Poetry Workshop: Getting in Shape with Concrete Poetry
First the grammar lesson, and then the poetry workshop lesson.
Nouns
A common noun is a noun referring to a person, place, or thing in a general sense. There are many types of nouns: common, proper, possessive, singular, abstract and concrete.
Concrete Nouns
A concrete noun names animate and inanimate things that can be perceived through the five senses: touch, sight, taste, hearing, or smell. Examples are: cats, doors, waffles, teachers. A concrete noun is the opposite of an abstract noun such as concepts like: love, liberty, courage.
With the basic noun lesson understood, let’s move on to the Poetry Workshop: Concrete Poetry.
Concrete Poetry: aka Shape Poetry aka Visual Poetry
Poetry in which the overall effect is influenced through visual means by forming or arranging the words in a pattern that reflects the subject or meaning.
The concrete aspect comes from basing the poem on tangible nouns, ones in which employ the senses, as opposed to abstract nouns. For instance, I can write about how cats see us, but are often invisible as they hide in plain view or I can emphasize the cat aspect by shaping the words around this concrete noun:
image: laurelgarver.BlogSpot.com
Sometimes the poem and its shape is humorous:
image: gardendigest.com
And sometimes it is more art than actual words:
image: prn.bc.ca
Other times there is a message within the message that turns out to be abstract after all:
For the most part, concrete poetry is a visual blending of text and shape. It’s an interactive expression, a melding and mixing of art, thought, feeling. Get into poetry by getting into shape.
Explore more with forming!
Pam Webb 