Entries in formal poetry (3)

Monday
Feb222010

Writing with Rhyming Resources: A Rational Review

Date22 February 2010 at 13:34 EST | AuthorJohn Robert Ladd


Kate reviews two rhyming dictionaries: RhymeBrain [pictured] and RhymeZone.By Kate Sherrod

For John Ladd there's not much I wouldn't do

(Online at least), so when he asked me, Kate,

What's your take, we were won'dring, on the new

Web dictionary? How does Rhymebrain rate

Against what you are using now, since as

A formal poet you must do so lots?

I've played with it a few days now; it has

Potential to be useful, though it clots

One's screen with nonsense when asked for a rhyme

(Non-dictionary words you may weed out

Though it will list them with the rest, first time),

So much so that I'm quite inclined to doubt

It shall replace Rhymezone, though I shall try

It for a few more days to clarify.

One thing a formal poet like me [I’m the nut-job who writes a pseudo-Shakespearean sonnet a day over at Suppertime Sonnets] tends to find indispensible to the craft is a good rhyming dictionary. If naught else, it spares the workplace poet the indignity of chanting off mostly nonsense syllables in her head or under her breath to determine if she should, indeed, end that line with 'night:' Bite, byte, bight, cite, delight, fight, height.

Click to read more ...

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Thursday
Jan142010

'For Better for Verse': Learning Meter Interactively

Date14 January 2010 at 14:1 EST | AuthorJohn Robert Ladd

There's been so much great poetry and book news this week that I'm struggling a little to keep up with it all! First off, an essay of mine has appeared in the newest issue of the online arts journal, Escape Into Life. I've admired the work of the editors and artists at EIL for some time, and it was exciting for me to get a chance to write for them. The essay has to do with Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and with how literary mash-ups are a new form of literary criticism.

Too much poetry news is never a bad thing, but it does mean that choices have to be made about what makes it to the blog and what gets put off for another week. Today's post, however, was a no-brainer. A new tool from the University of Virginia Department of English, in partnership with their tech-savvy library, allows users to interactively assign traditional markers of meter to poetry. The interface, wryly called For Better for Verse, then checks your work to see if you've correctly assigned the stress, feet, meter, and rhyme. Screenshot after the jump:



What you see above is the partly-completed exercise for the first poem that 'For Better for Verse' offers. Down the left-hand side is a collapsible panel for filling in the rhyme pattern. You click above the words to add the symbols for stress, and on the words to add a line to divide the feet. Clicking on the corresponding symbols on the right allows you to check the various elements, and bring up the drop-down menu for describing the meter. The poems are sorted by title, difficulty, and type, and the selections span vast swaths of poetic history which creates a very full experience.

For someone who fondly remembers first becoming fascinated with the concept of meter and rhyme during sixth grade English, this tool is a delightful refresher of skills that every poet should have in the back of his or her mind. Though the UI could be a little more intuitive, the makers of this tool stepped up to the challenge of converting a traditional written practice to a virtual one with considerable skill, and the exhaustive glossary and help sections put all questions to rest. What's more, lightbulbs like the one you see in the screenshot lead to enlightening notes on the intricacies of the poem's meter.

This tool should quickly become beloved by all poetry enthusiasts, and for anyone who's ever though about writing a formal poem like a sonnet, it's an important and helpful resource.

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Friday
Sep042009

Formal Poetry: Five Essential Resources for Enhancing Your Enjoyment and Understanding

Date04 September 2009 at 23:8 EDT | AuthorJohn Robert Ladd

By Travis King

I’m one of those rare persons who greatly prefers formal poetry to modern free verse. I know I’m a minority, and I’m not here to argue the merits of each over the other. I simply want to offer up some resources for those who, like me, are of the formal school or for those who prefer free verse but would like to get better acquainted with formal poetry—especially fellow poets who would like to write some. One of the arguments I’ve heard against formal poetry is that it’s obsolete, antiquated, a relic of the past. On the contrary, the movement is alive and well, and there are a number of modern technological resources available to anybody with a computer. With the following five, I believe anybody can come to understand, enjoy, and write formal poetry.

First, an introduction to the style is necessary. Two good ones that I recommend discuss the philosophy of formal poetry and give examples; both are available online at no cost: “Formal Poetry and Related Terms: Formalism, New Formalism, Neo-Formalism, Pseudo-Formalism, Neo-Classicism, Traditional Poetry, and the Multitudinous Variations Thereof” and Rhyme and Reason: Modern Formal Poetry.

Second, one should be familiar with the literature. There are many poetry sites on the Internet, but one that is sure to be limited almost entirely to classic formal poetry is the collection of public-domain (pre-1923) e-books at Bartleby.com. Also helpful for appreciating formal poetry are those sites that provide audio versions of poems. I’ve mentioned it before, but I’d like once again to suggest Classic Poetry Aloud, which currently provides free access to over 500 recordings. Also, check out journals that are devoted to formal poetry. Two outstanding ones that do not charge for access are The Road Not Taken: A Journal of Formal Poetry and Mezzo Cammin: An Online Journal of Formalist Poetry by Women.

Third, it’s a good idea to understand the terminology used in the field of poetry. Robert G. Shubinski’s Glossary of Poetic Terms is a simple, straightforward introduction. A more structured (but less wide-ranging) introduction is the classic Introduction to Poetry for Students of English Literature by Raymond Macdonald Alden, which is available for online reading or as a download in both .pdf and .epub formats.

Fourth, network with other formalists. Seek them out on Twitter, MySpace, Facebook, etc., and definitely consider joining the Eratosphere, a forum named for the Greek muse of lyric poetry. Here, you can discuss, post, and critique both formal and free-verse poems.

Finally, for those who truly wish not only to read formal poetry but to write it as well, a rhyming dictionary is an essential tool. No matter how expansive your vocabulary is, you can’t lodge the entire lexicon of the English language within your head. I myself have owned a portable paperback rhyming dictionary for years, but digital versions exist, and I suggest availing yourself of one. For those with iPhones or iPod Touches, Rhyme Time and Perfect Rhyme are available from the iTunes App Store. I’m not aware of any for the BlackBerry or Android, but good Web-based rhyming dictionaries can be found at rhymezone.com and rhymer.com; each possesses different functions in addition to basic end-rhyme matching, so try them both and decide which works for you.

Poets and poetry readers alike should find these materials quite useful, and as I mentioned, I believe with these five resources at hand, anyone can learn to enjoy, or enhance the enjoyment of, formal poetry. So, what are you waiting for? Go. Delve into the wide world of formalism! Have fun, and don’t forget to come back here and let me know what you find. Are these resources truly helpful? Are there others that poets and poetry lovers might find equally or more beneficial to their study or practice? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

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