Creating the iambic rhythm is not about stringing a bunch of two syllable words in groups of five, it is about crafting a pattern of stressed and unstressed sounds in a consistent pattern. This website can show and tell you much better than I can what an iambic rhythm looks and sounds like.
I don't want to just introduce you to iambic pentameter. I want you to feel it breathe in strings of your own breath laid out on the page. I want you to have some foundation below you—some sense of the history and traditions of poetry before you blaze your own path or follow in the footsteps of another like-minded poet. Once it is in you, the iambic rhythm will weave itself into everything you write—and even into the way you speak—because (done right) it simply mimics a natural and powerful way of speaking. It is as unaffected as snow falling, a stream flowing or the wind blowing. The iambic pentameter pattern lends itself well to lengthy poems that include reflections (such as Hamlet's famous "To be or not to be" speech, or Tennyson's "Ullysses" [best poem ever written]. It also works for descriptive and philosophical pieces, such as "Birches" by Robert Frost and "Dulce et Decorum Est" by Wilfred Owen. I have tried to imitate it myself here and here and here in my own poetry. As with most poets trying to write a poem, the difficult part is getting started. What a good poet realizes is that you can only shoot an arrow so far. Meaning can be found in the most common of situations: sitting around a table, laying in a field, or listening to a song. A poem does not have to be an epic battle. It is simply a way of seeing that our experiences of life can—and maybe should all be—meaningful. The reaching for a gallon of milk in the fridge can be a metaphor for love and care; the ringing of a phone can mean you are connected, or a simple wink of an eye can signify a mutual understanding. A poem is a package that is opened by the reader and appreciated with the same immediacy, even if the full use of the gift comes later--which it should if it is a good poem. |
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