QUOTELAND introduces the luvleetasha's Question and Answer Thread. Ask a literature question, and find an answer here!
To quote the literary genius Vanilla Ice,'If there was a problem, Yo, I'll solve it, check out the hook while my DJ revolves it,'or somesuch.
Okay fuzzies, you wanted me to post in this forum, so here goes:
I have never studied poetry outside of high school. Never had a college course pertaining to it. Recently, it has come to my attention that, in writing poetry, beginning each line with a capital letter is a no-no.
Since I do this very thing often when writing poetry, I was wondering if you could help me understand why it's not the thing to do.
Thanks.
The optimist calling on a great pessimist
"I believe that when death closes our eyes we shall awaken to a light, of which our sunlight is but the shadow." - Arthur Schopenhauer
[All Edits care of Fuzzies]
[This message was edited on 02-09-04 at 10:46 AM.]
If by 'coming to your attention' you mean that someone told you - then, well, they lied.
It is neither a 'no-no' nor a necessity.
In many traditional forms of poetry it is standard to begin each new line with a capital letter. It makes the piece look much more even.
However it is increasingly popular not to do so. Many poets skip using capitalisation in any form!!!
When it comes to capitalisation in poetry there are few strict rules... ...The main thing to do is to do whatever you're doing to brilliant effect.
You have your choices...
~Forever Fuzziesareourfriends~ http://www.freewebs.com/fuzziesareourfriends/index.htm JOIN THE PACT: If you break grammar rules then explain what you've done and why, or be prepared to answer those questions. If you cannot do these, then do not post your writing.
Posts: 5633 | Location: Aotearoa (New Zealand) | Registered: 09-22-02
Most people I've seen have posted in with capital letters. Thats because Microsoft word indicates it to be a grammatical typo if you don't do so. Since MS Word is very popular and all the various accessories it provides (Thesaurus, spell and grammar check etc. to name a few) most people use it. It isn't incorrect to start a new line with capitalized characters, but there isn't an actual reason of why one should actually capitalize. It would be very difficult to find information regarding a trivial matter as capitalization in poems (I've searched for that matter, fruitlessly). And as Fuzzies said, its a matter of choice anyway.
I could swear, I was thinking today of suggesting a thread which involved questions and answers regarding technical writing. A person needing information would post in with a question and someone, anyone, would be able to help them, something like the "I need a quote forum". Erm..I'd suggest that we keep this thread and give in a proper introduction about how it can be used to share information. Anyone with me?
~*~ I was once very quite talented, but today I ask, where did my talent fade ~*~
Posts: 3196 | Location: Melbourne, Australia | Registered: 06-26-03
I also searched the subject many times before posing the question, D_W.
Although I must tell you...I've been writing poetry and capitalizing the first letter of every line for a long time now…long before I was ever introduced to MS Word.
The optimist calling on a great pessimist
"I believe that when death closes our eyes we shall awaken to a light, of which our sunlight is but the shadow." - Arthur Schopenhauer
I just checked some websites which have poems online and they are using capitalization for the first character of the first word in every line, rather than a sentence. I don't know if they are in the actual form as they were written in or been edited, but here's some of them..
My favorite poet(ess) is Emily Dickinson, a link to her works.
Strangely enough, I've also noticed that some works have the entire first word of the first stanza capitalized, but there are also some other websites which don't do the same Hope this helps!
~*~ I was once very quite talented, but today I ask, where did my talent fade ~*~
Posts: 3196 | Location: Melbourne, Australia | Registered: 06-26-03
I don't doubt that MS Word has some significant role on the reason for why some people begin a line of poetry with a capital letter, but - there are definitely other reasons. Traditional poetry has always been quite open and there have never really been any fixed rules. If there were - then they would be broken immediately by someone - somewhere. Rebellion is quite central to many parts of poetry and it can be seen through various styles and genres. The Romantics serve as a decent example of rebellion at their time.
A lot of "professional" poems often begin lines with capital letters, but really - that's just their style. It might be suggested that it gives the poem more "authority". However, people like e.e. cummings would die before being forced to begin every line with a capital letter.
Have patience awhile; slanders are not long-lived. Truth is the child of time; erelong she shall appear to vindicate thee.~ Immanuel Kant Dos moi pou sto kai kino taen gaen. ~Archimedes
Posts: 3320 | Location: London | Registered: 02-20-03
I like to write poetry. I like to rhyme. I capitalize the first words of each line. When writing poetry, I never even think of rules when it comes to poetry.
"Poetry has done enough when it charms, but prose must also convince." ~ Mencken
“The true rule [of poetry] is to be able to break all rules at the right time and place, adapting oneself to current customs and to the taste of one’s age.” ~ Giambattista Marino
This is a featured thread and hence I am not bumping it, I just wanted to share something here.
As required by the next "Prime Rhyme!" challenge, I am going to share what a parody is.
Question:
What is a parody?
In terms of poetry-writing, a parody has a very unique meaning. An existing version of a piece is reworked into a suitably relevant composition for purposes of providing satire, or ridicule muchly similar to mimicry of a certain author whose orignal work, a parody is being made of. Parodies are clevely worked out and boldly characterize the orignal piece. Some more information can be found out here..
------------------------------------------------ Take the next challenge at Prime rhyme! or learn how to write a Limerick at The limerick thread.. Learn to have fun, go go go! ------------------------------------------------
Posts: 3196 | Location: Melbourne, Australia | Registered: 06-26-03
I have another question. I wrote a poem recently, and in this verse:
That dress has shined in the dark of our closet for over six months now.
it was suggested that "shined" may not be grammatically correct , and that "shone" would be more appropriate. For me "shined" works better than "shone" as far as the word picture effect…can you tell me without a doubt that shined is incorrect usage? I'll be indebted to anyone who takes the time to teach me something about grammar here. Thanks.
The optimist calling on a great pessimist
"I believe that when death closes our eyes we shall awaken to a light, of which our sunlight is but the shadow." - Arthur Schopenhauer
I am sorry I overlooked this one. As for your query:
"That dress has shined in the dark of our closet for over six months now."
'has' is a helping verb, due to its inclusion either shine or shone are okay. If there were no 'has', I would have preferred shone. As far as my understanding about the context goes, 'shined' and 'shone' both are past continuous tense. Both of them are suitable here, but I'd recommend 'shone' here because, in poetical terms, it 'sounds' better. I wasn't even sure whether 'shined' was a word, but dictionary.com does return results. In anycase it should be a matter of your choice. There might be a totally different reason I might be overlooking due to my ignorance about language skills, please excuse that, if any.
---------------------------------------------- Tell me, did you fall for a shooting star? One without a permanent scar And did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there? "drops of Jupiter", by Train ----------------------------------------------
Posts: 3196 | Location: Melbourne, Australia | Registered: 06-26-03
I ran a search for "Word usage" in google.com and went to this site - http://www.bartleby.com/64/ and searched for "shined" - and got what I quote below:
quote:shine (v.) This strong verb now has a full set of weak forms as well: past tense and past participle are each either shined or shone. There is some interchangeability in those forms, but there are also some semantic distinctions. It’s always He shined his shoes (never He shone his shoes), but it can be The sun shined all day, although The sun shone all day is more frequent. Nor is it simply the transitive/intransitive distinction that governs choice: transitive He shined his light into the cellar and He shone his light into the cellar are both acceptable (although British English uses shone almost exclusively in such sentences). Intransitive sentences can use either shined or shone, but shone is more prevalent, especially in Edited English, unless the meaning is “to polish”: His cheeks shone with embarrassment. With wax and elbow grease we shined all day. -fromhttp://www.bartleby.com/68/40/5440.html
Not like I totally get what it says... but, maybe this helps you !
The stars shine down And watch us live Our little lives and weep for us. ~by Monet Nodlehs
Posts: 4372 | Location: Back At Quoteland :) | Registered: 08-18-02
I appreciate the time you took to research the question and post a reply. I now feel secure about my usage of "shined" in that paticular poem. Thanks again.
The optimist calling on a great pessimist
"I believe that when death closes our eyes we shall awaken to a light, of which our sunlight is but the shadow." - Arthur Schopenhauer
luvlee, you’re welcome ... though I think, since you and Fuzzies posted at the same time, (luvlee) you missed out on what he said... um, read that, I'm keeping outta this complicated matter at least tillmy headache subsides !
The stars shine down And watch us live Our little lives and weep for us. ~by Monet Nodlehs
Posts: 4372 | Location: Back At Quoteland :) | Registered: 08-18-02
I was reading Grant and Lali's piece on Fuzzie - critic on Crucitaph and I stumbled upon the first line.
quote:"Fuzzies is a poet who frequently experiments with his work, in theme, structure, prosody and language."
I read up a dictionary and was told that prosody was
The study of the metrical structure of verse.
A particular system of versification.
But i am still
Can somebody please elaborate? (Sorry but I do not know anything about writing poetry, so whoever does the honours, you'll have to start from the scratch.)
-
much love, light and laughter, ananya.
*~Come play with my children feel the peace and Scatter some joy.~* ~*Blowing out someone else's candle doesn't make your's burn any brighter.*~ *** Heck was created for those who refuse to believe in Gosh. ***
Posts: 5819 | Location: India | Registered: 07-03-01
am·phi·brach ( P ) Pronunciation Key (mf-brk) n. A trisyllabic metrical foot having one accented or long syllable between two unaccented or short syllables, as in the word remember.
Thank you YFM.
Grant.
Stella Splendens December 22, 1985 - March 27, 2003 RIP ...Always.
Posts: 1773 | Location: Devon, England | Registered: 02-04-02
Ok, I don't know if this is the right place to ask this, but I am VERY desperate, so I'm gonna try. I have to do a paper for my lit class about the poem "Oaktown CA" by Reginald Lockett. The thing is, I can't find ANYTHING anywhere about this poem. So, if anyone knows it, or could possibly offer their interpretation of it, I would be VERY thankful.
I wish I had more time, but at this point I have 7 assignments due on monday and not a computer to work on. I tried searching stuff, I couldn't locate the poem, but I have a page which tells you 'bout the poet. If during this week I can find more time, I'll will help you out with this more.
quote: Featured poets, cont‘d. Reginald Lockett "The original Rhythm & Blues poet," publisher (Jukebox Press), longtime Oakland resident, member of PEN Oakland. His book, Where the Birds Sing Bass won the PEN Oakland Josephine Miles Award. The opening poem is called "Oaktown, CA."
"Lockett began school in Hawaii, “believing himself / the dumb, ugly / little nigger / the white kids called him,” moved to Texas, and then came to Oakland in 1960, when he was about twelve years old. He later attended San Francisco State University and lived in San Francisco for thirteen years. But even poems written in San Francisco, he says, “have an Oakland feel to them.” One of his poems is called “Oaktown, CA”: “Oaktown” is the rappers’ term for “Oakland.” Echoing Bessie Smith’s “Black Mountain Blues,” Lockett concludes the poem by simultaneously invoking the classic blues and leveling a damning commentary on the current world:
in a town, in a town, in a town, in a state, in a state, in a state, in a nation, in a nation, in a nation so bad, even the birds sing bass."
!
complicated 
so whoever does the honours, you'll have to start from the scratch.) 
