The challenge that comes with aspiring to be a versatile poet in the poetic milieu has inspired me to write poems across the broad spectrum of poetic genres. These poems I share with you gladly.
So come with me on a guided tour through “Poetry For All Seasons”. Let’s explore the variations which influenced the selection of content, form, style, diction, poetic diction, the speaker or voice of the poems, texture and tone. We’ll first sail on the Acrostic lake and explore its many tributaries such as the Abecedarian, Diastic, Double Acrostic, Lipogram, Mesostich, Reversed Abecedarian, Subliminal Letter Poem, Subliminal Sentence, Subliminal Telestich, Telestich, Transgram, Triple Acrostic, Univocalic and the Word Square.
I love the challenge posed when creating poems in the Acrostic form. If you vary the locations of those letters air-marked for the encrypted message, you can create various forms of the Acrostic. The poems, Alisajs, News, Lighthouse, Olives, Venus goddess of love, and Love are written in the form of the Acrostic.
As a poetic genre, the Acrostic is as old as the hills. It is said that ancient religious cults used it to identify themselves to each other in secret. Research has shown that in the middle 19th Century the Acrostic became a popular tool not only for ushering praise on royalty and conquerors but to educate children in history and geography. It is purported that Queen Victoria was very fond of the Double Acrostic which by that time had evolved from a verse form to a type of puzzle. It is true to say that we have grown into seeing such puzzles in both the dead leaf and electronic media, which essentially are extensions of the Acrostic form.
The Acrostic poem is written according to a set form. The parameters of this form are seen in this light:
The first letter of the first word on each verse or line when taken sequentially must spell out the title, or theme of the poem.
The content should tell something about the encrypted message.
It should convey praise on people, cities, objects, events, and so on.
The poems “Prayer” and “Treasures” are written as Double Acrostics. However, in the “Prayer” poem the rule is stretched further to allow for the formation of a Double Reversed Acrostic.
The Double Acrostic means that the first letter of the first line is the same as the last letter of the first line. The poem, “Treasures” has nine lines and the rule is applied as follows:
Line 1 Tt
Line 2 Rr
Line 3 Ee
Line 4 Aa
Line 5 Ss
Line 6 Uu
Line 7 Rr
Line 8 Ee
Line 9 Ss
Click on this (Link) scroll down the page to find the poem to read.
The rule is reversed for the Double Reversed Acrostic where the first letter of the first line becomes the last letter of the last line. The poem, “Prayer” it has six lines and the rule is extended as follows:
Line 1 Pr
Line 2 Re
Line 3 Ay
Line 4 Ya
Line 5 Er
Line 6 Rp
Click on this (Link) scroll down the page to find the poem to read.
The poem, “Mowing” is written in the form of a Mesostich. There are six lines in this poem. Lines 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 have nine syllables each. Line 5 has ten syllables.
The middle of each line is shown by these syllables:
Line 1 “morn”
Line 2 “on”
Line 3 "waved"
Line 4 “in”
Line 5 “never’
Line 6 “grass”
The first letters of the middle of the line syllables spell out the word, “Mowing” that is the title of the poem. Thus the poet has created a Mesostich poem.
What is a Mesostich poem?
When the first letters of the middle word on each line form the word or message relating the subject a Mesostich poem is created.
Click on this (Link) scroll down the page to find the poem to read.
What do you notice about the poem, “Covert Fusion”?
That’s right. It combines both the Acrostic with a Mesostich. The Acrostic arm of the poem spells out the word, “wire” and the word, “taps” spells out the Mesostich part of the poem.
© Paterika Hengreaves
So come with me on a guided tour through “Poetry For All Seasons”. Let’s explore the variations which influenced the selection of content, form, style, diction, poetic diction, the speaker or voice of the poems, texture and tone. We’ll first sail on the Acrostic lake and explore its many tributaries such as the Abecedarian, Diastic, Double Acrostic, Lipogram, Mesostich, Reversed Abecedarian, Subliminal Letter Poem, Subliminal Sentence, Subliminal Telestich, Telestich, Transgram, Triple Acrostic, Univocalic and the Word Square.
I love the challenge posed when creating poems in the Acrostic form. If you vary the locations of those letters air-marked for the encrypted message, you can create various forms of the Acrostic. The poems, Alisajs, News, Lighthouse, Olives, Venus goddess of love, and Love are written in the form of the Acrostic.
As a poetic genre, the Acrostic is as old as the hills. It is said that ancient religious cults used it to identify themselves to each other in secret. Research has shown that in the middle 19th Century the Acrostic became a popular tool not only for ushering praise on royalty and conquerors but to educate children in history and geography. It is purported that Queen Victoria was very fond of the Double Acrostic which by that time had evolved from a verse form to a type of puzzle. It is true to say that we have grown into seeing such puzzles in both the dead leaf and electronic media, which essentially are extensions of the Acrostic form.
The Acrostic poem is written according to a set form. The parameters of this form are seen in this light:
The first letter of the first word on each verse or line when taken sequentially must spell out the title, or theme of the poem.
The content should tell something about the encrypted message.
It should convey praise on people, cities, objects, events, and so on.
The poems “Prayer” and “Treasures” are written as Double Acrostics. However, in the “Prayer” poem the rule is stretched further to allow for the formation of a Double Reversed Acrostic.
The Double Acrostic means that the first letter of the first line is the same as the last letter of the first line. The poem, “Treasures” has nine lines and the rule is applied as follows:
Line 1 Tt
Line 2 Rr
Line 3 Ee
Line 4 Aa
Line 5 Ss
Line 6 Uu
Line 7 Rr
Line 8 Ee
Line 9 Ss
Click on this (Link) scroll down the page to find the poem to read.
The rule is reversed for the Double Reversed Acrostic where the first letter of the first line becomes the last letter of the last line. The poem, “Prayer” it has six lines and the rule is extended as follows:
Line 1 Pr
Line 2 Re
Line 3 Ay
Line 4 Ya
Line 5 Er
Line 6 Rp
Click on this (Link) scroll down the page to find the poem to read.
The poem, “Mowing” is written in the form of a Mesostich. There are six lines in this poem. Lines 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 have nine syllables each. Line 5 has ten syllables.
The middle of each line is shown by these syllables:
Line 1 “morn”
Line 2 “on”
Line 3 "waved"
Line 4 “in”
Line 5 “never’
Line 6 “grass”
The first letters of the middle of the line syllables spell out the word, “Mowing” that is the title of the poem. Thus the poet has created a Mesostich poem.
What is a Mesostich poem?
When the first letters of the middle word on each line form the word or message relating the subject a Mesostich poem is created.
Click on this (Link) scroll down the page to find the poem to read.
What do you notice about the poem, “Covert Fusion”?
That’s right. It combines both the Acrostic with a Mesostich. The Acrostic arm of the poem spells out the word, “wire” and the word, “taps” spells out the Mesostich part of the poem.
© Paterika Hengreaves
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