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POETRY WORKSHOPwith Doris Corti Poetry which looks like prose can still be a line of rhythm. It is up to the poet to determine the poem’s structure Just as in a song, each line in a poem should sound out as a unit; and note that word ‘sound’ because it is very important in poetry. Those who do not understand free verse, or even poetry for that matter, say that quite often it looks and reads like prose. A piece of poetry that looks much like a piece of prose, can still be a line of rhythm. It can be a unit where the distribution of cadences aid our responses to the speed and the meaning within the poem. It is the poet’s job, among other things, to determine where each line breaks, and where impulses of rhythm occur. The line unit chosen by Romney Marsh poet Ben Barton works very well, it suits what is within each short stanza. His poem has no punctuation, this is a deliberate technique used here in conjunction with the pattern of vowel or consonant that ends each line: echoes from a room of silence laughter from a room of pain This is the beginning of the poem, each short line break creates a significant effect. It makes no difference whether a poem is written in short, or long lines, what does matter is that the poet works until a single line is as interesting as possible. A line can be a complete thought, or part of a thought process. If the line is left incomplete, make it open-ended, so that the following line picks up the thought. This way the theme will be continued and developed until the end of the poem. This is evident in Ben’s poem: hurting from a room of love confused by a room of mazes dead from a room of you. This is a building up of a theme, and follows a structure of lineation that the poet thought best for the subject. I have only one query, not with the lineation but of the meaning in the fourth stanza: cheering/from a room/of grieving. This is a paradox that needs to be interpreted. Originally published in Writers' News, January 2000  |