The Everything Writing Poetry Book (35 page)
Another exercise would be to write epigrams to or about your friends or family. Try to capture some aspect of each person in two lines. Remember: The lines should rhyme or use one of the figures of speech mentioned in Chapter 5. Just be prepared to receive the same treatment in return!
Chapter 17
Writing for Children
C
hildren, perhaps even more so than adults, love to hear the music of language. They also love to hear poems about unusual people, places, and animals. As children listen to these verses, however, they are not just being entertained. They are learning about the language itself, its sounds and its rhythms. What they learn in these early poems will carry over into their language skills as they become educated and grow into adults. Reading poetry to children, or helping them create their own poems, is a fun way to enhance their language skills.
Stories in Verse
To write stories in verse for children, review what you read in Chapter 7 about narrative poetry. The narrative poem, remember, includes a story told by a narrator (or speaker), and that narrator could be you (the writer) or one of the characters in the poem. You also have to pay attention to the elements of plot, character, and setting.
You've learned a bit about creating settings and characters, and you'll read more about characters in this chapter. However, you have not yet learned very much about creating a plot. The works of Dr. Seuss and Shel Silverstein (among others) are excellent models for creating simple but interesting plots for young readers. The two kinds of plots that will probably work best for you are the
episodic plot
and the
dramatic plot
.
The Episodic Plot
The episodic plot consists of a series of events strung together. The events may or may not be related by cause; in other words, the first event may or may not cause the second to happen, and the second may or may not cause the third to happen. Many picture books are laid out in this manner; one page may show a character staring into an empty refrigerator and the next may show her purchasing food at a market. Or the events could be more random: A character is shown petting a dog on one page and sitting in a classroom on the next.
Perhaps the best examples of episodic plot are found in your newspaper's comic section. Each day, you can read a brief episode involving the characters of a particular comic strip. The episodes are strung together over time without a strong causal relationship, and the characters themselves show little or no change.
The advantage of the episodic plot is that it is easy for very young readers to understand. At a young age, a child is probably more interested in the colors, pictures, and tone of your voice than the story itself. A complicated plot will only confuse and distract a young child. The goal is to keep the child's attention without overwhelming her.
The Dramatic Plot
The dramatic plot is based upon the model set out for you in Chapter 7. Characters are presented with a problem to be solved, or they may have a conflict among themselves that is causing strife. The purpose of the dramatic plot is to see how the characters deal with and resolve their problems.
Unlike the events of the episodic plot, the events of the dramatic plot are causally related. This means if something happens in the poem, it will cause something else to happen. A character who finds that she has an ant problem in her house, for example, will decide to call an exterminator to take care of the problem.
The dramatic plot, because it involves more complexity, will work best when you are writing for older readers. Because the events of the dramatic plot are causally related, you can add complications to the narrative that will appeal to children who like adventure and action. However, younger children may still enjoy simple dramatic plots. The conflict in Dr. Seuss's
Green Eggs and Ham
, for example, is basic enough for preschoolers to follow and enjoy
In shaping the dramatic plot, don't forget about change, discovery, and decision. These three ideas form many of the important events in the dramatic plot, including the climaxâthe point at which the conflict or problem is solved. Be sure to include the decisions that were made as a result of the changes or discoveries.
A Narrative Poem
One great narrative poem for children is Edward Lear's “The Owl and the Pussycat.” The plot involves a journey made by the two main characters. Read the poem carefully to decide whether Lear has used an episodic or a dramatic plot.
The Owl and the Pussycat went to sea
   In a beautiful pea-green boat;
They took some honey and plenty of money
   Wrapped up in a five-pound note.
The Owl looked up to the stars above
   And sang to a small guitar.
“0 lovely Pussy! 0 Pussy, my love,
   What a beautiful Pussy you are,
       You are,
       You are.
What a beautiful Pussy you are!”
Pussy said to the Owl, “You elegant fowl!
   How charmingly sweet you sing!
Oh! Let us be married! Too long we have tarried:
   But what shall we do for a ring?”
They sailed away, for a year and a day,
   To the land where the bong-tree grows,
And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood,
   With a ring at the end of his nose,
       His nose,
       His nose,
   With a ring at the end of his nose
.
“Dear pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling
   Your ring?” Said the Piggy, “I will.”
So they took it away, and were married next day
   By the Turkey who lives on the hill.
They dined on mince and slices of quince,
   Which they ate with a runcible spoon;
And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,
   They danced by the light of the moon,
       The moon,
       The moon,
   They danced by the light of the moon
.
You might have noticed that this poem depends a great deal on repetition at the end of each stanza. Can you guess why? Read the poem aloud or sing it with a melody and see what effect the repetition might have on children as they listen.
Characters for Kids
The characters in children's poetry are not like the characters in poetry written for adults. The example of “The Owl and the Pussycat” in the last section shows that many characters may be animals that display human intelligence. Stories like
Winnie the Pooh
, which features a cast of a child's toys, and TV shows like
Sesame Street
, whose characters are imagined puppet creatures, show that the range of characters for children can be far broader than that of characters for adults.
With your human characters, you will also have to decide on their ages. Children will respond in one way to adult characters, whom they will judge to be authority figures, and in another way to child characters, whom they will accept as peers. Once you have determined the ages of your characters, be sure that their actions match these identities.
Even the human characters in children's poems behave differently. Mother Goose's verses, for example, feature an old woman living in a shoe, a wife who is put in a pumpkin, and a person eating a pie filled with blackbirds. Adults may find these characters nonsensical, but children have delighted in them for decades.
Creating the Characters
As with characters you draw from family and friends and from people you observe in public places, you must pay attention to the details. You do not have to describe the characters completely, but you should include a significant detail or two to bring the characters to life. In “The Owl and the Pussycat,” the Owl has a guitar, and he and the Pussycat set sail in a pea-green boat.The child does not need to know where the Owlwas born or whether or not the Pussycat has siblings. The only details a child is concerned with are those that are pertinent to the plot. For example, the Piggy-wig is included in the poem because he has the ring the Owl and the Pussycat will use for their engagement.
Creating Animal Characters
Creating animal characters can be easier or more difficult than creating human characters. On the one hand, animals of all kinds are of interest to youngstersâeven those that adults dislike, such as bats and spiders. So, you can be sure that animal characters will arouse enthusiasm among your readers. On the other hand, you must decide how intelligent your animal characters will be. Will they be able to speak and think as humans do? Will they show intelligence in their actions but be unable to speak? The more you personify your animal characters, the better children will relate to them.
Furthermore, you must also be aware of the roles some animals play in traditional children's stories. The owl, for instance, is usually a wise character, the eagle is strong and noble, the fox is quick-witted and sly, and the wolf is villainous. Whether or not you abide by these guidelines will affect a young reader's response. While a dim-witted owl and a kindhearted wolf may be unique and intriguing characters, their unusual personalities may only confuse a young reader.
Characters and Setting
Another way to excite your young readers is to have the characters of your poemâhuman and animalâvisit strange and wonderful places. Children will be curious to know how the characters will act in these unfamiliar places. This is part of the attraction behind “The Owl and the Pussycat.” It is also the reason for the popularity of another children's poem, Eugene Field's “Wynken, Blynken, and Nod”:
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night
   Sailed off in a wooden shoeâ
Sailed on a river of crystal light,
    Into a sea of dew.
“Where are you going, and what do you wish?”
   The old moon asked the three
“We have come to fish for the herring fish
   That live in this beautiful sea;
   Nets of silver and gold have we!”
       Said Wynken,
       Blynken,
       And Nod
.
The old moon laughed and sang a song,
   As they rocked in the wooden shoe,
And the wind that sped them all night long
   Ruffled the waves of dew.
The little stars were the herring fish
   That lived in that beautiful seaâ
“Now cast your nets wherever you wishâ
   Never afeard are we”;
So cried the stars to the fishermen three:
       Wynken,
       Blynken,
       And Nod
.