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Other Forms and Traditions in Poetry 652 Views
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Description:
Have you ever read a sestina in a cantina or a villanelle in your holding cell? The great thing is that... not every type of poetry needs to rhyme. So if you’d like, you can read a sonnet while you’ve got a bee in your... hoodie.
Transcript
- 00:04
Other Forms and Traditions in Poetry, a la Shmoop.
- 00:10
While gazing out your bedroom window, you just witnessed a bluebird land on a nearby
- 00:13
tree branch, whistle a little tune, and then fly away.
- 00:19
It’s the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen.
- 00:22
Okay, so you don’t get out much. Nevertheless, you know you want to write a
Full Transcript
- 00:27
poem about your experience…
- 00:28
…to share that moment of simple beauty with the rest of the universe.
- 00:33
The only question is… what type of poem do you write?
- 00:36
There are seemingly too many options… like when you stop in at a 7-11 for a snack to
- 00:41
take on your road trip.
- 00:43
Don’t give us that look, Corn Nuts. We’re going with the beef jerky this time.
- 00:47
You’ve got your structured poems…
- 00:49
…your sonnets, your villanelles, your sestinas…
- 00:52
…but then there’s also free verse. The structured poems are nice, because they’re
- 00:57
a great way to nod to the tradition of the old guard…
- 01:00
…and when you can cohesively and effortlessly fit your thoughts and feelings into a predetermined
- 01:06
format…
- 01:06
…it’s a good way to strut your stuff and show off your mad rhyming skillz.
- 01:11
On the other hand, you’re not sure you want such restrictions placed on your description
- 01:18
of that bluebird.
- 01:19
Shouldn’t your poem be at least as footloose and fancy free as your fine feathered friend?
- 01:24
A villanelle might be the right fit.
- 01:26
The 19-line form would give you plenty of space in which to communicate what you felt
- 01:30
when you laid eyes upon your new avian pal.
- 01:33
Better yet… a sestina. Those puppies are 39 lines long.
- 01:37
With that much room, you could describe to your reader everything from the colored markings
- 01:41
on the bluebird’s belly…
- 01:42
…to that strange look it shot you, as if to say, “You’re going to write a poem
- 01:46
about me, aren’t you?” Then again, there are no restrictions on free
- 01:51
verse.
- 01:51
If you wanted to, you could write 39 pages.
- 01:54
Although, as far as we know, the only people who’s been able to write that much about
- 01:57
birds is the Audubon Society. At the end of the day, it doesn’t really
- 02:03
matter which you choose.
- 02:04
No form is better or worse than any other.
- 02:07
It’s all about listening to your gut… and letting the subject matter be your guide.
- 02:13
As a matter of fact…
- 02:14
…you are now so intrigued by this idea of having different ways of writing your poem…
- 02:18
…that you decide you’re going to forget about that stupid bluebird and write a poem
- 02:21
about that topic instead. Aw. Somebody’s feelings are hurt.
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