Have you ever heard someone sing roses are red?You have already heard a quatrain poem.A quatrain has four lines and a rhyme scheme.A quatrain poem can contain more than one verse.The rhyme schemes can be very varied, making these poems particularly accessible.These poems are not inflexible.Sometimes it can be difficult.Creating a one-of-a-kind quatrain poem requires choosing a subject, picking a rhyme scheme and finding words that rhyme.
Step 1: Write a single quatrain in the meter.
A quatrain is a four line poem with a metrical and rhyme pattern.Each line has the same length and stress pattern as a metrical pattern.Each line has five iambic feet that add up to ten syllables.Shakespeare wrote "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" in iambic pentameter."In Memoriam A. H.H." is a poem by Tennyson.The 4 iambic feet add up to 8 syllables per line."Thou madest Life in man and brute"
Step 2: You may even invent your own form while experimenting with rhyme schemes.
Use different rhyme schemes to work on your quatrain.What sound do you like best?You can apply the rhyme scheme to the poem you want to write later.There are no rules about the rhyme scheme of a quatrain poem.Rhyme schemes are usually labeled with letters.When a line of the poem ends in a new sound, assign a letter to that sound.Every other line that rhymes with "-oke" becomes an "A" if the last word of Line 1 is "smoke".The next unique sound would be "B," followed by "C," and so on.The A rhyme envelopes the B rhyme so we call it an "envelope quatrain".The result is a dense rhyme in the middle with a comforting envelope rhyme around it.We call it an Italian quatrain when you write an envelope in iambic pentameter.When you write an envelope quatrain, we call it an In Memoriam.This scheme is called an alternate or interlaced quatrain because of how the rhyme sounds alternate.The double couplet has strong rhymes.The rhyme might sound too sing-songy if you use this kind of scheme.Be cautious!Even if it remains unrhymed, you can add a third sound to the quatrain.
Step 3: Don't forget to develop a full thought in your quatrain.
There are two or more quatrain lines in a poem.Paragraphs in a story or essay should serve as a thought bubble.Before you can write a poem, you have to develop a single quatrain.This is just practice and you don't have to worry about writing a full poem.Try to think in four lines of metered writing.
Step 4: Poems written in quatrains can be read and studied.
You don't have to follow any "rules" if you research some rhyme schemes.You can learn the history of the pattern, but you can make your own.In Memoriam was the form of grief that Tennyson took after his friend Arthur died.That's why "In Memoriam H.H."There is a metrical pattern.The tetrameter feels unfinished.The A sound returns at the end of the poem.This is similar to the poem and poet's inability to move on.In Sicilian quatrains, Thomas Gray wrote "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard".A.E. is a word.The upbeat tone of a cheering crowd is mimicked in Housman's "To an athlete dying young" by using double couplets.The death that closes the poem is different.An example of a repeating ABCD rhyme scheme can be found in the first two quatrains of Souilly: Hospital:Fever.
Step 5: You can choose a subject for your poem.
What have you been thinking about lately?What problems are bothering you, or what are you happy about?Are you in love or stressed about work?Did your dog just die or did you just get a new dog?If you choose a subject that you have been thinking about a lot, you will have enough material to write about.It could be that you can't remember anything specific that's been on your mind.If that is the case, start with a generic topic and try to develop a more specific thought about it.It's a great way to come up with a topic for a poem.Go to a crowded place and watch the crowd.Imagine where the people you see are coming from and where they are going.Take notes to remember what you found.They can be turned into a character in your narrative poem or dramatic monologue.
Step 6: You can choose a rhyme scheme.
You used different rhyme schemes with the practice quatrain.Pick a rhyme scheme that seems to fit the subject matter of the poem you want to write, or which you liked the sound of.If you are writing a poem about grief or loss, use the In Memoriam poem's envelope rhyme.You don't need to use it.You can think about chain rhymes now that you are working with more than one quatrain.When a rhyme sound is drawn down into the next one, it's called ABBABCCB CDDC.A chain rhyme can be found in Robert Frost's "Acquainted with the Night".The poem used tercets, not quatrains.Adding rhyme styles will make your rhyme scheme more interesting.The reader would be more interested in a poem that reads AABA.The first B and C are repeated a lot in later poems.A nice reminder that you don't have to make every line rhyme is the only D that breaks up the pattern.AABB is the easiest to start a poem with.
Step 7: To get started, write a line.
The first line is the base of your poem because it doesn't have to rhyme with anything.It can be hard to start a poem at the beginning.If you like the sound of a line in your head, write it down and start writing about it.
Step 8: To flesh out your quatrain, write lines around your original line.
Think ahead to words that you want the lines to end on.A quatrain should be like a thought bubble.Don't forget to develop a full thought within the four lines.If you get stuck on rhymes or synonyms, use a rhyming dictionary or thesaurus.Try to find words that rhyme with the last word of the line you're writing.The words you've come up with should become a full quatrain.Line similar lengths for beginners.Slant rhyme can be used to make a difficult rhyme work.Two words don't rhyme completely but are enough to feel like rhyme.Emily Dickinson was a great writer.She rhymes away with civility, chill, and day with eternity in "Because I could not stop for Death."
Step 9: You should read your quatrain to make sure it flows.
The rhythm and rhymes should click into place when read aloud.You need to revise if it sounds bumpy.The rhymes occur at satisfying intervals if long lines and short lines are shortened.
Step 10: Write more.
Take a moment and consider what you just wrote.As it develops its own idea, each quatrain should stand alone.It should connect to the poetry that comes before and after it.Adding a turn adds depth to the poem.A turn is a line that takes on a different tone from the rest of the poem.A new element is often introduced.The reader hasn't anticipated anything until this point.