| Home | Stories | Poems | Articles | Photos | Links |
 Poetry: February 11, 2009 Issue [#2876] |
  Poetry This week: Organizing Description with Movement Edited by: northernwritesMore Newsletters By This Editor   1. About this Newsletter 2. A Word from our Sponsor 3. Letter from the Editor 4. Editor's Picks 5. A Word from Writing.Com 6. Ask & Answer 7. Removal instructions  Greetings from northernwrites, guest editor for today's Poetry newsletter. Meter, rhyme, and form are not the only tools available for creating structure in poetry. Everyday things that you have been learning since you were a toddler and ideas cross-pollinated among the arts and sciences can enrich the creative experience and expand the possibilities for discovery. The best thing about them is that it doesn't matter whether you're writing free verse or traditional poetry. Today's newsletter will discuss a cross-pollination between home movies and poetry.    Organizing Description with Movement If you were going to commission a portrait of your beloved, you probably wouldn't want to pick Pablo Picasso or Salvador Dali as the artist, especially if it was to be a gift. A distorted image won't reflect well on your romantic intentions. Similarly, it takes most people some time to learn to operate a video camera so that watching the result is pleasant rather than disorienting. A shot needs to be long enough for the viewer to see what it is, but short enough that the viewer won't get bored. When the image changes suddenly to a new scene, the viewer needs to be able to tell how the two scenes go together. The camera can't move or change focal length too fast, or the image will blur. The camera must be held steady and moved smoothly, or the image will jerk or sway, which could give the viewer motion sickness. Poetry can have similar problems with distortion and disorientation. If you describe your beloved part by part in varying levels of detail from varying distances, the composite image created by your poem will be like a Picasso. If you describe the parts in random order, the disorienting "motion" given to the readers' attention can be like motion sickness. Perhaps you're writing free verse and the variation and random order happens because that's the order in which the various parts occurred to you, or maybe you're writing rhymed verse and this problem occurs because of the rhyming. However, it only takes a little planning before you start writing to avoid these problems. Your poem will be better if it borrows some techniques from the expert camera operator. Like a video camera, a poem needs to maintain a smooth line of attention that provides undistorted images and takes the readers along for the ride without disorienting them. A well-done movie directs the eye by emphasizing what the viewer should pay attention to through frame composition, lighting, and the effects of motion. Equivalent tools are available to the poet for directing the reader's attention. Frame composition is like the number and relative position of words or lines in a stanza that are used for the subject that is being described. Lighting is like the effects of using of poetic structures for emphasis. The effects of motion are like the level of detail and the order of presentation. Today we'll talk about the effects of motion. For example: A panorama shot shows the surroundings by rotating the camera right or left around a fixed vertical axis. In a poem, the objects around the narrator's focal point would be described in order, using the same level of detail. Whether the poem "pans" right or left could be determined by what you want to describe first, or last, what direction a sound just came from, or even whether the narrator is right- or left-handed. The starting point would be what the narrator is currently looking at, or something to the immediate right or left of that. The description can also cover just part of the circle. A wide-angle shot is a broad, general view of the subject(s) where everything between the foreground and the background is in focus. In a poem, this would be a general description of the subject and its surroundings as a whole. A telephoto shot is a closeup of a distant subject where the foreground and background are not in sharp focus. In a poem, this would be a detailed description that focuses only on a part of the subject. The surrounding parts and the background or foreground would not be included directly, although their existence might be implied by sense information other than visual. A tracking shot is a shot where the camera moves along smoothly on tracks, either closer to or farther from the subject, or along with a moving subject. In a poem, the central subject would be described as if the narrator were walking toward it, backing away from it, or walking along beside it. The motion or the changing view of the surroundings would be part of the description all the way through with a consistent level of detail. A zoom shot uses a lens with variable focal length to allow the camera to move toward (or away from) the subject at the same time as it shifts from a wide-angle shot to a telephoto shot (or vice versa). In a poem, the description would start with the subject at a distance and include a general description of the surroundings, like the wide-angle shot. In the middle, the description would be of the subject at a middle distance and include the motion or moving surroundings like the tracking shot. As the end approaches, the description would focus in a detailed close-up of the subject, and the surroundings would not be included visually. An establishing shot is a distance shot at the beginning of a scene that shows the location or time for what happens next, and is usually followed by a closer shot of the first subject in the scene. In a poem, this would be when the general time and location of the setting are used to begin the poem. This would also include transitions at the beginning of a stanza or sentence when there has been a shift in the narrative. A cut is a sudden shift between shots. It may involve the angle or placement of the camera, the location, or the time. In a poem, this happens when there are changes in the position of the narrator or the position of the narrator's focus, the level of detail, the use of poetic structures, and the time or place. Sometimes the relationship between what is before and what is after the shift will be obvious to the readers from the content, and sometimes a more explicit transition will be needed. These shifts become part of the structure of the poem, so you don't want to make them unintentionally or for no reason. An ellipsis occurs when the narrative or action skips over part of the timeline, and is marked by an editing transition. In a poem, a time and place transition at the beginning of the next part of the poem keeps the readers securely seatbelted in place when you skip over or summarize the boring parts.  Using techniques like these lets you compose a poem that describes something static (the subject is not in motion) with implied motion on the part of the narrator. The poem is organized based on what can be seen as the narrator walks through it. This steady and smooth shifting of the line and focus of attention makes the poem more like a moving picture than a snapshot, so it will be more interesting and make better sense to the readers. An even better alternative is to write a poem about a situation where the subject is in motion and reacting to their surroundings. The unfolding action of the scene offers a natural framework for organizing the narrator's emotions and descriptive observations about the subject so they make sense to the readers. This technique also allows for a deeper variety of impressions about the subject. For instance, suppose your poem describes your beloved returning from a trip, and you are waiting to meet them. The poem might begin with a panorama shot that describes the luggage claim section at the airport and how the surroundings reflect the waiting narrator's anticipation as the time passes slowly. A wide-angle shot of the passageway leading to the gates shows another group of passengers arriving at its far end. A partial zoom shot of the crowd focuses in on a glimpse of a still-distant figure that moves in a familiar way, and the narrator moves closer to the entry. Characteristic motion - the way someone walks - can be identified farther away than the details of face, hair, or clothing can be seen. For the rest of this zoom shot the subject will be moving toward the camera, rather than the camera doing the moving. As the figure comes closer, general information about clothing and hair color are able to be seen and described. At a middle distance the figure reacts bodily upon spotting the narrator. Obstacles are negotiated. As they come closer, within conversational distance, facial expressions and more details of clothing or other physical characteristics can be described. As the luggage is hastily put down and ignored, the zoom shot ends with an embrace and the telephoto close-up of only parts of the beloved. How Could You Use This Principle?  In reading poetry, you could pause to consider whether a poem presents material in an order that allows for a smooth shift in your attention as the reader. For example -- Did the poem keep to a consistent level of detail through any panning or motion sequences? Do things seem to be presented in the correct order? Did the poem use the organization of a zoom shot to handle varying levels of detail, or did it randomly mix wide-angle, regular, and telephoto shots? Did the poem have transitions to re-orient the reader when a cut or ellipsis occurs? In writing poetry, the poem will work much better if you plan to use it from the beginning; for example: For rhymed poetry, the rhyme should serve the content, not the other way around. Organizing the notes for the material into a logical order needs to be done before getting locked into particular rhyming words. There is usually more than one way to approach what you want to convey, and a different rhyme may work better than the obvious first choice suggested by unorganized notes. Organizing first allows you to evaluate the material and choose a format that fits the needs of the material best. For metered/unrhymed or free verse poetry, organizing first allows you to choose the most appropriate meter (if used), line length(s), and lines per stanza, and to plan the use of other poetic structures (such as alliteration and structural repetition) to support the organized presentation.   In rewriting poetry, you would evaluate an existing draft of a poem to determine how extensive the rewrite needs to be. Working in the smooth line of attention might not be as easy as planning it first, but it can still be done if you're willing to do the work. You might find that large sections need to be taken apart and reworked from scratch, maybe even the whole poem. Sometimes a different size or shape of structure will work better. Keep a separate copy of the existing draft because such extensive rewriting can involve the need to backtrack from a dead end and try again. While starting over might be discouraging in terms of that particular poem, this situation offers the best kind of learning opportunity for improving your poetic problem-solving skills. It's better training than writing a new poem from scratch. Sometimes the changes needed are fairly mild, and some swapping around will take care of the problems with only minor rewriting. Sometimes the changes that are needed involve shifting the level of detail in certain places. Replacing a few lines is usually a minor change. Sometimes the changes that are needed involve deleting extraneous material or adding missing material. This can range from mild to medium rewriting. If fitting the poem into a form is involved, you might have to pick and choose what you include. In reviewing poetry, you could use the same considerations in analyzing someone else's poetry that you would use for analyzing your own first drafts (see the sections on reading and rewriting, above). When you write the review, point out what you notice and make suggestions of any possibilities that you see.
Today's picks are romantic poems. Some make use of this principle of a smooth and orderly line of attention. You get to figure out which. Enjoy!
Submitted items relating to my previous newsletter:
Submit an item for consideration in this newsletter! http://www.Writing.Com/main/newsletters.php?action=nli_form  Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter! http://www.Writing.Com/main/newsletters.php?action=nli_form Don't forget to support our sponsor! InstantPublisher.Com: Self publishing made easy and affordable. All file types accepted with many options. Starting at $100 for 25 copies in 7-10 days! Visit us today!  These comments were sent in response to my previous guest editorial on 14 January, on the principle of Contagious Elements and Viral Copies. I appreciate all those who took the time to write in: storytime Submitted Comment: Northernwrites, another fine lesson on the craft of poetry. I enjoy poems with a strong beat that give a good hearty rhythm, and rhyme. Your example review was fun to listen to. Well done! NW: Thank you! I'm pleased you enjoyed it. windsongcastle Emailed Comment: I loved this informative newsletter. I learned somthing new and isn't that what newsletters are meant to do? I think so. I primarily write poetry. Seems I have a tendecy to write free verse, yet not without some rhyme. So this has given me a new way to look at my poetry, and once I have the rythm going, rewrite it to suit the poem itself. Thank you for all your work in writing this wonderful news letter. Sincerely, Windsong NW: You're welcome. I'm glad it helped. novacatmando Submitted Comment: Good stuff! NW: Thanks! qaz4 Submitted Comment: Hi, I found this newsletter really interesting. 'Viral' poems are an idea that I've found also works with song lyrics, as the rhythm of the song provides movement to the poem. Thanks for a great newsletter, qaz4 NW: Thank you very much! Good tip! Until our paths cross again, keep writing! northernwrites  To stop receiving this newsletter, go into your account and remove the check from the box beside the specific topic. Be sure to click "Complete Edit" or it will not save your changes. |
This printed copy is for your personal use only. Reproduction of this work in any other form is not allowed and does violate its copyright.
