Group Poem Exercise IV
Posted: Wed Apr 14, 2010 2:00 pm
Let's finish Group Poem III, then move on to the following:
We will write a 16-line poem, with four stanzas consisting of four lines each. Each line should be in iambic tetrameter (four stresses per line), and the rhyme scheme will be ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH.
Emerson's "Concord Hymn" is a good example:
By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April's breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard round the world.
The foe long since in silence slept;
Alike the conqueror silent sleeps;
And Time the ruined bridge has swept
Down the dark stream which seaward creeps.
On this green bank, by this soft stream,
We set to-day a votive stone;
That memory may their deed redeem,
When, like our sires, our sons are gone.
Spirit, that made those heroes dare
To die, and leave their children free,
Bid Time and Nature gently spare
The shaft we raise to them and thee.
Now here's the catch:
Each line must contain one of the Goodwords from the past year. If a word has been posted or commented on during the past year, it's fair game for inclusion. You can also use any form of a word (e.g., belie, belied, belying). Please bold the word you use from the Goodword list.
Again, half rhymes (like rest and east) are acceptable if you get stuck or if it makes the line make sense, and a little fudging on the iambic rule will be OK. Try to use the words in the context of the poem, though, and not just as words.
Here's the title and first line:
LOGOPHILE'S DELIGHT
A parsimonious use of words
We will write a 16-line poem, with four stanzas consisting of four lines each. Each line should be in iambic tetrameter (four stresses per line), and the rhyme scheme will be ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH.
Emerson's "Concord Hymn" is a good example:
By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April's breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard round the world.
The foe long since in silence slept;
Alike the conqueror silent sleeps;
And Time the ruined bridge has swept
Down the dark stream which seaward creeps.
On this green bank, by this soft stream,
We set to-day a votive stone;
That memory may their deed redeem,
When, like our sires, our sons are gone.
Spirit, that made those heroes dare
To die, and leave their children free,
Bid Time and Nature gently spare
The shaft we raise to them and thee.
Now here's the catch:
Each line must contain one of the Goodwords from the past year. If a word has been posted or commented on during the past year, it's fair game for inclusion. You can also use any form of a word (e.g., belie, belied, belying). Please bold the word you use from the Goodword list.
Again, half rhymes (like rest and east) are acceptable if you get stuck or if it makes the line make sense, and a little fudging on the iambic rule will be OK. Try to use the words in the context of the poem, though, and not just as words.
Here's the title and first line:
LOGOPHILE'S DELIGHT
A parsimonious use of words