Poem of the day-22: “MUSIC: AN ODE" by A.C.Swinburne

I
Was it light that spake from the darkness, or music that shone from the word,
When the night was enkindled with sound of the sun or the first-born bird?
Souls enthralled and entrammelled in bondage of seasons that fall and rise,
Bound fast round with the fetters of flesh, and blinded with light that dies,
Lived not surely till music spake, and the spirit of life was heard.

II
Music, sister of sunrise, and herald of life to be,
Smiled as dawn on the spirit of man, and the thrall was free.
Slave of nature and serf of time, the bondman of life and death,
Dumb with passionless patience that breathed but forlorn and reluctant breath,
Heard, beheld, and his soul made answer, and communed aloud with the sea.

III
Morning spake, and he heard: and the passionate silent noon
Kept for him not silence: and soft from the mounting moon
Fell the sound of her splendour, heard as dawn's in the breathless night,
Not of men but of birds whose note bade man's soul quicken and leap to light:And the song of it spake, and the light and the darkness of earth were as chords in tune.

Wikipedia article on "A.C.SWINBURNE":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algernon_Charles_Swinburne

Grateful thanks to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Poem of the day-21: “PALANQUIN BEARERS by Sarojini Naidu”"

LIGHTLY, O lightly we bear her along,
She sways like a flower in the wind of our song;
She skims like a bird on the foam of a stream,
She floats like a laugh from the lips of a dream.
Gaily, O gaily we glide and we sing,
We bear her along like a pearl on a string.
Softly, O softly we bear her along,
She hangs like a star in the dew of our song;
She springs like a beam on the brow of the tide,
She falls like a tear from the eyes of a bride.
Lightly, O lightly we glide and we sing,
We bear her along like a pearl on a string.

Wikipedia article on "SAROJINI NAIDU":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarojini_Naidu

Grateful thanks to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

"Mahasakthi" by Mahakavi Subramania Bharathi

In the Light of the Moon I saw her!
And surrendered to Her in refuge.
All the senses I have conquered
And killed all desire of self.

To work without caring for fruit
And to do Bhakti, she taught me;
Freed of worry she did make me,
And all my suffering she did nip.

She did make the light of the stars.
And too the winds that blow;
She did make the Space on high,
And filled our hearts with Joy - Praise Be!

(Translated from Tamil to English by Professor S.G.Seshadri, former Principal, Rajah Serfoji Government College, Thanjavur)

Wikipedia article on "Subramaniya Bharathi":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subramanya_Bharathi

Grateful thanks to Professor S.G.Seshadri and Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Shakespeare's Sonnets-1:

When I do count the clock that tells the time,
And see the brave day sunk in hideous night,
When I behold the violet past prime,
And sable curls all silvered o'er with white:
When lofty trees I see barren of leaves,
Which erst from heat did canopy the herd
And summer's green all girded up in sheaves
Borne on the bier with white and bristly beard:
Then of thy beauty do I question make
That thou among the wastes of time must go,
Since sweets and beauties do themselves forsake,
And die as fast as they see others grow,
And nothing 'gainst Time's scythe can make defence
Save breed to brave him, when he takes thee hence.

Wikipedia articles on "WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE" and "SHAKESPEARE'S SONNETS":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespeare

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespeare%27s_Sonnets

Grateful thanks to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Poem of the day-20: "Cosmic Consciousness by Sri Aurobindo"

I have wrapped the wide world in my wider self
And Time and Space my spirit's seeing are.
I am the god and demon, ghost and elf,
I am the wind's speed and the blazing star.

All Nature is the nursling of my care,
I am its struggle and the eternal rest;
The world's joy thrilling runs through me, I bear
The sorrow of millions in my lonely breast.

I have learned a close identity with all,
Yet am by nothing bound that I become;
Carrying in me the universe's call
I mount to my imperishable home.

I pass beyond Time and life on measureless wings,
Yet still am one with born and unborn things.

Wikipedia article on "Sri AUROBINDO:":

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurobindo

Grateful thanks to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The Song of Myself - Mahakavi Subramania Bharathi

I'm all the birds that fly in the sky;
I'm all the beasts that roam the earth;
I'm all the trees that grow in the wood;
I'm the wind, the rain and the sea.

I'm all the stars that shine on high;
I'm the vast expanse of widening space;
I'm all the worms that crawl on earth;
I'm all the life in the vasty deep!

All the poetry of Kamban am I;
And all the figures that artists draw;
The halls and bowers men wonder at
And all the beauteous towers amI.

In the music melodious of maidens I am;
And all the teeming pleasures I am;
I'm all the lies of the unworthy base;
I'm all the misery that endurance tests.

Master I am of a million mantras;
And Essence I am of all that moves;
Maker I am of a million tantras;
And He that proclaimed the Vedic Shastras.

I'm He that created the Universes all;
And made them revolve in their orbits true,
Unswerving a bit from their appointed paths;
I'm all the beneficent bands of power;
I'm the Cause and End of all!

I'm He that works the lie called 'I',
And swims through Wisdom's flaming sky;
I'm the Intelligence shining bright,
Oned with all, as the Primal Light!

Translated from Tamil to English by Prof.K.G.Seshadri, Former Principal, Rajah Serfoji Govt College, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India.

"Sakthi and Other Poems"
Poems of Subramania Bharathi -
Translated by Prof K G Seshadri
Published by T.R.N.Memorail Library and Publications
Thanjavur

Nellaiappan's Poems-1: "Thanksgiving"

Thanks Giving

I want to thank many people-
A few are not alive today;
Whereabouts of some not known;
Don’t even know the names of one or two.

Some seen only in books;
Many only heard about;
Yet want to thank them all,
For, I am what I am because of them.

Mother, for imbibing gentleness in me;
Father, for imparting the art of reasoning;
Elder brother, for demonstrating ethics and values;
Younger brother, for being my first friend.

Tamil teacher, for inculcating a love for languages;
Sanskrit master, for my English vocabulary;
Lord Alagappa, for my college education;
My old secondhand cycle, for the trips to and fro.

Friend Annamalai -
For introducing Lin Yutang and Dale Carnegie
And for chiseling some thing inside me

Penfriend Sala –
Deserves a handshake
Though faded away now
Like a passing cloud;
For filling a vacuum those days
When the very thought of a friend
in the opposite sex was exciting.
Author Naa.Paa. -
for molding my character;
Kalki -
for the inspiration to write in Tamil;
How one can forget Poorani and Aravindan,
Vanthiathevan challenging Alwarkkadiyan?

Given an opportunity to re-live,
Jeyakanthan’s and Balakumaran’s
Every word I shall read and re-read,
And a red salute to my Vairamuthu.

Who could match Valampuri John?
Voracious reader, Unique orator.
Though political misjudgments
Overshadow his fame;
I bow my head for whatever I learnt from him.

My friends-
Gentle Venkatachalam, busy Chandran,
Innocent Ramanathan and turbulent Mohan
everyone is important in their own way
either one’s company would wipe worries away.

At the career front
Many deserve my thanks -
From some I learnt what to do and how
From some others what not to do and why
Making me a manager and a trainer.

I still keep on learning-
For there is no end to learning;
As Tamil sage-poet would say
What we have learnt is only a handful
And what we have to is like the Universe.

At the home front -
My Kannamma for putting up
With my idiosyncrasies and shortcomings;
My beloved daughters for making
Life meaningful and worth living;
And for all the three of them
For being the driving force behind me.

I surrender at His holy feet
Myself and all that He has given me.
No regrets and no complaints;
I only wonder about His plans for me.

Poem of the day-19: "Somebody's Mother' by Mary Dow Brine

The woman was old and ragged and gray

And bent with the chill of the Winter's day.

The street was wet with a recent snow

And the woman's feet were aged and slow.

She stood at the crossing and waited long,

Alone, uncared for, amid the throng

Of human beings who passed her by

Nor heeded the glance of her anxious eyes.

Down the street, with laughter and shout,

Glad in the freedom of "school let out,"

Came the boys like a flock of sheep,

Hailing the snow piled white and deep.

Past the woman so old and gray

Hastened the children on their way.

Nor offered a helping hand to her -

So meek, so timid, afraid to stir

Lest the carriage wheels or the horses' feet

Should crowd her down in the slippery street.

At last came one of the merry troop,

The gayest laddie of all the group;

He paused beside her and whispered low,

"I'll help you cross, if you wish to go."

Her aged hand on his strong young arm

She placed, and so, without hurt or harm,

He guided the trembling feet along,

Proud that his own were firm and strong.

Then back again to his friends he went,

His young heart happy and well content.

"She's somebody's mother, boys, you know,

For all she's aged and poor and slow,

"And I hope some fellow will lend a hand

To help my mother, you understand,

"If ever she's poor and old and gray,

When her own dear boy is far away."

And "somebody's mother" bowed low her head

In her home that night, and the prayer she said

Was "God be kind to the noble boy,

Who is somebody's son, and pride and joy!"

How To-24: "How to Write Rap Lyrics"

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit


An editor has suggested that this article be merged with: "How to SpecialWrite Rap Lyrics" Per the merge policy, if these topics are determined to be similar but distinct, then the articles will remain separate. Please comment on the discussion page. Notice added on 2008-06-09.
If you want to learn how to write rap lyrics, you've come to the right page.

Steps

1. Know your rap music. Do this by studying different artist's styles, or study a rapper such as: 2pac, The Notorious B.I.G, Nas, Eminem, 50 Cent, etc.
   
2. Choose your style. You can rap like Eminem, with big multies and big words and a unique way of rhyming. Or like 50 Cent, with different styles such as gangster rap, a dance music, hip hop, etc. The Notorious B.I.G's style changes from slow to fast flow, and the same applies for 2pac.
   
3. Carry a notebook with you everywhere, but you don't have to in public if you feel uncomfortable. If you’re in public, carry an IPod/Walkman, pen, and a few sheets of paper to jot down rhymes that you come up with.
   
4. Learn to freestyle!
   
5. Listen to different types of instrumentals. If you are old enough to drive, keep a few instrumental CD's in your car and freestyle to those.
   
6. Keep repeating these steps.
   

Tips

• Don’t get discouraged or let people put you down. You will learn some skills and get better.
  
• If you’re white, don’t give up or feel like you can't do it. One of the best rappers of all time is white (EMINEM).
  

Things You'll Need

• Pen
  
• Paper/Notebook
  
• CD's/IPod/Walkman (you don't NEED it but it would help)
  
• Instrumentals (you don't NEED it but it would help)
  

Sources and Citations

• Wikipedia.org (look up freestyle rapping or type in how to rap in the toolbar).
  

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Write Rap Lyircs. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

How to-22: "How to Copyright a Song"

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Under international law, copyright is the automatic right of the creator of the work, this means that copyright exist as soon as you have a tangible version of the music, such as sheet music and/or CDs.
Registering the copyright of your work makes it easier to be compensated in court if your copyright is infringed.

Steps

1. Get the proper forms. The form needed for a sound recording to copyright is the Form SR and possibly Form CON. The form for Performing Arts, such as what people listen to on the radio, from Cd's, and live, is the Form PA or Short Form PA, and possibly Form CON. These copyright forms can be requested at (202) 707-3000, requested through mail at US Copyright Office Library of Congress Washington D.C. 20559, or found on the Internet at external links #1 and #2.
   
2. Fill out the forms. Read the instructions carefully and fill it out exactly how explained.
   
3. Send it to
   
   • Library of Congress
     
   • Copyright Office
     
   • Independence Avenue, S.E.
     
   • Washington, D.C. 20559-6000
     
   
   
4. Include a $45 and a non-returnable copy of the music.
   
5. If your submission was filled out right, you will get a certificate of registration in the next 4-5 months.
   

Tips

• Copyright albums at a time rather than each song. It is a lot cheaper to pay $45 instead of $300 or more. The exception is if the publisher insists to copyright each song.
  
• Send your work to the Copyright Office by certified mail, and request a return receipt. This costs about $5.00. When you receive the return receipt, you'll know they have it and the process has started.
  

Warnings

• Make sure that your music is totally original. The rap hit Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice copied the bass line from Queen and David Bowie's song Under Pressure, and Vanilla Ice was sued.
  
• The above advice assumes that your are a US citizen. In 1989, the US became a party to the Berne Convention, meaning that if you are from outside the US, you are not required to register with the US Copyright Office before you can make a claim in a US court (more on US Copyright rules).
  

Things You'll Need

• Recording
  
• $45
  
• Internet Connection (I hope you have it if you are viewing this)
  
• PA, SR, or CON Forms
  

Related wikiHows

• How to Publish Your Music
  
• How to Write a Vocal Melody over a Piece of Music
  
• How to Write and Sell Your Songs
  
• How to Find Your Own Singing Voice
  
• How to Write a Song and Put Guitar Chords to It
  
• How to Compose and Perform a Rock Song
  

Sources and Citations

• Where to register copyright (includes non-US registration offices)
  
• US Copyright Office - Registering Sound Recordings
  
• US Copyright Office - Registering Performing Art
  
• How to register copyright in the US
  

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Copyright a Song. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

How To-21: "How to Write and Sell Your Songs"

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Ever wonder why some songwriters get the deals while others, with incredible talent, style and know-how, never even get the slightest nod from industry professionals? As if talent and know-how weren’t enough, today’s writers are faced with the ever increasing challenge of partitioning their writing styles from the endless barrage of production makeovers of what would otherwise be mediocre songs at best.
Read on to learn how to get your songs published!

Steps

1. Understand how the industry works and your new role within it. Gone are the days when great songs were recorded in what would seem the worst of conditions for a recording facility and recording hardware. Today, the onset of the computer, drum loops, samples and limited music abilities rule – or do they? In one sense that last statement is true, and in another, it’s not. Let’s take a closer look.
   
2. Realize that music is now written, deployed and embarked upon from a market driven perspective. While a volume of music is being created from a very shallow writing and production style, there is left a vacuum for songs and music that is yearned for by a large segment of the population, particularly baby boomers, who miss the “days of the past" where style and passion ruled. Don’t forget that, and in fact, if you will keep that in the back of your mind while you are writing, you will be one step closer to success.
   
3. Continue to write from within and from who you are, but don’t be caught up in the music fads, what’s hot at the moment and what “seems" to work – stay in it for the long haul. If you continue to write with substance, style and from who you are and where “life" has carried your writing style to, you’ll be driven by the craft of the song and not the latest music industry craze.
   
4. Know how to market yourself. Today’s music industry demands that you not only write the next “hit" song, but that you are able to sell and market your next big “hit" – Forget the song selling itself. Sadly enough, this is the case a lot of the time. There are still A&R directors, producers and artists who look at the strength and character of the song, but they’re becoming more and more rare. If you write country music, you’ll have an easier time finding individuals who will look at the strength of your song and not just pure marketing. Other genres are not as conducive to song viability, but marketing viability as the “rule of law".
   
5. Build your production strength. Many great songs today don’t make it simply because the production doesn’t yield the emotional tone, upbeat or not, that the song implores. We all wish the day was back when a great song stood on its own, but many a song demo is actually the track used for the final artist record cut today. You can no longer get away with “fairly" good sounding tracks, they have to sound like a record cut. You may be able to get away with a lo-fi sound in country music, but even this has changed as the popularity of this genre has increased.
   
6. Stay focused, believe in your writing, but be honest at the same time and demand the highest in quality of your song demos and learn from others who have the “sell ability" factor in marketing their songs or products. This is a new day in the music industry, but you can succeed if you will hold to your writing values and not to the latest music whim.
   

Tips

• Have fun making your songs and selling hoping you will make some money.
  
• Try to get a local band that you know well to perform the song.
  

Warnings

• Try not to get too cocky with your songs or you'll get disappointed if your song doesn't sell.
  

Related wikiHows

• How to Publish Your Music
  
• How to Write The Vocal Melody for Music
  
• How to Copyrights
  
• How to Copyright a Song
  
• How to Compose and Perform a Rock Song
  
• How to Find a Tap Harmonic on the Guitar
  

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Write and Sell Your Songs. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

'Somehow' - Poem by Silverfish

This is what we want, we and our children:
A seat in the best school – somehow;
Very high marks in the exams – somehow;
Then the best course in the best college – somehow;
Again best grades in the college exams – somehow;
After that a lucrative job – somehow;
Then the most beautiful girl to love – somehow;
A fabulously rich girl to marry – somehow;
A Hyundai or a Ford Icon – somehow;
A palatial house to live in – somehow;
God! What a dangerous word this “SOMEHOW’ is!

Poem of the day-18: "Ode on Solitude" by Alexander Pope

Happy the man, whose wish and care
A few paternal acres bound,
Content to breathe his native air,
In his own ground.
Whose herds with milk, whose fields with bread,
Whose flocks supply him with attire,
Whose trees in summer yield him shade,
In winter fire.
Blest, who can unconcern'dly find
Hours, days, and years slide soft away,
In health of body, peace of mind,
Quiet by day,
Sound sleep by night; study and ease,
Together mixt; sweet recreation;
And innocence, which most does please
With meditation.
Thus let me live, unseen, unknown;
Thus unlamented let me die;
Steal from the world, and not a stone
Tell where I lie.

Wikipedia article on "ALEXANDER POPE":

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Pope

Grateful thanks to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

How To-20: "How to Create a List of Rhyming Words for a Poem or Song"

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Lots of times you might want to write a poem or a song that rhymes, for a class or just for fun. Here is an easy way to come up with those rhymes without having to resort to a rhyming dictionary.

Steps

1. Think of an ending to a word, such as -at or -on.
   
2. Write it down so you remember it.
   
3. Go through the alphabet and stick each letter to the beginning of the word. so for -at you would say that 'at' is already a word, then 'bat', 'cat','fat', 'hat', 'mat', 'nat', 'pat', 'rat', 'sat', 'tat', and 'vat' all are real words that rhyme with that ending.
   
4. 4. Once you've gone through all the letters, try two letters a at a time, for example, 'flat', 'gnat', 'stat', 'that'...
   
5. 5. Figure out where in your poem or song you can use these words
   

Tips

• Choose an ending that isn't too common. for example, don't use -ing, because almost every verb out there ends in that.
  
• If you're having real problems, ask your teacher if you can use a rhyming dictionary, which have lists of words that rhyme.
  
• You can also google 'rhymes' or 'online rhyming dictionaries' and find online databases of words that rhyme, often which can be sorted by number of syllables, which is a nice feature
  

Related wikiHows

• How to Become a Writer
  
• How to Rejuvenate a Cliche for Creative Writing
  
• How to Avoid Making a Mary Sue
  

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Create a List of Rhyming Words for a Poem or Song. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

Poem of the day-17: "A Book" by Emily Dickinson

There is no frigate like book
To take us lands away,
Nor any coursers like a page
of prancing poetry.

This traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of toll;
How frugal is the chariot
That bears the human soul !

Wikipedia article on "EMILY DICKINSON":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily_Dickenson

"The Poems of Emily Dickinson" (Free eBook) from Asiaing.com. :
http://www2.hn.psu.edu/faculty/jmanis/dickinson/Dickinson-poems6x9.pdf

Grateful thanks to Asiaing.com and Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Poem of the day-16: "My Song" by Tagore

This song of mine will wind its music around you,
my child, like the fond arms of love.

The song of mine will touch your forehead
like a kiss of blessing.

When you are alone it will sit by your side and
whisper in your ear, when you are in the crowd
it will fence you about with aloofness.

My song will be like a pair of wings to your dreams,
it will transport your heart to the verge of the unknown.

It will be like the faithful star overhead
when dark night is over your road.

My song will sit in the pupils of your eyes,
and will carry your sight into the heart of things.

And when my voice is silenced in death,
my song will speak in your living heart.

Wikipedia article on "RABINDRANATH TAGORE":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabindranath_Tagore

Grateful thanks to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

How To-19: "How to Write a Poem About Nature"

How to Write a Poem About Nature

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Nature is beautiful. Nature is wonderful. Nature is awe-inspiring. Here is one way to go about writing a nature inspired poem.

Steps

1. Take some writing materials (pen/pencil, paper/journal/diary) and venture into nature. It could be somewhere in the woods, on a hill, near a creek, on a mountain, in a park, or maybe even just in your backyard.
   
2. Look around you. What do you find that is beautiful? What do you find that is not beautiful?
   
3. Close your eyes and listen (if your location permits) to the sounds of nature. Listen to the wind, the birds, the bugs, the grass growing...anything.
   
4. Take a deep breath in and sense your surroundings. Can you smell the trees? The water?
   
5. Think of some key words that come to mind when you observe your surroundings and write them down.
   
6. Concentrate on these words and how your surroundings make you feel. Take some time before writing anything to really feel your surroundings and become one with nature.
   
7. When you feel the time is right, start your poem. Remember the key words you wrote down, and what you felt when you looked, listened, and smelled you surroundings. Feel free to take a few moments to stop in the middle of your writing process and reassess your surroundings.
   
8. Choose a writing style that you feel comfortable with; whether you are accustomed to rhyming, prose, haikus, sonnets, or limericks, any one of them will work for this subject.
   
9. When you start writing, do so without editing or going back. This way, your immediate feelings will be more easily captured in your work.
   
10. When you've finished writing your poem, take a few moments to sense your surroundings again. Breathe deeply and just relax in the beauty of nature.
    
11. Take a quick look over your poem and make small adjustments until you are satisfied with the result.
    

Tips

• It is easier to write about nature when you are surrounded by it.
  
• Don't try to block any feelings that come to you when you are trying to write. If an unexpected emotion arises, don't suppress it, write about it and let it flow.
  
• Writing poetry is hard and takes practice. If you aren't satisfied with your first effort, don't be discouraged, try again and keep practicing.
  
• Keep a journal in which you write all your poetry. Having all your work in one place will make it easy to refer back to previous works, and looking back may spark new ideas
  
• Wear proper apparel. Sturdy shoes and long pants are best when going on a hike into nature.
  

Warnings

• Nature is not always very nice. If you go into nature, make sure you are familiar with where you're going so you don't get lost or attacked by unfamiliar animals.
  

Things You'll Need

• Something to write on: journal, paper, composition book
  
• Something to write with: pen, pencil, chalk, crayon, charcoal
  
• The desire or motivation to write
  
• Bug spray to ward off angry mosquitoes
  

Related wikiHows

• How to Become Inspired to Write Poetry
  
• How to Write a Poem
  
• How to Watch Wildlife
  
• How to Hike Safely
  

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Write a Poem About Nature. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

How to-18: "How to Write a Sonnet"

How to Write a Sonnet

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

So, you may not be the next Shakespeare. But that doesn't mean you can't write a great sonnet. This page will teach you the way to become a respectable sonneteer.

Steps

1. Choose your style of sonnet. The two most common kinds of sonnet are the Petrarchan (Italian) sonnet and the Shakespearean (English) sonnet. Note that the Petrarchan consists of quatrains (the octave) and a closing sestet in the pattern ABBA ABBA CDE CDE. The letters represent a rhyme (i.e., a's should rhyme with a's and b's should rhyme with b's). The Shakespearean style is two unique quatrains followed by two like and one unlike couplet: ABAB CDCD EF EF GG. However, it can also be quatrains and a couplet. In The Art of Shakespeare's Sonnets, Helen Vendler describes it as Q1, Q2, Q3, and C. The structure is essentially the same, though, with the couplet being the finisher.
   
2. Write your lines in iambic pentameter. This is where every other syllable is stressed, so that each line ends with a strong rhyme. There are also ten syllables in each line, five of which have emphasis (pentameter). The ninth line of the sonnet (Shakespearean/Italian style) usually has a turn or a change of tone)
   
3. Keep writing! It will probably take you a few drafts to be happy with your sonnet, but don't get discouraged. Keep the trusty thesaurus by your side and you'll be fine.
   

Tips

• Don't feel that it is necessary to stay within the strict patterns of Shakespearean and Petrarchan sonnet styles; poetry is a fluid art form, so feel free to alter the rhyme scheme or shape of a sonnet to suit your vision. For example, "Sonnet 145" was in tetrameter.
  
• Read other poets' sonnets for examples and inspiration. Many poets have written in this style, including Shakespeare, Elizabeth Barret Browning, William Wordsworth, John Milton, P. B. Shelley, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Pablo Neruda, and more.
  
• Try reading every other syllable louder and harder; it makes it much easier to make a sonnet.
  
• If you can't think of something to write about, don't freak. Look around you, see if anything that you are looking at can spark an idea. You can find poetry in anything!
  

Related wikiHows

• How to Write a Poem
  
• How to Write a Haiku Poem
  
• How to Write a Love Poem
  

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Write a Sonnet. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

How To-23: "How to Write a Fabulous Poem"

How to Write a Fabulous Poem

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit


An editor has suggested that this article be merged with: "How to SpecialWrite a Poem" Per the merge policy, if these topics are determined to be similar but distinct, then the articles will remain separate. Please comment on the discussion page. Notice added on 2008-03-21.
Want to know how to write a fabulous poem? Well, you have come to the right place to learn how to write a fabulous poem. Here we will teach you how to write a fabulous poem.

Steps

1. What do you want to write a poem about? For our example poem, we'll write about a country called Djbouti.
   
2. Begin your opening paragraph for your poem. For example: "Off the coast of Africa, Is a country that exports no paprika. No cows, no geese, no flocks of sheep, Djibouti's income is rather cheap."
   
3. Continue into your moral of the story, if there is one. If not, just continue on explaining about it. "If you go to Dijibouti, don't expect to find much water. For from there and here, it is much hotter! Don't look for a creek with a river otter, 'cuz you won't find it, not when there's no water!
   
4. Something not to do? Keep repeating!! You usuallly shouldn'treuse a word in one stanza. But, if you look at the example above, you will see that I used 'water' twice and it sounded OK. So use your best judgement. And don't keep on going and going with words that rhyme. It's great to rhyme for a little while, but then you need to move on to the next stanza and start a new set of rhyming words. For example: "Do not go to Djibouti, If you're looking for a booty. For if you look up Djbouti, In a very nice big muti, You will find that Djbouti, While looking in a muti, is not a place to go to find your booty.
   

Tips

• If you're writing poems for kids, make them rhyme. If you are writing a poem that doesn't rhyme, make sure it flows well.
  

Warnings

• Don't make your poem too long, and don't make it too short.
  

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Write a Fabulous Poem. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

How To-17: "How to Make Poetry Sound Professional"

How to Make Poetry Sound Professional

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Some people have a passion for poetry, but they never know how to make it sound like a real poet wrote it. Here are some steps on how to make your poetry sound as good as your mind wants it to be.

Steps

1. Find somewhere quiet and relax for awhile with paper, pencil and a book to write on. Start your poem with imagination. If you can't think of anything, write about whatever you're looking at at that moment, or what you would like to see in your future. Begin with "the", "in" or just simple words that begin talking about a specific subject, and rearrange it as you go.
   
2. When you've written a poem you're happy with, get it edited. A trusted teacher or professor, a good friend, or anyone you know who works in writing, editing or publishing can give you useful feedback.
   
3. Fix your poem accordingly, and get it re-edited as necessary until you feel it is sufficiently polished.
   
4. Get it out there! Submit your poem to a contest, a publisher, a newspaper, or try to get it read at any nearby poetry reading. It gives you bragging rights and you've gotten a taste of true professional writing.
   

Tips

• Don't get mad if it doesn't sound good at first, it takes a little practice to make poetry sound good to you. We are our own worst critics, right?
  
• Talking about the earth or nature is a great subject to choose when it comes to poetry.
  
• Don't get frustrated if it doesn't sound right the first time, keep trying.
  
• Not all poems rhyme, in fact most great poetry doesn't. Don't feel pressured to have a strong rhyme scheme or rhythm, poetry is about expressing yourself the way you want to.
  

Warnings

• Don't change the subject too fast. Make each thought flow smoothly into the next.
  
• Try not to talk on and on to your friends about your writing career if you've only had one or two things published.
  

Related wikiHows

• How to Write a Haiku Poem
  
• How to Scan a Poem
  
• How to Write Serious Gothic Poetry
  
• How to Write a Overcome Writer's Block in Poetry
  
• How to Write a Quatrain Poem
  

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Make Poetry Sound Professional. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.