Original Poetry
Any aspiring poet has, at one point, been scolded for a piece that is too 'unoriginal' - I know, because I've critiqued those pieces and been critiqued for that. The general advice is to use poetic devices, such as metaphor and imagery, to convey an old meaning in a new way.
So, how do you do that? How do you write about something that's so popular it has become 'overused,' and still keep your poem new?
I'm glad you asked.
First, you need to know what to write about. Poetry can be about absolutely anything. Everyone writes about the big topics, such as love, hate, death, and religion at some point, but poetry does not have to be about the great things. It can also be about the small, tiny, seemingly irrelevant ups and downs that we experience every day.
The biggest tip I can give you here is this: write what's important to you. Write about something that gets you excited or inspired. A good poem should be about you: your feelings, thoughts, worries, trials, happinesses, what you want to say, etc. (This is not to eschew narrative or third-person poetry, I'm just saying that it's impossible to write good poetry if it's not about something that sparks your creativity!)
Tackling Abstract Concepts!
Okay, so maybe what gets you inspired is love (or something else equally abstract). One of the biggest traps you can fall into is repetition. How many love poems have heard? Say, like, a million? It's such a popular concept, it's hard to present it in a fresh way.
Take a moment and think about it. What does love mean to you? Maybe there's a specific person, place, or thing that makes you think of love. For me, it will always be jazz music and Market Street, but to anyone else it would be something completely different. Present your concept in a new, extraordinary way.
Using Metaphor and Personification to Get Your Point Across!
One of the best ways to do this is to create imagery through metaphor. A metaphor is a statement that pretends one thing is actually something else, like 'the girl was a walking encyclopedia.' The girl isn't actually an encyclopedia, it's just a new way of saying that she knows a lot. Another device is personification, which is when the writer takes a non-living thing and gives it human traits. For an example of personification, take one of my favorite poems: Two Sunflowers Move in the Yellow Room, by William Blake.
"Ah, William, we're weary of weather,"
said the sunflowers, shining with dew.
"Our traveling habits have tired us.
Can you give us a room with a view?"
They arranged themselves at the window
and counted the steps of the sun,
and they both took root in the carpet
where the topaz tortoises run.
That's very blatant personification, no? Sunflowers, which don't normally talk, are...talking! A human trait. Mind you, it doesn't have to be so obvious, eg talking and moving, but the point is that Blake has taken a fairly ordinary event and turned it upside down, using devices. (For another, take a look at Under the Harvest Moon, by Carl Sandburg.
To practice using these techniques, try writing in concrete words instead of abstractions. And by concrete words, I mean words that describe things that people experience through their senses. Consider this sentence: He was sad. Very bland, right? Very boring. Would you want to read a poem that was full of this kind of description?
He walked with his shoulders hunched over, weighted with a thousand invisible burdens.
That not only conveys the sadness, but it gives the reader a picture that they can see in their mind. Don't say someone is 'happy'; show how their smile spread out against their face. Don't call something 'beautiful'; show exactly what makes it so beautiful.
(Do not be limited to visual images, either! Use taste, touch, smell, and sound as well.)
A Word of Warning!
While metaphors are a good way to show instead of tell, they should be used with caution. Avoid the very cliched metaphors such as busy as a bee. That's used a gazillion times everyday, and will probably cause some pffts or eye-rolling from the reader. Instead, invent your own metaphors. You want to describe something that's busy, right? Ask yourself, what are the things associated with busy? Make a list. Pick something unusual, and make a metaphor out of it.
Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow!
To sum up:
When trying to write new and interesting poetry,
1. Know your subject.
2. Keep it personal.
3. Use imagery to present it in your own way.
Hopefully, after reading this, you'll have a better idea of how to create fresh, original poetry.
-Mars
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