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How to Write a Pattern in Poems

In formal poetry, there are three main types of pattern (in this case, called "meters"): accentual, syllabic and accentual-syllabic. Each meter offers a certain kind of rhythm to which you write your poem, as if it were music. In pure accentual verse, patterns are based on the number of stresses (accents or emphases placed on sound) in each part of a poem -- for example, each line. Think of a stress as a word or syllable you hit really hard when you speak. Like accentual verse, syllabic verse requires the writer to count; in this case, he is counting the number of syllables presented. And, as you might have guessed, accentual-syllabic verse counts both the number of syllables and stresses in a poem. Once you combine these meters with concepts like word repetition and rhyme, you have an infinite number of patterns to create within your poetry.

Instructions

  1. Pure Accentual Poetry

    • 1

      Decide how many stresses each line of your poem will contain. For example, the nursery rhyme "Star Light, Star Bright" contains four stresses per line. Thus, the pattern is consistent: 4,4,4 . . . Remember, you don't have to limit yourself to the number of lines your poem will contain; you only need two lines to demonstrate a pattern.

    • 2

      Write a single line containing your chosen number of stresses. Keep in mind that reading or saying your line aloud will help you to decipher just how many stresses appear in total. A rule of thumb is to practice reciting the line as if you were reprimanding a small child. For example: "We TOLD you TWICE just YES-ter-day" contains a total of three stresses.

    • 3

      Continue the poem by writing another line that contains the same number of stresses as the previous. Follow the narrative set up in your first line as logically as possible. For example, you could write: "You CAN-not DYE your HAIR." Remember, also, that just because a line has a prescribed number of stresses doesn't mean it must also have a prescribed number of syllables.

    • 4

      Repeat Steps 2 and 3 until you've reached the logical conclusion of your poem.

    Pure Syllabic Poetry

    • 5

      Decide how many syllables each line of your poem will contain. For example, most Haiku (a form of Japanese poetry) consist of only three lines, the first of which contains five syllables, the second seven syllables, and the final line five syllables again. Thus, the pattern is symmetrical: 5,7,5.

    • 6

      Write a single line containing your chosen number of syllables.

    • 7

      Continue by writing a second line containing either the same number of syllables as the previous, or you may choose an alternative number of syllables, as you would when writing Haiku.

    • 8

      Write a third line containing the same number of syllables as the first line. If writing a Haiku, you may end your poem here.

    • 9

      Write a fourth line containing the same number of syllables as the second line, if you desire.

    • 10

      Repeat Steps 2 through 5 until you've reached the logical conclusion of your poem.

    Accentual-Syllabic Poetry

    • 11

      Decide how many stresses and syllables each line of your poem will contain.

    • 12

      Write a single line containing your chosen number of stresses and syllables. For example, William Shakespeare's Sonnet 130's first line is: "My MIS-tress' EYES are NO-thing LIKE the SUN," which offers a total of ten syllables and five stresses.

    • 13

      Continue by writing a second line containing the same number of stresses and syllables. In Shakespeare's sonnet, he writes: "CORAL is FAR more RED, than HER lips RED" or, if you like, "than her LIPS RED." Again, ten syllables, five stresses.

    • 14

      Repeat Steps 2 and 3 until you've reached the logical conclusion of your poem. A sonnet, like Shakespeare's, would be 14 lines long.

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