Using REPETITION in Poetry

Everywhere I look at present in Blog world or Twitter, I see and hear poetry! This always gets my creative juices flowing, so this post is in support of all those brave teacher poets out there. Hope you can use this idea to astound and amaze your students and colleague.

Today, it’s all about repeating ourselves…

Repetition is an old and basic element in poetry. It goes back to poetry's origin in chants and spells. Something "magical" happens when you repeat a word, phrase or line. It gives the reader a chance to rest before setting forth again. It becomes the refrain that glues the words together. Words take on new dimensions, subtleties, and connotations. It creates patterns--and echoes.

To create a poem using repetition, you could begin by making a list  using one of the following starting points:
  • Somewhere you went today
  • Today's weather
  • Description of your clothes
  • An event you witnessed recently
10 randomly selected simple concrete nouns (as opposed to abstract nouns like- faith, hope and charity)

Next, generate 10 close sounding words to link to your nouns e.g. key/ create watch/squash  mirror/ mirage.

Now, begin writing freely, using as many of the words/phrases from your list as possible.

Seek out a phrase, word or line you like or feel is evocative? Repeat it.
Should you find you have stalled in your writing, randomly repeat something a thought or idea.

Try to work repetition into your poem in some way, be it a single word, phrase or full line.

Read the results out loud. Chop out any awkward sounding phrases. The aim is to get your words to flow easily from your tongue. If there are no colors in your writing, add some. Keep close to the flesh of your original idea, making it as organic as possible.

To show you I’m a risk taker, here are a couple of my efforts at using repetition.



Dead Rat

Dead rat

Dead rat

Someone's found a dead rat.

Come with me

Come and see

A squishy, squashy dead rat

Dead rat

Dead flat

On the path

What a laugh

A squirmy, germy dead rat

Watch the boys kick it up

Flick it up

Dare you to pick it up

Jody screams

Tony squirms

Someone squeals  'It's full of worms !'

Jodie yells 'That rat just wriggled'

Only jokin’ she then giggled

Dead rat

Dead rat

Some boys have found a dead rat

Come with me

Come and see

An irky-perky dead rat

Dead rat

Dead rat

Leave it there

Dead flat.

Alan j Wright



I Never Said That

I never said that you were fickle

Had bucked teeth

And a nose like a pickle

....I never said that

I never said that you chew jelly

And suck your thumb

When you're watching the telly

....I never said that

I never said you had no manners

Or your ears stuck out

Like great, huge spanners

....I never said that

I never said your brain was small

Or that you had no charm at all

....I never said that

I never called you Teacher's pet

(She's already got a dog I bet)

....I never said that

I never said those things you see

All I said was,

....I agree.

Alan j Wright

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular With Other Visitors

Writing Opposite Poems

Image
 O pp o s ite  P oem s In his book, ' How To Write Poetry,'  Paul Janeczko presents the idea of opposite poems. Paul suggests they could also be referred to as antonym poems. This is wordplay and it's fun to try. Here are some examples Paul provides to help us see very clearly how these short little poems work. I think the opposite of chair Is sitting down with nothing there What is the opposite of kind? A goat that butts you from behind Paul Janeczko You will  notice the poems are written in rhyming couplets. They can be extended so long as you remember to write in couplets. Paul shows us how this is done. What is the opposite of new? Stale gum that's hard to chew A hot-dog roll as hard as rock Or a soiled and smelly forgotten sock You might notice that some of Paul's opposite Poems begin with a question. The remainder of the poem answer the question posed. Opposite poems are a challenge, but it is a challenge worth trying. Not every thing has a
Read more

Writing About Reading - Reading Reflection Journals:

Image
UPDATED February 2022 Writing in response to literature can be a great way for students to organize their thoughts, explore what they think, and generate ideas. One of the strengths of writing in journals is that it allows students to capture all of those great ideas that generally float off into the air during the discussion.  Journal writing can also become drudgery if students are asked to write too often, given little choice or inspiration in what to write, or if they simply don't have anything to say. While some students eagerly share their impressions about selections they have read in class discussions, others are less comfortable and keep their thoughts to themselves. In an effort to encourage all students to think more about what they read and confidently share their observations and opinions, some teachers are turning to the reading reflection journal and are gaining insights they never anticipated.  The Value of Reflection Journals   Journals assist teachers to gain i
Read more

Learning How to 'Zoom In' When Writing

Image
It is important for young writers to understand that not all parts of a story are equal. There are parts through which a writer moves quickly, and important parts where the writer slows down and lingers a while. This is where the writer might intensify the action or reveal the character’s reactions in greater detail. Young writers need to know that this is a deliberate strategy on the part of the author. The author consciously zooms in. The writer uses a magnifying glass to view a part of the story more closely; to focus on a moment and to slow down time. When an important part of the story is enlarged upon, it   is a signal to the reader, that this part of the story is important. The strategy of ‘zooming in’ goes by many names: ‘exploding a moment’ ‘magnifying a moment’, ‘hotspot’ ‘snapshot’, ‘adding detail’ or ‘slowing the action.’  What ever the name, the idea is the same. The author writes in a way that expands a significant part of the story with the intention of drawing t
Read more

Answering Questions Posed by Young POETS

Image
UPDATED, May 2020 As a frequent visitor to schools I have the great pleasure of working with groups of young, enthusiastic poets and their teachers. When I arrive in a classroom, young poets are often pre-loaded with questions, and most keen to have them answered.  I try to answer as many as I can, but we frequently run out of time, and the poetry caravan moves on to the next classroom. So I am here to answer some of those questions -right here, right now. So here goes: When you were little did you love writing? The short answer is yes. I have always enjoyed words and language. I can't recall a time when I wasn't doing some kind of writing. When did you write your first poetry book? I have had poems published over the years, but it wasn't until 2014 that I had an entire book of poems (an anthology) published. When I looked back through all my notebooks I realized I had hundreds of poems from which to choose. So, 'Searching For Hen's Teeth-Poetry From The
Read more

Slice Of Life Story-The Trials Of A Left Handed Writer

Image
Amazingly I learnt to write using my left hand. An achievement against the prevailing beliefs of the day. My very first teacher saw it as her mission in life to ‘fix’ the poor, wretched little boy suffering from what she clearly diagnosed as left handed disease. She must have thought, 'This child must be re formatted! If he remains left handed he will be forever condemned to writing in a scrawl that no one will be able to read. Ugly hand, ugly hand.' ...They tried to say it couldn't be done, it mustn't be done. They took the pencil out of my left hand and placed it in my right hand. It felt unnatural. It felt weird. It was not right. More to the point it was not left. I was not about to conform. At least they didn't try tying my hand behind my back. Watch me I said. I may be an oddball, left handed scribbler but I am a determined oddball. I mean how boring would the world be if everyone wrote with their right hand? So I dug my toes in –and my hands to
Read more