Unique and Rare Poetic Styles that Can Be Used for Beautiful Poems About Death
Poems about death can be tough to write, but our tips will assist you in exploring different poetic styles to navigate this challenging subject. Poetry recited at funerals or memorials is quite common, and people are accustomed to hearing elegies, sonnets, and free verses that cater well to the theme. There are, however, various other kinds of poems that may seem too off-beat for some and, for others, offer the perfect format for self-expression. Here, we look at some of these lesser-known styles and help you decide if any are suited to your vision for your piece.
Choosing the Perfect Poetic Form for Poems About Death
Your chosen poem style will play a crucial role in exploring your theme. For example, if you wish to delve into certain cultural aspects of death, you might opt for a specific type of poem that stems from that culture, such as a haiku, a Japanese poetic form. You could also explore the cycle of life and death using a cyclical structure that repeats the poem’s first lines at the end again. In the end, the best way to write a piece that resonates with your audience is to select a style that feels authentic and true to your own voice as a writer.4 Uncommon Poetic Forms
Although there are countless poetic forms from which to choose, below are four that could inspire you when writing your own poems about death:- Tanka Poems: Just like the haiku, Tanka is a form of traditional Japanese poetry. The word translates to “short song”, with roots back to the seventh century, making it one of the oldest forms of poetry. Tanka poems are made up of five lines that adhere to a syllable pattern of 5,7,5,7,7. While Tanka poems often explore themes like emotions and personal experiences, the duality of their structure is what makes them so interesting. The first three lines of a Tanka poem presents a concept, while the last two lines create a shift in perspective that changes the piece’s tone entirely. If you want to write poems about death, Tanka may be an ideal form to choose because of how powerfully it conveys complex ideas.
- Fibonacci Poems: Fibonacci poems, also called “The Fib” poems, embrace the mathematical pattern behind the Fibonacci sequence. The sequence, a well-known pattern in nature, consists of numbers where every number is the sum of the previous two numbers (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, etc.). In this form, the number of syllables in every line follows the sequence, which each line building upon what came before. Fibonacci poems are exceptional at exploring themes like death, as they echo the natural progression of a human’s life. It creates a sense of universal timelessness due to the natural occurrence of this pattern in the world around us – from things like seashells to various plants. This can help to provide closure in the face of grief and loss because it points to death as just another phase of our natural lifecycle.
- Ekphrastic Poems: Ekphrastic poetry is a form of poetry that describes a piece of artwork, like a painting, photograph, or sculpture. This artwork can be dark and sombre, such as a painting of a graveyard, or uplifting and inspirational, like a picture of a sunset. The visual power behind the art piece acts as inspiration for the poet, who draws on what the imagery evokes.
- Didactic Poems: Didactic poems are written for the purpose of instructing readers, and are meant to impart timeless wisdom in their message – often with a lesson to be learned. These poems are versatile as they can make use of analogies or even small anecdotes to inspire, comfort, and offer hope. Didactic poems like Rudyard Kipling’s “If”, for example, explore themes like moral actions, growing up, and resilience.
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