POETRY UNIT COMMUNICATION ARTS M.MOSELEY 2012 FREE VERSE POEMS POETRY UNIT COMMUNICATION ARTS M.MOSELEY 2012
Free verse poetry does not have a set pattern of rhyme or rhythm Free verse poetry does not have a set pattern of rhyme or rhythm. There are no rules about line length in free verse. You try to keep the words that belong together on the same line, but sometimes the poet will break these words if he/she wants to create a visual shape to support the poem’s message, or feeling that the poet wishes the reader to experience.
The poet may wish to put special emphasis on a word he/she has used so he will place that word on a line by itself, or place it on the next line so the reader notices it or is surprised by the poet’s use of the word. Often a poet will end a line because it feels right to him/her to do so.
The poet chooses the length of each line and the length of the poem according to the message, or feeling he/she wishes to communicate to his/her reader. When free verse is read aloud the reader can hear the rhythm of the words that the poet has used in his/her poem. Think of it as spoken music.
TOPIC Anything and everything can be the topic of a free verse lyrical poem. The poem can tell a story, describe a person, animal, feeling, or object. They can be serious, sad, funny, or educational. Whatever subject that appeals to the poet can end up in a free verse.
LANGUAGE The poet attempts to describe his/her subject with language that shows, not tells. For example, instead of writing “We had so much fun today,” the poet would write “They wore smiles all the way home.” The idea being that a grinning face is more descriptive of the fun they had. It also leaves a stronger impression with the reader.
Free verse poetry tries to capture images, convey meaning, or emotions through the use of lyrical phrases that will get the poet’s message across without a lot of telling. Free verse poets use figurative language devices such as similes, metaphors, and personification to create these phrases.
FREE VERSE POEMS Free verse poems will have no set meter, which is the rhythm of the words, no rhyme scheme, or any particular structure. Some poets would find this liberating, being able to whimsically change your mind, while others feel like they could not do a good job in this manner. Robert Frost commented that writing free verse was like “playing tennis without a net.” The following are examples of free verse poems.
AFTER THE SEA-SHIP By: Walt Whitman After the Sea-Ship – after whistling winds; After the white-gray sails, taut to their spars and ropes, Below, a myriad, myriad waves, hastening, lifting up their necks, Tending in ceaseless flow toward the track of the ship: Waves of the ocean, bubbling and gurgling, blithely prying
Waves, undulating waves – liquid, uneven, emulous waves, Toward that whirling current, laughing and buoyant, with curves, Where the great Vessel, sailing and tacking, displaced the surface;
THE FOG The fog comes on little cat feet. It sits looking over harbor and city on silent haunches and then moves on. By: Carl Sandburg
FEELINGS Some kind of attraction that is neither Animal, vegetable, nor mineral, a power not Solar, fusion, or magnetic And it is all in my head that I could see into his And find myself sitting there. Katherine Foreman
WASHED AWAY Nothing’s changed except me and the facts And the sadness I didn’t mean to start. But it feels different now you’ve said It’s wrong, and I still can’t see your point. And I think as water runs over my hands that That’s really all there is or can be.
The gold is wearing off the infamous ring And something wears away from around my heart. By: Katherine Foreman
WINTER POEM once a snowflake fell on my brow and i loved it so much and i kissed it and it was happy and called its cousins and brothers and a web of snow engulfed me then i reached to love them all
and i squeezed them and they became a spring rain and i stood perfectly still and was a flower By: Nikki Giovanni
STEPS TO WRITING Choose your subject and write about it. Get it all out. Stay deep and true to the rhythm of the poetic movement rolling through you, but get everything about the subject down on paper. Check your rough poem to see if anything is missing. If you need to add a line, or even a stanza, do so. Your poem must be at least 30 lines.
You must include 1 simile, 1 metaphor, 1 alliteration, and 1 personification. Optional – 1 onomatopoeia If you are missing a metaphor, simile, or turn of phrase, add it. 3) Read the rough poem aloud. Free verse is a rhythmic dance with voice and words, so check the sequence of lines and make sure that one flows into the other.
Move through your poem with an editor’s pen and make sure you’ve selected the words that give proper accent and cadence to the overall poem. Read the poem aloud until it flows like honey and you feel it inside. That’s a sure sign of a well-completed piece of free verse.