poem vs essay

The Difference between an Essay and a Poem

Unlike a poem, it's highly unlikely anyone will ever want to set one of your essays to music. While some poems may set out to accomplish the same goals as an essay, such as presenting an argument or telling a story, the structure, common techniques, and basic rules required for an essay are quite different than a poem.

No matter what type of essay you're asked to write, such as argumentative, expository, descriptive, or narrative, there are usually structuring requirements that must be applied. An introductory paragraph that presents your ideas, a body that lays out each of those ideas clearly, and a summary paragraph that presents some type of conclusion are the common requirements for most traditional essays.

Poems, on the other hand, can vary widely in structure. Haikus, sonnets, limericks, and ballads are all forms of poetry and each is defined by its unique and specific structure. Poems can rhyme or not rhyme, be freeform or limited to a certain number of syllables, and they can fill a book or be written in 14 lines of iambic pentameter.

Techniques for writing a good essay include presenting ordered points that relate back to a single thesis statement, writing interesting and relevant topic sentences to present ideas for each paragraph, and presenting excellent supportive references from outside sources.

Poems, on the other hand, use alliteration, creative similes and metaphors, onomatopoeia, assonance, and rhyming lines. However, many poems include none of these. Unlike essays, there are no universal techniques used in good poetry. Creativity wins the day over following hard and fast rules.

Grammar, Spelling, and Punctuation

Anyone who has ever submitted an essay assignment knows that grammar, spelling, and punctuation are key in a good essay. Every sentence should end with the proper punctuation mark, creative spelling is frowned upon, and an essay writer should proofread to ensure subject/verb agreement, sentence structure, and use of proper English.

In poetry, rules like these are often tossed out the window. Entire poems can be written with nary a punctuation mark in sight, and the creative use of language is encouraged.

In short, poems allow for a lot more creative freedom and can include a wide range of possible structures and techniques. An essay makes logical points that should be clear to anyone who reads it. Even the best poems, however, sometimes make sense to no one other than their authors.

Poetry & Poets

Explore the beauty of poetry – discover the poet within

How To Structure A Poetry Comparison Essay

Introduction

Comparing two poems typically involves analyzing the content and structure of the poetry, as well as its universal themes, language, and the imagery used. Writing a poetry comparison essay is considered a formidable task for many because determining the similarities and differences between two pieces of poetry can be quite difficult. With the right approach, however, it’s quite possible to produce an impressive essay. For example, It’s essential to understand that it doesn’t suffice to point out the differences and similarities between two pieces of poetry, explain how they compare and contrast, and then summarize the findings. To write a successful paper, one needs to apply higher-level thinking to structure information gathered from researching the poems. This article provides useful tips on how to compare two poems and structure a successful poetry comparison essay.

Finding two poems to compare

The first step to writing a successful poetry comparison essay is finding two poems to compare. To facilitate this process, one can choose two poems by the same author or two poems on the same subject or theme. Alternatively, one can compare or contrast poems from different authors with content that explores the same themes, such as love, war, etc. Alternatively, one can go through existing literary criticism material or search in literary databases to find poets/poems to compare.

Creating a thesis statement

Next, it’s essential to put together a persuasive thesis statement that explains how two poems are related in terms of a specific literary element or idea. A thesis statement should make a direct, clear, and concise point. It’s also important to back up points made with direct citations or reference to the poems. Depending on the topic of the essay, the thesis statement may contain a number of concepts discussed in the body of the essay.

Outlining the paper

The structure of the paper should include an introduction with a thesis statement, a body, and a conclusion. A great example of an outline for this type of paper would be as follows: 1. Introduction with a thesis statement 2. Explain the first poem 3. Explain the second poem 4. Discussion of the differences and similarities between the two poems 5. Conclusion Moreover, it’s important to clearly point out how the comparison of the two poems relates back to the thesis statement. If the paper is more than 5 paragraphs, one may consider adding a paragraph discussing how each poem imparts a certain meaning or provides insight into a larger idea, such as how two poets view a single subject differently.

Discussing structure

When discussing the structure of two poems, one must look at how both poems are organized. This includes paying attention to the titles of the poems, the length of the lines, and the use of words. Perhaps, one poem has a traditional structure and rhythm, while the other is more flexible in terms of structure. Maybe the two poems have a similar tone or mood, yet have different ideas about a particular topic. How the poems use language to provide perspective or build an idea is also essential to consider.

Analyzing content

For this section, it’s important to focus on comparing the content and ideas of both poems. This includes looking at the themes, imagery, and characters in the poems, as well as the symbols, metaphors, and figurative language used by the characters. Likewise, one can analyze the type of diction and syntax that is used to create a certain tone or mood. Moreover, it’s important to consider how the message or meaning of a poem changes when it is viewed as part of a larger context. For example, is the author expressing a particular point of view, or is the poem a response to a previous poem?

Comparing universal themes

The final element to consider when writing a poetry comparison essay is the universal themes that are evident in each poem. Universal themes are the underlying messages that give shape to the poem and can be found in most poems. Examples of universal themes include love, loss, mortality, loneliness, joy, and growth. It’s important to examine how the poets explore these universal themes in each poem and consider how the themes work together to create a unique perspective. Additionally, one can consider how a poem might be interpreted differently by different readers due to their personal experiences.

In conclusion, writing a successful poetry comparison essay requires an in-depth analysis of two poems and the development of an overall argument or point of view. It’s essential to pick two poems to compare, create a thesis statement, develop an organized outline, and analyze the structure, content, and universal themes of both poems. With the right attention to detail and strategy, it is possible to write a successful, impactful, and well-structured poetry comparison essay.

Discussing structure of each poem

When evaluating the structure of both poems, one should focus on the title, length of lines, and the words used. For instance, one poem may have a traditional structure and rhythm, while the other might have a looser structure with irregular recurring patterns. On top of that, the two poems may or may not have the same tone or mood. It may be worth noting the difference in how the authors use words to help build their ideas.

Activity: Describing Content of each poem

When it comes to the content of both poems, consider to analyse the themes, characters, and symbols in each work. For example, what type of metaphors are used? What kind of diction and syntax help to create the mood and tone? Also, try to look at how the idea of each poem works within a larger context. For instance, is the poem a response to another poem or is it a stand-alone work?

Examining universal themes

The core messages in both pieces of poetry are known as the universal themes. These themes could be something like love, loss, or mortality. Look for these themes and analyse how each author explores those universal themes. Additionally, consider how the poem might be interpreted differently based upon different reader’s individual experiences.

Structuring the paper

When it comes to putting the paper together, you will need to create an outline. A great outline would be something like: Introduction, explanation of each poem, comparison of differences and similarities, and conclusion. Remind yourself of the thesis statement and make sure the comparison of both poems relates back to it. If the paper is more than 5 paragraphs, consider adding a section discussing how each poem imparts a certain meaning or provides insight into a larger idea.

Minnie Walters

Minnie Walters is a passionate writer and lover of poetry. She has a deep knowledge and appreciation for the work of famous poets such as William Wordsworth, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, and many more. She hopes you will also fall in love with poetry!

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• The four main types of essay | Quick guide with examples

The Four Main Types of Essay | Quick Guide with Examples

Published on September 4, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on July 23, 2023.

An essay is a focused piece of writing designed to inform or persuade. There are many different types of essay, but they are often defined in four categories: argumentative, expository, narrative, and descriptive essays.

Argumentative and expository essays are focused on conveying information and making clear points, while narrative and descriptive essays are about exercising creativity and writing in an interesting way. At university level, argumentative essays are the most common type. 

In high school and college, you will also often have to write textual analysis essays, which test your skills in close reading and interpretation.

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Table of contents

Argumentative essays, expository essays, narrative essays, descriptive essays, textual analysis essays, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about types of essays.

An argumentative essay presents an extended, evidence-based argument. It requires a strong thesis statement —a clearly defined stance on your topic. Your aim is to convince the reader of your thesis using evidence (such as quotations ) and analysis.

Argumentative essays test your ability to research and present your own position on a topic. This is the most common type of essay at college level—most papers you write will involve some kind of argumentation.

The essay is divided into an introduction, body, and conclusion:

• The introduction provides your topic and thesis statement
• The body presents your evidence and arguments
• The conclusion summarizes your argument and emphasizes its importance

The example below is a paragraph from the body of an argumentative essay about the effects of the internet on education. Mouse over it to learn more.

A common frustration for teachers is students’ use of Wikipedia as a source in their writing. Its prevalence among students is not exaggerated; a survey found that the vast majority of the students surveyed used Wikipedia (Head & Eisenberg, 2010). An article in The Guardian stresses a common objection to its use: “a reliance on Wikipedia can discourage students from engaging with genuine academic writing” (Coomer, 2013). Teachers are clearly not mistaken in viewing Wikipedia usage as ubiquitous among their students; but the claim that it discourages engagement with academic sources requires further investigation. This point is treated as self-evident by many teachers, but Wikipedia itself explicitly encourages students to look into other sources. Its articles often provide references to academic publications and include warning notes where citations are missing; the site’s own guidelines for research make clear that it should be used as a starting point, emphasizing that users should always “read the references and check whether they really do support what the article says” (“Wikipedia:Researching with Wikipedia,” 2020). Indeed, for many students, Wikipedia is their first encounter with the concepts of citation and referencing. The use of Wikipedia therefore has a positive side that merits deeper consideration than it often receives.

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An expository essay provides a clear, focused explanation of a topic. It doesn’t require an original argument, just a balanced and well-organized view of the topic.

Expository essays test your familiarity with a topic and your ability to organize and convey information. They are commonly assigned at high school or in exam questions at college level.

The introduction of an expository essay states your topic and provides some general background, the body presents the details, and the conclusion summarizes the information presented.

A typical body paragraph from an expository essay about the invention of the printing press is shown below. Mouse over it to learn more.

The invention of the printing press in 1440 changed this situation dramatically. Johannes Gutenberg, who had worked as a goldsmith, used his knowledge of metals in the design of the press. He made his type from an alloy of lead, tin, and antimony, whose durability allowed for the reliable production of high-quality books. This new technology allowed texts to be reproduced and disseminated on a much larger scale than was previously possible. The Gutenberg Bible appeared in the 1450s, and a large number of printing presses sprang up across the continent in the following decades. Gutenberg’s invention rapidly transformed cultural production in Europe; among other things, it would lead to the Protestant Reformation.

A narrative essay is one that tells a story. This is usually a story about a personal experience you had, but it may also be an imaginative exploration of something you have not experienced.

Narrative essays test your ability to build up a narrative in an engaging, well-structured way. They are much more personal and creative than other kinds of academic writing . Writing a personal statement for an application requires the same skills as a narrative essay.

A narrative essay isn’t strictly divided into introduction, body, and conclusion, but it should still begin by setting up the narrative and finish by expressing the point of the story—what you learned from your experience, or why it made an impression on you.

Mouse over the example below, a short narrative essay responding to the prompt “Write about an experience where you learned something about yourself,” to explore its structure.

Since elementary school, I have always favored subjects like science and math over the humanities. My instinct was always to think of these subjects as more solid and serious than classes like English. If there was no right answer, I thought, why bother? But recently I had an experience that taught me my academic interests are more flexible than I had thought: I took my first philosophy class.

Before I entered the classroom, I was skeptical. I waited outside with the other students and wondered what exactly philosophy would involve—I really had no idea. I imagined something pretty abstract: long, stilted conversations pondering the meaning of life. But what I got was something quite different.

A young man in jeans, Mr. Jones—“but you can call me Rob”—was far from the white-haired, buttoned-up old man I had half-expected. And rather than pulling us into pedantic arguments about obscure philosophical points, Rob engaged us on our level. To talk free will, we looked at our own choices. To talk ethics, we looked at dilemmas we had faced ourselves. By the end of class, I’d discovered that questions with no right answer can turn out to be the most interesting ones.

The experience has taught me to look at things a little more “philosophically”—and not just because it was a philosophy class! I learned that if I let go of my preconceptions, I can actually get a lot out of subjects I was previously dismissive of. The class taught me—in more ways than one—to look at things with an open mind.

A descriptive essay provides a detailed sensory description of something. Like narrative essays, they allow you to be more creative than most academic writing, but they are more tightly focused than narrative essays. You might describe a specific place or object, rather than telling a whole story.

Descriptive essays test your ability to use language creatively, making striking word choices to convey a memorable picture of what you’re describing.

A descriptive essay can be quite loosely structured, though it should usually begin by introducing the object of your description and end by drawing an overall picture of it. The important thing is to use careful word choices and figurative language to create an original description of your object.

Mouse over the example below, a response to the prompt “Describe a place you love to spend time in,” to learn more about descriptive essays.

On Sunday afternoons I like to spend my time in the garden behind my house. The garden is narrow but long, a corridor of green extending from the back of the house, and I sit on a lawn chair at the far end to read and relax. I am in my small peaceful paradise: the shade of the tree, the feel of the grass on my feet, the gentle activity of the fish in the pond beside me.

My cat crosses the garden nimbly and leaps onto the fence to survey it from above. From his perch he can watch over his little kingdom and keep an eye on the neighbours. He does this until the barking of next door’s dog scares him from his post and he bolts for the cat flap to govern from the safety of the kitchen.

With that, I am left alone with the fish, whose whole world is the pond by my feet. The fish explore the pond every day as if for the first time, prodding and inspecting every stone. I sometimes feel the same about sitting here in the garden; I know the place better than anyone, but whenever I return I still feel compelled to pay attention to all its details and novelties—a new bird perched in the tree, the growth of the grass, and the movement of the insects it shelters…

Sitting out in the garden, I feel serene. I feel at home. And yet I always feel there is more to discover. The bounds of my garden may be small, but there is a whole world contained within it, and it is one I will never get tired of inhabiting.

Though every essay type tests your writing skills, some essays also test your ability to read carefully and critically. In a textual analysis essay, you don’t just present information on a topic, but closely analyze a text to explain how it achieves certain effects.

Rhetorical analysis

A rhetorical analysis looks at a persuasive text (e.g. a speech, an essay, a political cartoon) in terms of the rhetorical devices it uses, and evaluates their effectiveness.

The goal is not to state whether you agree with the author’s argument but to look at how they have constructed it.

The introduction of a rhetorical analysis presents the text, some background information, and your thesis statement; the body comprises the analysis itself; and the conclusion wraps up your analysis of the text, emphasizing its relevance to broader concerns.

The example below is from a rhetorical analysis of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech . Mouse over it to learn more.

King’s speech is infused with prophetic language throughout. Even before the famous “dream” part of the speech, King’s language consistently strikes a prophetic tone. He refers to the Lincoln Memorial as a “hallowed spot” and speaks of rising “from the dark and desolate valley of segregation” to “make justice a reality for all of God’s children.” The assumption of this prophetic voice constitutes the text’s strongest ethical appeal; after linking himself with political figures like Lincoln and the Founding Fathers, King’s ethos adopts a distinctly religious tone, recalling Biblical prophets and preachers of change from across history. This adds significant force to his words; standing before an audience of hundreds of thousands, he states not just what the future should be, but what it will be: “The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.” This warning is almost apocalyptic in tone, though it concludes with the positive image of the “bright day of justice.” The power of King’s rhetoric thus stems not only from the pathos of his vision of a brighter future, but from the ethos of the prophetic voice he adopts in expressing this vision.

Literary analysis

A literary analysis essay presents a close reading of a work of literature—e.g. a poem or novel—to explore the choices made by the author and how they help to convey the text’s theme. It is not simply a book report or a review, but an in-depth interpretation of the text.

Literary analysis looks at things like setting, characters, themes, and figurative language. The goal is to closely analyze what the author conveys and how.

The introduction of a literary analysis essay presents the text and background, and provides your thesis statement; the body consists of close readings of the text with quotations and analysis in support of your argument; and the conclusion emphasizes what your approach tells us about the text.

Mouse over the example below, the introduction to a literary analysis essay on Frankenstein , to learn more.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is often read as a crude cautionary tale about the dangers of scientific advancement unrestrained by ethical considerations. In this reading, protagonist Victor Frankenstein is a stable representation of the callous ambition of modern science throughout the novel. This essay, however, argues that far from providing a stable image of the character, Shelley uses shifting narrative perspectives to portray Frankenstein in an increasingly negative light as the novel goes on. While he initially appears to be a naive but sympathetic idealist, after the creature’s narrative Frankenstein begins to resemble—even in his own telling—the thoughtlessly cruel figure the creature represents him as. This essay begins by exploring the positive portrayal of Frankenstein in the first volume, then moves on to the creature’s perception of him, and finally discusses the third volume’s narrative shift toward viewing Frankenstein as the creature views him.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

• Ad hominem fallacy
• Post hoc fallacy
• Appeal to authority fallacy
• False cause fallacy
• Sunk cost fallacy

College essays

• Choosing Essay Topic
• Write a College Essay
• Write a Diversity Essay
• College Essay Format & Structure
• Comparing and Contrasting in an Essay

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At high school and in composition classes at university, you’ll often be told to write a specific type of essay , but you might also just be given prompts.

Look for keywords in these prompts that suggest a certain approach: The word “explain” suggests you should write an expository essay , while the word “describe” implies a descriptive essay . An argumentative essay might be prompted with the word “assess” or “argue.”

The vast majority of essays written at university are some sort of argumentative essay . Almost all academic writing involves building up an argument, though other types of essay might be assigned in composition classes.

Essays can present arguments about all kinds of different topics. For example:

• In a literary analysis essay, you might make an argument for a specific interpretation of a text
• In a history essay, you might present an argument for the importance of a particular event
• In a politics essay, you might argue for the validity of a certain political theory

An argumentative essay tends to be a longer essay involving independent research, and aims to make an original argument about a topic. Its thesis statement makes a contentious claim that must be supported in an objective, evidence-based way.

An expository essay also aims to be objective, but it doesn’t have to make an original argument. Rather, it aims to explain something (e.g., a process or idea) in a clear, concise way. Expository essays are often shorter assignments and rely less on research.

The key difference is that a narrative essay is designed to tell a complete story, while a descriptive essay is meant to convey an intense description of a particular place, object, or concept.

Narrative and descriptive essays both allow you to write more personally and creatively than other kinds of essays , and similar writing skills can apply to both.

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Poetry Explications

What this handout is about.

A poetry explication is a relatively short analysis which describes the possible meanings and relationships of the words, images, and other small units that make up a poem. Writing an explication is an effective way for a reader to connect a poem’s subject matter with its structural features. This handout reviews some of the important techniques of approaching and writing a poetry explication, and includes parts of two sample explications.

Preparing to write the explication

Before you try to tackle your first draft of the explication, it’s important to first take a few preliminary steps to help familiarize yourself with the poem and reveal possible avenues of analysis.

• Read the poem or excerpt of poetry silently, then read it aloud (if not in a testing situation). Repeat as necessary.
• Circle, highlight, underline, or otherwise note specific moments that caught your attention as you were reading, and reflect on why you noticed them. These could be moments that made sense to you, profoundly confused you, or something in between. Such moments might be single words, phrases, or formal features (e.g., rhyme, meter, enjambment).
• Reflect on the poem and what it conveyed to you as a reader. You might not be able to fully and logically describe this, but take note of what you noticed. You might consider jotting down your initial thoughts after your first reading, and then noting how your ideas changed after you re-read the poem.

The large issues

Before you really delve into linguistic and formal elements, it’s first important to take a step back and get a sense of the “big picture” of a poem. The following key questions can be helpful when assessing a poem’s overall message:

How did the poem affect you as a reader? The word “affect” can be helpful to consider here since it denotes the overall subjective experience one has in response to reading something (or seeing or experiencing anything, really). This can encompass thoughts, emotions, moods, ideas, etc.—whatever the experience produced in you as a person. You can ask yourself what affective, or emotional, atmosphere the poem produced, even if something about it is difficult to describe. What adjective would you use to describe the tone of the poem? Happy? Sad? Thoughtful? Despairing? Joyous? How did the poem make you feel generally? Did the poem bring to mind certain ideas or images, etc.?

Does the poem have an identifiable speaker or addressee? Is the poem attributed to a specific speaker, or is this unclear or ambiguous? Is the speaker clearly addressing a specific second person audience, or a general one, or does this not come up? Is there a specific dramatic motivation driving the speaker to speak? You may have to make decisions about how to discuss the speaker or addressee in your explication, so it’s worth noticing how the poem is framed.

What seems to be the larger theme, or point, of the poem? This is the first question to try to address. Even if the larger message of the poem seems highly ambiguous, it’s important to first try to get a sense of this before you can move into analyzing the poem more fully. Does the poem seem to be an attempt to understand something? To appreciate something? To express a feeling? To work through a complex idea? To convey an image? Some combination of motivations?

After considering these questions, keep in mind that it’s okay if the poem still confuses you or eludes your full understanding. In fact, this sense of mystery can encourage further thought when trying to explicate a poem. Keep thinking carefully about the intricacies of the language and you may be able to convey some of this sense in your explication.

The details

To analyze the design of the poem, we must focus on the poem’s parts, namely how the poem dramatizes conflicts or ideas in language. By concentrating on the parts, we develop our understanding of the poem’s structure, and we gather support and evidence for our interpretations. Some of the details we should consider include the following:

• Form: Does the poem represent a particular form (sonnet, sestina, etc.)? Does the poem present any unique variations from the traditional structure of that form?
• Rhetoric: How does the speaker make particular statements? Does the rhetoric seem odd in any way? Why? Consider the predicates and what they reveal about the speaker.
• Syntax: Consider the subjects, verbs, and objects of each statement and what these elements reveal about the speaker. Do any statements have convoluted or vague syntax?
• Vocabulary: Why does the poet choose one word over another in each line? Do any of the words have multiple or archaic meanings that add other meanings to the line? Use the Oxford English Dictionary as a resource.

The patterns

As you analyze the design line by line, look for certain patterns to develop which provide insight into the dramatic situation, the speaker’s state of mind, or the poet’s use of details. Some of the most common patterns include the following:

• Rhetorical Patterns: Look for statements that follow the same format.
• Rhyme: Consider the significance of the end words joined by sound; in a poem with no rhymes, consider the importance of the end words.
• Patterns of Sound: Alliteration and assonance create sound effects and often cluster significant words.
• Visual Patterns: How does the poem look on the page?
• Rhythm and Meter: Consider how rhythm and meter influence our perception of the speaker and language.

Basic terms for talking about meter

Meter (from the Greek metron, meaning measure) refers principally to the recurrence of regular beats in a poetic line. In this way, meter pertains to the structure of the poem as it is written.

The most common form of meter in English verse since the 14th century is accentual-syllabic meter, in which the basic unit is the foot. A foot is a combination of two or three stressed and/or unstressed syllables. The following are the four most common metrical feet in English poetry:

• IAMBIC (the noun is “iamb”): an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable, a pattern which comes closest to approximating the natural rhythm of speech. Note line 23 from Shelley’s “Stanzas Written in Dejection, Near Naples”: ⏑ / ⏑ / ⏑ / ⏑ / And walked | with in | ward glo | ry crowned
• TROCHAIC (the noun is “trochee”): a stressed followed by an unstressed syllable, as in the first line of Blake’s “Introduction” to Songs of Innocence: / ⏑ / ⏑ / ⏑ / Piping | down the | valleys | wild
• ANAPESTIC (the noun is “anapest”): two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable, as in the opening to Byron’s “The Destruction of Sennacherib”: ⏑ ⏑ / ⏑ ⏑ / ⏑ ⏑ / ⏑ ⏑ / The Assyr | ian came down | like the wolf | on the fold
• DACTYLIC (the noun is “dactyl”): a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables, as in Thomas Hardy’s “The Voice”: / ⏑ ⏑ / ⏑ ⏑ / ⏑ ⏑ / ⏑ ⏑ Woman much | missed, how you | call to me, | call to me

Meter also refers to the number of feet in a line:

Any number above six (hexameter) is heard as a combination of smaller parts; for example, what we might call heptameter (seven feet in a line) is indistinguishable (aurally) from successive lines of tetrameter and trimeter (4-3).

To scan a line is to determine its metrical pattern. Perhaps the best way to begin scanning a line is to mark the natural stresses on the polysyllabic words. Take Shelley’s line:

And walked with inward glory crowned.

Then mark the polysyllabic nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs that are normally stressed:

Then fill in the rest:

Then divide the line into feet:

Then note the sequence:

The line consists of four iambs; therefore, we identify the line as iambic tetrameter.

I got rhythm

Rhythm refers particularly to the way a line is voiced, i.e., how one speaks the line. Often, when a reader reads a line of verse, choices of stress and unstress may need to be made. For example, the first line of Keats’ “Ode on Melancholy” presents the reader with a problem:

No, no, go not to Lethe, neither twist

If we determine the regular pattern of beats (the meter) of this line, we will most likely identify the line as iambic pentameter. If we read the line this way, the statement takes on a musing, somewhat disinterested tone. However, because the first five words are monosyllabic, we may choose to read the line differently. In fact, we may be tempted, especially when reading aloud, to stress the first two syllables equally, making the opening an emphatic, directive statement. Note that monosyllabic words allow the meaning of the line to vary according to which words we choose to stress when reading (i.e., the choice of rhythm we make).

The first line of Milton’s Paradise Lost presents a different type of problem.

Of Man’s First Disobedience, and the Fruit

Again, this line is predominantly iambic, but a problem occurs with the word “Disobedience.” If we read strictly by the meter, then we must fuse the last two syllables of the word. However, if we read the word normally, we have a breakage in the line’s metrical structure. In this way, the poet forges a tension between meter and rhythm: does the word remain contained by the structure, or do we choose to stretch the word out of the normal foot, thereby disobeying the structure in which it was made? Such tension adds meaning to the poem by using meter and rhythm to dramatize certain conflicts. In this example, Milton forges such a tension to present immediately the essential conflicts that lead to the fall of Adam and Eve.

Writing the explication

The explication should follow the same format as the preparation: begin with the large issues and basic design of the poem and work through each line to the more specific details and patterns.

The first paragraph

The first paragraph should present the large issues; it should inform the reader which conflicts are dramatized and should describe the dramatic situation of the speaker. The explication does not require a formal introductory paragraph; the writer should simply start explicating immediately. According to UNC ‘s Professor William Harmon, the foolproof way to begin any explication is with the following sentence:

“This poem dramatizes the conflict between …”

Such a beginning ensures that you will introduce the major conflict or theme in the poem and organize your explication accordingly.

Here is an example. A student’s explication of Wordsworth’s “Composed upon Westminster Bridge” might begin in the following way:

This poem dramatizes the conflict between appearance and reality, particularly as this conflict relates to what the speaker seems to say and what he really says. From Westminster Bridge, the speaker looks at London at sunrise, and he explains that all people should be struck by such a beautiful scene. The speaker notes that the city is silent, and he points to several specific objects, naming them only in general terms: “Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples” (6). After describing the “glittering” aspect of these objects, he asserts that these city places are just as beautiful in the morning as country places like “valley, rock, or hill” (8,10). Finally, after describing his deep feeling of calmness, the speaker notes how the “houses seem asleep” and that “all that mighty heart is lying still” (13, 14). In this way, the speaker seems to say simply that London looks beautiful in the morning.

The next paragraphs

The next paragraphs should expand the discussion of the conflict by focusing on details of form, rhetoric, syntax, and vocabulary. In these paragraphs, the writer should explain the poem line by line in terms of these details, and they should incorporate important elements of rhyme, rhythm, and meter during this discussion.

The student’s explication continues with a topic sentence that directs the discussion of the first five lines:

However, the poem begins with several oddities that suggest the speaker is saying more than what he seems to say initially. For example, the poem is an Italian sonnet and follows the abbaabbacdcdcd rhyme scheme. The fact that the poet chooses to write a sonnet about London in an Italian form suggests that what he says may not be actually praising the city. Also, the rhetoric of the first two lines seems awkward compared to a normal speaking voice: “Earth has not anything to show more fair. / Dull would he be of soul who could pass by” (1-2). The odd syntax continues when the poet personifies the city: “This City now doth, like a garment, wear / The beauty of the morning” (4-5). Here, the city wears the morning’s beauty, so it is not the city but the morning that is beautiful …

The conclusion

The explication has no formal concluding paragraph; do not simply restate the main points of the introduction! The end of the explication should focus on sound effects or visual patterns as the final element of asserting an explanation. Or, as does the undergraduate here, the writer may choose simply to stop writing when they reach the end of the poem:

The poem ends with a vague statement: “And all that mighty heart is lying still!” In this line, the city’s heart could be dead, or it could be simply deceiving the one observing the scene. In this way, the poet reinforces the conflict between the appearance of the city in the morning and what such a scene and his words actually reveal.

Tips to keep in mind

Refer to the speaking voice in the poem as the “speaker” or “the poet.” For example, do not write, “In this poem, Wordsworth says that London is beautiful in the morning.” However, you can write,

“In this poem, Wordsworth presents a speaker who…”

We cannot absolutely identify Wordsworth with the speaker of the poem, so it is more accurate to talk about “the speaker” or “the poet” in an explication.

Use the present tense when writing the explication. The poem, as a work of literature, continues to exist!

To avoid unnecessary uses of the verb “to be” in your compositions, the following list suggests some verbs you can use when writing the explication:

An example of an explication written for a timed exam

The Fountain

Fountain, fountain, what do you say Singing at night alone? “It is enough to rise and fall Here in my basin of stone.” But are you content as you seem to be So near the freedom and rush of the sea? “I have listened all night to its laboring sound, It heaves and sags, as the moon runs round; Ocean and fountain, shadow and tree, Nothing escapes, nothing is free.”

—Sara Teasdale (American, 1884-1933)

As a direct address to an inanimate object “The Fountain” presents three main conflicts concerning the appearance to the observer and the reality in the poem. First, since the speaker addresses an object usually considered voiceless, the reader may abandon his/her normal perception of the fountain and enter the poet’s imaginative address. Secondly, the speaker not only addresses the fountain but asserts that it speaks and sings, personifying the object with vocal abilities. These acts imply that, not only can the fountain speak in a musical form, but the fountain also has the ability to present some particular meaning (“what do you say” (1)). Finally, the poet gives the fountain a voice to say that its perpetual motion (rising and falling) is “enough” to maintain its sense of existence. This final personification fully dramatizes the conflict between the fountain’s appearance and the poem’s statement of reality by giving the object intelligence and voice.

The first strophe, four lines of alternating 4- and 3-foot lines, takes the form of a ballad stanza. In this way, the poem begins by suggesting that it will be story that will perhaps teach a certain lesson. The opening trochees and repetition stress the address to the fountain, and the iamb which ends line 1 and the trochee that begins line 2 stress the actions of the fountain itself. The response of the fountain illustrates its own rise and fall in the iambic line 3, and the rhyme of “alone” and “stone” emphasizes that the fountain is really a physical object, even though it can speak in this poem.

The second strophe expands the conflicts as the speaker questions the fountain. The first couplet connects the rhyming words “be” and “sea” these connections stress the question, “Is the fountain content when it exists so close to a large, open body of water like the ocean?” The fountain responds to the tempting “rush of the sea” with much wisdom (6). The fountain’s reply posits the sea as “laboring” versus the speaker’s assertion of its freedom; the sea becomes characterized by heavily accented “heaves and sags” and not open rushing (7, 8). In this way, the fountain suggests that the sea’s waters may be described in images of labor, work, and fatigue; governed by the moon, these waters are not free at all. The “as” of line 8 becomes a key word, illustrating that the sea’s waters are not free but commanded by the moon, which is itself governed by gravity in its orbit around Earth. Since the moon, an object far away in the heavens, controls the ocean, the sea cannot be free as the speaker asserts.

The poet reveals the fountain’s intelligence in rhyming couplets which present closed-in, epigrammatic statements. These couplets draw attention to the contained nature of the all objects in the poem, and they draw attention to the final line’s lesson. This last line works on several levels to address the poem’s conflicts. First, the line refers to the fountain itself; in this final rhymed couplet is the illustration of the water’s perpetual motion in the fountain, its continually recycled movement rising and falling. Second, the line refers to the ocean; in this respect the water cannot escape its boundary or control its own motions. The ocean itself is trapped between landmasses and is controlled by a distant object’s gravitational pull. Finally, the line addresses the speaker, leaving him/her with an overriding sense of fate and fallacy. The fallacy here is that the fountain presents this wisdom of reality to defy the speaker’s original idea that the fountain and the ocean appear to be trapped and free. Also, the direct statement of the last line certainly addresses the human speaker as well as the human reader. This statement implies that we are all trapped or controlled by some remote object or entity. At the same time, the assertion that “Nothing escapes” reflects the limitations of life in the world and the death that no person can escape. Our own thoughts are restricted by our mortality as well as by our limits of relying on appearances. By personifying a voiceless object, the poem presents a different perception of reality, placing the reader in the same position of the speaker and inviting the reader to question the conflict between appearance and reality, between what we see and what we can know.

Suggestions for improvement

The writer observes and presents many of the most salient points of the short poem, but they could indeed organize the explication more coherently. To improve this explication, the writer could focus more on the speaker’s state of mind. In this way, the writer could explore the implications of the dramatic situation even further: why does the speaker ask a question of a mute object? With this line of thought, the writer could also examine more closely the speaker’s movement from perplexity (I am trapped but the waters are free) to a kind of resolution (the fountain and the sea are as trapped as I am). Finally, the writer could include a more detailed consideration of rhythm, meter, and rhyme.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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5 Writers Who Blur the Boundary Between Poetry and Essay

"poets are the hoarders of the literary world".

There is a Bernadette Mayer writing exercise that suggests attempting to flood the brain with ideas from varying sources, then writing it all down, without looking at the page or what spreads over it. I have attempted this exercise multiple times, with multiple sources, and what I love about it—along with many of Mayer’s other 81 prompts—is that what comes out can literally take any form. The form is not dictated by the content I read, nor the rules of the exercise. The information I collect prior to writing may be entirely disparate, seemingly unrelated, but through the writing, it begins to take shape, and links are found. In the process of communicating information in a lyric way, barriers to form withheld, I am able to develop a richer portrait of what thinking really looks like.

I heard someone say once that poets are the hoarders of the literary world: collectors of facts, dates, quotes, newspaper headlines, ticket stubs, and love letters. Indeed, another of Mayer’s prompts is to keep a diary, or diar ies , of such useful things. As these journal pages begin to overflow, content spilling over the borders, the writing becomes something we might not always call a poem. Reflecting on his poetry collection The Little Edges and a book of essays The Service Porch , both of which appeared in 2016, poet and critic Fred Moten said , “The line between the criticism and the poetry is sort of blurry. I got some stuff in the poems that probably could’ve been collected with the essays.”

There is a long-standing tradition of poets who have refused genre, or reinvented it, and who continue to push the boundaries of form. Here are five, but just a cursory glance into any of their work will lead you to uncover many more.

Jenny Boully

The first essay in Jenny Boully’s latest collection Betwixt and Between: Essays on the Writing Life, published last month, is a journey into two illusive linguistic temporalities: “the future imagined and the past imagined. ” By positioning the reader in a space of hypothesis, Boully tests the limits of memory and lived experience, never quite allowing her reader to land on stable footing. With this linguistic trick, a redefinition of what is the personal begins to emerge.

Throughout her work, Boully is interested in reorienting the role of the reader from passive to participatory and reorienting the structure of the text from chronological to sensory. In an introduction to Boully’s work, Mary Jo Bang writes , “She uses form in a way that undercuts our every expectation based on previous encounters with poetry.” It’s no wonder that excerpts from her first book The Body , written as footnotes to an imaginary text, were included in both John D’Agata’s  The Next American Essay and The Best American Poetry 2002 .

Dodie Bellamy

Dodie Bellamy is a seamstress of language. Her work stretches the definitions of narrative writing by incorporating literary appropriation, cut-ups, collage, and détournement, or the act of turning a recognizable cultural product on itself, a technique developed by the Situationist International in the 1950s. Her poetic “cunt ups” take works of the traditional poetic canon and reinvent them with a contemporary feminist voice, directly splicing the historic masculine texts with pornographic imagery. The 2013 collection Cunt Norton employs the original language of 33 canonical poets, twisting them into erotic poems as an act of love for her predecessors. “These patriarchal voices that threatened to erase me—of course I love them as well,” Bellamy wrote of the work . Her experiments began to take a more prosaic form as she desired further space for her content. “I was writing linked poems that kept getting longer and more narrative,” she said in an interview .

Due to her inventive and often hysterical treatment of language, Bellamy’s voice is engaging on any topic. The themes she tackles in her collected essays When the Sick Rule the World range from the gentrification of San Francisco, her experiences with a women’s writing group and a moving tribute to the late equally inventive writer Kathy Acker, in the form of a catalogue of the contents of her wardrobe.

Claudia Rankine

When Claudia Rankine’s Citizen won the National Book Critics Circle Award, the judges’ citation read, in part, “It’s not (just) poetry.” The prose-poetry hybrid is a current throughout her work; her previous poetry title Don’t Let Me Be Lonely  was described, alongside Citizen , as “lyric essays” in the  The New York Review of Books . Rankine’s work uses investigative tools of poetry to probe what it means to be human and to encourage readers to examine their personal responsibility to others. Through experiments in form, she highlights the dangers of lazy classification of people and experiences; her words in any medium provoke self-reflection.

In Citizen , a 2015 essay on Serena Williams finds a comfortable home alongside prose and list poems. With her employment of the second person throughout the collection, Rankine prompts her readers to enter into the very experiences she is describing, whether they are wholly familiar or not. As such, her approach is in equal measure confrontational and humanizing.

David Rattray

When the poet, critic, and renowned translator David Rattray passed away at the age of 57 in 1993, the experimental writer Lynn Tillman wrote , “He swept us away also with his ‘bad attitude,’ his insubordination to authority and to the authority of what he knew.” This was true not just in the manner he lived his life, but also how he captured life in text. A principle translator of Antonin Artaud, Rattray’s own poems display a diary-like quality: they are grand narrations stuffed full of dates, places, people.

A collection of essays and stories exploring his relationship to close friends, grief, drugs, travel, and literature called How I Became One of the Invisible was put together by Chris Kraus just before his death. Through narratives that are at once breathless and directional, and full of poetic references and quotes, Rattray reveals his deep feelings for those with whom he shared his life. “He believed people were gems, precious, and treated them accordingly,” Betsy Sussler wrote , following his passing. And so too did he treat his words, allowing us to enter into his world imbued with sensitivity.

Maggie Nelson

Asked in an interview by Emily Gould as to how she decides on which genre(s) she will employ when writing a new book, Maggie Nelson replied , “Genre, for me, is determined by the unfolding of my interests, which is unknowable at a projects’ start.” Her defiance of category is not only evident in her bibliography, but in the bibliography of each book which makes it up. Bluets , which began as an investigation into the color blue and its varying manifestations throughout history, became a book of prose poems. The Art of Cruelty , a personal reflection on the employment of violence in art, became a book of academic criticism. Begun as a work of criticism, The Argonauts became a personal memoir, with its background research spilling, literally, into the margins. “I find my way to the right tone, idiom, form or set of subjects as I bumble along,” Nelson says.

It is her very adaptability of form and expression that has become one of her signature attributes, despite the literary world’s continued insistence on writerly classification, and in turn mimics the fluidity of her subjects. Hilton Als writes , “It’s Nelson’s articulation of her many selves . . . that makes her readers feel hopeful.”

Listen: Claudia Rankine talks to Paul Holdengräber about objectifying the moment, investigating a subject, and accidental stalking.

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8.10: Compare and Contrast Poetry Assignments

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• Heather Ringo & Athena Kashyap
• City College of San Francisco via ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative

Comparing and Contrasting

Frequently, you will find that an assignment asks you to ‘compare and contrast’ poems. There’s a very good reason for this, for, often, it is only by considering different treatments of similar subjects that we become aware of a range of possibilities, and begin to understand why particular choices have been made. You may have noticed that, in the previous discussions, I’ve used a similar strategy. When I showed, for example, how we can describe the rhyme scheme of ‘Love From the North’ as simple, once we have looked at the more intricate patterning of Keats’s, ‘The Eve of St Agnes,’ or Tennyson’s, ‘Mariana.’ Anne Brontë’s, ‘Home,’ and Grace Nichols’s, ‘Wherever I Hang,’ treat the subject of exile in quite different ways—and looking at one, can sharpen our understanding of what the other does.

Consider examples in everyday life, whether it's sports, music, etc. If you take, for example, football or basketball (or almost any sport, really), an offensive-minded team and a defensive-minded team will, despite playing the same sport under the same rules and principles, have completely different philosophical approaches. These different approaches are made even clearer when we compare and contrast them from each other, allowing us to learn more about both types of teams and the sport as a whole. Looking at music, it's the same thing. Think about the similarities and differences—and how these similarities and differences highlight respective traits—between jazz and rock, metal and classical, hip hop and punk.

1) Read the opening lines from these two poems given below about death. How might you explain why they sound so very different?

Lycidas by john milton (1637).

Yet once more, O ye Laurels, and once more Ye Myrtles brown, with Ivy never-sear, I com to pluck your Berries harsh and crude, And with forc'd fingers rude, Shatter your leaves before the mellowing year. [ 5 ] Bitter constraint, and sad occasion dear, Compels me to disturb your season due: For Lycidas is dead, dead ere his prime, Young Lycidas , and hath not left his peer:

Felix Randal by Gerard Manley Hopkins (written between 1876-1889)

Felix Randal the farrier, O is he dead then? my duty all ended,

Who have watched his mould of man, big-boned and hardy-handsome

Pining, pining, till time when reason rambled in it, and some

Fatal four disorders, fleshed there, all contended?

If I had to identify one thing, I would say that the first begins more elaborately and with a more formal tone than the second. ‘Felix Randal’ tends to use language in an unusual way, but you would probably agree that the first sentence is quite straightforward and sounds colloquial (or informal), as if the speaker has just overheard someone talking about Randal’s death and wants to confirm his impression. ‘Lycidas’ opens quite differently. It is not immediately apparent what evergreens have to do with anything (in fact, they work to establish an appropriately melancholy atmosphere or tone), and it isn’t until line 8 that we learn of a death. The word ‘dead’ is repeated, and the following line tells us that Lycidas was a young man. While ‘Felix Randal’ has an immediacy, the speaker of ‘Lycidas’ seems to find it hard to get going.

Both poems are elegies—poems written to commemorate/mourn a death—and both poets are aware of writing within this convention, although they treat it differently.

2) What do the titles of the poems tell us about each poem, and how might they help us understand the different uses of the elegiac convention?

name, but unless you know something about the classical pastoral tradition, it might mean very little to you. The young man whose death Milton was commemorating was actually called Edward King. However, at the time he was writing, elegies were formal, public, and impersonal poems, rather than private expressions of grief. ‘Lycidas’ commemorates a member of a prominent family rather than a close friend of the poet’s. Over two hundred years later, Hopkins, while working loosely within the same elegiac convention, adapts it. Felix Randal is an ordinary working man, not a public figure. In the seventeenth century, it would have been unlikely that he would have been considered worthy of a poem like this.

If you were making a special study of elegies, there would be a great deal more to say. That’s not the idea here, though. By comparing and contrasting the tone of the opening lines and titles, and considering when the poems were written, we have come up with several significant differences. These differences help offer insight into each poem.

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-americanlit1/chapter/reading-approaching-poetry/

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The difference between prose and poetry seems easy to explain: one has blocks of text and fully-fleshed characters, the other has line breaks and pretty words. That’s it, right?

Despite their visual quirks, prose and poetry share many similarities: prose can be musical, poetry can have plots and characters, and both are millennia-old traditions. As such, it would be wrong to prescribe a rigid decision tree for writing prose vs. poetry—many writers have both in their toolkits, relying on each form to communicate different truths.

“Poetry creates the myth, the prose writer draws its portrait.” —Jean-Paul Sartre

So what is the difference between poetry and prose? And which should you write for which occasions? Again, we won’t give hard-and-fast rules, but we can explore their differences in depth and discuss their possibilities.

First, we’ll discuss the features of prose and poetry independently, then we’ll loop back to examine both their differences and their areas of overlap.

Prose vs. Poetry: Defining Prose

Prose is the more common writing form that everyone is comfortable reading and writing. This article relies on prose—as do most ( but not all! ) novels, and just about all news stories, instruction manuals, scientific papers, and so on.

Prose Versus Verse: Line Breaks

The most straightforward rule of thumb for knowing that you’re reading prose (as opposed to its counterpart, verse ) is that there are no defined line breaks: words go all the way to the edge of the page without “turning back” early.

A rule of thumb for prose (as opposed to its counterpart, verse ) is that there are no defined line breaks.

Again, that’s how this blog article works, along with most other writing, from tweets to short stories to scientific papers.

So why would you stop writing prose, and move over to the with-line-breaks type of writing known as verse? The line breaks aren’t arbitrary, but reflect an underlying difference in how prose and verse tend to be structured. To quote the always-helpful Wikipedia:

“Where the common unit of verse is based on meter or rhyme, the common unit of prose is purely grammatical, such as a sentence or paragraph.”

So is verse (writing with line breaks) always poetry? While two are often used synonymously, defining poetry requires more than just scanning for line breaks: as we’ll discuss below, poetry is also about the rich and musical use of language.

Prose is not the counterpart of poetry, but the counterpart of verse.

So prose is not the counterpart of poetry, but rather the counterpart of verse. So verse is not what strictly defines poetry. In fact, not all poetry is in verse—specifically, prose poetry isn’t. In other words, prose and poetry do overlap, whereas prose and verse don’t.

Most poetry is in verse, but some poetry is in prose.

We go into more detail on line breaks, stanzas, and the use of page space in the sections below.

Prose is More Functional than Poetry

A helpful pattern in understanding prose vs. poetry is as follows: prose tends to work in clearer meanings, and to be less musical (that is, working with the inherent rhythms and sonic properties of language) and less densely packed with meanings, literary devices , and associations, than poetry.

As such, prose writing tends to be linear: while a prosaic sentence can twist and turn, it tends to share clear information, generally in a logical order.

Prose tends to work in clearer meanings, and to be less musical and dense, than poetry.

Again, exceptions exist, notably prose poetry : prose writing—writing with no line endings or defined rhythmic meter—that is highly musical and dense, and that is generally more impressionistic and multifaceted than most prose in the meanings it conveys.

And then there’s prose writing that is enigmatic and dreamlike rather than clear and orderly, such as the stream-of-consciousness prose writing in James Joyce’s Ulysses .

These exceptions prove the rule, though: most other prose, from this blog article your friend’s next Facebook post to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein , tends to follow the delineation described here.

We’ll allow Hemingway a last word with a slightly macho, not-applicable-to-every-prose-work, but still helpful description of prose: “Prose is architecture, not interior decoration.”

Sound good? To get a stronger feel for prose and further acquaint yourself with prose writing, take a look at the readings below.

How to Read Prose

This article gives close reading strategies for prose writing.

How to Read Prose: Close Reading Strategies for Prose Writers

Further Readings in Fiction and Nonfiction

The articles below outline helpful practices for numerous kinds of prose writing, from flash fiction to the novel, focusing especially on the common ingredients of storytelling.

• Crafting a Story Outline
• Freytag’s Pyramid
• Literary Devices in Prose
• Writing Flash Fiction
• Writing the Short Story
• Writing the Novella
• Writing the Novel

Prose vs. Poetry: Defining Poetry

Poetry is the oldest literary form, predating the written word (and therefore, prose) by several millennia. Up until the printing press revolutionized the distribution of literature, poetry was the main form for storytellers, who used meter and rhythm to perform oral retellings of their work.

So, what is poetry? As we’ve seen in our introduction to prose above, most—but not all—poetry is written in verse: writing with line breaks, organized around rhythm or meter rather than grammar. Still, we’ve also seen that verse is not what defines poetry, nor is all poetry based in verse.

So it’s not simply another word for verse. Is there an agreed-upon artistic definition of poetry as a literary form? (Spoiler: No.)

Artistic Definitions of Poetry Vary

Artistic definitions of poetry change from poetic movement to poetic movement—and from poet to poet.

For example, William Wordsworth said that poetry is “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings… recollected in tranquility.” This sentiment—largely reflective of the Romantic era—certainly rings true for some poetry. However, New Formalist poets work with poetry to distill and reflect emotion through form and meter: in other words, structure over emotion.

The point is, there’s no singular way to define or understand the artistic aims of poetry. Rather, all poets must define these aims for themselves and write accordingly.

Poets must define the artistic aims of poetry for themselves and write accordingly.

Learning about poetry requires familiarizing yourself with what other poets have already done. This list of poetry movements can jumpstart your understanding of poetry’s complex and various histories.

Poetry Uses Language Richly

Good poetry, from any tradition, sings and resonates beyond the merely “prosaic.”

Whatever literary tradition you ascribe to, poetry has a clear job to be rich, musical, evocative. Good poetry, from any tradition, sings and resonates in a way that goes beyond the merely “prosaic,” as in the following poem excerpt by Derek Walcott:

You will love again the stranger who was your self. Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart to itself, to the stranger who has loved you

all your life, whom you ignored for another, who knows you by heart.

So poetry, in any tradition, is the “cheesecake of language”: packed to the brim with sonic and expressive power. In poetry, it’s not enough to make a rational point straightforwardly, like the prosaic sentence you’re reading is doing.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge said this beautifully, and we can give him the last word in defining poetry.

“Poetry: the best words in the best order.” —Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Cool, right? If you’d like to learn more, check out our guides for reading and understanding poetry.

How to Read Poetry

This article gives close reading strategies for poetry writing.

How to Read Poetry Like a Poet

Further Readings in Poetry

The articles below outline helpful practices poetry writing, including deep dives on common literary devices in poetry and established poetry forms.

• Poetry Forms
• Writing and Publishing a Poetry Book

Poetry vs. Prose: A Clear Example of Each

Let’s cap the definitions of poetry and prose above by simply giving a clear example of each.

Here is some beautiful fiction writing that is definitely prose:

They were nearly born on a bus, Estha and Rahel. The car in which Baba, their father, was taking Ammu, their mother, to hospital in Shillong to have them, broke down on the winding tea-estate road in Assam. They abandoned the car and flagged down a crowded State Transport bus. With the queer compassion of the very poor for the comparatively well off, or perhaps only because they saw how hugely pregnant Ammu was, seated passengers made room for the couple, and for the rest of the journey Estha and Rahel’s father had to hold their mother’s stomach (with them in it) to prevent it from wobbling. That was before they were divorced and Ammu came back to live in Kerala.

—Arundhati Roy, The God of Small Things

And here is some writing that is definitely poetry:

We are such stuff As dreams are made on; and our little life Is rounded with a sleep.

—Shakespeare, The Tempest

5 Similar Features of Prose and Poetry

Having defined prose and poetry above, the reality is that they can be more similar than you might imagine. We’ll discuss their differences in a moment, but first, it’s important to understand the shared potential that each form holds:

• Musicality and rhythm
• Use of colloquial speech
• Use of literary devices
• Ability to tell stories
• Show, don’t tell

1. Musicality and Rhythm

It’s a common misconception that only poetry can be musical. While rhythm and meter are important aspects of a poem’s construction, musicality begins with language, not with structure.

An immediate example of “musical prose” is The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Susan Bell, writer of The Artful Edit , argues that Gatsby finds its success precisely because of the story’s musical, elegant storytelling—certainly, the book has a charged poeticism that feels just as decadent and tasteful as the high society of the Roaring Twenties. Below is some undeniably musical prose:

2. Use of Literary Devices

Things are like other things, which is the essence of literary devices. While some devices are unique to each form—poems have enjambment, prose can begin in media res —a successful piece of writing requires literary devices .

3. Use of Colloquial Speech

Yes, some writing uses lofty and erudite language. However, contemporary prose and poetry writers, from all eras, recognize the importance of speaking to their audience.

Colloquial speech is one way of speaking to your audience. A colloquialism is a turn of phrase with a specific social and temporal context. For example, “groovy” belongs to the American 1970s, Victorian Brits called a brave person “bricky,” and Gen Z’ers “stan” on Twitter.

In literature, Jay Gatsby’s “old sport” is just as colloquial as the poem “A Study of Reading Habits ,” which uses phrases like “right hook” and “load of crap.”

4. Storytelling

Another common misconception is that poetry doesn’t tell stories. While fiction and nonfiction are the genres of prose, poetry also possesses a powerful narrative voice.

Singular poems can tell grand stories, especially poetry in antiquity. The Epic of Gilgamesh , The Odyssey , and Beowulf are all stories in verse, as are novel-poems like Autobiography of Red .

Additionally, contemporary poetry collections often tell stories, just with less linearity. Louise Gluck’s collection Wild Iris is told from the perspective of a flower, and as the seasons change, the flower observes the infinite singularity of mankind, God, and the Universe.

5. Show, Don’t Tell Writing

It’s important for storytellers to demonstrate their ideas without spoon feeding the reader. In other words, writers should Show instead of Tell.

Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass. —Anton Chekhov

We consider “Show, Don’t Tell” a golden rule of writing. Brush up on it here !

10 Differences Between Prose and Poetry

We’ve discussed their similarities, but the difference between poetry and prose is usually fairly clear in practice. The following ten items distinguish the two. To help demonstrate our point, we represent each form with a well known piece of literature. Poetry examples were pulled from Dylan Thomas’ “ Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night ,” and prose examples come from “ The Cask of Amontillado ” by Edgar Allan Poe.

1. Prose vs. Poetry: Use of Page Space

In prose, a line of text begins and ends at the margins of the page. In poetry, the author uses shorter lines, broken before the page margins to introduce multiple meanings. Line breaks are an enduring feature of what differentiates prose and poetry, adding extra emphasis to certain words and sounds.

You’ll notice in prose that a partial line occurs only before a new paragraph.

In poetry, the line breaks mean something more intentional. The ending words can help uphold meter and rhyme schemes, and it also emphasizes important words: “night” and “light” are repeatedly pit against each other in Thomas’ villanelle .

2. Prose vs. Poetry: Paragraphs vs. Stanzas

Prose passages divide single ideas into sentences, and those sentences go on to form paragraphs. A new paragraph signifies the introduction of new ideas or the continuation of relevant information.

The equivalent of a paragraph in poetry is the stanza. Stanzas are groupings of lines which act as units of meaning, with different stanzas containing different ideas and images.

3. Prose vs. Poetry: Single vs. Multiple Meanings

In prose, the meaning of each word is usually straightforward, with double meanings (like puns and irony) clearly expressed. Most prose relies on clear meanings to deliver clear, linear messages.

By contrast, the language of poetry contains multitudes. One word can hold many different meanings, and ideas can be broken into both sentences and lines.

Take the line “old age should burn and rave at close of day.” The word rave can mean multiple things: it can mean to rant and rave as old people (stereotypically) do, or it can mean to rage and fight against. The pun here is intended to energize the reader,

4. Prose vs. Poetry: Noun-Verb Placements

In Standard English , which is the common (but not default) language of prose, nouns and verbs are found close to each other. This is a facet of “clear communication”—it’s important to know who is doing what as efficiently as possible.

We have bolded the noun-verb pairs in an excerpt from both the poem and prose piece.

Notice how the noun-verb pairs can stray from each other much more easily in poetry. Dylan Thomas inserts a noun-verb pair between a noun-verb pair in each stanza—which is much harder to use effectively in prose.

Notice that, in prose, a noun can have multiple verbs attached to it, but the first verb is almost always next to the noun.

5. Prose vs. Poetry: Rhyme (Sometimes)

There are two types of rhyme: internal and external rhyme. External rhyme occurs at the ends of lines, such as the many “-ight” words in Thomas’ poem.

Internal rhyme refers to words that rhyme with each other inside the same beat. These rhymes are not always intentional or charged with meaning, but they occur, such as in this sentence from Poe’s story:

“We had passed through walls of piled bones , with casks and puncheons intermingling, into the inmost recesses of the catacombs.”

Bones and catacombs aptly rhyme with each other. Note, rhyme is not a necessary feature of any prose and many poems. Though some poetry forms do require rhyme schemes, contemporary poets tend to eschew rhyming.

6. Prose vs. Poetry: Meter (Sometimes)

Like rhyme, meter is an (often) optional component of poetry writing. Meter refers to the stress patterns of syllables and the number of syllables per line. Well-executed meter can give poetry a certain musical quality.

Thomas’ poem is written in iambic pentameter, a requirement of the traditional villanelle form. This means there are 10 syllables in each line, following an unstressed-stressed pattern. To understand syllable stress, read Thomas’ poem out loud, and note how every second syllable is emphasized harder than the first.

Prose does not rely on meter to tell a story.

Prose does not have any metrical requirements, and thank goodness for that. Meter can be extraordinarily tough to impose on a poem, but it also affects how the reader interprets the piece. However, prose does not rely on meter to tell a story, as these poetry devices often instill multiple meanings in a piece.

7. Prose vs. Poetry: Pragmatic vs. Imaginative Focus

On a macro-level, the vision of poets and prose writers tends to differ. Prose has a pragmatic focus, meaning that each word should clearly advance a specific idea or narrative. The focus of prose is storytelling, so the author has a duty to use words diligently.

While poetry can tell stories, a poem rarely focuses on plot points, settings, and characters.

While poetry can tell stories, a poem rarely focuses on plot points, settings, and characters. Rather, poetry has an imaginative focus. Words are allowed to break their conventional bounds in the goal of expressing emotions, and ideas can stack upon each other like grains of sand in a sand castle.

So, what’s pragmatic about Poe, and what’s imaginative about Thomas? Every word in Poe’s piece describes details and events that push the reader towards the climax. At no point does the reader jump out of the narrative to speculate or stargaze.

In Thomas’ poem, the words don’t point the reader towards a specific event, but they do encourage the reader to think deeply about abstract ideas. Old or young, the reader will contend with ideas of life, death, justice, goodness, and the judgment against our souls. In 19 lines of mostly concrete images, the poet asks us to read imaginatively—and in the process, to learn what we believe.

8. Prose vs. Poetry: Paraphrasability

A piece of prose can be summarized. If you ask “what is ‘The Cask of Amontillado’ about?”, it is possible to paraphrase the story and get the gist of its deeper meaning. In short, Poe’s story observes a man desperate for revenge, only to find that revenge often hurts both the punisher and the punished.

Poetry is generally harder to summarize than prose, because it tends to include greater multiplicities of meaning.

Poetry is generally harder to summarize than prose, because it tends to include greater multiplicities of meaning. No one can tell you what a certain poem means. They can tell you what it isn’t —for example, “Do Not Go Gentle” is not about heartbreak, war, or the summertime—but deciding what a poem means requires a reader’s own attention.

For example, one could summarize Thomas’ poem as “an ode to Thomas’ dying father, with a vengeful bent against mankind’s eventual death.” But, does saying that invoke Thomas’ juxtaposition of light and dark? His use of rhyme to draw a conceit? His need to believe in the transience of the soul? By the time you’ve summarized the poem, you’ve written something as long as the poem itself. Poetry cannot be paraphrased.

9. Prose vs. Poetry: Point of View

Prose and poetry treat “point of view” in very different ways. A point of view (POV) refers to who is telling the story. The storyteller doesn’t always have a name or a face, but they do inevitably change how a story is read.

In prose, there are 4 main POVs:

• First Person (I): The story is told in the first person, from a character who is either the protagonist or adjacent to the protagonist. The Cask of Amontillado uses the first person POV.
• Second Person (You): The story is told in the second person. Often, the writer will substitute “the protagonist” for “you,” making the story’s actions feel more intimate and personal. Second Person storytelling is rare, but not unheard of.
• Third Person Limited (He/She/They): The story is told in the third person, and it focuses on the perspective of the protagonist. We have access to most of their thoughts and feelings, but our access to other people is limited by the protagonist’s perspective.
• Third Person Omniscient (He/She/They): The story is told in the third person, and the narrator has access to everyone’s thoughts, feelings, and actions. We can jump from person to person with ease, interweaving webs of complex narratives together.

Some stories will also take a Third Person Mixed approach, meaning the meat of the story is told from the protagonist’s perspective, but the reader occasionally jumps to someone else’s POV or to a historical time period.

While poetry can use the same pronouns (I/You/He/She/They), it uses POV differently. A poem is always told from the perspective of “the speaker.” The speaker can be the poet themselves—Dylan Thomas is certainly the voice behind his poem, and he is certainly talking to his father. However, the correct approach is to always call the poem’s POV “the speaker,” as a poem can inhibit many different voices at once. Finally, poetry is much easier to apply to yourself when the speaker isn’t anyone in particular.

10. Prose vs. Poetry: Concision

Prose and poetry writers should both write concisely. Concise writing eschews redundancies and makes every word count. However, concision means something different for the two forms.

In prose, concision generally means that not a word is wasted in conveying information. Concise prose expresses its meaning clearly.

Concise prose expresses its meaning clearly.

Of course, good prose can still be long-winded, as long as this heightens the effect of the work. Take this sentence from Poe’s story:

“It must be understood that neither by word nor deed had I given Fortunato cause to doubt my good-will. I continued, as was my wont, to smile in his face, and he did not perceive that my smile now was at the thought of his immolation.”

These sentences are 19 and 27 words long, respectively. They can also be summarized as follows: “Fortunato thought my smile bore good-will, not the desire to immolate him.”

What does Poe’s long-windedness afford him? Despite being easily paraphrased, every word does count in these two sentences, because they are a part of the narrator’s characterization. He is a long-winded schemer, and that affects how the story must be told, since Poe has chosen the first person to make us intimate with the narrator’s internal conflict.

Poetry is a different situation. Because poetry has line breaks, stanzas, and (sometimes) rhyme and meter, its concision takes a different form. In a poem, it’s great if every word contains heavy meaning; it’s even greater when words contain multiplicities and challenge the reader’s ideas. Economy in poetry is maximizing its impact, musicality, and richness—not necessarily its clear, single meaning.

Economy in poetry is maximizing its impact, musicality, and richness—not necessarily its clear, single meaning.

If you stretched a poem into prose, it would read like a terrible short story, because the concision afforded to poetry is different than that of prose. Concise prose focuses more on clarity of meaning, and poetry more on maximizing the richness and impact of every syllable.

Poetry vs. Prose Venn Diagram

Prose vs. Poetry: A Final Note On Literary Binaries

Any article like this risks making literature seem binary, as though prose and poetry were totally discrete entities; so in closing, it’s good to note again that writers, especially contemporary writers, often work at the intersection of prose and poetry, resulting in genres like the prose poem , the lyrical essay or the poetry novel . (And we haven’t even touched on scriptwriting, which is a different form of communication altogether.)

There is much to explore outside of poetry and prose; this article simply covers the basics. As you advance on your writing journey, don’t be afraid to experiment with words outside of the traditional “prose vs. poetry” binary. You might be shocked by what you can accomplish!

Explore both Prose and Poetry at Writers.com

Whether you’re experimenting with poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction, Writers.com has the classes to help you succeed. Take a look at our upcoming courses —and gain valuable insights from our instructors and writing community .

Sean Glatch

Great summary. I write poetry, prose poems, flash fiction and short stories so I’m using the grab bag of everything you said here! Never taught about line breaks, though. I see some poets going willy nilly all over the page. Maybe there just aren’t any rules where this is concerned…

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Poetry and film: an essay in two voices

A still from Haunted Memory .

Marie Craven: If you have the time and inclination, Dave, I’m interested to hear your thoughts about the piece on Haunted Memory , by Cristina Álvarez López and Adrian Martin, that we published recently on the main Moving Poems side of the site.

Dave Bonta: It was an interesting essay, but I do feel that if its makers call something an essay film or an audiovisual essay, it’s not entirely fair to re-brand it as a film poem just because that’s what our site is about. I’m wary about a kind of hegemonic impulse that leads critics to expand the bounds of their favorite genre beyond a point that’s helpful for the average reader, listener or viewer. (I feel that TriQuarterly , for example, does this all too often for the pieces in their video section, branding them all as “video essays” even when they’re clearly adaptations of texts termed poems by their authors.)

Yes, Haunted Memory is very lyrical and resembles a lot of poetry films, but proponents of creative nonfiction would argue I think that it is a separate category distinct from journalism on the one hand and poetry on the other. So by the same token I’ve resisted the temptation to showcase especially poetic documentaries over the years, though there’s clearly plenty of overlap and mutual influence, and one can find examples of film-makers who work in both genres, such as Lori H. Ersolmaz and Roxana Vilk .

MC: Thanks for the feedback.

In one way, I see critical and theoretical writing about any art as inherently hegemonic, in that a position is adopted above the field it is mapping. But I take your point about re-branding, especially the part about stretching things to a point beyond what might be helpful to audiences.

About TriQuarterly : they published one of my videos in their current issue as a video essay. I have no problem with it. That piece, Kitsch Postcards , from a poem by Amanda Stewart, fits both categorisations, I think. Perhaps from a film-maker’s point of view, there is an element of pragmatism in how and why we may identify with certain genres or forms. The terminology may be more fluid for a film-maker than a critic or theorist.

DB: It’s not a bad thing to keep continuously challenging the rules, even one’s own rules. It’s entirely possible that I’ve gotten a little hide-bound about Moving Poems over the past ten years. And I can see where you’re coming from as a film-maker. But all categories are ultimately arbitrary and fluid; the question is, do they help or hinder our understanding? Poetry itself is notoriously hard to define, and I tend to side with those who simply say that a poem is whatever a poet says it is. So if a video artist declares themselves a poet and starts making what they call videopoems, I’ll consider their work for the site on that basis.

I’ve also somewhat arbitrarily ruled out films or videos lacking in anything that might be considered text, either in the soundtrack or on screen. I follow Tom Konyves in that regard. If I don’t also attempt to distinguish between poetry films and videopoems in a thoroughly Konyvesian fashion, that’s mainly because I see myself as a curator rather than a critic. It would simply be too confusing, and possibly off-putting, for general visitors to Moving Poems to try and navigate between separate videopoem, film poem, poetry film, and cinepoetry categories, for example, so I’ve treated all these things as roughly synonymous and let it go at that. I guess you could say I’m trying to respect the populist impulse of the avant-garde without succumbing to its more elitist tendencies, because I want the site to appeal to people from all kinds of educational and cultural backgrounds.

All of which is a long-winded way of saying yes, I agree with your pragmatic outlook, but I do feel that some distinctions are still useful.

MC: I like the idea that “a poem is whatever the poet says it is”. Artists are often not given that much power over their own work in the broader culture arising around them. I guess we have to leave something to the critics/theorists, who draw on our work to inspire what they do in their own distinct fields of endeavour. I wonder if what they do is a kind of appropriation? I might be less ambivalent about critical theory if I were to view it as a new creative work arising from one that came before it.

Another thing that may have prompted some of what I wrote about Haunted Memory , is an email I recently received from someone in the German-speaking world who is very dedicated to our area of interest. They mentioned how unhelpful they find the term “videopoetry”. As I understood this email, most of their dislike of the term seemed to be about funding policies in that part of the world, as they relate to staging festivals and events in our genre. But they consider the term old-fashioned too, belonging to the 1990s at the latest.

There was also a recent discussion in the Poetry Film Live group on Facebook, in response to a post about the terminology most acceptable within a PhD. Alongside responses from several others highly engaged in our field, I confessed that I tend to interchangeably use terms like poetry film, film poetry, poetry video, videopoetry, and any others in this vein. Part of that discussion was also about whether videopoetry (or whatever) is a “genre” or a “form”. I find this to be of little real consequence (except in the context of a PhD), and again tend to use the terms interchangeably.

DB: Well, there’s no doubt that the Germans, like the Brits, consider “film” the proper term, and are snobby about “video”. And I can well believe that funding organizations might be more impressed by applications using a term perceived to have more gravitas and prestige. But most of the rest of the world goes with some version of “video”.

The form vs. genre discussion is interesting I suppose, but to me a poetic form implies fairly strict rules, so for example a sonnet ought to fit or at least strongly suggest the received opinion of what constitutes a sonnet. What sorts of rules define a videopoem? Precious few. So videopoetry as I understand it is a genre of poetry, yes — as well as a genre of film/video. But not a form.

One could make the distinction that videopoetry or film poetry is a genre of poetry , whereas poetry film, including most animations, is a genre of film . And I think that can be a useful way of thinking about different tendencies or orientations in the work we see. But in reality, I think, many poetry videos emerge from collaborative partnerships between a writer and a film-maker, in which sometimes the text does not precede the project but arises in response to images or music. Or sometimes it might have had a separate life in print or as live performance, but becomes a new thing when adapted to film/video. So the question of whether to consider the final product a film adaptation or an original videpoem becomes fairly academic. They’re poles on a continuum, basically.

MC: Poles on a continuum, yes. I think that videopoetry is both a genre of poetry, and a genre of film. It is a hybrid embodying the histories of both art forms.

In terms of “the Germans” and “the Brits”, it could be argued that “video” is the term that should always be adopted, as it is the most accurate description of the technology we are using, i.e. digital video. The term “film” fundamentally describes moving images on celluloid. There are global subcultures that can be snobby about anything other than celluloid film, especially in the experimental film world. I was once one of them, back when video and film were more clearly different things, and video was recorded on magnetic tape.

DB: Not to beat a dead horse, but it’s worth remembering that the term “video” was invented decades before the advent of video cassettes, and deployed as early as 1937 to describe what was broadcast on television. Nobody talks about “film games” or “online film hosting”. So I do feel it’s a better, more neutral catch-all term for moving images in the era of mass communications.

I guess one thing I’ve learned over the years is that one can become a great videopoet or film poet without necessarily being a brilliant poet on the page or the stage. Just as Arthur Waley was a great poet with a distinctive voice only when he translated other people’s poems into English, so, for example, is someone like Marc Neys able to develop a distinctive and powerful poetic voice in videopoetry despite not being a page poet himself. Over the years, I’ve really grown to appreciate how rare a truly original eye is, and how a genuinely great poetry film-maker’s work might as well constitute a unique new genre.

And then there are all the poets I’ve come to know who learn how to make videos themselves and find that it revitalizes their writing, and sometimes also changes their whole perspective on publishing, simply because the way videos are hosted and shared online tends to make a hash of traditional, scarcity-based publication models.

Which brings me in a somewhat circuitous fashion back once more to the film vs. video distinction. To the extent that screening work in festivals (or in rare occasions in limited theater runs) may prevent it from being freely shared online, it might still make sense to distinguish between something shared as if it were a scarce artifact analogous to a celluloid film , versus something that can be shared as if it were an endlessly replicable composition analogous to a poem .

MC : You mentioned Marc Neys. I almost see videopoetry as revolving around his work. It embodies something unique in the contemporary genre. To me, what he has done represents a true expression of the avant-garde in our midst, opening ways forward that many of us haven’t yet seen. Much art is labelled avant-garde, but not so much fits the description. It’s not that I feel we all should emulate what he has done (on the contrary), but there is much to learn from the spirit of his approach.

Jumping on to another of your thoughts: it’s wonderful for me to think of video revitalising the work of poets. Poetry certainly has reinvigorated film-making to a huge degree for me. This give and take between the parts of the hybrid form is inspiring.

I like what you say about distribution as well. Online publishing is liberating in relation to the older models. Scarcity-based distribution seems so tied up with capitalism. I like things free.

DB : Amen to that. Thanks for the discussion.

Marie Craven

Marie has made short films since 1984. Since 2014 her focus has been on videopoetry, making more than 70 films in the genre. These have involved online collaborations with poets, visual artists and musicians in many countries. Over the decades her film-making has received wide recognition at festivals and events internationally.

Dave is the founder of Moving Poems, and posts videos for his own poems (along with lots of other stuff) at Via Negativa . Here's a bio .

Thanks to Marie & Dave for featuring and discussing our audiovisual essay HAUNTED MEMORY in MOVING POEMS. Cristina & I tend to think of our work in this area – we’ve made around 100 such videos together since 2013, and Cristina started solo in 2009 when she co-founded the Spanish website TRANSIT – as “creative criticism”, a kind of expanded form of film criticism/analysis/appreciation. We have always tried to give it a poetic element – which we also think is true of our “literary” writing about film! I am reminded of Jean Cocteau, who merrily branded everything he did as some avenue of poetry: poetry of cinema, poetry of theatre, poetry of painting, even … critical poetry! We don’t think of our own work as “essay films” (or film essays!) in the vein of Chris Marker or Agnès Varda, because we are always fixed solely on a film, several films, or simply the elements of one film scene, or some general aspect of cinema – we don’t address the “wider world” in a broadly essayistic way. We leave that to others, better ot worse suited to the task! “Audiovisual essays” (also known as “videographic criticism”, among other contested labels) fit into a small, intense world of international activity – just as “videopoetry” seems to be its own, intense world. There is usually not much overlap or communication between these “subcultural” worlds, although there could be. For instance, in the world of film criticism/theory where I hail from, all reference to “film poetry” goes via a consideration of Pier Paolo Pasolini’s famous mid 1960s writings on the “cinema of poetry”, where he distinguished between a cinema of poetry and a cinema of prose – not saying there are absolute examples of each, but rather that these tendencies can co-exist in every work. A good third of my own book MYSTERIES OF CINEMA (2018) is devoted to this quest for defining poetic cinema. Likewise, Raúl Ruiz (a big influence on me) held to the notion that “all films are inherently poetic”, that they contain poetic elements – which perhaps need to be brought out by making another work in response. In the academic part of the audiovisual essay scene today (where Cristina & I don’t actually dwell or belong – we’re freelance film critics), a popular idea is that such audiovisual essays exist on a continuum between the poetic and the pedagogical. Cristina and I always try to find a different balance, a new (at least for us) hybrid between those extremes. One of our own favourite examples is “Wish I Had a River” (2017) in our monthly THE THINKING MACHINE online video series for DE FILMKRANT magazine in the Netherlands, which starts as a typical close analysis, but then the montage becomes more lyrical … https://vimeo.com/199978539 . One thing that does seem to separate or distinguish audiovisual essays from videopoetry (at least, those examples I have watched) is that, where videopoetry uses either self-generated imagery and music or “creative commons” sources (such as the Prelinger Archive), audiovisual essays (certainly, the ones we make) are based almost entirely on the “found” or sampled images and sounds from the films (sometimes very “commercial” films, sometimes not) we are analysing (although we sometimes do our own music, too). Montage – on all levels – is for us the essential thing, the essential operation that is both analytical and creative at the same time. We really take things apart shamelessly, but in order to reconstitute them in another way! Well, they are my random thoughts in response to your discussion; thanks again for featuring us.

Thanks so much, Adrian, for your interesting, substantial reply to our discussion inspired by “Haunted Memory”, and for opening up the current critical and creative processes of you and Cristina.

Your final words regarding the sources of film footage being different for audiovisual essays and videopoetry is on the surface accurate (though not all videopoems include found footage by any means). Yet, the frequency of this collage-like (or montage-like) approach to making videopoems, actually emphasises for me the similarities with audiovisual essays. It is much more the norm for films to be made with original, custom-designed camera footage. So two genres that commonly draw on “found” films seem to me to possibly have a lot in common!

Great to read a well your expansion on definitions of poetry in relation to film, as understood beyond the existing bounds of videopoetry.

Your description of both genres as arising from small, intense sub-cultures, also spot on. Long live the passion!

This is a thought provoking conversation, one which I truly appreciate. Thank you Marie and Dave for creating this post and it is one I have pondered over the last 10 years. Also, thank you for including my work as an example. I feel that Marie’s comment about film-makers having more fluidity with the film form certainly relates to me. For one, I took (3) haibun and (3) haikus from Dave’s “Failed State” manuscript and created a “Triptych Filmpoem” and I absolutely loved working on the piece! Prior, I had no idea what a haibun was. I followed that up with a poetic film, or as Dave remarks, “lyrical” from a personal essay a friend wrote about the suicide of her brother. As it happens my father committed suicide when I was nineteen and felt the time was right to come out from behind the shadows and approach the subject matter. The distribution of this piece will be with mental health professionals as a way to engage family members who are left behind. The thought is to mentor people of all ages to use poetry, art, writing, music and visuals as creative expression to share feelings and speak out, but not in the same manner as a documentary.

I enjoy the free expression of form and tend not to get muddied up in what exactly I’m doing. From the start I either called my projects poetic films or “filmpoems on a mission.” I create the work to express feelings I have at certain times in my life and somehow it always touches on socio-political themes which emerge from the narrative—poem, haiku, haibun or essay. Recently, I began taking personal journal posts to create 6-line pieces to use with my visuals. I don’t come from the poetry and written word arts. I’m strictly visual and have no rules to break. Having said that, I am sensitive when collaborating with poets because I will not alter anything without permission. And often when creating filmpoems, no matter what the genre, I fine-tune the narrative. Most likely because I re-read, view and listen repeatedly. Lately my films take three months from start-to-finish.

I’m one of the elitist snobs about “video.” Mainly because I feel the average viewer/audience conjures up “wedding videographer.” I like to think the films I make, as well as my highly talented colleagues (who inspire me with their work) are special. Coming from the documentary form and having worked on media advocacy for policy initiatives I rather like the distinction of a cultural artifact which engages audiences in discussion in person, or face-to-face venues—the old fashioned way. My thinking is that film festivals offer the potential for a higher level of engagement to explain exactly what the genre and form are, as well as discussion about the films themselves. As far as branding and curating content goes I think a consistency in how we explain the film form would be an asset for funding and financial support of the work. And…there’s always room for a hybrid model for financial support. Our work is worthy of it. Or we’ll have to wait until we die. Ha!

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A Guide to Paraphrasing Poetry, With Examples

Paraphrasing poetry is a common creative and academic exercise that helps you gain a greater understanding of the art form. Paraphrasing, or rewriting, a poem is often necessary for essays, research papers, exams, or other academic writing to analyze or demonstrate an understanding of the original work.

Poetry is deceptively complex for typically consisting of such short texts. Words and punctuation are used economically, and devices like syllable count, sound, and rhyme often play bigger roles than in other writing. Knowing how to write a poem takes a certain skill, and paraphrasing a poem is no different.

Capturing the essence of a poetic verse is no easy task, so in this article, we explain how to paraphrase a poem and offer techniques, tools, and examples to get you started.

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What is paraphrasing poetry?

Paraphrasing a poem is rewriting poetry in your own words while paying attention to word choice, rhythm, rhyming, and other poetic devices.

There are two ways to paraphrase a poem:

• Describe the poem in detail using prose or nonpoetic text to give readers a sense of what the original is like. Students employ this method of paraphrasing for academic writing assignments that call for both direct quotes and paraphrased prose in order to analyze a poem.
• Rewrite the poem line by line or stanza by stanza in a poetic style, retaining the ideas, themes, and structure of the original but using new words or metaphors. Paraphrasing a poem in this way can teach aspiring poets about advanced techniques and acts as a helpful creative practice.

No matter which method you use, you still need proper citations if you’re using someone else’s ideas—even if you use your own wording.

Summarizing poems vs. paraphrasing poems

When summarizing poems, you take the entire work or large portions of the work and describe them concisely . For example, a two-page poem could be summarized in just a few sentences. Conversely, a paraphrase of a poem is roughly the same length and uses the same level of detail as the portion you’re rewriting.

Paraphrasing a poem example

Original poem.

“Hope” (aka “ ‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers ”), by Emily Dickinson

“Hope” is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul, And sings the tune without the words, And never stops at all, And sweetest in the Gale is heard; And sore must be the storm That could abash the little bird That kept so many warm. I’ve heard it in the chillest land, And on the strangest sea; Yet, never, in extremity, It asked a crumb of me.

Prose paraphrase

In the first stanza, Dickinson compares the concept of hope to a bird, relentlessly singing, and sitting atop our soul rather than a tree. The second stanza continues the analogy, demonstrating the tenacity of hope by describing the rare type of storm that could silence this bird while underscoring the positive effects hope has had on numerous people. The third and final stanza concludes in the first-person point of view, as the author admits she too feels hopeful and expresses a seeming sense of gratitude that hope is effortless and free (Dickinson, 1891).

Poetic paraphrase

Hope is like a happy bird and to our souls it tends. It sings bird songs and melodies and that singing never ends [. . . ] (Dickinson, 1891)

Why paraphrasing a poem is different from other paraphrasing

Regardless of what type of poetry you’re paraphrasing, you have to pay close attention to the details. Paraphrasing poetry takes more than just swapping out words with synonyms—you also have to account for tone, mood, and even the sounds or number of syllables.

While other paraphrases focus more on word choice and order, paraphrasing poetry benefits from focusing on abstract elements like tone or atmosphere. Try to isolate the overarching meaning of the original poem and identify its key themes, metaphors, and other literary devices .

Step-by-step guide to paraphrasing a poem

1 read the poem multiple times for full understanding..

Before you start rewriting poems, it’s crucial to know them inside and out. Read and reread the poem to learn all you can about it, particularly its literary elements and structure. It also helps to take notes that you can use later.

2 Outline the major literary elements.

As you read the poem, try to identify the literary elements the poet uses: themes, events, imagery, metaphors, motifs, structure, etc. These literary devices will come in handy when you begin paraphrasing.

3 Rewrite or describe the poem from memory.

It can be difficult to get started with paraphrasing, especially when the original is right next to you. One helpful strategy is to rewrite or describe the poem from memory. This challenges you to come up with brand new phrasing to describe the poem because you probably won’t remember the original word-for-word.

4 Reread the poem and add missing parts or fix inaccuracies.

Rewriting from memory can help jump-start your creativity, but it shouldn’t be the final product. Chances are you missed some key parts from the original or perhaps made some minor mistakes that require fixing. In either case, take another look at the poem to find any issues with your paraphrase.

If you’re having trouble with certain parts of the rephrasing, you can also turn to Grammarly’s AI rewrites for suggestions on new phrasing. Grammarly’s free paraphrasing tool takes any excerpt under 500 characters and offers a few paraphrasing options for inspiration.

5 Revise the paraphrased poem.

Just like with other writing, the final step is to revise and proofread your work. Use Grammarly to check for clarity, conciseness, correct grammar, and more.

Paraphrasing a poem FAQs

Do you need to keep the same structure when paraphrasing poetry.

No, you can paraphrase a poem in prose writing, without worrying about lines, rhyming, or stanzas. However, rewriting poems line by line is a great creative writing practice, although it’s not necessary to do in formal writing.

How do you indicate the original lines or stanzas when rewriting poems?

If you are paraphrasing a single line in a poem, you can refer to it by its line number. Stanzas are a little trickier since they’re not usually numbered, but you can still state directly which stanza you’re referring to, as in “the second stanza” or “stanza 2.”

How do you cite sources when rewording poems?

Whether you’re rewriting poems, describing them, or quoting them directly, you need both an in-text citation and a full citation. The in-text citation is typically a parenthetical citation with the author’s name, date of publication, or page number placed in parentheses at the end of the passage. The full citation goes in the bibliography at the end of the work.

What’s the Difference Between a Poem and Poetry?

Poems and poetry are words we often hear, and they both deal with words touching our hearts. But even keen readers sometimes mix them up, unsure of how they’re different.

A poem is a collection of words arranged to express feelings or paint pictures, with a particular rhythm that often makes it feel special. Poetry encompasses all these unique works and the craft of creating them.

This article will explain the distinctions between a poem and the broad realm of poetry. Understanding these differences can deepen our appreciation for the individual art pieces, as well as the larger cultural landscape they inhabit.

Table of Contents

What Is a Poem?

A poem is a collection of words that is crafted to stir the imagination and emotions of the reader. Unlike everyday language, it’s often more rhythmic and richly descriptive. Each word in a poem works hard to convey precise meaning or feeling, and a poet chooses these words with great care.

Here’s the essence:

• A poem often follows a pattern , whether it’s rhyming at the end of lines or following a beat. Sometimes, though, poems break free from patterns to create a different kind of rhythm that’s unique.
• It’s designed to be heard, not just read . The sounds of the words, the pauses, and the silence all contribute to the poem’s full effect.
• A poem can be short, just a few lines, or long, stretching over pages. Its length doesn’t change its purpose—to capture and express moments, feelings, or scenes.
• Poems don’t always tell a story with a beginning, middle, and end. Some capture just a moment or a single emotion.
• They use imagery to bring ideas to life. You might read about the “sharp, icy air” and feel the chill yourself.
• Poems can be abstract, not making direct sense but creating emotions and thoughts through their wordplay.

What Is Poetry?

Poetry is the craft of creating poems , a form of art where words are selected and arranged to stir feelings, provoke thoughts, and often tell a story. It combines meaning, sound, and rhythm, creating a powerful emotional response.

• Diversity : Poetry is an umbrella for various types of poems, showcasing a wide range of emotions, topics, and structures.
• Expression : It is a powerful form of expression that uses language in an artistic way, often focusing on the experience of human thoughts and feelings more intensely than other forms of writing.
• Imagination : Poetry invites readers to use their imagination, conjuring up scenes and experiences through vivid wordplay.
• Language Play : It plays with the sounds, meanings, and rhythms of words, sometimes bending grammar rules for effect.
• Cultural Reflection : Poetry reflects the culture and times of its creators, capturing the essence of historical and personal moments.
• Connection : It connects people through universal themes of love, loss, joy, and nature.

Poem vs. Poetry: What’s the Difference?

Composition.

• Poem : A single poem is made up of parts like lines and stanzas and has a distinct form, such as a sonnet with its strict structure or a free verse that’s more open.
• Poetry : Poetry as a genre covers all kinds of poems and styles, from the classic to the modern. It’s a collective term for the different ways that poems are written and appreciated.
• Poem : Creating a poem is a personal act, with the poet choosing words and building images to express a specific idea or emotion. It’s a process that might go through many drafts to get just right.
• Poetry : The creation of poetry involves writing individual pieces and also understanding the broader craft. It’s about learning the art and expanding it by studying other poets’ work.

Form and Structure

• Poem : A poem has a unique shape defined by its chosen pattern, whether it is made up of rhyming couplets, haiku structure, or irregular lines that characterize free verse. The form and structure are tailored to serve the specific message or emotional impact of the individual poem.
• Poetry : Poetry as a whole celebrates a diversity of forms and structures. From sonnets and odes to epic poems and narrative verses, it encompasses the full spectrum of poetic devices across cultures and time periods. The structure in poetry is flexible, changing with literary movements and individual poets’ innovations.

Themes and Function

• Poem : A single poem typically explores a central theme or a cluster of related ideas. It may dive into love, grief, nature, or another singular topic, aiming to provide insight or stir the reader’s emotions. The function of a poem is often to commemorate, reflect, question, or celebrate its subject in a deeply personal tone.
• Poetry : Poetry as an art form functions on a grander scale. It touches on universal themes of the human experience—connecting readers across different backgrounds through shared feelings and thoughts. The function of poetry is to communicate across generations, providing a mirror to society’s beliefs, values, and changes.

Scope of Study

• Poem : Studying a poem involves examining the language, meaning, and effect of that particular piece. Scholars and readers analyze the poem’s word choice, imagery, and the way it interacts with its form to produce a singular artistic statement. Each poem is dissected to uncover layers of interpretation and to understand the precise intent behind each line.
• Poetry : Poetry as a discipline is studied through a wider lens. It includes looking at trends over time, how different cultures influence poetic forms, and the way themes are woven through various poets’ works. The study of poetry is about tracing the evolution of the art form, examining how historical contexts influence poetic expression, and understanding the collective heritage and future of poetry.

Reading Experience

• Poem : Reading a poem is an intimate experience. The reader engages with the text one-on-one, savoring the rhythm, sounds, and nuances of language in a concentrated form. This interaction is often personal, with the reader bringing their own interpretation and emotional response to the piece.
• Poetry : Engaging with poetry means immersing oneself in a multitude of voices and styles. A reader of poetry experiences the breadth of the art form, from the ancient epics to contemporary spoken word. This variety offers a broader emotional and intellectual journey, as one navigates through different poet’s lenses, historical moments, and poetic innovations.

Historical Context

• Poem : A poem shows what life was like when and where it was written, reflecting the period’s feelings and events, and can tell us a lot about the author’s life and the time’s culture. It serves as a snapshot, capturing the essence of an era through the lens of personal experience.
• Poetry : Poetry as a whole tells the story of many times and places, acting like a big book that tracks changes in the world and how people think and express themselves throughout history. This collective record provides a diverse view of humanity’s emotional and intellectual journey.
• Poem : A poem stays the same after it’s written, capturing the thoughts and feelings of that specific moment indefinitely, like a time capsule. Its unchanging nature allows it to be a point of historical reference for future generations.
• Poetry : It keeps changing, bringing in new ideas and styles, and grows with the times, always reflecting the latest trends, thoughts, and feelings as society changes. Its continuous evolution makes it a living, breathing art form that adapts and responds to the current cultural climate.

Scholarly Focus

• Poem : When experts study a poem, they look closely at every word and phrase to figure out what the author wanted to say and how they did it, often focusing on just that one poem in detail. This micro-level analysis helps to appreciate the fine craft of the poet and the depth of the poem’s message.
• Poetry : Studying poetry in a scholarly way means looking at lots of poems, how they fit together, and how they’ve changed over time—looking at big themes and poetry’s development throughout history. It’s an expansive study that connects individual poems to the larger, ongoing story of literature.

Influence on Language and Expression

Poetry stands apart from other forms of writing due to its unique use of language and its capacity to express complex emotions and images with a remarkable economy of words.

Use of Language

In a single poem, every word carries weight. The poet chooses words not just for meaning, but also for their sound and the way they fit together. For instance, alliteration , the repetition of the same sound at the start of words, can create a musical effect.

Take the poem “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe , which is famous for its haunting sound and rhythm.

Looking at poetry as a whole, it’s about how these techniques vary across different works and authors. Poetry encompasses a vast array of methods for playing with language, from the concise power of a haiku to the sprawling lines of free verse.

Expression of Ideas and Emotions

• Imagery and Metaphor : These are tools poets use to paint pictures with words or to suggest meanings beyond the literal. A poem might describe a “frosty silence,” suggesting a tension that feels cold and still.
• Symbolism : Some words or objects in a poem can stand for something else—like a storm could represent turmoil or change.
• Rhyme and Rhythm : Beyond being beautiful, these can help to reinforce the poem’s message or mood. A steady rhythm might suggest certainty, while a broken one might convey confusion.

Practical Applications of Poem and Poetry

In a classroom, teachers use individual poems to help students learn about language and how it can express feelings and pictures vividly. Students may focus on one poem, learning about its rhythm, the words used, and what the poem is saying or making us feel.

For example, a teacher might use Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” to discuss decision-making and the beauty of nature.

When teaching poetry, educators look at the bigger picture. They discuss different types of poems and the times and places they come from. The goal is for students to understand the variety in poems and see the changes in writing styles and topics over the years.

Consider how a lesson on Japanese haiku poetry might open up discussions on simplicity, nature, and the brevity of life.

Publishers might look for poems that stand out and have a strong individual voice or message. They might publish a poem in a magazine or as part of a collection.

A recent poem capturing public interest could be about a current global event, resonating with many people’s feelings.

In the publishing world, poetry books or collections bring together various poems. Publishers might compile poems around a theme, like love or nature, or they might gather the best works from different poets to showcase the art form’s breadth.

Literary Critique

When writing about a poem, critics often go line by line to share what makes it special or interesting. They might comment on the poet’s choice of words, the rhythms, and the feelings it stirs in the reader.

On the poetry side, critics examine the broader impact. They discuss how different poems fit into trends, what they say about our world, and how they build on the work of previous poets.

Understanding poems and poetry not only enriches personal enjoyment but also has vital applications across education, publishing, and literary critique. This knowledge enables us to better appreciate and share the power of written words.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a person write a poem without it being considered poetry.

Not really. A single poem is a part of poetry as a whole. Writing a poem automatically means you’re participating in the craft of poetry.

Can anything be considered poetry?

While there’s a lot of room for creativity, not anything can be considered poetry. Poetry usually requires elements of rhythm, heightened language, and an intent to stir emotions or thoughts.

Do all poems have to rhyme?

No, not all poems rhyme. While many traditional poems use rhyme, modern ones often use free verse, which doesn’t follow a rhyming structure.

Do I need to understand poetry to enjoy a poem?

Not necessarily. While understanding poetry can enhance appreciation, many people enjoy and connect with individual poems based on personal experience and emotion.

Final Thoughts

To wrap things up, a poem is like a single photo—a snapshot of emotions or experiences. Poetry, on the other hand, is the whole photo album—it includes many different poems and the creative process behind them.

We’ve learned that it’s not about choosing between one poem or the whole of poetry. Sometimes you’ll be captivated by the depth of a single poem, and other times you’ll be amazed by the variety within poetry.

It’s important to recognize when to savor the details of one poem and when to enjoy the diversity of poetry. Knowing how to appreciate each one can make your reading experience much richer.

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Student Opinion

Can Poetry Make a Difference in Our Lives and in the World?

April is National Poetry Month. What role does poetry play in your life?

By Natalie Proulx

How important is poetry in your life? Do you read or write it? Do you ever turn to poems when you are feeling lost or overwhelmed? When you need comfort or direction?

Do you think poetry has the power to make a difference — in our individual lives and in the world?

In the guest essay “ How to Breathe With the Trees, ” Margaret Renkl writes about Ada Limón, who is serving her second term as poet laureate of the United States. Ms. Renkl says that in a new poetry anthology, Ms. Limón makes a case for poetry being able to heal us and the earth itself:

April is National Poetry Month, and it strikes me that no one is better positioned than Ms. Limón to convince Americans to leave off their quarrels and worries, at least for a time, and surrender to the language of poetry. That’s as much because of her public presence as because of her public role as the country’s poet in chief. When Ada Limón tells you that poetry will make you feel better, you believe her. In her nearly weekly travels as poet laureate, Ms. Limón has had a lot of practice delivering this message. “Every time I’m around a group of people, the word that keeps coming up is ‘overwhelmed,’” she said. “It’s so meaningful to lean on poetry right now because it does make you slow down. It does make you breathe.” A poem is built of rests. Each line break, each stanza break and each caesura represents a pause, and in that pause there is room to take a breath. To ponder. To sit, for once in our lives, with mystery. If we can’t find a way to slow down on our own, to take a breath, poems can teach us how. But Ms. Limón isn’t merely an ambassador for how poetry can heal us . She also makes a subtle but powerful case for how poetry can heal the earth itself. At this time of crisis, when worry governs our days, she wants us to look up from our screens and consider our own connection to the earth. To remember how to breathe by spending some time with the trees that breathe with us.

Students, read the entire essay and then tell us:

Does poetry play a role in your life? If so, when do you turn to it most, whether that means reading it, writing it or both? Why? What effect does it have on you?

What do you think about Ms. Limón’s idea that poetry can heal us and the earth? To what extent can poetry make a difference in our lives? What about in our relationship to the earth? Or to the world at large?

Do you think poetry gets the respect and attention it deserves? Why do you think some people might be turned off or intimidated by poetry? How important do you think it is for young people to read and learn about this art form?

Tell us about one of your favorite poems. What thoughts, memories or feelings does it evoke? What does it mean to you?

If you’re not a reader or writer of poetry, is there another form of art or creative expression that you turn to when you’re feeling overwhelmed or lost? If so, what is it and how does it help you? Have you seen it make a difference in the world?

Bonus: Try your hand at the prompt Ms. Limón gave to writers in “You Are Here,” her new anthology of nature poems: Write a poem that “speaks back to the natural world, whatever that means to you.” If you would like, share your poem in the comments.

Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public and may appear in print.

Find more Student Opinion questions here. Teachers, check out this guide to learn how you can incorporate these prompts into your classroom.

Natalie Proulx joined The Learning Network as a staff editor in 2017 after working as an English language arts teacher and curriculum writer. More about Natalie Proulx