historical event, aspect of culture, character or content in a piece of literature, or other widely known type of information to convey a feeling, idea, or image; serves to convey information using a few words.

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• Writing Poetry

How to Write a Poem

Last Updated: June 24, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Alicia Cook . Alicia Cook is a Professional Writer based in Newark, New Jersey. With over 12 years of experience, Alicia specializes in poetry and uses her platform to advocate for families affected by addiction and to fight for breaking the stigma against addiction and mental illness. She holds a BA in English and Journalism from Georgian Court University and an MBA from Saint Peter’s University. Alicia is a bestselling poet with Andrews McMeel Publishing and her work has been featured in numerous media outlets including the NY Post, CNN, USA Today, the HuffPost, the LA Times, American Songwriter Magazine, and Bustle. She was named by Teen Vogue as one of the 10 social media poets to know and her poetry mixtape, “Stuff I’ve Been Feeling Lately” was a finalist in the 2016 Goodreads Choice Awards. There are 16 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 7,095,512 times.

Writing a poem is about observing the world within or around you. A poem can be about anything, from love to loss to the rusty gate at the old farm. Writing poetry can seem daunting, especially if you do not feel you are naturally bursting with poetic ideas. With the right inspiration and approach, you can write a poem that you can be proud to share with others in the class or with your friends.

How to Start Writing Poetry

• Pick a topic or theme that interests you, or brainstorm ideas by writing to a prompt like “what water feels like” or “how it feels to get bad news.”
• Read famous poems and choose a poem format that you like. For example, you could try a playful structure like a limerick or a romantic one like a sonnet.
• Write lines for your poem with sound in mind. Read your poem out loud and consider the way the words in your poems flow together. Make any necessary edits.

Sample Poems

Starting the Poem

Brainstorming for Ideas Try a free write. Grab a notebook or your computer and just start writing—about your day, your feelings, or how you don’t know what to write about. Let your mind wander for 5-10 minutes and see what you can come up with. Write to a prompt. Look up poem prompts online or come up with your own, like “what water feels like” or “how it feels to get bad news.” Write down whatever comes to mind and see where it takes you. Make a list or mind map of images. Think about a situation that’s full of emotion for you and write down a list of images or ideas that you associate with it. You could also write about something you see right in front of you, or take a walk and note down things you see.

Finding a Topic Go for a walk. Head to your favorite park or spot in the city, or just take a walk through your neighborhood. Use the people you see and nature and buildings you pass as inspiration for a poem. Write about someone you care about. Think about someone who is really important to you, like a parent or your best friend. Recall a special moment you shared with them and use it to form a poem that shows that you care about them. Pick a memory you have strong feelings about. Close your eyes, clear your head, and see what memories come to the forefront of your mind. Pay attention to what emotions they bring up for you—positive or negative—and probe into those. Strong emotional moments make for beautiful, interesting poems.

• For example, you may decide to write a poem around the theme of “love and friendship.” You may then think about specific moments in your life where you experienced love and friendship as well as how you would characterize love and friendship based on your relationships with others.
• Try to be specific when you choose a theme or idea, as this can help your poem feel less vague or unclear. For example, rather than choosing the general theme of “loss,” you may choose a more specific theme, such as “loss of a child” or “loss of a best friend.”

• You may decide to try a short poetic form, such as the haiku , the cinquain , or the shape poem. You could then play around with the poetic form and have fun with the challenges of a particular form. Try rearranging words to make your poem sound interesting.
• You may opt for a form that is more funny and playful, such as the limerick form if you are trying to write a funny poem. Or you may go for a more lyrical form like the sonnet , the ballad , or the rhyming couplet for a poem that is more dramatic and romantic.

• “Kubla Khan” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge [4] X Research source
• “Song of Myself” by Walt Whitman [5] X Research source
• “I measure every Grief I meet” by Emily Dickinson [6] X Research source
• “Sonnet 18” by William Shakespeare [7] X Research source
• “One Art” by Elizabeth Bishop [8] X Research source
• “Night Funeral in Harlem” by Langston Hughes [9] X Research source
• “The Red Wheelbarrow” by William Carlos Williams [10] X Research source

Writing the Poem

• For example, rather than try to describe a feeling or image with abstract words, use concrete words instead. Rather than write, “I felt happy,” you may use concrete words to create a concrete image, such as, “My smile lit up the room like wildfire.”

Try a New Literary Device Metaphor: This device compares one thing to another in a surprising way. A metaphor is a great way to add unique imagery and create an interesting tone. Example: “I was a bird on a wire, trying not to look down.” Simile: Similes compare two things using “like” or “as.” They might seem interchangeable with metaphors, but both create a different flow and rhythm you can play with. Example: “She was as alone as a crow in a field,” or “My heart is like an empty stage.” Personification: If you personify an object or idea, you’re describing it by using human qualities or attributes. This can clear up abstract ideas or images that are hard to visualize. Example: “The wind breathed in the night.” Alliteration: Alliteration occurs when you use words in quick succession that begin with the same letter. This is a great tool if you want to play with the way your poem sounds. Example: “Lucy let her luck linger.”

• For example, you may notice how the word “glow” sounds compared to the word “glitter.” “Glow” has an “ow” sound, which conjures an image of warmth and softness to the listener. The word “glitter” is two syllables and has a more pronounced “tt” sound. This word creates a sharper, more rhythmic sound for the listener.

• For example, you may notice you have used the cliche, “she was as busy as a bee” to describe a person in your poem. You may replace this cliche with a more unique phrase, such as “her hands were always occupied” or “she moved through the kitchen at a frantic pace.”

Polishing the Poem

• You may also read the poem out loud to others, such as friends, family, or a partner. Have them respond to the poem on the initial listen and notice if they seem confused or unclear about certain phrases or lines.

• You may go over the poem with a fine-tooth comb and remove any cliches or familiar phrases. You should also make sure spelling and grammar in the poem are correct.

Community Q&A

Reader Videos

• Brainstorm big things in your life and how they have impacted you. For example, if you write about how someone you know died, the tone of the poem could be the great sadness and loss you feel deep down and how it feels like a piece of you is missing. Thanks Helpful 21 Not Helpful 2
• Think about what matters in your life. It can give you ideas when you think about the people and places you love. You can write a poem in the form of the struggles in your life or the dangers you have had to face. You can also write a poem about the happiness someone or something has brought to your life. Remember, what you write about should set the mood of your poem. Thanks Helpful 3 Not Helpful 1

Tips from our Readers

• Poems are written mainly to touch the heart. Write a poem on something that's emotionally dear to you or that evokes some other feeling.
• There's no real rules around poetry. Write something that you enjoy writing and reading and don't worry about the rest!
• If you need inspiration, look at photos online or in a magazine or go for a long walk around your neighborhood.
• Try writing a poem based on a memorable dream you had the night before (or whenever!).

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://www.edutopia.org/article/every-student-can-be-poet/
• ↑ https://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/creative1/poetry-writing-tips-h
• ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/the-empowerment-diary/201604/the-secret-writing-transformative-poetry
• ↑ https://writing.wisc.edu/handbook/assignments/readingpoetry/
• ↑ https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45477/song-of-myself-1892-version
• ↑ https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/i-measure-every-grief-i-meet-561
• ↑ https://poets.org/poem/shall-i-compare-thee-summers-day-sonnet-18
• ↑ https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47536/one-art
• ↑ https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/night-funeral-harlem
• ↑ https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45502/the-red-wheelbarrow
• ↑ https://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/creative1/poetry-writing-tips-how-to-write-a-poem/
• ↑ https://www.literacymn.org/sites/default/files/learning_center_docs/metaphors_and_similes.pdf
• ↑ https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1266002.pdf
• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/poetry-explications/
• ↑ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5709796/
• ↑ https://milnepublishing.geneseo.edu/naming-the-unnameable/chapter/chapter-eight-revision/

About This Article

Writing a poem can seem intimidating at first, but with a little patience and inspiration, you can produce a beautiful work of written art. If you’re not sure what to write about, spend a few minutes jotting down whatever thoughts come into your head. Think about your feelings, your experiences and memories, people in your life, or things that you sense in your environment and see if any of those things inspire you. You can also try working from writing prompts. Once you’ve done some free writing, look for themes and ideas in what you’ve written, and choose one that feels inspiring to you. Common themes include things like love, loss, family, or nature. After you choose a theme, think about how you’d like to structure the poem. For example, you might stick to a traditional format, such as a limerick, haiku, or quatrain. If you’d rather not feel constrained by rhymes or meter, consider writing a free verse poem and simply let the words flow in whatever way feels right. You can also read poems by other authors to get ideas and inspiration. When you’re writing the poem, look for ways to express your thoughts using powerful, sensory language. For example, instead of saying something like “I felt happy,” try using a colorful simile, like “My heart soared like a bird set free.” As you’re writing, also think about how the poem will sound when read out loud. Try reading it to yourself or a friend to see if it’s pleasing to the ear. If a word or phrase doesn’t flow the way you like, replace it with something else that has a similar meaning. You might not be satisfied with the first draft of your poem, and that’s totally okay. Read it to yourself, get feedback from friends, teachers, or other people you trust, and keep revising until you feel like you’ve created a poem that really captures the feelings you’re trying to convey. For help choosing a structure for your poem, like a haiku, limerick, or sonnet, read the article! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Writing About Poetry

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Writing about poetry can be one of the most demanding tasks that many students face in a literature class. Poetry, by its very nature, makes demands on a writer who attempts to analyze it that other forms of literature do not. So how can you write a clear, confident, well-supported essay about poetry? This handout offers answers to some common questions about writing about poetry.

What's the Point?

In order to write effectively about poetry, one needs a clear idea of what the point of writing about poetry is. When you are assigned an analytical essay about a poem in an English class, the goal of the assignment is usually to argue a specific thesis about the poem, using your analysis of specific elements in the poem and how those elements relate to each other to support your thesis.

So why would your teacher give you such an assignment? What are the benefits of learning to write analytic essays about poetry? Several important reasons suggest themselves:

• To help you learn to make a text-based argument. That is, to help you to defend ideas based on a text that is available to you and other readers. This sharpens your reasoning skills by forcing you to formulate an interpretation of something someone else has written and to support that interpretation by providing logically valid reasons why someone else who has read the poem should agree with your argument. This isn't a skill that is just important in academics, by the way. Lawyers, politicians, and journalists often find that they need to make use of similar skills.
• To help you to understand what you are reading more fully. Nothing causes a person to make an extra effort to understand difficult material like the task of writing about it. Also, writing has a way of helping you to see things that you may have otherwise missed simply by causing you to think about how to frame your own analysis.
• To help you enjoy poetry more! This may sound unlikely, but one of the real pleasures of poetry is the opportunity to wrestle with the text and co-create meaning with the author. When you put together a well-constructed analysis of the poem, you are not only showing that you understand what is there, you are also contributing to an ongoing conversation about the poem. If your reading is convincing enough, everyone who has read your essay will get a little more out of the poem because of your analysis.

What Should I Know about Writing about Poetry?

Most importantly, you should realize that a paper that you write about a poem or poems is an argument. Make sure that you have something specific that you want to say about the poem that you are discussing. This specific argument that you want to make about the poem will be your thesis. You will support this thesis by drawing examples and evidence from the poem itself. In order to make a credible argument about the poem, you will want to analyze how the poem works—what genre the poem fits into, what its themes are, and what poetic techniques and figures of speech are used.

What Can I Write About?

Theme: One place to start when writing about poetry is to look at any significant themes that emerge in the poetry. Does the poetry deal with themes related to love, death, war, or peace? What other themes show up in the poem? Are there particular historical events that are mentioned in the poem? What are the most important concepts that are addressed in the poem?

Genre: What kind of poem are you looking at? Is it an epic (a long poem on a heroic subject)? Is it a sonnet (a brief poem, usually consisting of fourteen lines)? Is it an ode? A satire? An elegy? A lyric? Does it fit into a specific literary movement such as Modernism, Romanticism, Neoclassicism, or Renaissance poetry? This is another place where you may need to do some research in an introductory poetry text or encyclopedia to find out what distinguishes specific genres and movements.

Versification: Look closely at the poem's rhyme and meter. Is there an identifiable rhyme scheme? Is there a set number of syllables in each line? The most common meter for poetry in English is iambic pentameter, which has five feet of two syllables each (thus the name "pentameter") in each of which the strongly stressed syllable follows the unstressed syllable. You can learn more about rhyme and meter by consulting our handout on sound and meter in poetry or the introduction to a standard textbook for poetry such as the Norton Anthology of Poetry . Also relevant to this category of concerns are techniques such as caesura (a pause in the middle of a line) and enjambment (continuing a grammatical sentence or clause from one line to the next). Is there anything that you can tell about the poem from the choices that the author has made in this area? For more information about important literary terms, see our handout on the subject.

Figures of speech: Are there literary devices being used that affect how you read the poem? Here are some examples of commonly discussed figures of speech:

• metaphor: comparison between two unlike things
• simile: comparison between two unlike things using "like" or "as"
• metonymy: one thing stands for something else that is closely related to it (For example, using the phrase "the crown" to refer to the king would be an example of metonymy.)
• synecdoche: a part stands in for a whole (For example, in the phrase "all hands on deck," "hands" stands in for the people in the ship's crew.)
• personification: a non-human thing is endowed with human characteristics
• litotes: a double negative is used for poetic effect (example: not unlike, not displeased)
• irony: a difference between the surface meaning of the words and the implications that may be drawn from them

Cultural Context: How does the poem you are looking at relate to the historical context in which it was written? For example, what's the cultural significance of Walt Whitman's famous elegy for Lincoln "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloomed" in light of post-Civil War cultural trends in the U.S.A? How does John Donne's devotional poetry relate to the contentious religious climate in seventeenth-century England? These questions may take you out of the literature section of your library altogether and involve finding out about philosophy, history, religion, economics, music, or the visual arts.

What Style Should I Use?

It is useful to follow some standard conventions when writing about poetry. First, when you analyze a poem, it is best to use present tense rather than past tense for your verbs. Second, you will want to make use of numerous quotations from the poem and explain their meaning and their significance to your argument. After all, if you do not quote the poem itself when you are making an argument about it, you damage your credibility. If your teacher asks for outside criticism of the poem as well, you should also cite points made by other critics that are relevant to your argument. A third point to remember is that there are various citation formats for citing both the material you get from the poems themselves and the information you get from other critical sources. The most common citation format for writing about poetry is the Modern Language Association (MLA) format .

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• How to read a poem aloud well

How to read poetry aloud well

 - step-by-step help to nail reading a poem .

By:  Susan Dugdale  

So you want to learn how to read poetry aloud. Good on you. That's great!

And it's probably because you're preparing for a special occasion. 

You are going to stand in front of others to deliver the poem you've chosen.  Perhaps at a birthday celebration?  A wedding? Maybe a funeral? Or a class presentation?

For many people this is totally terrifying.

They're scared they'll stumble over the words, won't understand what the poem is about and, consequently make a complete fool of themselves.

If this is you, relax.

A poem is not a poisonous snake. It will not bite, and you do not have to tip-toe around it.

Learning how to read a poem out loud is relatively straightforward and with practice you may even get to enjoy it!

How to read a poem aloud

Read your poem through silently several times to familiarize yourself with its core ideas and images.

What's the main point of this poem? What's the poet saying? (Can you put that into your own words? Try. It will help you make sense of it.)

Similarly, allow yourself to see the images/scenarios created by the words in your imagination. Likewise feel the emotions.

The more you understand and get inside the poem, the more likely your audience will be able to understand it when you deliver it.

Do you know how each word should be said?

Be sure to look up any unfamiliar words in an online dictionary for their meaning and pronunciation.

How to eat a poem

American poet, Eve Merriam has inspired countless people all over the world to play with poetry by making it accessible and fun.

Try her poem aloud. It's truly delicious!

"Don't be polite. Bite in. Pick it up with your fingers and lick the juice that may run down your chin. It is ready and ripe now, wherever you are.

You do not need a knife or a fork or a spoon or plate or napkin or tablecloth.

For there is no core or stem or rind or pit or seed or skin to throw away."

Find more about  Eve Merriam  here.

Read your chosen poem quietly aloud to yourself following the guidelines given by the punctuation, listening for its musicality or beat.

If you need them, there are tips for interpreting punctuation here.

Read slowly . Allow each word its space. The temptation is to rush. Resist it.

Once you've 'got the flow' of it, stand up and read the poem aloud authoritatively.

Now that you're more confident 'play' with your delivery, experimenting with vocal variety.

For example, what happens if you stress this word rather than that word? Does it change the meaning? How?

Say your poem as many ways as you can.

Say it loud. Say it soft. Say it gathering speed, getting faster and faster. Say it slow and low. Say it with a silly accent. 

In short, have fun with it. Experiment! And record what you do.

When you play the recordings back, you'll find some of the ways you've tried will sound much better than others. Take the ways that work, blend them and try again.

Poems are very forgiving. You can flub the words and mangle the meaning but they will not break.

5 different readings of How to eat a poem

To illustrate how a poem is said alters how it's experienced by those listening to it, I recorded Eve Merriam's poem 'How to eat a poem' five different ways.

• You can hear it fast: ' How to eat a poem' read quickly
• You can hear it slow: ' How to eat a poem' read slowly
• You can hear it with heavy stresses or emphasis on various random words: ' How to eat a poem' read with stressed words
• You can hear it whispered: ' How to eat a poem' read in a whisper
• And lastly, you can hear it as I might deliver it to an audience: ' How to eat a poem '  

Click the link to find out more about playing with  vocal variety : the way you say words. 

Rehearsal and feedback

Read your poem in front of several friends before going 'live'. Have them give you feedback on:

• clarity Could they hear and understand your words?
• meaning Did they understand the images and feelings of the poem? Could they follow the story, or the poet's intent?
• speaking rate Were you speaking too fast or too slowly?
• voice Too loud, too soft, too high, too low...
• body language/gesture and stance Was it expressive, effective, and appropriate? Or too much? Or too little?
• notes - how they were handled Did you have a copy of your poem on a stand in front of you? Was it on your phone? Did you manage reading from whatever device it was on effectively? Was there eye contact with the audience? Or were you reading head down for the entire time?

Incorporate their feedback and then present your poem.

Extra tips on reading poetry aloud

• Y ou do not need a 'dramatic' voice to be successful. An assumed voice, one other than your own, will seem artificial and strained. When you 'act' or 'perform', rather than read, you make yourself the center of attention and the integrity of the poem is compromised.  
• Remember to breathe. Holding your breath heightens tension, which in turn heightens the tone of your voice.
• U se the natural pauses in the poem to take a breath, for example on a comma, full stop or period.
• If the occasion is emotional for example, the poem is part of eulogy, wedding or retirement speech, print it out in a large clear font so it is easily read. Marking the pauses, breath or stress points using a highlighter, will also help you remember what you rehearsed.
• Stand tall and relaxed, just as you would for delivering a speech.
• And just in case you need them, here's tips for managing public speaking anxiety and some good breathing exercises .

Reading poetry aloud is a gift

The ability to read poetry aloud is a gift of immense value.

Because the right poem, read well, expresses with grace and clarity thoughts and feelings that are often difficult to find appropriate words for in ordinary, everyday conversation.

For instance I recently read this beautiful  Bub Bridger poem - Wild Daisies  at my niece's wedding. (See the excerpt below. This is the last segment of the poem.) 

If you're wanting a reading about love that is both simple and profound do take a look.  At the reception I got numerous compliments for choosing the poem and for the way I delivered it. Sadly, I could only accept half of them - those about its reading as Ruth, my niece, selected it.

(What great taste she has! ☺)   

Would you like to listen to some poems?

You'll hear me, Susan, reading them. There are two collections of poems for funerals.

I recorded these to help people searching for a poem to read as part of a service. Hearing, as well as reading them, makes it easier to decide whether a poem fits their needs.

• I am Standing Upon the Seashore
• Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep
• Funeral Blues
• Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi

All four are popular choices.

You'll find them on this page: funeral poem readings .

Readings of 4 'Remember Me' funeral poems

You'll find the text of each poem, along with an interpretation, (a guide to its meaning), audio, and a printable, here: Funeral poems: Remember Me .

Readings of much-loved children's poems

There are also recordings of 6 much-loved children's nonsense poems. You'll find those here, along with activity suggestions and printables: poems for kids

Or perhaps you'd like to write and read a poem  of your own?

It's not as difficult as you may think to craft something original and special. The result may not be award winning! However, that's not the aim of the exercise. If your wish is to express your thoughts and feelings uniquely, you can.

Find out here  how to write a poem  in free verse.

Related poetry pages you may enjoy:

• a large selection of timeless, cross-cultural poems for funerals
• my favorite wedding poems and readings - another across time and cultures collection
• an insanely long page of inspirational quotations, eulogy quotes and funeral readings . My excuse for the length of page? There were too many of beauty and value! How could I leave any out?
• Return to top of how to read poetry aloud

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Tips on reciting.

In addition to these tips, teachers, coaches, and students may also find it useful to view the Judge’s Guide . Many of the following categories also have links to videos of student performances which illustrate mastery of that specific category.

Learning Recitation Videos

Created to illustrate the art of poetry recitation.

Evaluation Criteria:

Physical presence, voice and articulation, interpretation, evidence of understanding, overall performance.

Body language,  and  poise .

• Present yourself well and be attentive. Use good posture. Be confident and make a direct connection with the audience.
• Nervous gestures and lack of confidence will detract from your score.
• Relax and be natural. Enjoy your poem—the judges will notice.

Qualities of a strong recitation:

Ease and comfort with the audience. Engagement with the audience through physical presence, including appropriate body language and confidence—without appearing artificial.

Video Examples:

• Sophia Elena Soberon “Bilingual/Bilingue” by Rhina P. Espaillat
• Shawntay A. Henry “Frederick Douglass” by Robert Hayden
• William Farley “Danse Russe” by William Carlos Williams

Back to top

Pace ,  rhythm ,  intonation , and  proper pronunciation .  Keep in Mind: Contestants will use a microphone at the National Finals.

• Project to the audience. Capture the attention of everyone, including the people in the back row. However, don’t mistake shouting for good projection.
• Proceed at a fitting and natural pace. People may communicate too quickly when nervous, making the poem hard to understand. Do not communicate so slowly that the language sounds unnatural or awkward.
• With rhymed poems, be careful not to recite in a sing-song manner.
• Make sure you know how to pronounce every word in your poem. Articulate.
• Line breaks are a defining feature of poetry. Decide whether a break requires a pause and, if so, how long to pause.

All words pronounced correctly, and the projection, rhythm, and intonation greatly enhance the recitation. Pacing appropriate to the poem.

• Jackson Hille “Forgetfulness” by Billy Collins
• Madison Niermeyer “I Am Waiting” by Lawrence Ferlinghetti
• Kareem Sayegh “The Man-Moth” by Elizabeth Bishop

This category evaluates the interpretive and performance choices made by the student. A strong recitation must rely on a powerful internalization of the poem rather than excessive gestures or unnecessary emoting. Effective interpretation enhances the audience’s understanding and enjoyment of the poem without overshadowing the poem’s language. The Learning Recitation videos at PoetryOutLoud.org will help illustrate this point.

Advice for the student:

• Movement must not detract from the poem’s voice.
• You are the vessel of your poem. Have confidence that your poem is strong enough to communicate its sounds and messages without a physical illustration. Let the words of the poem do the work.
• Depending on the poem, occasional gestures may be appropriate, but the line between appropriate and overdone is a thin one. When uncertain, leave them out.
• Avoid monotone delivery. However, too much enthusiasm can make your performance seem insincere.

The interpretation subtly underscores the meaning of the poem without becoming the focal point of the recitation.  A low score in this category will result from recitations that have affected accents and character voices, inappropriate tone and inflection, singing, excessive gestures, or unnecessary emoting.

• Stanley Andrew Jackson “Writ on the Steps of Puerto Rican Harlem” by Gregory Corso

This category is to evaluate your comprehension and mastery of the poem. The poet’s words should take precedence, and you should be able to voice them in a way that helps the audience to understand the poem better. To do this, you must effectively use intonation, emphasis, tone, and style of delivery.

• You must understand the poem fully. Be attentive to the messages, meanings, allusions, irony, tones of voice, and other nuances in your poem.
• Be sure you know the meaning of every word and line in your poem. If you are unsure about something it will be apparent to the audience.
• Think about how you should interpret the tone and voice of your poem. Is it a quiet poem? Is it a boisterous poem? Should it be recited more quickly or slowly, with a happy or mournful tone? Your interpretation will be different for each poem, and it is a crucial element of your performance.

The meaning of the poem is powerfully and clearly conveyed to the audience. The interpretation deepens and enlivens the poem.  Meaning, themes, allusions, irony, tone , and other nuances are captured by the performance. A low score will be awarded if the interpretation obscures the meaning of the poem.

• Allison Strong “Sonnet CXXX: My Mistress’ Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun” by William Shakespeare
• Carolyn Rose Garcia “Pied Beauty” by Gerard Manley Hopkins

This category is to evaluate the overall success of the poem, the degree to which the recitation has become more than the sum of its parts.

• Did you captivate the audience with the language of the poem?
• Did you bring the audience to a better understanding of the poem?
• Did your physical presence, voice and articulation, and dramatic appropriateness all seem on target and unified to breathe life into the poem?
• Did the performance honor the poem?

Judges may also consider the poem complexity and range of your recitations with this score; you are less likely to score well in overall performance when judges note that your style of interpretation remains the same regardless of poem choice. A low score will be awarded for recitations that are poorly presented, ineffective in conveying the meaning of the poem, or conveyed in a manner inappropriate to the poem.

• For competitions beyond the classroom level, select poems of various styles, time periods, complexities, themes, and tones. When considering the range and complexity of your poems, remember that a longer poem is not necessarily a more difficult one.

Make sure each poem you choose is one that speaks to you. If you are able to connect with a poem, that internalization will ripple positively throughout all of your scores.

A separate judge will mark missed or incorrect words during the recitation, with small deductions for each. If you rely on the prompter during your recitation, points will also be subtracted from your accuracy score. Eight points will be added to your score for a perfectly accurate recitation. Refer to the  accuracy score sheet  for details.

Can I Use Dialogue in Poems?

I’ve been reading a friend’s poems, trying to be helpful, and one question that has come up is how to represent dialogue in poems. So I’ve been scouring my books for examples, and I’m a little surprised to see it done so infrequently. My advice: you can set the speech in italics, or you can use quotation marks, or nothing at all. (Choose one method and be consistent, at least within a single book.) But, as an editor once told me regarding a chapter of one of my novels: “Cut dialogue to the bone.” That is, whatever you do, keep it as spare as possible.

That’s good advice, generally, for writing a poem. If you don’t need a word, let it go.

Here’s an example of dialogue—and spareness—from Jane Kenyon , whose book, Otherwise: New and Selected Poems (Graywolf, 1996), is a favorite of mine. It’s fun to see, too, the description of those ancient mimeographed sheets from pre-Xerox days. (Remember Xerox?) The poem is a time-capsule from Kenyon’s childhood:

Learning in the First Grade “The cup is red. The drop of rain is blue. The clam is brown.” So said the sheet of exercises— Purple mimeos, still heady from the fluid in the rolling silver drum. But the cup was not red. It was white, or had no color of its own. Oh, but my mind was finical. It put the teacher perpetually in the wrong. Called on, however, I said aloud: “The cup is red.” “But it’s not,” I thought Like Galileo Galilei muttering under his beard…. —Jane Kenyon

Another poet who came to hand who uses dialogue (and in the same way, with quotation marks) is Christopher Howell , whose title poem in Love’s Last Number (Milkweed, 2017) breaks my heart every time I read it. It begins with another early-learning anecdote:

She was four years old when she told me the children at her daycare had been arguing over which was greater, infinity (pronounced “finity”) or the last number.

In a later stanza, Howell drops in a single 12-word quotation—setting it as if in amber, given that the poem is “in memoriam.” The opening is so simple and direct; one could argue that it is prose, but it introduces us to a poem that, as it continues, becomes a stunning and poetic paean to what counts.

Maybe the real lesson here has to do with that. Not everything that counts can be counted (as Einstein probably didn’t say). But when making a poem—even in free verse—one of the tasks, it seems to me, is to make everything count.

You might also like

A very interesting topic, dear Poet. Here’s another I found: It is in Lucky Fish by Aimee Nezhukumatathil and is in italics if you can’t quite see: During dinner, / the physicist said A cricket won’t burn / if it’s thrown into a fire. Everyone laughed.

I love seeing mention of Chris Howell’s poem here.

A book I immediately think of is “Rider,” by Mark Rudman. It’s filled with dialogue, sometimes funny, that moves the collection forward. It may be set inside a therapist’s office, or inside the speaker’s head, and ventures in and out. It’s deeply confessional, and maybe that’s fallen out of favor now, but I learned a great deal from it when I read it, and imitated it too–the highest praise I know.

Love these comments!

Also, today at Poem-a-Day, they featured Diane Suess’s poem “Ballad,” which uses dialogue without quotes or italics. https://poets.org/poem/ballad-0

Going to look up Mark Rudman now.

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Audre Lorde

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A self-described “black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet,” Audre Lorde dedicated both her life and her creative talent to confronting and addressing injustices of racism, sexism, classism, and homophobia. Lorde was born in New York City to West Indian immigrant parents. She attended Catholic schools before graduating from Hunter High School and published her first poem in Seventeen magazine while still a student there. Of her poetic beginnings Lorde commented in Black Women Writers: “I used to speak in poetry. I would read poems, and I would memorize them. People would say, well what do you think, Audre. What happened to you yesterday? And I would recite a poem and somewhere in that poem would be a line or a feeling I would be sharing. In other words, I literally communicated through poetry. And when I couldn’t find the poems to express the things I was feeling, that’s what started me writing poetry, and that was when I was twelve or thirteen.”

Lorde earned her BA from Hunter College and MLS from Columbia University. She was a librarian in the New York public schools throughout the 1960s. She had two children with her husband, Edwin Rollins, a white, gay man, before they divorced in 1970. In 1972, Lorde met her long-time partner, Frances Clayton. She also began teaching as poet-in-residence at Tougaloo College. Her experiences with teaching and pedagogy—as well as her place as a Black, queer woman in white academia—went on to inform her life and work. Indeed, Lorde’s contributions to feminist theory, critical race studies, and queer theory intertwine her personal experiences with broader political aims. Lorde articulated early on the intersections of race, class, and gender in canonical essays such as “The Master’s Tools Will Not Dismantle the Master’s House.”

Lorde’s early collections of poetry include The First Cities (1968), Cables to Rage (1970), and From a Land Where Other People Live (1972), which was nominated for a National Book Award. Later works, including New York Head Shop and Museum (1974), Coal (1976), and The Black Unicorn (1978), included powerful poems of protest. “I have a duty,” Lorde once stated, “to speak the truth as I see it and to share not just my triumphs, not just the things that felt good, but the pain, the intense, often unmitigating pain.” Lorde’s later poems were often assembled from personal journals. Explaining the genesis of “Power,” a poem about the police shooting of a ten-year-old black child, Lorde discussed her feelings when she learned that the officer involved had been acquitted: “A kind of fury rose up in me; the sky turned red. I felt so sick. I felt as if I would drive this car into a wall, into the next person I saw. So I pulled over. I took out my journal just to air some of my fury, to get it out of my fingertips. Those expressed feelings are that poem.”

Her poetry, and “indeed all of her writing,” according to contributor Joan Martin in Black Women Writers (1950-1980): A Critical Evaluation, “rings with passion, sincerity, perception, and depth of feeling.” Concerned with modern society’s tendency to categorize groups of people, Lorde fought the marginalization of such categories as “lesbian” and “black woman.” She was central to many liberation movements and activist circles, including second-wave feminism, civil rights and Black cultural movements, and struggles for LGBTQ equality. In particular, Lorde’s poetry is known for the power of its call for social and racial justice, as well as its depictions of queer experience and sexuality. As she told interviewer Charles H. Rowell in Callaloo: “My sexuality is part and parcel of who I am, and my poetry comes from the intersection of me and my worlds… [White, arch-conservative senator] Jesse Helms’s objection to my work is not about obscenity … or even about sex. It is about revolution and change.”

Lorde was a noted prose writer as well as poet. Her account of her struggle to overcome breast cancer and mastectomy, The Cancer Journals (1980), is regarded as a major work of illness narrative . In The Cancer Journals, Lorde confronts the possibility of death. Recounting this personal transformation led Lorde to address the silence surrounding cancer, illness, and the lived experience of women. For example, Lorde explained her decision not to wear a prosthesis after undergoing a mastectomy in the Journals: “Prosthesis offers the empty comfort of ‘Nobody will know the difference.’ But it is that very difference which I wish to affirm, because I have lived it, and survived it, and wish to share that strength with other women. If we are to translate the silence surrounding breast cancer into language and action against this scourge, then the first step is that women with mastectomies must become visible to each other.” Lorde’s 1982 novel, Zami: A New Spelling of My Name, was described by its publishers as a “biomythography, combining elements of history, biography and myth.” Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches (1984) collected Lorde’s nonfiction prose and has become a canonical text in Black studies, women’s studies, and queer theory. Another  collection of essays, A Burst of Light (1988), won the National Book Award. The Collected Poems of Audre Lorde was published in 1997.

In 1981 Lorde and fellow writers  Cherríe Moraga and Barbara Smith founded Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press, which was dedicated to furthering the writings of black feminists. Lorde would also become increasingly concerned over the plight of black women in South Africa under apartheid, creating Sisterhood in Support of Sisters in South Africa and remaining an active voice on behalf of these women throughout the remainder of her life. Lorde addressed her concerns to not only the United States but the world, encouraging a celebration of the differences that society instead used as tools of isolation. As Allison Kimmich noted in Feminist Writers, “Throughout all of Audre Lorde’s writing, both nonfiction and fiction, a single theme surfaces repeatedly. The black lesbian feminist poet activist reminds her readers that they ignore differences among people at their peril … Instead, Lorde suggests, differences in race or class must serve as a ‘reason for celebration and growth.’”

Lorde’s honors and awards included a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. A professor of English at John Jay College and Hunter College, Lorde was poet laureate of New York from 1991-1992. Warrior Poet (2006), by Alexis De Veaux, is the first full-length biography of Audre Lorde.

Afterimages

Father son and holy ghost.

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Anti-Love Poems

Celebrating black history month, queer love poems, celebrating women’s history month, poems of hope and resilience, alexis pauline gumbs vs. chasing awe, ashley m. jones and donna aza weir-soley in conversation, aurielle marie vs. audacity, brittany and ajanae vs. the audience, esther belin in conversation with toni giselle stuart.

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Bibliography

From the house of yemanjá, hanging fire, a litany for survival, movement song, never to dream of spiders, sisters in arms, who said it was simple, a woman speaks.

For breakups, heartache, and unrequited love. More “screw Cupid” than “Be mine.”

Poems, articles, and podcasts that explore African American history and culture.

Love is love poetry, by and for LGBTQ+ folks.

Poems, articles, podcasts, and blog posts that explore women’s history and women’s rights.

The words of others can help to lift us up.

LGBTQ+ Pride Poems

A collection of poems and essays by LGBTQ+ poets on topics and themes of identity, gender, and sexuality.

Classic and contemporary love poems to share.

Poetry and Feminism

Tracing the fight for equality and women’s rights through poetry.

Poetry and the Civil Rights Movement

The struggle for social justice remembered through poetry.

The Black Arts Movement

An introduction showcasing one of the most influential cultural and aesthetic movements of the last 100 years.

It’s Complicated: Love Poems

Love, I’m done with you!

Poems for Mother’s Day

Contemporary poems for and about the moms in our lives.

Poetry and Racial Justice and Equality

Witnessing the struggle for freedom, from the American Revolution to the Black Lives Matter movement.

Disability Poetics

Poetry of Liberation

On this week’s episode, Brittany and Ajanae sit down with Alexis Pauline Gumbs; during this interview, they discuss the gift of literary inheritance, unlearning the colonial lens, and allowing curiosity...

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Aurielle Marie hops on the line, and the line will never be the same. The poet and organizer talks about the ways that her poetics and movement work are interwoven,...

Appeared in Poetry Magazine Better Speak

The audacity of making art.

For this first episode of Season 7, Brittany and Ajanae decided to answer audience questions generated via social media. Join them as they tackle hot topics, their writing process, how...

An oral history of poetry and the women’s movement.

On Audre Lorde and writing oneself into existence

This week, Esther Belin speaks with Toni Giselle Stuart, a South African poet, performer, and facilitator. Belin says, “When I first heard Stuart’s poetry, I was moved by her use...

Maggie Millner’s Couplets is a story of love, sex, and betrayal in Bed-Stuy.

Kemi Alabi vs. Divinity

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Audre Lorde then and now.

Without a Compass

Aimee Nezhukumatathil’s poems explore the mysteries of love.

• The First Cities, introduction by Diane di Prima, Poets Press, 1968.
• Cables to Rage, Broadside Press, 1970.
• From a Land Where Other People Live, Broadside Press, 1973.
• The New York Head Shop and Museum, Broadside Press, 1974.
• Coal, Norton, 1976.
• Between Our Selves, Eidolon, 1976.
• The Black Unicorn, Norton, 1978.
• Chosen Poems Old and New, Norton, 1982.
• Our Dead behind Us, Norton, 1986.
• Undersong: Chosen Poems Old and New, Norton, 1992.
• The Marvelous Arithmetics of Distance, Norton, 1993.
• The Collected Poems of Audre Lorde, Norton, 1997.
• The Cancer Journals (nonfiction), Spinsters Ink, 1980.
• Zami: A New Spelling of My Name (fiction), Crossing Press, 1982.
• Sister Outsider (nonfiction), Crossing Press, 1984.
• A Burst of Light, Firebrand Books, 1988.
• Need: A Chorale for Black Women Voices, Women of Color Press, 1990.

CONTRIBUTOR OF POETRY TO ANTHOLOGIES

• Langston Hughes, editor, New Negro Poets, USA, University of Indiana Press, 1962.
• P. Breman, editor, Sixes and Sevens, Breman Ltd. (London), 1963.
• R. Pool, editor, Beyond the Blues, Hand &Flower Press (Amsterdam), 1964.
• G. Menarini, editor, I Negri: Poesie e Canti, Edizioni Academia (Rome), 1969.
• C. Major, editor, New Black Poetry, International Press, 1969.
• T. Wilentz, editor, Natural Process, Hill &Wang, 1970.
• T. Cade, editor, The Black Woman, American Library Publishing, 1970.

Contributor of poetry to other anthologies, including Soul-Script, edited by J. Meyer, Simon &Schuster. OTHER

• The Audre Lorde Compendium: Essays, Speeches, and Journals, introduction by Alice Walker, Pandora (London), 1996.

Contributor of poetry to periodicals, including Iowa Review, Black Scholar, Chrysalis, Black World, Journal of Black Poetry, Transatlantic Review, Massachusetts Review, Pound, Harlem Writers’ Quarterly, Freedomways, Seventeen, and Women: A Journal of Liberation; contributor of fiction, under pseudonym Rey Domini, to Venture magazine. Editor, Pound magazine (Tougaloo, MS), 1968; poetry editor, Chrysalis and Amazon Quarterly.  

Further Readings

• Addison, Gayle, editor, Black Expression, Weybright &Talley, 1969.
• Bigsby, C. W. E., editor, The Black American Writer, Penguin, 1969.
• Christian, Barbara, editor, Black Feminist Criticism: Perspectives on Black Women Writers, Pergamon, 1985.
• Contemporary Literary Criticism, Gale, Volume 18, 1981, Volume 71, 1992.
• De Veaux, Alexis, Warrior Poet: A Biography of Audre Lorde, Norton, 2006.
• Dictionary of Literary Biography, Volume 41: Afro-American Poets since 1955, Gale, 1984.
• Draper, James P., editor, Black Literature Criticism, Gale, Volume 2, 1992.
• Evans, Mari, editor, Black Women Writers (1950-1980): A Critical Evaluation, Doubleday, 1984.
• Gay and Lesbian Biography, St. James Press, 1997.
• Keating, AnaLouise, Women Reading Women Writing: Self-Invention in Paula Gunn Allen, Gloria Anzaldua, and Audre Lorde, Temple University Press, 1996.
• Kester-Shelton, Pamela, editor, Feminist Writers, St. James Press, 1995.
• Kosek, Jane Kelly, editor, Poetry Criticism, Gale, 1997.
• Tate, Claudia, editor, Black Women Writers at Work, Continuum, 1984.

PERIODICALS

• American Book Review, October-November, 1993, p. 15.
• American Poetry Review, March-April, 1980, pp. 18-21.
• Callaloo, winter, 1986, pp. 192-208; 1987; winter, 1991, pp. 83-95.
• Colby Library Quarterly, March, 1982, pp. 9-25.
• Denver Quarterly, spring, 1981, pp. 10-27.
• Essence, January, 1988; March, 1999, p. 68.
• Journal of Homosexuality, Volume 26, numbers 2-3, pp. 73-95.
• Ms., September, 1974.
• Negro Digest, September, 1968.
• New York Times Book Review, December 19, 1982.
• Poetry, February, 1977.
• Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, summer, 1981, pp. 713-36.
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Kamala Harris Never Said 'Today Is Today and Yesterday Was Today Yesterday'

"please tell me this is fake. actually, tell me it’s real so i can laugh even harder," an x user said., sean eifert, published july 20, 2024.

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A 2023 video of Vice President Kamala Harris seemingly speaking incoherently during a speech resurfaced on social media in July 2024. In an X post ( archived ) made on July 15, Harris appears to slur her words and says:

Today is today and yesterday was today yesterday. Tomorrow will be today tomorrow. So, live today so the future today will be as the past today, as it is tomorrow.

The X post gained more than 3.3 million views and 6,400 reposts, as of this writing. "Please tell me this is fake. Actually, tell me it's real so I can laugh even harder," wrote the user who shared the video. The footage also was shared on Instagram and TikTok .

However, this video was digitally altered. It was debunked in 2023 when it was originally shared on social media platforms such as X .

In a TikTok video , the fact-checking outlet Politifact found that the video of Harris' speech was clearly altered, as her mouth doesn't move in sync with the words she's purportedly saying:

Reuters spoke to an expert who said the audio made clear it had been faked:

Dr. Dominic Lees, associate professor in filmmaking at the University of Reading, said the audio quality shows the video is not authentic. "Close observers will detect the video 'noise' around the mouth," he said, adding that the lack of background sound indicates the voice was not recorded at this location.

The original footage that was used in the faked viral video was featured alongside an article from the New York Post about a speech Harris gave April 25, 2023, at Howard University in Washington, D.C.:

Harris wears the same suit in both videos and the people in the background are the same, showing that this is the original, unaltered version of the viral video. A transcript from that speech was released and quoted Harris as saying:

So I think it's very important — as you have heard from so many incredible leaders — for us, at every moment in time, and certainly this one, to see the moment in time in which we exist and are present, and to be able to contextualize it, to understand where we exist in the history and in the moment as it relates not only to the past, but the future.

Other news outlets like The Associated Press and KXTV also found that Harris never uttered the quote in question during the speech. 

Because the viral video was digitally altered with a voice overlay, we label this claim "Fake." 

By Sean Eifert

Sean Eifert, Snopes' first newsroom summer intern, is a senior studying journalism in the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University.

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Alliteration in Literature

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We often find a lot of figurative language and figures of speech in our literature. This is because, through the use of such literary devices , the authors are able to evoke emotions, thoughts, and ideas from the readers effectively. One of the literary devices that are frequently used in literary works is alliteration.  Alliteration can be usually found in poetry, drama, and novels . Learn more about alliteration and how influenced literary works in this article.

Alliteration in Literature and Rhetoric

What is Alliteration?

Alliteration is a literary device that involves the repetition of the same initial consonant sounds in closely positioned words. It’s used to add rhythm, musicality, and emphasis, enhancing the reader’s experience. Here are some standout examples of alliteration in literature:

• “She sells seashells by the sea shore.” This classic tongue twister is a playful use of alliteration with the “s” sound, illustrating the technique’s potential for creating memorable phrases.
• The Rime of the Ancient Mariner , Samuel Taylor Coleridge Coleridge uses the “f” and “b” sounds to mimic the natural movements of the sea, adding a lyrical quality to the narrative.
• The Raven , Edgar Allan Poe Poe employs the “n” sound to build suspense and evoke a somber, eerie atmosphere.
• “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.” Beyond its role as a tongue twister, this example showcases alliteration’s ability to create rhythm and challenge the reader’s articulation.
• Romeo and Juliet , William Shakespeare Shakespeare’s use of the “f” sound emphasizes the tragic inevitability of the story’s central conflict.
• “Robbie saw rabbits resting by roses.” An invented example that uses the “r” sound to create a peaceful, serene image, demonstrating how alliteration can set the scene or mood.
• “Betty Botter bought some butter, but she said the butter’s bitter.” This example not only plays with the “b” sound but also explores how alliteration can be used to tell a story with a playful twist.
• “The big, bad bear scared all the baby bunnies by the bushes.” Utilizing the “b” sound, this alliterative sentence paints a vivid picture that could easily belong in a children’s book, showing alliteration’s versatility.

 How to write an Alliteration

To write an alliteration using the letter “s”, you could use the following phrase: “Sally sold seashells by the seashore.” In this sentence, the “s” sound is repeated in the initial position of each word, creating a musical and memorable effect. To write an alliteration, follow these simple steps:

Step 1: Choose a sound or letter that you want to repeat in your alliteration.

This could be any letter or sound that you find interesting or that you want to emphasize.

Step 2: Select words that begin with your chosen sound or letter.

You can use a thesaurus or brainstorming techniques to come up with a list of words that fit the sound or letter you have chosen.

Step 3: Arrange your chosen words into a phrase or sentence that flows smoothly and makes sense.

You can use different sentence text structures , such as a list, a question, or a statement, to create variety and interest.

Step 4: Revise and edit your alliteration to make sure it is clear, concise, and effective.

You may need to adjust the words, order, or rhythm of your alliteration to achieve the desired effect.

What is the purpose of using alliteration in writing?

The purpose of using alliteration is to add interest, rhythm, and emphasis to writing. It can help make the language more memorable, create a sense of unity or cohesion, and draw attention to specific words or ideas.

Where is alliteration commonly used?

Alliteration is commonly used in poetry, song lyrics, slogans, and advertising. It can also be found in literature, speeches, and everyday conversation.

How do you come up with alliteration?

To come up with alliteration, choose a sound or letter that you want to emphasize and then find words that begin with that sound. You can use a thesaurus or brainstorming techniques to come up with a list of words that fit the sound or letter you have chosen.

In conclusion , alliteration is a literary technique that involves the repetition of the same initial sound in a series of words within a phrase or sentence. It is commonly used in poetry, in stanzas for song lyrics, slogans , screenplays , and advertising to add interest, rhythm, and emphasis to writing. Alliteration can be a powerful tool for making language more memorable and effective, but it should be used sparingly and deliberately to avoid overuse or contrivance. By understanding the purpose and techniques of alliteration, writers can add creativity and impact to their writing.

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How to watch Trump's Bitcoin2024 speech, where to livestream

Not wanting to pay the price to see the 2024 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump at the Bitcoin conference in Nashville this weekend? You might not need to buy a ticket at all.

Passes for Bitcoin2024  took a jump recently, the VIP "Whale Pass" tickets for the three-day conference went from $10,999 before the RNC to $21,000 per person now. The more basic ticket packages cost $699 and $3,999. But you don't have to shell out all that money; Bitcoin2024 is expected livestream the former President's speech along with other speakers at the conference Saturday.

Here's how you can watch it and when Trump will be in Music City.

Where can I watch Donald Trump's Bitcoin2024 talk?

Trump's speech is slated to start at 2 p.m. and last about 30 minutes. People can view it via Rumble .

You can also follow along with The Tennessean’s live coverage on our blog .

When will Trump be in Nashville?

Trump is expected to speak at 2 p.m. Saturday, July 27 at Bitcoin2024.

Will Trump be at any other events in Nashville?

He is also expected to host a "VIP reception" after giving his speech that people can attend.

The cost for the after-event starts at $60,000. For $844,600, donors can attend the reception, take a photo with Trump and participate in an exclusive roundtable. A ticket just for the photo op and reception costs $60,000 per person or $100,000 per couple, according to  the Trump 47 Committee .

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The Kamala Harris coconut tree meme, explained as best we can

Lexie Schapitl

Rachel Treisman

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to members of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center on July 10 in Dallas. Brandon Bell/Getty Images hide caption

For more on Biden's decision and the now open 2024 race, head to the NPR Network's live updates page .

In the weeks before President Biden announced he would not be seeking reelection , some Democrats online rallied behind Vice President Kamala Harris to become the party’s new nominee. And their symbol became the coconut tree.

Not long after Biden announced on Sunday he was dropping out of the race, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis tweeted out just three emojis : a coconut, a palm tree and an American flag. EMILYs LIST, the PAC focused on electing Democratic women, explicitly endorsed Harris in a tweet and, in a more subtle show of support, also added the tree and the coconut to its username. And Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii posted a picture of himself climbing up a coconut tree , adding, "Madam Vice President, we are ready to help."

🥥 🌴 🇺🇸 — Jared Polis (@jaredpolis) July 21, 2024

So how did the coconut tree emerge as the emblem of Harris' most devoted, or at least most-online followers? It's a story more than a year in the making.

Why are we even talking about coconut trees?

The “coconut tree” meme originates from a May 2023 speech Harris gave at a White House event for advancing opportunities for Hispanic Americans.

At one point near the end of her remarks, Harris talked about how the initiative's work would be focused on young people, but it should also take into account the needs of their families, teachers and communities, "because none of us just live in a silo."

We’re proud to endorse @kamalaharris as the next president of the United States because we know she is a qualified accomplished leader. She is the only candidate positioned to win against Trump in November, and the best voice to define the stakes in this election! #allinforkamala pic.twitter.com/CmdgImMaDz — EMILYs List 🥥🌴 (@emilyslist) July 21, 2024

"Everything is in context," Harris said, before launching into the now-famous anecdote.

"My mother ... would give us a hard time sometimes, and she would say to us, 'I don’t know what’s wrong with you young people. You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?' " Harris said with a laugh. "You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you."

The moment was first meme’d in earnest in February of this year, when for a period of time, one could not open X, formerly known as Twitter, without seeing clips of or oblique references to those remarks.

this video is literally like medicine to me. i watch it once every week or two and every time i do i get an enduring hit of light euphoria for the next 45 minutes pic.twitter.com/eIF6Rwiir0 — charlie squire (@evil_female) February 9, 2024

But the meme took on new life this summer , after President Biden’s disastrous debate performance fueled speculation that he might step aside as the Democratic nominee. Harris’ supporters, also known as the KHive, were waiting in the wings.

Since then, the moment has been remixed into Charli XCX’s “ Von Dutch ” and Britney Spears’ " Gimme More ." Democratic operatives have spoken of being “ coconut-pilled .” The meme flourished into 2028 debate fan fiction . Google searches for "coconut tree" started climbing in the U.S. in early July.

Like all of us, the coconut tree moment exists in the context of all in which it lives and what came before it. Which is to say, it’s part of a larger set of memes surrounding Kamala Harris’ political persona. Harris has been spawning memes longer than she’s been vice president. We Did It, Joe , is likely the most well-known. But her laugh , her bus , her dance moves and her love of Venn diagrams have all become social media fodder.

We did it, @JoeBiden . pic.twitter.com/oCgeylsjB4 — Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) November 7, 2020

So why did the coconut tree break through?

It's impossible to say why any particular meme — political or otherwise — catches fire over another. But part of Harris’ persona as portrayed on the internet is just that she   brings an energy that’s in stark contrast to President Biden and former President Donald Trump.

“We want something to laugh at and laugh with. And that's what Kamala does. And I think the coconut tree clip is a perfect example of that,” said Rebecca Jennings, a senior correspondent at Vox covering internet culture. 

Put another way, Harris — even being 59 and the incumbent vice president —represented something new in a campaign defined by old. And that stoked some enthusiasm among voters who were very unenthused.

“There's a sense of, like, nihilism that's like – OK, we have to do this again , and we have to do Trump and Biden again ,” Jennings said. “And so when you see clips of Kamala, it's like, well, at least that's fun to watch. At least it's, you know, not the same thing we've been seeing on screens for 10 years. It's a break in the just the drudgery of what what everyone thought this election was going to be.”

Young Democrats — among the most dissatisfied with Biden as a candidate, and the most online — also helped fuel the movement. As Washington Post internet culture reporter Taylor Lorenz wrote : "Harris’s new online prominence could help give the Democratic Party new prominence with young people — including major content creators — who are hesitant to vote for Biden again due to his climate policies, support of Israel’s war in Gaza, mishandling of the ongoing pandemic, and signing a bill that could ban TikTok."

One man's gaffe is another man's meme

From the coconut trees to the Venn diagrams, the Harris memes embrace what detractors might consider a gaffe. Trump, for instance, has dubbed Harris " laughing Kamala ," saying the laugh makes her seem "crazy."

Take another example, which grew out of one of Harris' go-to lines dating back to her 2020 presidential run: “I can imagine what can be, unburdened by what has been.”

The RNC compiled a supercut of Harris being "unburdened" and shared it on social media, arguing that it shows she is “unoriginal, annoying, and highly incompetent.” But the attacks aren’t sticking, as her supporters have taken ownership of the line and the laughter.

Jennings said it’s reminiscent of the critiques hurled at Trump throughout his political career, only to be welcomed by his base.

“People like the fact that he was saying offensive things,” Jennings said. "And I think it's strange for Republicans to kind of now be on the other end of that – which is making all these, you know, memes and videos of Kamala being goofy and quirky and the left being like, “Hell, yeah, brother.”

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• Kamala Harris
• internet memes

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Full Transcript of Biden’s Speech on Ending His Run for Re-election

“The best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation,” the president said in a rare Oval Office address. And he told voters, “History is in your hands.”

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President Biden delivered remarks from the Oval Office on Wednesday on his decision to abandon his bid for re-election. The following is a transcript of his speech, as recorded by The New York Times.

My fellow Americans, I’m speaking to you tonight from behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office. In this sacred space, I’m surrounded by portraits of extraordinary American presidents. Thomas Jefferson wrote the immortal words that guide this nation. George Washington showed us presidents are not kings. Abraham Lincoln implored us to reject malice. Franklin Roosevelt inspired us to reject fear.

I revere this office, but I love my country more. It’s been the honor of my life to serve as your president. But in the defense of democracy, which is at stake, I think it’s more important than any title. I draw strength and find joy in working for the American people. But this sacred task of perfecting our union is not about me, it’s about you. Your families, your futures.

It’s about we the people. And we can never forget that. And I never have. I’ve made it clear that I believe America is at an inflection point. On those rare moments in history, when the decisions we make now determine our fate of our nation and the world for decades to come, America is going to have to choose between moving forward or backward, between hope and hate, between unity and division.

We have to decide: Do we still believe in honesty, decency, respect, freedom, justice and democracy. In this moment, we can see those we disagree with not as enemies but as, I mean, fellow Americans — can we do that? Does character in public life still matter? I believe you know the answer to these questions because I know you the American people, and I know this:

We are a great nation because we are a good people. When you elected me to this office, I promised to always level with you, to tell you the truth. And the truth, the sacred cause of this country, is larger than any one of us. Those of us who cherry that cause cherish it so much. The cause of American democracy itself. We must unite to protect it.

In recent weeks, it has become clear to me that I need to unite my party in this critical endeavor. I believe my record as president, my leadership in the world, my vision for America’s future, all merited a second term. But nothing, nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy. That includes personal ambition.

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