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Base XP: 120
Base XP: 120
Visual Poetry
Visual Poetry
As you've likely figured out by now, poems aren't always in organized lines on the page. Verse may usually be composed in lines of regular rhythm, ending in rhymes. But poetry can take many different forms without a set rhythm, and without rhyme.
We call poems blank poetry if they have a regular rhythm but no rhyme. We call them free verse if there's neither metre nor rhyme involved.
Free verse came out of a reaction to the culture that demanded strict rules for its poetry.
But some poems may not even have entire words in them, or phrases in any regular sense of the word. These are visual poems, and visual poetry is another art form of counterculture.
Go to your Web browser and use the "image" search function. Search for the keywords: "visual poetry." Take a look at the variety of images you find.
Visual poetry may be described as images that include words. Often the images don't include entire phrases, but letters arranged a certain way.
What are some of the specific characteristics of visual poetry? In this quest, we'll find out.
Read and take notes on the following Moodle chapters:
TASK:
Using the Dream Poem quest, create a visual representation of your poem, either using a traditional means of visual presentation (painting, crayon/coloured pencil collage, etc.), or a digital format.
Text
Remember that text is a visual element in this kind of poetry. Words can add something to your picture, and the picture should add meaning to the words. But they don’t need to tell a story or even convey meaning on their own. But do put some thought into the placement of words on a page. It will help to look at a selection of visual poetry to get ideas about how text functions in a visual poem.
Design
Whatever method you choose, you’ll find it helpful to sketch out your design before you begin. Even if you can clearly see the picture in your mind’s eye, the translation of that to a page or screen presents some decisions about placement.
Before you decide to place an image or text element, ask yourself what its effect will be if you place it there. In the lesson, the visual poem with the x-rayed hands shows the crossword text laid over top of the x-ray. This obscures the x-ray a little, which might delay the shock of noticing the fingers are broken. The realization has more impact if we make it after we’ve read some of the words in the crossword. We place the broken fingers in a context created by those words.
Ask yourself if an element is best placed there, or over something else, or beneath something else, or beside . . . thoughtful placement will let you get the most out of your design.
Movement
If you wish to create a kinetic poem, you could use slideshow presentation software, or movie editing software, to create a short moving picture for your visual poem.
It might help to create a storyboard, if you wish to make a moving visual poem. Click here for a template for sketching out storyboard panels.
Colour
You may choose to present your poem in black and white, or you may choose to add colour. Like a regular poem, the canvas for a visual poem is small. Every element should be chosen to contribute to the whole impression of the poem. Nothing is haphazard! If you choose colours, you’ll choose them because of the feelings they evoke and their relationship to the images in your dream.
Submission
Submit a final draft of your Dream Poem, along with the visual representation using the ASSIGNMENT: Visual Poem link..
Assessment
Click here for the rubric that will be used to assess your work.
Remember to let me know if this takes longer than 2 hours, and how many additional XP you've earned!
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