Poet Quest 7
Inspiration
Can you think of a time in the past you felt alone? How did you exit that loneliness? Is there an image in your mind that gave you hope? Did your hope end up being your saving grace? Go deeper.
Knowledge
Enjambment - Running a sentence into the next line without using punctuation.
End-stopped Lines - Ending each sentence at the end of the line.
It’s important to know when to use enjambment. You can get the opposite effect from enjambment.
On the one hand, you can read a section of poetry fast, creating a sense of panic and urgency.
You can also get the opposite effect by reading slowly, breaking up a sentence into many distinct pauses at the end of each line.
In either case, it creates tension.
Encouragement
Time to bring some tension to your art! Have fun with those intense moments of your past! Try to make the reader feel what you felt. You up for the challenge? I think so!
Challenge
Write a single poem using enjambment to convey how you felt in a past moment in time.
Part 1. First write the story. Then, create the line length to give the wanted effect.
Were you in a panic? Short of breath? Try short, followed by shorter, rhythmic lines that echo someone gasping for air.
Were you stressed out of your mind? Your heart racing? Try shorter lines followed by slightly less short lines.
Were you talking to someone with memory loss? End each long line as if the person speaking trails off in thought before returning to what mattered to them. End the next line with a short punchline.
Part 2. Read it out loud. Then edit what you have to make each line end with the right word and beat that conveys what you want the reader to know and feel.
Then, if you’re up for it, share your favorite (of the two poems you wrote) in the comments or send it to me via carrier pigeon (e-mail) here for feedback.
