Of Art and Poetry

Poetry and the visual arts have long gone hand in hand, with ekphrasis (see also here)--or written celebration of paintings and sculpture--appearing in ancient Greek and Latin.  Poetry is a wonderful way for adults and children to explore art through words together. So, in honor of National Poetry Month in April, I include several poetry patterns that are easily adapted for children and can be done in groups.  For more creative poetry patterns, see here.

These poems can be created in museums in front of real works of art or at home using reproductions (most museums allow visitors to take notes on paper as long as you use a pencil and do not use walls or vitrines as a writing surface).  To begin, choose a work of art that interests you and your child.  Spend some time looking at and talking about it.  Then, pick an appropriate poetry pattern (younger children might have a hard time comprehending the syllables of a haiku or the spelling of an acrostic), and begin to fill-in-the-blanks.  You might even try more than one pattern for the same work of art or the same pattern for several works of art.  A great activity once the poem is completed is to write it on a new sheet of paper and illustrate it (this is best done at home after a museum visit, as museums often restrict crayons/colored pencils in galleries unless part of an official museum program with accompanying staff). 

Happy National Poetry Month!

• Acrostic: With the letters of a word spread out over several lines, use the letters in words describing the work of art. For example,

• Cinquain--An unrhymed five-line poem.

Line 1: one word (subject of the poem)

Line 2: two words (adjectives) that describe Line 1

Line 3: three words (action verbs ending with “-ing”) that relate to Line 1

Line 4: four or five words or a complete sentence (feelings) that describe the subject or are related to it in some way

Line 5: one word that sums up Line 1 or is a synonym of Line 1

• Diamante:  Use a four-line structure that creates a diamond shape.

Line 1: a word that comes to mind when looking at the work of art

Line 2: an action phrase based on what you see or sense in the work

Line 3: a comparison using “like” or “as” between something in the work and something else in the world

Line 4: another word that comes to mind when looking at the work of art

• Haiku:
  Line 1: 5 syllables
  Line 2: 7 syllables
  Line 3: 5 syllables