McAnally's (The Community Pub) > Author Craft

Writing Lyrics into Prose

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Blaze:
Feel free to PM whatever you come up with to me, and I will be kind and constructive.  I judge poetry comps, and believe me, there is nothing I like better than to encourage a new poet.

Blaze:
Okay, I am going to add some other information, just because.

The kenning:

A kenning is a cool way to say something in creatively descriptive way.  These can be useful for lots of reasons!  To help meter, to help rhyme, for the sake of alliteration (repeating the same beginning sound over and over,) to be able to say the same thing over and over and yet in a new way.  These were used by Anglo Saxon and Norse poets, largely, but also make appearance in other forms.

Take a concept, and put a spin on it.

The sea: whale's way;  swan-road

Gold include:  Sweat of the sun; Sun's tears

Lava:  Earth's Blood

My recent favorite:  Malt-surf  (beer.)

Blaze:
Alliteration is having whole lines start with a similar sound.  This is another layer of artistry that an author can add to a poem.  The best example of alliterative poems that I know is this one:

An Austrian army awfully array'd,
Boldly by battery besieged Belgrade.
Cossack commanders cannonading come
Dealing destruction's devastating doom:
Every endeavour engineers essay,
For fame, for fortune fighting-furious fray!
Generals 'gainst generals grapple, gracious God!
How Heaven honours heroic hardihood!
Infuriate -- indiscriminate in ill --
Kinsmen kill kindred -- kindred kinsmen kill:
Labour low levels loftiest, longest line,
Men march 'mid mounds, 'mid moles, 'mid murd'rous mines:
Now noisy noxious numbers notice nought
Of outward obstacles, opposing ought --
Poor patriots -- partly purchased -- partly press'd
Quite quaking, quickly 'Quarter! quarter!'  quest:
Reasons returns, religious right redounds,
Suwarrow stops such sanguinary sounds.
Truce to thee, Turkey, triumph to thy train,
Unwise, unjust, unmerciful Ukraine!
Vanish, vain victory!  Vanish, victory vain!
Why wish we warfare?  Wherefore welcome were
Xerxes, Ximenes, Xanthus, Xavier?
Yield, yield, ye youths, ye yeomen, yield your yell:
Zeno's, Zimmermann's, Zoroaster's zeal,
Again attract; arts against arms appeal!
--Alaric Watts

Most of us don't have that amount of energy or dedication, but it can be a wonderful thing to have alliteration in a poem.  It can create a flow to the words that is just as pleasing to the ear as an end rhyme might be.

blgarver:
oooooh yeah I forgot about alliteration.  Haven't used it since high school English class.  I will keep that in mind.

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