How to Write a Poetic Narrative

To all of my readers who have followed my articles, especially the article entitled How to Write a Cultural poem, How to write Effective Sentences, and How to write Effective Paragraphs, this article is the last. It will not cover any specific area of writing poetry, which I discussed aptly in How to Write a Cultural Poem. But some of the concepts I did cover were meter, the measured pattern of rhythmic accents in poems or length of a line of poetry; iambic, the unstressed syllable followed a stressed one or lyrical composition of poem, which makes it resemble music and free verse, which is poetry without a regular pattern of meter or rhyme. I covered these concepts to explain to lovers of poetry some of the basics of traditional and non-traditional poetry. Students of the art of poetry usually appreciate such an introduction because it allows them the opportunity to truly practice and perfect the art of poetic writing.

But what about the lay writers who have no intentions of getting published or being recognized as a trendsetter in the art of poetic writing. For these people, the concepts I explained may become lost on them because they are looking at poetry as an ends to a mean. They are looking at poetry as a practical tool and a launch out of a bad situation, bad life, even a bad relationship. Therefore, for this reason, combining the poem and the narrative is an art form that is certainly not new, but one that can be very intriguing to persons who use poetry in many professional capacities like rappers, song writers, news writers, journalists, and professional media magazines. Before we talk extensively about how to create a poetic narrative, a background of the genre needs to be discussed.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• a pen
• an english composition notebook
• two to four hours of free time
• a desk or table
• peace and quiet

1. 

   Define what a poetic narrative is to you.
   
   OVERVIEW OF THE POETIC NARRATIVE
   
   First, the poetic narrative or narrative poetry combines the best elements of both genres of writing. For instance, poems are the rhythmic and metaphorical compositions that use language to create an aesthetic message, often with meter, iambs or rhyme, but not necessarily at all times, while narratives are stories written in prose or verse, usually involving events and characters, such as what characters do and say, according to Poetic Forms and Narrative Definitions. With this in mind, the poetic narrative is a compilation of fact and fiction combined to create a revisionist view of reality. The poetic narrative then expresses the greater analysis of historical events, which are not allowed to represent fantasy, myth, or mysticism.

2. 

   Have your poetic narrative be an instrument of mimetic science.
   
   POETIC NARRATIVE: A MIMETIC CONCEPT
   
   Second, the poetic narrative or narrative poetry is a mimetic concept. It thus attempts to use literature to imitate life and culture using the techniques and subject matter of life and art, and it recaptures or recapitulates what a person has already said but with a zest of individuality and style according to Encarta World English Dictionary. So as stated in the previous section, the poetic narrative goes beyond the historical record of what is to present to the enlightened and liberal, what should be.

3. 

   Read over and recognize authors who have created poetic narratives and study them.
   
   EXAMPLES OF POETIC NARRATIVES WRITTEN BY HISTORICAL AUTHORS
   
   Several examples of poetic narrative were written by talented authors, such as Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner. To read the poem, go to http://www.wonko.info/albatross/default.htm; Alexander Pope’s Rape of the Lock. To read the poem, go to http://poetry.eserver.org/rape-of-the-lock.html; Edmund Spencer’s The Faerie Queene. To read the poem, go to http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~rbear/fqintro.html; and most notably, Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. To read the poem, go to http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/webcore/murphy/canterbury/. My favorites are the Rime of the Ancient Mariner and the Canterbury Tales because I have actually had the opportunity to read them. In doing so, I have come to like the style of Chaucer’s prologue to describe or introduce each character with the descriptive and mosaic style of Coleridge using the albatross, like Herman Melville uses the white whale as an allegorical symbol of hardship and death for man’s pride and arrogance. Each of these poems written by these authors has inspired me to write poetic narratives of my own, and it is from these poetic narratives that I will demonstrate how you can also write them.

4. 

   HOW TO WRITE A POETIC NARRATIVE
   
   To write a poetic narrative, one must remember several things. As the writer, you are the expert and thus, must write with understanding and explanation, which means the concepts you must clarify, so that the reader comprehends what you are writing about. Next, as a creator and imitator of life, your poem must be an illustration of you, your personality and your character, as well as your frame of reference. Sampling, which is done today by rap and hip hop stars, is a normal activity in the hip hop industry, but for a poet to reach credibility with his or her work, he or she must be original and give credit to any author whose works was used in his or her poetry, which clearly do the poem mentioned below. Finally, as a writer, you must write about only what you know or what you have studied or researched because the best poetry is often written with familiarity and passion, which cannot be captured in subjects that the writer does not like or understand. Here is an example of an allegorical, poetic narrative written in free verse with rhyming couplets.
   
   A Welsing Rot
   
   A tree developed from an African seed
   Sprouting nicely, penetrating the need
   Absorbing the sun, its rays undone, and its effect too soon
   Gravitating to the winds, the currents of the night, the moon
   Cunning and courageous, it fears no gardener
   It reacts well to pruning as its gets harder
   A tree was supposed to grow in this spot
   A tussle of limbs, leaves, and hustle did drop
   A disappointing jaunt created for many who hated
   To see this fool hardy, overgrown shrub and waited
   The shame of its captivity and its absolute nothingness
   Was not seen as shame but outward gluttonous
   The selfish twinge of growth that is underdeveloped in kind
   Shows many why this shrub is not refined
   An apple of sweetness and juice
   Has been sired with the tenderness of tradition and love, not abuse
   How dare thee coiffure the choice of a revenge so dry and yet moist
   To boost personal pride over the heritage of freedom hoist
   You withered like an old crone, a weathered and weakening bone
   A souring of cakes dashed with a deflowering alone
   You embarrassed the name African Oak with that sapling
   I fear greater pain as you are shredded and chopped under the Man’s trappings
   Your wood will not bring warmth or comfort to the cold and the calm
   It will bring a garden variety mess to the ashes of the Palm

Tips & Warnings

• Do not be ashaned to pre-write your ideas.
• Ask for help if you need it.
• Read and study poetry before you write it.
• Decide on a style of poetry that is more comfortable for you.
• Do not get discouraged if the poetic narrative does not turn out the way that you wanted.
• Be prepared to crack a few eggs before you make an omelet.
• Do not get caught up in early success.
• Poetry writing is not about the facts or the fiction; it's about the presentation, the symbolism, and the message of those facts.