Assignment task: Short Paper Option: Analysis of the Effect of Constraints on Poetry
Most fixed forms presumably began when a poet sat down and decided to write a poem within certain parameters: "I'm going to write a fourteen-line poem that uses ABBAABBACDECDE rhyme scheme," or something like that. Your job for this short writing assignment is to do just that.
Task: poem using constraints and analyze the effect the constraints had on your writing process and the end result. free verse poem using the same theme and compare the experience.
Purpose: To use writing to better understand the effects of constraints of formal verse poetry and to experience the process of using constraints to create.
Process:
In the first paragraph, explain what your constraints are going to be-you might say how many syllables each line can have, or you might prescribe a set rhyme scheme, or you might demand that each line start with the letter M. It's really up to you, as long as you choose three constraints and explain what they are.
After you've done that, poem that adheres to the constraints you've identified.
Next, write a free verse poem on the same topic as the formal verse poem you wrote.
Finally, an analysis in which you discuss the process and the effect of the constraints you incorporated. Was it more or less difficult than you thought it would be to write using constraints? Did you end up finding that there's a kind of freedom in being constrained? What specific effects did the constraints have on your poem? What effects were you going for when you chose your constraints? Do you think the constraints were effective? Lastly, compare the experience of writing with constraints to writing the free verse poem.
Criteria for Success:
The constraints are clearly explained and (adhered to in the poem)