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| The first stanza of a poem is actually an introduction and very important. It should be attention grabbing, or at least interesting enough to urge readers to read on. If the first stanza is boring or awkward to read the chances are the reader might abandon that poem and search for something more interesting. A pity because he/she could be missing what is otherwise a good poem.
Also, very importantly, the first stanza sets the rhyming and metre pattern of your poem. It is there that you decide how many lines are to be in the stanzas, if your rhyming pattern is to be
AABBCC - - ABABCDCD -- AABCCB or whatever else you might choose.
Are you going to have 8, 9, I0, II, I2, I3, I4 or I5 syllables in each line? Are your lines going to be identical or alternate lines be of different length? Is your stress pattern going to be Iambus or Trochee, or are you going to use both by alternating each line. If so the rhyming pattern is usually ABABCDCD and the Iambic lines should rhyme with each other, likewise the Trochiac lines.
I'd advise anyone to take great care with that first stanza. Are you having trouble with your rhymes? Does the metre seem awkward and hard to maintain? Suitable descriptive words hard to find? I can assure you that if your first stanza gives trouble, there's heaps more trouble ahead! Take plenty of time with the first stanza ‑ it will save you time and problems later in the poem. Keep at it until you are happy with the rhymes and the metre flows comfortably. Don't choose a rhyme and rhythm pattern that is too difficult to maintain.
As I have said many times: keep it simple and make it sound natural. You might get a buzz by writing a highly flamboyant stanza with fancy rhymes and complicated stress pattern. But by the end of the poem you will be a nervous wreck trying to stick to it. What you thought was going to be something special will turn out a bloody mess and you will have shown that you are way out of your depth. |
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