{"id":441,"date":"2025-01-31T21:30:55","date_gmt":"2025-01-31T18:30:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.danilrudoy.com\/en\/?p=441"},"modified":"2025-01-31T22:19:28","modified_gmt":"2025-01-31T19:19:28","slug":"how-to-write-english-poetry-a-classic-advice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.danilrudoy.com\/en\/how-to-write-english-poetry\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Write English Poetry. A Classic Advice"},"content":{"rendered":"

I had thought that poetry was something that simply existed. Turned out, poetry is what you define it to be today<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Contemporary poet D. Rudoy<\/a> teaches his readers life\u2014and how to write English poetry<\/em>
\n<\/p>\n

Gather ’round me people \/\/ There’s a story\u2026<\/em> and so on. I\u2019ve got gonna some obscene advice to share. Obscene, because the person giving it is not a native speaker of English. And yet, the advice concerns a subject as linguistic as they come. In short, I\u2019ll tell you how to write English poetry.<\/p>\n

Notice I said \u2018how to write English poetry,<\/i>\u2019 not \u2018poetry in English.<\/i>\u2019 The term \u201cEnglish poetry\u201d is what Kant’s fans might call a Ding an sich<\/em>, or a thing in itself. This means that English poetry encompasses the works<\/a> of Shakespeare and Byron, but not the angst-filled scribbles of a teenage boy in the school bathroom\u2014unless his brand recall eventually exceeds the minimum threshold. In other words, this essay teaches you how to write real poetry<\/em>\u2014even in a bathroom stall.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s cut to the chase. I won\u2019t waste time on faux humility, pretending to stumble upon some grand realization about how my outsider perspective shapes this theory. No, I\u2019ll state it outright: being a non-native speaker who went all the way to writing English poetry gives me a unique vantage point. And this perspective forms the very foundation of my approach to writing English poetry, which I want to share.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, it\u2019s simple: I am a born poet. You know how some obsess over quantum mechanics, sculpture, or oboes? Well, I\u2019m consumed by writing (literature<\/i>, to be precise, but I still haven\u2019t written an explanation of why poetry tops the creative food chain, so hang on for now). Specifically, poetry<\/a>. I live it, breathe it, and dissect it. This is already aggravating, I know. But here\u2019s where it gets interesting.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not \u201cjust a poet,\u201d like Shakespeare or Byron or whoever you know and I don\u2019t. Those guys mostly competed with their peers in verse\u2014and occasionally in life, though usually in trivial ways, like tallying romantic conquests. I, however, compete with them overall<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Picture this: you hear Shakespeare<\/em>, and you\u2019re awestruck, dripping with reverence, etc. Meanwhile, I climb onto my metaphorical high horse, gaze down, and ask, \u201cDude, is that really what you meant to say? Cause one, you\u2019ve already said it before, and two, so have I. And at least as well as you did.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cue the critics shouting, \u201cThe chap\u2019s insane!\u201d Fair enough\u2014I\u2019m not trying to convince you I surpass Shakespeare (not yet, anyway\u2014but who knows where writing English poetry takes us?). My point is about objectivity. See, you can\u2019t simply declare Shakespeare the greatest and defend it with, \u201cWell, everyone says so!\u201d No: imagine having to make a watertight case for Shakespeare being more than an overrated graphomaniac before a panel of skeptical judges.<\/p>\n

Luckily, you could.\u00a0What you need is a list of criteria that can be applied to Shakespeare and other poets to arrive at an objective conclusion through a fair evaluation. Coincidentally, a hefty chuck of these criteria parallel the very method I\u2019ll share here for writing poetry, so let’s begin already.<\/p>\n

\"How<\/p>\n

The Warning<\/h2>\n

Poetry is about saying something. You wanna know how to write poetry? Then say something. But tread carefully, because people will notice what you say. What is it, hot bitches all over the club, but nobody will spit on the pretty girl\u2019s pussy<\/em>? Sure, we\u2019ll give it some leeway. But, ultimately, poetry is about God\u2014in whatever shape of form you can comprehend and capture it.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re clueless about this, it\u2019ll show, big time. Even if they blow their entire marketing budget to make you big, famous, bestselling, or “best”, the audience will still know the truth\u2014and you will know it, too, which is worse. So, stay away from that honeypot if you think I\u2019m talking to you. Living somebody else\u2019s life never made anybody happy.<\/p>\n

Now, here\u2019s the beauty of being a poet: you get to teach people how to live. Everyone. Ask yourself: would you teach life to Donald Trump? Vladimir Putin? And I don\u2019t mean in a dream\u2014I mean face-to-face, with everyone present carrying a gun\u2014except for you. A true poet has the authority to do exactly that. More than that, a true poet can do the same to the Pope. So, you go figure: there\u2019s a helluva lot at stake behind the seemingly innocent question \u201chow to write English poetry?<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\n

The Basics<\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s start with the basics. It\u2019s okay if you didn\u2019t know it yet, but writing English poetry must begin with a solid technical foundation. Remember this well.<\/p>\n

English is one of the easiest languages to rhyme in. Why? Because the exact same English word can be a noun, a verb, an adjective, and even an adverb. This is extraordinarily handy when you need to rhyme: you aren\u2019t locked into specific grammar which\u2019ll always limit your expression in the long run. But wait, there\u2019s more.<\/p>\n

You ever wondered where the expression \u201cfour-syllable words\u201d came from? Most English words are monosyllabic\u2014like this whole string of words but the last, some with more than one vowel (though it\u2019s hardly possible to compete on vowels with French). Shorter words are easier to not only rhyme (well, have you heard dactylic poems that let their final foot ring true?)\u2014they also fit nicer when you need to pack them together in a meter.<\/p>\n

Why am I telling you all this? I am teaching you how to write real poetry<\/strong>\u2014not chunks of prose sold as such. This means rhyme and meter are indispensable. Yes, it\u2019ll take a lot of extra effort, but she who writes with no rhyme or meter does not have the right to teach life to the Pope. Why would you half-ass a golden chance like this? I mean, either don\u2019t bother asking how to write poetry, or learn in the right way. But remember: I always have the right to teach you life. lol<\/p>\n

The Sense<\/h2>\n

Now that we\u2019ve covered the basics (and weeded out some of the fakes), the real fun begins. See, the whole reason why they could toss rhyme and meter to inflate the sales<\/a> was because they truly are not the most important thing in poetry. It\u2019s not unimportant, cause how else are you gonna filter out complete shit, but it\u2019s a lot less important than sense<\/i>. Now, sense is the one true king of real poetry. So, if your poem makes sense, you\u2019re off to a good start.<\/p>\n

Plenty of romantics disagreed, but a feeling, no matter how consuming and genuine, still needs to make sense. This takes care of love and lesser emotions. Beauty is at risk next. What can be beautiful in a poem? A description that rendered an art masterpiece better than a picture? But what made the description? Beauty? Hardly: a billion people had looked at the same masterpiece and passed by. No, again, it was all the same: sense.<\/p>\n

Who is the most sensible poet you\u2019ve ever read? This is a tough question, all jokes aside. In fact, it\u2019s so hard that it\u2019s good if you actually thought of somebody. Just be careful: sensible<\/i> is what we\u2019re looking for. Now, I do have an advantage over most English speakers because I read Joseph Brodsky, but even if you don\u2019t know who Lermontov, or Tyutchev are, here\u2019s a hint: the most sensible is also the least flowery. They can be flowery, too, but even at their most the flowers will be but laurels to the poem\u2019s overall sense.<\/p>\n

Which finally brings us to to the beginning.<\/p>\n

The Beginning<\/h2>\n

A poem has to start somewhere. Let it start on its own. Pay attention to words that form into sentences in your head. Did something make a lot of sense to you? Does it fold into a uniform rhythm, like iambic pentameter<\/a>? It\u2019s okay if it doesn\u2019t: write the thought down and start playing with it. Can you convey the same in a slightly tweaked way, one that\u2019ll follow rhyme and meter?<\/p>\n

I am a poet, so this happens to me all the time: more often than I can take care of it. The beginning is the most important part, regardless of where it\u2019ll fit in the end. Most likely, it\u2019ll be either the very first, or the very last lines\u2014the exception being when you get to combine several \u201cbeginnings\u201d into a single poem, each defining a separate stanza.<\/p>\n

Here’s how the beginnings work. Today at the grocery store I heard a different song by the guy who signs \u201cHow to save a life\u201d. The earworm stuck in my head for hours. Then, as I was about to continue my novel (I\u2019m a writer, too\u2014I knew what I meant about the creative food chain), savoring the whereabouts of yet another risqu\u00e9 chapter<\/a>, I was hit with:<\/p>\n

Where did I go wrong?
\nI never did…<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That’s it. A beginning like this is all you need to start writing English poetry. Just remember, writing poetry is like sex: if you can stick your dick somewhere (or some dick inside you), it doesn\u2019t necessarily mean you should.<\/p>\n

How to write English poetry. Conclusion<\/h2>\n

You many have noticed that this essay is considerably longer than the pages with formulaic advice on the subject, and that it ventures beyond the title. You know how AI generates articles, robotically going from one point to the next in a way that ensures that the last dumb ass will understand? Well, it’s very unlikely that a person looking for an answer on how to write English poetry is a dumb ass, so spoon-feeding you was never part of my plan. Writing poetry is about making connections: as a poet, you must generate valuable, non-trivial associations which give insight into the nature of everything (that’s what I meant by God in the introduction).<\/p>\n

If you try something I do, being a classic poet in an age where some people won’t read your poetry because it rhymes<\/a>, good luck. Remember: you can\u2019t ask how to write poetry and ignore the role poetry plays in the society contemporary to you. Poetry on Tic Tok is not the same as what it was 50, or 150 years ago. What are you gonna do with brilliant poetry if nobody cares about the subject matter? Or the cover? Are you prepared to spend your whole life as an unrecognized genius and die a century before they put you next to Shakespeare?<\/p>\n

If you answered “yes”, go ahead and write some poetry already!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

January 21st-22nd, 2025<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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