From MOODS IN POETRY by DENISE LOW, Ph. D.
Anger,
joy, infatuation, grief: each casts a specific spell. Emotions may blaze or
give off a slow warmth. When the poem is convincing, the emotion rekindles in
the mind and body of the reader. Limericks set up expectations of humor, not elegies.
Simple rhymes are for children’s verse, not odes to nightingales. Length of
lines and overall length of poems can signal mood to readers without words.
Here are some general examples:
SHORTER POEMS
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Spells:
Repetitive short phrases and refrains to effect change
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Romance:
Lyrical short poems, songs, and sonnets
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Anger:
Personal and/or rage against injustice—quick and pointed
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Sorrow:
Lyrical elegy (for lost love or lost souls), shorter poems
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Awe:
Short expressions of intense surprise
MEDIUM-LENGTH
POEMS
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Occasional
poems: poems to commemorate public events, medium length (long enough to lend
gravitas). These have moods that vary.
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Humor:
Mixed forms with contrasts, tricksters, rhymes, irony
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Whimsy:
Games, riddles, word acrobatics
LONGER
POEMS
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Joy:
Extended delight at a more conversational pace
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Celebration:
The classical ode, a longer form
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Reflection:
Compositions rooted in memory and observation
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Nature
Poems or Biofilia: Patterns of nature’s processes
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Depression:
Less intense poems, maybe with narration
EXERCISE:
A SPELL POEM
Parallel, repetitive lines make this long-married love
poem into a spell. Try this form with your topic.
I
Marry Your by Denise Low
I marry your late
lamplight insomnia
I marry your pierced ear
lobe with no earring, half closed
I marry your political
views
I marry your stepfather
who disappeared
I marry your warm hand’s
fleshy comfort
I marry your sweet silky
skin laid against mine
I marry your stereo
system thumping acid rock
I marry socks, underwear,
and shirts you cannot sort
I marry your slow-cooked
pork with sauerkraut
I marry your tears when
Uncle Buddy died
I marry your voice, its
music of short vowels
I marry the twenty-odd
years you have stacked your
socks, underwear and shirts in the closet
next to mine.
How does
this format dictate how you write? What kind of emphasis is there, and how does
that deepen mood?
Now take
the same idea and rewrite it as a haiku (or other short form). Notice the changes
in mood.
Moods
in Poetry: A Guidebook for Writers (Mammoth, 2017). Denise
Low is former Ks. Poet Laureate, professor, and author. www.deniselow.net
