How to Write a Shape Poem: 9 Examples of Shape Poems

A shape poem, or concrete poem, is an arrangement of words on a page into shapes or patterns that reveal an image, such as in a calligram. These visual poems are an artistic blend of the literary and the visual arts. Readers experience a shape poem via its words, typography, and the visual representation of the poem’s subject. In this type of visual poetry, the meaning of the poem is enhanced by the shape of the poem itself, rather than the actual words used.

Shape poems have been around for centuries and are often used in creative writing exercises. Below is a brief history of the shape (or concrete) poem.

• Ancient letter arrangements: Shape poems were already a popular literary form in Ancient Greece as early as 2 BC. Scribes would often use the shape of the text itself to bring more meaning into these types of poems.
• Early pattern poetry in the early twentieth century: The American poet E. E. Cummings and the French poet Guillaume Apollinaire wrote pattern poems in the first half of the twentieth century, spacing out and styling words on the page for poetic expression. These poets rose to prominence before the concrete poetry movement formally entered the mainstream.
• Mid-twentieth century: While the art form has a long history, concrete poetry has only been a widely-shared term since the mid-twentieth century. Poetry as a form was evolving; Dada artists explored sound poetry, introducing new, aural ways to experience poems, primarily via performances that blended music and text.
• Development as a visual art form: In 1950s Brazil, writers affiliated with the São Paulo magazine Noigandres experimented with visualizing words on a page. Members of the Noigandres group—including Brazilian writers Augusto de Campos, Décio Pignatari, and Haroldo de Campos—showed their work at an art exhibit. These avant-garde artists carved a new path, blazing a trail for an art movement that was also a literary movement.
• Anthology: This artistic medium flourished throughout the twentieth century. In 1968, Mary Ellen Solt published Concrete Poetry: A World View, a definitive collection of the concrete poetry movement.

There are many notable shape poems that exist in literature. Read on below for a few famous examples of shape poems.

1. 1. “40 Love”: This concrete poem by Roger McGough is a narrative about a couple playing tennis. The text is divided down the middle, representing the net that separates them while they play, and will also be present when they’re home.
2. 2. “Apfel”: Written by German writer and scholar Reinhard Döhl (and titled the German word for “apple”), this poem consists of only the word “Apfel” repeated enough times to form the shape of an apple.
3. 3. “Easter Wings”: The Welsh poet George Herbert created “Easter Wings,” one of the most famous examples of concrete poetry. “Easter Wings” was originally printed sideways—with words not running left to right but up to down—so that readers had to turn the book 90 degrees to read the work. The piece, a religious meditation on Jesus’ atonement, comprises two stanzas that resemble two pairs of angels’ wings.
4. 4. “Ho/Horizon/On”: Ian Hamilton Finlay published his first collection of concrete poetry, Rapal, in 1963. In “Ho/Horizon/On,” this Scottish poet uses a combination of the words “ho,” “horizon,” and “on” to create a triangular image with a small gap in the bottom center of the concrete poem. The gap could be interpreted as the sun, sitting on the horizon with all the letters above it acting as the illuminated sky.
5. 5. “Lazy Jane”: Penned and illustrated by Shel Silverstein, this poem features a young girl lying on the ground waiting for water, while the poetry trickles down like a stream above her.
6. 6. “The Mouse’s Tale.”: In his 1865 novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll created a shape poem known as “The Mouse’s Tale.” The poem described a mouse’s tale while also being shaped like a curving mouse’s tail.
7. 7. “Silencio”: Eugen Gomringer’s “Silencio” shows the title word printed fourteen times to form a box with a hole in the middle, in which another instance of “silencio” would fit. In that hole, the Bavarian-born German poet seems to be showing a visual form of silence.
8. 8. “Swan and Shadow”: John Hollander’s well-known poem features the figure of a swan made entirely out of text with the reflection of the swan, also written in text, mirrored beneath.
9. 9. “Uplifting”: Written by Robert Yehling, this concrete poem also functions as an acrostic verse, as the first letter of each line spells out the word “uplifting,” while visually representing the verb through matching text.

Creating your own shape poem can be a fun writing exercise for poets that only requires a few preliminary steps. For a step-by-step guide on how to write this type of poetry, see below:

1. 1. Read other shape poems for inspiration. Start by reading examples of shape poetry for inspiration. Studying how other authors have used the form can spark some inspiration on how to construct your shape poem. It might even help you figure out what you want to write about.
2. 2. Decide what your poem is about. Before you start writing or planning the shape of your poem, you want to decide what it is about. Deciding on the subject matter of your poem before you plan its shape will help you pick the most relevant shape.
3. 3. Pick the shape for your poem. Brainstorm a few idea shapes before you start writing, and pick shapes that are familiar and recognizable, like a bird, a car, or a balloon. The shape you pick will have to be created with text, so make sure it’s something easily created and identifiable.
   
4. 4. Outline the form of your poem. Once you’ve selected your image, sketch it out on a sheet of paper. The sketch will act as your guide in choosing where certain words should go to create the outline of your selected image. You can lightly pencil in some words to test out how they will look within the given structure.
5. 5. Write your poem. Now that you’ve planned out the shape of your poem, you are ready to fill it with text. You may need to keep your words brief to fit into the shape of your poem. Use evocative imagery and language that speaks to your readers’ senses. It is also helpful to choose a few words that are related to your poem’s physical shape to help guide your writing process.
6. 6. Fill the shape in with the text. As with “Swan and Shadow,” you can write a story that gives your image a narrative. Or, you can choose a series of letters and words that repeat to flesh out your picture, such as with “Apfel.” The poetry itself can be free verse or blank verse, or if you’re feeling extra creative you can try rhyming your stanzas.

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