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    From the Poet's Workshop
    From the Poet's Workshop
    From the Poet's Workshop
    Ebook62 pages36 minutes

    From the Poet's Workshop

    By Daniel Zimmermann

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    About this ebook

    This work takes you behind the scenes. It begins with tips on writing rhymed poetry. The next article presents and explains a haiku that served as my personal motto for many years. This is followed by an article entitled “Confessions of an Author.” The bulk of the work presents several poems, and offers a captivating analysis of their contents. It also offers personal information on the circumstances under which the poems were written, explaining such factors as what prompted me to write the poem, where I was at the time, how long it took me to write it, my state of mind at the time, etc.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherLulu.com
    Release dateSep 3, 2019
    ISBN9780359894703
    From the Poet's Workshop

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      From the Poet's Workshop - Daniel Zimmermann

      From the Poet's Workshop

      From the Poet’s Workshop

      By Daniel Zimmermann

      Tips on Writing Artistic Rhymed Poetry

      Do not write doggerel. To write doggerel, all you have to do is find some words that rhyme in a thesaurus and stick them at the end of a few phrases of roughly equal length. You will find that such doggerel is easy to write. Unfortunately, the results will not be real art.

      To write rhymed poems of artistic value, you must first become very proficient in the language in which you intend to write, such as English or Spanish. You must study grammar and improve your vocabulary so that when you write a poem, the right words and the right usage will come naturally to you.

      At the same time, you must acquire a feeling of what type of poetry is truly artistic. Read such authors as Milton, Coleridge, and Gray. Don't neglect Shakespeare's plays. You won't find much rhyme in them, but you will find art. Also, read various works on art criticism like Ars Poetica by Horace. If you can't read the Latin, it is readily available in translation. Study the various meters that have been used in English poetry. If you think that a dactyl is something from Jurassic Park, you are not ready to write.

      When your preliminary preparation has been completed, choose a subject. Horace suggests that you start with a theme that has already been treated by other authors, but it is better to write on a subject in which you are interested. At the same time, choose the scope of your work. Will it be a lengthy epic, a short lyric poem, a ballade, or a longer narrative poem? Will you write a sonnet or content yourself with a simpler rhyme scheme? In your first attempts it is better to choose modest projects that are easy to fulfill. A young eagle does not soar to the summit of Mt. Everest on its maiden flight.

      Remember that education is a life-long process. Continue studying astronomy, history and geography and you will gradually have a wider selection of material from which to choose the themes of your poetry.

      An outline will be helpful. If a short poem is under consideration, at least jot down a summary of what you want to say. A pilot cannot complete a mission unless he knows where he is going.

      The final step is writing the poem. Use your sense of rhythm to produce a metrically satisfying work. Use your command of the English language for a satisfying choice of words, especially for the rhymes. Give considerable thought to how you want to introduce your theme, develop it, and write a climactic conclusion.

      You may introduce your theme directly, as in The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner, which Coleridge begins with the words: There was an ancient mariner, and he stoppeth one of three. Or you may leisurely describe the setting before you arrive at the chief subject, as in The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe. If you use the latter approach, make sure that your preliminary remarks lead directly to your theme.

      In the development, take care that the unity of the work is preserved. Everything you say should relate to the theme, and

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