Saturday 1 December 2012

Thank you, poetry class.

In these three months, I've learnt a lot of things to improve in writing poems. At the beginning of workshop, Iv'e received tons of negative comments which got me down for weeks. But after learning to use the criticism and tell myself to have a constant idea to write a poem about a particular subject, I've received positive ones instead. You see, writing poems is like writing an essay. You need to have an introduction stanza, a body with one or a few stanzas, and an ending stanza that concludes or reflects your idea. You also must not let go off the topic, otherwise the readers will get confused of what the narrator is trying to express.

Other than that, I've learned to use imagery. Lots of imagery to make a poem visual. Well, of course every reader needs to picture a topic while reading a poem or a story. An imagery must be clear, concise, yet somehow difficult vocabulary can make an imagery as a puzzle for readers to imagine. Some imagery can also reveal symbolism, which makes a poem stand out. Even the structure of the poem symbolizes something! A unique shape of the poem like a slope shaped by end of each line might shows failure or slipping of something else. Take George Herbert's "Easter Wings" for an example. The shape of the poem is a pair of butterfly wings!

You can also play with words, or taking a line, cliche, or excerpt from someone else's work to make it yours. This means that you can use the idea of a poet's poem (copy a line/verse you like-it's kinda like your plagiarising, but you're making it your own masterpiece to appreciate or comment on his/her work). You can even write a poem about a movie, a book, a song, an artist. Anything. BUT, here's a warning I've learnt. Avoid using cliches, quotes, and abstraction! Sometimes I forgot this rule,and sometimes we want cliches or quotes to make a poem looks interesting. But without these things, your poem will have the "flow".

There's a lot more to add here. But these are the major points I've learned throughout this course. So, for those who wants to be writers as well, learn to write good ones by practising and take notes on tips from famous writers you inspire. I'm looking forward to playwriting and children's literature next year. =)

P.S. Oh! Btw, happy 8th birthday to my youngest sister, Mona!