Poems can be very challenging and inspiring. They can be concise or as long as an entire book. Some poems rhyme, while others don’t, some follow while others won’t. In short, poetry is an expression of feelings and thoughts, and may be considered chaotic at times. While poetry does not fit with a formula like other literary works, I believe poetry can hold its own to hook its readers.

Please review these five ways in which poetry hooks its readers:

The Title– Titles of poems serve many purposes. It is usually the first opportunity to hook a reader. With that being said, a strong title has to deliver a strong poem.

The First Line – It’s true that a strong first line can peak someone’s interest and get them to read the entire poem.

Compelling Image – Many poems often pair a compelling image with an interesting title hoping to hold the reader’s attention, making the reader want to read the entire poem.

Strong Sounds – The use of sounds to promote poetry is one of the reasons why poets use ending rhymes and schemes to express the written word to their readers.

Interesting Structure – Some poems draw the attention of its readers by the way they are presented on the page or by the use of how the lines and stanzas break especially if there’s any indentation of words and also if the poem contains varying line lengths.

No matter how poetry is written it can be therapeutic and helpful in everyday life experiences. Hopefully, these five tips will help when you write future poems.

Happy Writing,

Ingrid Adam