Fear not you self-proclaimed non-lovers of poetry. While I could take you through the process of how to write a variety of different poetic formats, I know many of my regular blog readers aren’t regular poets. With that in mind, I want to honor the spirit of National Poetry Month during April by including poetry-themed posts of use to all writers. Even though you might not fancy yourself penning lofty lines of poetry, good writing can and should make use of poetic elements. Aiming to write more poetic prose will only add additional polish to your stylistic efforts.
The term prose encompasses the ordinary language used in speaking or writing. While every writer’s style varies, their point is still made using mostly standard conventions for writing sentences and paragraphs. On the other hand, poetry (also known as verse) typically employs artistic line breaks and a definite focus on the rhythm or meter of the words. Even people who may struggle to define poetry, often know poetry as soon as they see it or hear it.
- PROSE: Don’t forget to add milk and eggs to the grocery list.
- POETRY/VERSE: A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!
10 Tips for Writing Poetic Prose
This list is by no means exhaustive. It merely provides a starting point a writer can use to make a concentrated effort at writing more poetic prose. In general, a figure of speech is the use of language in a nonliteral sense (hyperbole, metaphor, metonomy, oxymoron, and simile) to create a particular effect which often also employs the poetic sound devices (alliteration, assonance, consonance, and onomatopoeia) listed here. I’ve included parallel sentence structure on this list because of its ability to add rhythmic effects to prose.
#1: Alliteration: Repetition of initial (beginning) consonant sounds.
Her dainty daughter demanded another piece of candy.
#2: Assonance: Repetition of a vowel sound.
All of his moaning and groaning over mowing the lawn fell on deaf ears.
#3: Consonance: Repetition of consonant sounds, but not limited to first letters.
The constant gusts of wind reminded everyone that wearing a hat in such blustery weather was a must.
#4: Hyperbole: A figure of speech which uses a deliberate exaggeration.
I’ve told you a million times.
#5: Metaphor: A figure of speech that makes a direct comparison between two unlike things, without using the word like or as.
Life is a highway.
#6 Metonymy: When a thing or concept is not called by it own name, but rather by the name of something associated in meaning. It’s closely related to synecdoche which occurs when something is substituted for the whole. Numerous other subsets of metonymy also exist.
METONYMY: The cup is quite tasty. (Cup can stand in for coffee, tea, etc.).
SYNECDOCHE: I used to drive a nice set of wheels. (In reference to the Mustang I once owned.)
#7: Onomatopoeia: The use of words that imitate sounds.
The chirping of the birds competed with the beeping of the alarm clock every morning to rouse the child from bed.
#8: Oxymoron: A condensed form of paradox (a statement that seems contrary to common sense, yet may be true) in which two contradictory words are used together.
He felt such sweet sorrow after giving his girlfriend an original copy of his poem.
#9: Parallelism: The grammatical balance of a sentence concerning similarity of words, phrases, or clauses in a list or series. It helps create a rhythm that is pleasing to the ear.
NOT PARALLEL: I enjoy reading memoirs, to go the the movies, and editing videos.
PARALLEL: I enjoy reading memoirs, going to the movies, and editing videos.
#10: Simile: A figure of speech that directly compares two things by using like or as.
The dog approached the horse like a timid crab cowering in its shell.
When attempting to use these various tips for writing poetic prose, be wary of overuse. As with all things, a little bit can go a long way. Don’t be that person who decides to make every other word alliterate. It’s always a wise move to try to steer clear from cliches (overused expressions).
What would you add to this list? Can you think of any of your favorite writers whose prose strikes you as being on the poetic side?
Learn more about National Poetry Month.
Permission must be granted by JeriWB to use the duck pond image in this post.
Article by Jeri Walker-Bickett aka JeriWB.
I loved this post!!! Although I employ many for these…particularly metaphor and I have a particular fondness for alliteration :)I never associated these with poetry…but I don’t really read poetry…but can see the similarity with poetic prose. And I love that term:)
Jacquie, writers of prose like you employ poetic devices all the time without labeling them as such per se, but they’re one of the ways plain prose starts to take on a style of its own. Over the years, I’ve developed a very pared-down and literal style in that I don’t use much figurative language. On the other hand, I spend oodles of time tweaking my fiction and nonfiction for elements of rhythm and sound.
Jeri the advice on poetic prose seems quite comprehensive and anything I added would only be a sub-set of the 10. A favourite example who does not overdo any one element would be Gabriel Garcia Marquez and the translations to English maintain the flavour exceptionally well. Some find the totality overblown but I believe it serves a purpose. Also, Canadian political journalist Chantal Hebert introduces just sufficient poetic prose to be instantly recognizable while conveying deep and well reasoned analysis. Another great tutorial. Thanks !
Paul, I knew I could count on you to provide a couple of great examples of authors I can now seek out on my own 🙂
I looked up the words simile and analogy. I think of them as being the same. Reading both definitions there are multiple similarities but the dictionary is not actually saying they’re the same. What’s the difference between these two words?
Glynis, that is an excellent question. A