Sometimes tradition is good.  I admit, one more time, that I’m a die-hard poetic traditionalist.  I love the art of poetry and the many formats that our metrist predecessors taught us.  I’ll present many poetic structures in this blog, so stay tuned.

On of my favorite forms of poetry is the pantoum , which uses line repetitions throughout for effect. There is a faction of liberals that thinks it’s perfectly acceptable to vary the words slightly in the repeated lines to enhance the development of the theme, but traditionalists hold strong and fast to the "no deviations" rule.  You can make your own choice, and I have to admit, I’ve done it the liberal way, but I really prefer the challenge of adhering to custom – and making it appear that it really is easy to write… It’s NOT!

As in any poem, the first and most important thing to consider is THEME – The theme must develop within the line repetitions. THINK THEME – THINK THEME – THINK THEME… It must be properly developed to be successful.  Like anything we build, we need to put preliminary thought into the desired result and build with that end in mind.  We’re using just words/lines as our building blocks.

With the theme properly established, it’s time to consider the skeletal structure of the pantoum.  This format consists of six stanzas. Each is a quatrain which will contain lines that repeat in this order:

a1-b1-a2-b2
b1-c1-b2-c2
c1-d1-c2-d2
d1-e1-d2-e2
e1-f1-e2-f2
f1-a2-f2-a1  
 

Note that the first line (a1) also becomes the last line – the poem loops back around to its beginning. So, the first line has to be one that’s appropriate to end the poem as well (and still allow you to DEVELOP YOUR THEME).  Begin with the repetitions – then work on meter.

A pantoum, done properly, will have a distinctive meter , whether it be iambic, trochaic, anapestic, or any other. . Meter is easily tweaked after the poem has been written, so that can be ironed out later. Try to maintain some semblance of syllable count in your lines to make it easier, but don’t stress over it.

Then there’s imagery .   In any form of writing, the artful use of imagery defines the ability level of the author.  Poetry is perhaps the best genre to learn about imagery, because of its breviloquent nature.  It’s easy to read a poem and recognize simile, metaphor, and the rest.  For convenience, let’s review them here.

Simile – A comparison using as or like.  A simile is AS EASY AS PIE.

Metaphor – A comparison that doesn’t use "as" or "like", but rather uses one idea to represent another.  A metaphor IS A PIECE OF CAKE.

Extended Metaphor – This involves the entire poem in a metaphorical comparison. In my poem below, I use the changing tides to represent the passing of time and stages of life.

Personification – Is giving the attributes of life to an inanimate entity. In my poem below, line 10, repeating as line 12, “The drift of tide defines each sandy grain,” indicates that the tide is actually defining the grains of sand.  While the tides do actually shape the grains, they don’t physically “define” them.

Alliteration – Is repeating the first consonant sound of words in any line of a poem. “She sells sea shells down by the sea shore,” is a perfect example.

Assonance – Is repeating the words’ internal vowel structure within a line.  Lines 18 and 21 (f1 ) below are an example. “Each flush of dusk yields blush of dawn sublime.”

Onomatopoeia – This is the one that uses words that sound like themselves – Whoosh – Crash – Pop – Ahh-Choo… etc.  That’s an easy one.  Just don’t try to pronounce it?

The meter of a poem is the element that gives it its lyrical flow.  This particular poem is written in iambic pentameter (five metered feet per line – each comprised of an unstressed/STRESSED syllable count).  Meter can be any repetitive combination of stressed and unstressed syllables, as long as it’s consistent.  The art of meter is another blog entry which can be found in the poetry techniques category of this writers’ blog.  It’s great fun to work with, so do take the time to check it out.

Once theme, rhyme scheme, imagery and meter are mastered, the resulting pantoum should be a masterpiece.  Write On!

Outside my Window

Outside my window time and tide roll on,
Caressing breeze of halcyon lagoon;
Yet trice of sail and morrow’s tides begone.
Best sally fore ebbed waters flow eftsoon.

Caressing breeze of halcyon lagoon,
Inviting days of lollygagging pace;
Best sally fore ebbed waters flow eftsoon,
Laps offing seaward steadily apace.

Inviting days of lollygagging pace,
The drift of tide defines each sandy grain.
Laps offing seaward steadily apace,
As mere imprints of yesterday remain.

The drift of tide defines each sandy grain.
Let waves not flow slap-dash upon this shore,
As mere imprints of yesterday remain;
Today’s a present gone forevermore.

Let waves not flow slap-dash upon this shore;
Each flush of dusk yields blush of dawn sublime.
Today’s a present gone forevermore;
Here Trumpet’s call to live life’s full betime.

Each flush of dusk yields blush of dawn sublime;
Yet trice of sail and morrow’s tides begone.
Here Trumpet’s call to live life’s full betime,
Outside my window time and tide roll on.