Page 26 - eMuse Vol.9 No.08

If it has METER (a rhyming pattern) . . . . Then IT IS POETRY.
RHYME — If you’re having trouble with rhyme, you may solve this
problem by inverting the line. If your line goes like this . . . .
“AS YOU GO THROUGH THIS WORLD” — and you are having dif-
ficulty rhyming with “world” — INVERT THE LINE (turn it around)
and say “AS THROUGH THIS WORLD YOU GO”.
Using SYNONYMS (words having the same or almost the same
meaning — i.e. happy, glad, elated, joyful) can help with finding
a rhyme. I don’t use a Rhyming Dictionary, but I sometimes write
down the end sound — . . . “ay” and run other consonants past it
instead of the “d”.
This often gives me an appropriate word or sparks off a more
complex word that rhymes. It doesn’t have to be spelt the same
way — it has to SOUND the same, so check it out ALOUD.
EXAMPLE 1 You look at these “disgruntles” who
Complain most of the day,
And wonder why they don’t move on
by Jenny Jeays But they will always stay.
Example 2 Move on to where they’re happier?
This is a fantasy,
A.T.C.L. in Art of Speech and Drama (Lon.) They’re very happy where they are
Chapter V Upsetting you and me.

Is It Poetry? a|b

Although the Macquarie Dictionary says clearly that poetry is “a lit-
erary work in METRICAL FORM”, there is still much confusion about
it as people (including the ABC) often refer to any special thoughts
that are written down, especially if these are spread over a number
of lines, with just a few words on each line — as POETRY, i.e.
Part VI: “There’s More
DAY OUT
/ _ /
Heat and flies To Poetry”
/ _
picnic
_ / continues next month
with food
/ _
such a
_ / _
dis-as-ter.
The above is free verse (prose) not poetry. It has an irregular pat-
tern of stresses.

DAY OUT

— / — / — / — /
The day was hot the flies were rife
— / — / — /
They sought our pic- nic lunch
— / — / — / — /
This was dis-as- ter for us all
— / — / — /
On noth- ing could we munch.
This is nonsense — but it is METRICAL NONSENSE — and has a
regular pattern of stresses. THIS IS POETRY — WRITTEN IN BAL-
LAD METER.

26 eMuse August 2020