̨Íåswag

How easy it is to descend from hero to zero in a rhymed poem, and as a result, we will discuss how to discover rhymes and how to evaluate them. English is a rhyme poor language in comparison to Italian, and yet there are still plural forms of rhyme to engage with: full rhyme, half-rhyme, assonantal and consonantal rhyme to list several.

Rhymes are not difficult to find, but controlling rhyme is, and we will explore how to write poems which express what you actually wish to communicate, rather than writing poems in which you are led by rhyme, and your original intention is lost.

Recognising how to control rhyme and make it appear an almost natural part of speech is a craft, and we will analyse how best to achieve this by examining the rhythms of modern speech.

These elements we shall apply to the creation of drafts of a sonnet, a villanelle and the ballad forms.

Each session will be illustrated by examples of recent poets’ work in these various poetic forms, and the craft that we discern will then be applied to your own work.

These workshops led by Stephen Smith prove consistently popular because of their inspirational qualities, the provision of information regarding techniques, and the mutually supportive atmosphere in which they take place.