Poetic Form 3: Pantoum

A pantoum is a poem with a fixed structure of repetition. Written in two stanzas of four lines each (quatrain), lines 2 and 4 of stanza 1 become lines 1 and 3 of stanza 2.

The third poetic format student's will be working with in their Writing Journal is a "pantoum." Perhaps the most challenging element of drafting this poem (at least with the "modified-Westernized" version we are playing with) is identifying a focus or topic. I suggested to students that in seeking inspiration that they simply look around a room in your house or school, or even out your window, and try creating a pantoum about what they see.

Here's the ready-to-use "formula":

Stanza 1
Line #1
Line #2
Line #3
Line #4

Stanza 2
Line #1 (line #2 above)
Line #2
Line #3 (line #4 above)
Line #4

Students were also given a model that I wrote about my cat, which should have been copied into their Writing Journals.

Read Up and Write On!