Writing >> 8. Descriptive Writing: Poetry

Descriptive Writing: Poetry

In descriptive writing, writers use vivid, descriptive details to make sights, sounds, smells, tastes, textures, and feelings come alive for readers. Descriptive writing is used in many types of writing, including expository, narrative, and persuasive.

Poetry

Poets are writers that use a lot of description. There are many types of poetry and this unit covers two: Haiku and Prose. In all types of poetry, writers choose their words carefully, communicating a lot of meaning in very few words. A thesaurus can be particularly helpful when choosing words to communicate the exact meaning.

Haiku

Haiku is a traditional Japanese poetic form. Most haiku share certain characteristics. They are short—only three lines long. They describe a profound moment in a few simple, yet vivid words, and they mention nature in some way. They are very simple and direct. Haiku are often associated with the changing of the seasons. They also contrast something.

Basic Structure of Haiku

  • Only three lines
  • The three lines have only 17 syllables
    • The first line is 5 syllables
    • The second line is 7 syllables
    • The third line is 5 syllables
  • Vivid yet simple language
  • Often describe a profoundly peaceful moment
  • Show a contrast
  • Mention nature

Model Text 1: Descriptive Writing (Poem)

Here are two haiku by the 17th-century Japanese poet Matsuo Kinsaku, better known as Basho. Please note that, because they have been translated, these haiku do not follow the 17-syllable structure.

A Fallen sick on a journey
  my C dream A goes wandering
  over B a field of dried grass
Basho (translator unknown)
  The old pond
B a frog jumps in
C sound of water
Basho (translated by Robert Hass)

Notice how simple and direct the poems are. Other poets might write much more about frogs singing, but Basho simply describes the splash of a frog hitting the water. The poems clearly mention nature, and imply a season. They also contrast something—sickness and a dream wandering; the quiet of the pond with the noise of the frog. Finally, both haiku have a feeling of sabi, a Japanese word meaning “peaceful sadness.” Basho’s haiku create mental pictures. Readers can easily imagine feeling ill but dreaming that they are wandering in a field, or sitting alone by a pond, surrounded by the sounds of nature.

Writing a Haiku

Haiku can be a lot of fun to write. In this simple, short poetic form, writers can describe their environment, explain how they feel about something, or present a funny situation. To write your own haiku, just follow the steps below.

Step 1 Choose a topic. Traditional haiku focus on nature, but they can be about anything. It is best if you have first-hand experience with the subject of your haiku. A lot of modern haiku discuss city life, work, or school. Others are about something the writer loves, hates, is thrilled by, is anxious about, or anything else that comes to mind.

Still in a meeting
boss talks, nightfall approaches
dreams of the weekend

Sandra Duque

Step 2 Decide on the form of your haiku. In Japanese, a haiku must have exactly seventeen on, or segments of sound. To write haiku in English, writers count each syllable as one segment of sound and follow the 5-7-5 pattern.

Summer has arrived
see children running outside—
fresh smell of cut grass

Jessica Andrea

Step 3 Include a contrast. The haiku that begins Still in a meeting contrasts work with dreams of the weekend. Summer has arrived contrasts something that you see (children running) with something that you smell (fresh cut grass). Some writers use special punctuation, such as a dash (—) or semicolon (;) to show the contrast in their poem.

Step 4 Include a reference to the season, if possible. For example, if the haiku mentions “cherry blossoms,” the reader knows it is spring. If the haiku mentions snow, the reader pictures winter. Depending on the topic you choose, you may want to eliminate this step.

Step 5 Practice, practice, practice! The more haiku you write, the better you will get at it. It also helps to read a lot of haiku. Be sure to read a variety of types— traditional, contemporary, serious, sad, funny, and so on.

Model Text 2: Descriptive Writing (Prose Poem)

Prose Poems

Prose poems look like regular text (prose) that you might find in a story or essay. They have a theme—or main idea of what the writer is describing. They contain full sentences, but use poetic techniques—simile, metaphor, sensory descriptions, strongly evocative and vivid language, sound devices—to bring a person, place, thing, or event alive. They are usually short—one paragraph—although there is no exact limit on how long a prose poem can be. The topic or theme is usually set in the first sentence.

I LIE DOWN in the forest. A E The moss against my cheek feels like another face. My ear B cups the ground and I listen to my planet. I hear the sound of C E stones and bones, of D marching feet and dancing feet, E my father’s voice ordering a beer, E our first dog barking at the mailman, E your laughter, E a car horn and bells. It begins to snow and the flakes E melt on my face. I need to get up and go home, E it’s getting cold and E soon the light will fade, but I’m not finished listening.
Lou Beach
E THE COLD is most intense where my shoulders meet the water, A E a precise line as if a razor had scored my skin. I have E no feeling at all in the submerged parts of my body and I wish my shoulders and head, above the dark green waves, would also be numb, for B E the bite of the air is brutal. But I know I need to feel pain to survive, sure that were I numb from head to foot I would sink into the sea, gone. I struggle toward the still unseen shore, hanging onto the life preserver A E as tightly as I cling to the vision of my wife and children at home, E the heat.
Lou Beach

Language Bank

Similes and Metaphors

Similes and metaphors describe someone or something by comparing it to someone or something else that seems quite different, but has some similarities.

Similes contain the words like or as:

The moss against my cheek feels like another face.

Metaphors do not contain the words like or as, so the comparison is implied rather than directly stated:

I hear the sound of stones and bones.

Sound Devices

Sound devices create a musical effect for the reader—for example, words like hiss that sound like the sound being described. Other types of sound devices include rhyming and repetition:

I hear the sound of stones and bones, of marching feet and dancing feet.

Sensory Details

Sensory details help the reader see, hear, smell, taste, or feel what the writer describes:

I have no feeling at all in the submerged parts of my body …