Narrative poetry is one of the oldest forms of literature, as pre-literate societies relied on oral communication to pass along stories and history. [2] X Research source Beowulf, The Odyssey, and The Canterbury Tales are some of the most popular narrative poems and were written in verse based on song and memory. [3] X Research source
Brainstorming ideas and storylines can help if you’re unsure what to pick. Try writing down everything that comes to mind—a memory, image, or place. [5] X Research source
A first-person perspective uses “I” and “me” to recall events that have happened or are happening to the character. A third-person perspective uses “she/her,” he/him,” and “they/them” to describe what the character is doing. Narrative poems can be written with any point of view or perspective; just be consistent throughout your narrative. As long as your narrator is the one telling the story, you’re golden. [7] X Research source
One of the main purposes of narrative poetry is to entertain. Unlike other forms of poetry, a narrative poem doesn’t drive a reader forward with feelings but with plot devices. [8] X Research source Brainstorm different possibilities for your characters, setting, and plot. What you write down isn’t set in stone. Some writers find that outlining during or after writing helps them more than outlining while brainstorming.
For example, T. S. Eliot opens The Waste Land with the famous line “April is the cruellest month, breeding. ” You’re instantly drawn into Eliot’s words as a reader, wondering why April is so cruel. There’s no set rule that a narrative poem has to start at the beginning of a story, so play around with your opening scene.
For example, in “The Fish,” Elizabeth Bishop describes a fish’s skin as “ancient wallpaper” and eyes as “tarnished tinfoil. ” These descriptions help us as readers see what the narrator sees, putting us into the story.
For example, in Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven,” the phrase “nothing more” is repeated as an allusion to the narrator’s deteriorating mental state. [11] X Research source Alliteration is the repetition of beginning stressed sounds through a series of words, like “swift, slow, sweet, sour. ”[12] X Research source Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the middle of words, such as “leaping” and “deep. ”[13] X Research source Consonance is the repetition of words that share a similar sound, like “bed” and “bad. ”[14] X Research source
Edmund Spenser chooses to use quotation marks in The Faerie Queene to separate the narrator’s voice from the characters’: “Saying, ‘yet O thou dreaded Dame, I crave / Abide, till I have told the message, which I have. ’”
Robert Frost’s narrative poem “The Road Not Taken” is famously known for having two interpretations: the speaker consciously makes a choice or fate led him down a particular path. Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” also receives multiple interpretations; this prose example has been defined as a ghost story, exploration of mental illness, or combination of both.
William Shakespeare’s Venus and Adonis Alexander Pope’s The Rape of the Lock David Ferry’s “The Soldier”
Take notes on whatever inspires you throughout the day. Maybe that’s a sunset, graffiti, or the smell of rain on pavement. Your notes don’t have to be detailed. Try jotting down a single word or even doodling an image—whatever will jog your memory later.
Prose generally refers to literature that’s written in a straightforward manner that follows typical grammatical guidelines. [18] X Research source Basically, anything that isn’t written in verse is considered prose, such as short stories, essays, and books.
Remember, there’s no right or wrong way to write poetry. Instead of sticking to a certain format or style right away, just let the words flow. Even the most famous poets will tell you that their best work didn’t happen overnight. It takes work and revision, but the best thing you can do is simply write.
Letting a poem sit for a while and even working on something else can allow you to return to it with a fresh perspective. Try going for a walk, listening to music, or reading on your break to get those creative wheels turning.
Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queene John Milton’s Paradise Lost
John Keats’ “La Belle Dame sans Merci” Edgar Allan Poe’s “Annabel Lee” Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner A quatrain is a four-lined stanza that has a rhyming scheme. [24] X Research source
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Marie de France’s “Lanval” Alfred Tennyson’s “The Lady of Shalott” In poetry, a meter refers to the rhythmical pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables. [26] X Research source Verse refers to poetry as a whole or a single line of poetry. [27] X Research source
Elizabeth Barret Browning’s Aurora Leigh Homer’s The Iliad Derek Walcott’s Omeros A stanza is a group of lines separated from others in a poem. [29] X Research source Free verse is a structural poetic style where non-rhyming lines follow the natural rhythms of speech. [30] X Research source
For example, you may ask yourself, “What if the TV suddenly turned on to an opera station?” or “What if it was raining gumdrops?”
