Concrete Poetry (Calligrams)
Concrete poetry is sometimes called picture poetry or shape poetry. It combines poetic writing and drawing. The form that the poem is written in mirrors the topic of the poem. There are three traditional ways this is down: (1) the poem can follow the outline of the object, (2) the poem can fill a shape that is the subject of the poem, or (3) the poem can use the way words are written on the page to form an image.
Calligrams are typographic poems. In 1918 French poet Guillaume Apollinaire published a book of poems that did not look like poems. He named the book Calligrammes which means "beautiful writing". He used words and lines to form his poems. Sometimes the shape related to the subject of the poem. But actually the calligram style of poem was written before then. It was called "shaped poetry" or "pattern poetry." English poet George Herbert wrote two famous shaped poems, "Easter Wings" and "The Altar." The mouse-tail in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventure in Wonderland might be considered a shaped poem.
Concrete poetry is sometimes called picture poetry or shape poetry. It combines poetic writing and drawing. The form that the poem is written in mirrors the topic of the poem. There are three traditional ways this is down: (1) the poem can follow the outline of the object, (2) the poem can fill a shape that is the subject of the poem, or (3) the poem can use the way words are written on the page to form an image.
Calligrams are typographic poems. In 1918 French poet Guillaume Apollinaire published a book of poems that did not look like poems. He named the book Calligrammes which means "beautiful writing". He used words and lines to form his poems. Sometimes the shape related to the subject of the poem. But actually the calligram style of poem was written before then. It was called "shaped poetry" or "pattern poetry." English poet George Herbert wrote two famous shaped poems, "Easter Wings" and "The Altar." The mouse-tail in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventure in Wonderland might be considered a shaped poem.