Wikipedia:WikiProject Poetry

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WikiProject Poetry
WPPoetry
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Helps organise child projects?No
Has goals?Yes

Welcome to the Poetry WikiProject! To start exploring poetry on Wikipedia, visit the main poetry page. For information on creating poetry-related articles, please read on.

For poetry-related deletion discussions, see Wikipedia:WikiProject Deletion sorting/Poetry.

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Developing articles: Suggestions, policies, guidelines

Notability

  • All articles on poets, poetry and topics related to poetry must meet the
    general notability guidelines
    .
  • The merits for inclusion of biographical articles on poets ought to be considered against the minimum criteria for biographies
    WP:BLP
    ).
  • Articles on poetic movements or groups must be the subject of multiple, non-trivial published works appearing in sources that are independent of the book itself, in considering the criteria of WP:AUTHOR and the very similar application toward bands and musicians,
    WP:MUSBIO
    .
  • Articles on books—be it
    WP:BKCRIT
    .
  • Articles on individual poems should be considered as we consider articles on individual songs or albums, per
    WP:NSONGS
    , in that they must be the subject of multiple, non-trivial published works appearing in sources that are independent of the book itself.
  • If an individual poem does not meet similar notability standards, it is generally advisable to discuss any material on that individual poem in an article on the collection it was from, or at the biography article for the poet. Per the notability guideline for derivative articles,
    WP:BKD
    , "it is a general consensus on Wikipedia that articles on books should not be split and split again into ever more minutiae of detail treatment, with each split normally lowering the level of notability." This would be applicable to articles on less-than-notable individual poems—despite however beautiful or meaningful the poem may be.
  • Many poetry prizes, poetry journals, literary magazines are often not notable. If a prize, journal, or magazine is to be considered notable, like other topics, must be the subject of multiple, non-trivial published works appearing in sources that are independent of the prize, journal, or magazine.

Article naming and title formatting

Unfortunately, Wikipedia's Manual of Style and its Naming Conventions are often in conflict or inconsistent when it comes to the naming of articles on creative works. For more information about titling articles, see: Wikipedia:Manual of Style#Article titles, Wikipedia:Article titles, Wikipedia:Manual of Style#Titles of works, Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Capital letters#Composition titles.

  • Generally, article titles are based on what the subject is called in
    reliable sources
    . When this offers multiple possibilities, editors choose among them by considering several principles: the ideal article title resembles titles for similar articles, precisely identifies the subject, and is short, natural, and recognizable.
  • In foreign names, the choice between anglicized and local spellings should follow English-language usage—settling on the usage that predominates in English language reliable sources (per
    WP:UE
    ).
  • If a poem, lyric or composition has a title, it is usually formatted in
    sentence case
    .
  • If an article title is the name of a book or long poem, the title should be presented in italic text. In order to italicize the name of an article, add {{Italic title}} at the top of the article. Mentions of the poem title throughout the article should be italicized. See
    MOS:ITALIC
    .
  • If an article is about a short poem or lyric, italicization is not necessary, and the title of the poem should be placed in quotation marks. Do not add quotation marks in the name of the article.
  • The distinction between a short poem and a long poem is never well-defined and an editor is advised to exercise judgment. The Chicago Manual of Style (8.179) advises to place poem titles in quotation marks except for "very long poems" that could be book length which should be italicized. A good suggestion is that a poem of 80 lines or less can be considered a short poem; and poems greater than 80 to 100 lines, a long poem.
  • Example (short poems): Robert Frost's "After Apple Picking" (42 lines)
  • Example (long poems): Walt Whitman's When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd (206 lines)

Use of infoboxes

  • WikiProject Poetry does not require or prohibit the use of infoboxes. Per
    WP:INFOBOXUSE
    : The use of infoboxes is neither required nor prohibited for any article. Whether to include an infobox, which infobox to include, and which parts of the infobox to use, is determined through discussion and consensus among the editors at each individual article.
  • Articles with an existing infobox that was put in by consensus, or by the article's major contributors, or (on articles that don't get much editing attention) has been in place for a while, usually ought to stay in place.
  • We discourage bickering on questions of whether to use infoboxes since it leads to unnecessary edit wars and bitterness. When discussing the issue to reach a consensus, focus on the article's content improvement needs—and what best conveys that content. Neither a position of "I don't like infoboxes, period", nor one of "every article needs an infobox" is a valid rationale. The needs of properly conveying content in the article are what matter.
  • Useful infoboxes for our project's articles: Template:Infobox writer, Template:Infobox poem, Template:Infobox book, Template:Infobox hymnal, Template:Infobox publisher, Template:Infobox journal, Template:Infobox award,

Citing and sourcing information

Quoting from poems and copyright issues

Style for quoting from poems

<blockquote><poem>
According to thy word.
They shall praise Thee and suffer in every generation
With glory and derision,
Light upon light, mounting the saints' stair.
Not for me the martyrdom, the ecstasy of thought and prayer,
Not for me the ultimate vision.</poem></blockquote>

Style for rhyme schemes

  • Articles that explain the rhyme scheme used by a type of poem or a specific poem or author, should link to the article rhyme scheme, so readers who don't know what that is can find out.
  • Articles that use notation to specify a rhyme scheme (e.g. ABAB) should use the same notation as Rhyme scheme § Notation and examples so readers who have questions about the notation can learn the details.
    • If the rhyme scheme being discussed in the article cannot be handled by any of the notations listed, add a new notation in a similar style to Rhyme scheme § Notation and examples, with a link back to the main article for the phenomenon (as is done for internal rhyme).
  • When using mixed uppercase and lowercase, specify in the article whether capital letters represent lines repeated verbatim or if they represent masculine rhymes. (The same notation is used for two different meanings.)
  • When quoting from a poem and indicating the rhyme scheme line by line, use a table to line up the letters and prevent them from wrapping in a narrow browser window. (See example at the top of rhyme scheme.)

Translations into English of non-English works

External links to material under copyright

  • If you find the text of a poem or a translation of a poem elsewhere on the internet it can be used in an article or provided as an external link if and only if (a) if the material is in the public domain or copyright has otherwise expired; or (b) permission has been given by the copyright owner. Do not add an
    WP:ELNEVER
    )
  • If a poem is currently in the public domain or copyright has otherwise expired, it should be added to Wikisource.

Other considerations

  • The use of
    logical quotations
    is encouraged, irrespective of any rules associated with the variety of English in use. Therefore, "place all punctuation marks inside the quotation marks if they are part of the quoted material and outside if they are not".

Templates

What to type: What it makes: What it's for
{{
WPPoetry
}}
WikiProject iconPoetry NA‑class
WikiProject iconThis article is within the scope of WikiProject Poetry, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of poetry on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.
NAThis article has been rated as NA-class on Wikipedia's content assessment scale.
The notice or template to indicate an article is part of the project. Place on talk pages.
{{Portal|Poetry}} Provides a link to the Poetry portal for easy subject navigation. To be placed at the top of "see also"/"related topics" sections only.
{{
User WPPoetryMember
}}
Userbox for members of the project, for display on user pages.
{{User:Scepia/poetry}}
This user enjoys reading poetry.
Userbox for readers of poetry, not necessarily members of the project.
{{poetry-stub}} The stub template for general poetry articles.
{{poem-stub}} The stub template for articles on individual poems.
{{poet-stub}} The stub template for articles on individual poets.

Content expectations and article structure

National poetries

Articles devoted to national poetries should be chronological in structure, beginning with the earliest known poetry from that country in question. The article should cover the principal periods and give brief information on the main poets, groups and movements in each period. Some attempt should be made to indicate factors that link and/or differentiate each period. Any important influences from other poetries should also be mentioned. Where possible, external links to online primary texts and/or critical or historical discussions should be appended at the end of the article. References and pictures are required to bring the article to

featured
status.

Some assistance may be available through

WikiProject Historical Information
.

Examples

Well-developed articles:

Other priorities:

Poetry groups or movements

Articles covering poetry groups or movements should cover the main members of the group, the stated aims or poetic and any important dates or key publications in the group's history. Other poets or groups/movements that the group being discussed were influenced by or reacting against should also be mentioned, as should the general cultural context. Where possible, external links to online primary texts and/or critical or historical discussions should be appended at the end of the article. References and pictures are required to bring the article to

featured
status.

Example

Individual poets

Articles discussing individual poets should adhere to normal Wikipedia biography conventions. The poet's early influences, associations with any groups or movements, and main publications should be mentioned, along with any later poets, groups or movements they may have strongly influenced. Where possible, external links to online primary texts and/or critical or historical discussions should be appended at the end of the article. References and pictures are advised where the intention is to push the article to

featured
status.

Examples

Individual poems

If the poem in question is quite short, it should be added to the article, per

WP:L&P
. If it is a long poem, it should be linked, either from WikiSource, or from another website. The text of poems which are not copyrighted should in general be placed in WikiSource.

An article on an individual poem, besides the poem itself, should describe the publication history of the poem, and the critical response to the poem. Other matters that could be covered include: the circumstances in which the poem was written, the structure and style of the poem, and references made in the poem.

Examples

Styles, forms, techniques, lists, general topics

Include definitions, history including dates, notable poets associated and examples where appropriate. Lists should be annotated and illustrated where appropriate. Where there are red links on a list, please consider writing stubs or longer entries. References and pictures are required to bring the article to

featured
status.

Examples

Poetry prizes

Scansion

Scansion is the act of analyzing and (usually) graphically representing the metrical character of a line of verse. Ideally Wikipedia will scan consistently across articles. Metrical verse is extremely diverse, especially across languages and over time, so universal consistency of scansion may not be possible or even desirable, but this advice will serve most English verse well, and may be useful for verse in other languages, too.

Binary marks

In a line of verse each syllable should be marked: ictic syllables with a slash "/", and nonictic syllables with an "x" — or preferably a multiplication sign "×". It is vital to distinguish between a metrical scansion (as is recommended here) and a rhythmic scansion (which, alone, leads to perdition). For notes on how to incorporate rhythmic notation into a valid metrical scansion, see Optional 2-line scansion below. The line of text is displayed, with a second line of scansion marks above it. Symbols are placed above the first vowel in each syllable. Both lines should begin with a space, so as to display them as monospaced characters; this allows easy WYSIWYG editing and keeps the verse text intact. The verse reference is placed on the same line as the text.

 ×   /     ×  /     ×     /     ×  / ×    /
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells [1]

This method of display is used in the article Scansion. For an alternate display method, see Alternate markup below.

Pipes

The existence, function, and explanatory usefulness of

feet in English verse is disputed. Also, while syntactic pauses frequently occur within a line, English verse seldom includes a metrically structural caesura
. Therefore it is recommended that both these features remain unmarked unless the specific line requires them. Either can be marked within the text by a pipe "|" or, if they are both marked simultaneously, by a single pipe "|" for feet and two pipes "||" for caesura. Words should not be hyphenated when they are broken up by foot markers.

  ×   /    ×  / ×   /    ×  /      ×    /  ×     /  × /
The princely palace of the sun | stood gorgeous to behold
×    /      ×  /     ×    /      ×   /      ×   /     ×   /     ×      /
On state | ly pill | ars build | ed high || of yell | ow burn | ished gold [2]

As can be seen, a cost of including foot or caesura notation is the fragmentation of the verse text.

Extrametrical syllables

Both positionally extrametrical syllables and elided syllables can be indicated with parentheses.

 ×  /     ×(×)  / ×  /(×)    ×   /      × / (×)
His acts being seven ages. | At first the infant [3]

The line above contains all 3 types of extrametrical syllables commonly found in iambic pentameter: the first (×) is elided, the second (×) is allowed by a so-called "epic caesura" — a special case in which marking a caesura in iambic pentameter can be useful — and the third (×) is a feminine ending. These distinctions are not made explicit by the scansion, so in cases like this clarification may be required in the article text.

Virtual beats

It is often (not always) conceded that certain meters (specifically the wide family of 4-ictic

Limericks
, among others) allow some line-final ictic positions to be experienced silently. Depending on the context, it may not be important to scan these, in which case one merely scans the syllables present in the text. But if these "virtual beats" require notation, they can be marked with "[/]" thus:

×  /    ×  / ×    / ×    /
I taste a liquor never brewed,
  ×   /  ×      /     ×   /     [/]
From tankards scooped in pearl;
 ×  /     ×  /   × /    ×   /
Not all the vats upon the Rhine
 ×     /   ×  /  × /    [/]
Yield such an alcohol! [4]

Note the distinction between brackets here and parentheses above. This helps to emphasize how different the virtual beat is from the extrametrical syllable — the opposite, in fact. Extrametrical syllables are positions that exist in the text, but do not count in the meter; virtual beats are positions that exist in the meter, but not in the text.

(Derek Attridge (who coined the term "virtual beat") would also scan the lines above with "virtual offbeats" (e.g. "[× /]" at the end of lines 2 and 4). This is significant for his system, but is considered counterproductive for Wikipedia; especially since virtual beats frequently pop up in contexts in which one could imagine arguments over whether one was failing to hear 0, 1 or 2 virtual offbeats!)

Alternate markup

If no verse text reference, or any other markup, is required on the same lines as the scansion and text, the scansion can be better integrated within the article text by using this markup:

<pre style="border:none;background-color:transparent;margin-left:1em">
scansion
verse text
</pre>

This method, too, allows WYSIWYG editing of the displayed lines. It is exemplified below, and is used in the article

Iambic Pentameter
. Unfortunately, no method allowing both this appearance and markup (like <ref>) is currently available.

Optional 2-line scansion

Isn't one line enough? For metrical purposes, yes. But consider these lines:

When Ajax strives, some rock's vast weight to throw,
The line too labours, and the words move slow; [5]

Many people will find it hard to stomach that not only are these lines metrically identical, but that they are also completely regular:

  ×  / ×     /      ×    /      ×    /      ×    /
When Ajax strives, some rock's vast weight to throw,
  ×  /    ×   / ×     /     ×  /     ×     /
The line too labours, and the words move slow;

What of Pope's alleged sonic reproduction — through over-weighting the line with heavy syllables — of strain and toil? What of the reader's or listener's real experience of that strain? What is scansion good for, if it doesn't show this? Well, metrical scansion is not good for that. Its purpose is to analyze the meter of the line, and this is a binary proposition: all the syllables either function as a beat (ictus) or not (nonictus), and in verse like this (as indeed in most verse) the number of ictuses per line remains stable throughout the poem. There is no way metrically to notate the "extra stresses" that the reader legitimately experiences. These are an issue of verse rhythm. And while scanning only a verse's rhythm leads almost inevitably to a metrical boondoggle, scanning a verse's meter and rhythm can be very enlightening.

  2  4 1     4      3    4      3    4      1    4
  ×  / ×     /      ×    /      ×    /      ×    /
When Ajax strives, some rock's vast weight to throw,
 
  1  4    3   4 1     2     1  4     3     4
  ×  /    ×   / ×     /     ×  /     ×     /
The line too labours, and the words move slow;

Here, we've added a rhythmic scansion (1 = lightest stress and 4 = heaviest stress). This closely mirrors the methods used by Otto Jespersen, James McAuley, and Timothy Steele; and serves as a useful informal approximation of the more linguistically technical scansions of Marina Tarlinskaja, Derek Attridge, and Peter L. Groves. Now we can see 1) the variety of stress interrelationships that create the distinctive stress profile of the lines, 2) how these variously stressed syllables realize ictic and nonictic positions within the iambic pentameter, and 3) how, despite the preponderance of heavy stresses, these lines relate structurally to Pope's other heroic lines.

Though relatively objective means can be used to determine fine-grained stress levels like these, they tend to be quite technical. For Wikipedia, these rhythmic scansions may best be left to the scanner's ear.

Text sources

  1. ^ Keats: To Autumn 7
  2. ^ Golding: Ovid's Metamorphoses II, 1-2
  3. ^ Shakespeare: As You Like It II.vii, 143
  4. ^ Dickinson: I taste a liquor never brewed 1-4
  5. ^ Pope: An Essay on Criticism, 370-71

Participants

Active members

To join the WikiProject Poetry, edit this section and add #~~~~ and any comments to the end of the following list of members.

  1. Sad Lil Artsy Guy
  2. Smmmaniruzzaman
  3. Daniel C. Boyer
  4. Smerdis of Tlön
  5. Kdammers
  6. Stumps
  7. hmwith
  8. User:John Carter
  9. Wrad
  10. ImperviusXR
  11. Albeiror24-Neopanida: Spanish literature and poetry.
  12. Ericdn
  13. Easchiff - various contemporary poets (Kay Ryan, Timothy Murphy, Carl Dennis), some awards articles.
  14. Junius49
  15. Spanglej
    Mostly US and UK poets
  16. Sir Richardson
  17. Szfski - Classical Arabic and Russian poetry.
  18. Dcattell Poetry that's lovely, good, and beautiful (and that I can understand).
  19. Clevelander96 Middle English Poetry, Irish poets in English, Poetics
  20. Londonjackbooks Works by and about Philadelphia poet Florence Earle Coates.
  21. Mikhailov Kusserow
  22. Bertaut
  23. Christian Roess
  24. hazelnutmeg -- mostly Latin and Ancient Greek poetry, occasionally editing biographical entries on German, US, or UK poets.
  25. JoannaSerah (talk) 05:01, 19 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]
  26. BanWisco
  27. Damoon4all
  28. Khani100--Pakistani and South Asian poetry in English,Urdu and Punjabi
  29. nmcrae1 -- Contemporary American poets, poetry, and writing culture
  30. SenchaDragon -- Craft of poetry, new and emerging writers, translation
  31. Cfsibley --Contemporary poets, EM and Renaissance poetry, woman poets
  32. MasterOfHisOwnDomain (talk · contribs)
  33. MiltonRoad (talk · contribs) Contemporary female poets, English-language and Spanish-language poets, contemporary poetry/movements
  34. Village Explainer (talk) 18:54, 9 February 2013 (UTC) Poet, critic, scholar of prosody[reply]
  35. Hillbillyholiday
    adds poetry to random articles. Also, recently compiled and organized 60k rhyming words in an intuitive multi-colour format with notes. Email me for a free copy as a word.doc. or if you can help wikify it!
  36. Drmies
  37. Thebaitgoat (talk) 03:02, 28 October 2013 (UTC) -- contemporary American poetry, especially Kay Ryan[reply]
  38. Rosario Berganza English Romantic poetry
  39. Voltaire&Leibniz Voltaire, satire and English romantic poetry.
  40. ColonelHenry - 2 FA and 8 GA poetry articles. Writes on many poetic traditions, will translate passages for articles, specializes in Eliot, Bunting, Whitman, Rilke, Metaphysical poetry. Planning to write more on Persian poets
  41. Literary Modernism[reply
    ]
  42. RodneyJ English Romantic Poetry
  43. Kelseyplum10
  44. Lynn Hamilton
  45. Mercurywoodrose improving the poetry portal
  46. Perry Middlemiss (talk) 23:40, 10 January 2015 (UTC) Australian poetry[reply]
  47. RatRat (talk)
  48. talk) 22:28, 22 August 2015 (UTC) Classical poetry in general, especially Greek tragedy, Latin and Greek epic[reply
    ]
  49. Josh a brewer (talk) 02:09, 24 August 2015 (UTC) Caribbean, Romantic, Modernist, Postmodern, prosody[reply]
  50. talk · contribs
    ) English Romantic and Victorian poetry.
  51. It's Harrison! (talk) 22:47, 20 April 2016 (UTC)[reply]
  52. NotAJF Classical poetry, especially Sappho and Catullus
  53. ch (talk) 19:07, 20 May 2016 (UTC) Chinese classical poetry and 19th century American.[reply]
  54. Cogswell Crowell
  55. Strawberryfields77 (talk) 04:19, 18 January 2017 (UTC)[reply]
  56. Peter Folsaph (talk) 19:42, 3 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]
  57. Ekartha (talk) 17:46, 3 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]
  58. Ænēās Québécois
  59. On Tangled Paths 23:42, 9 February 2018 (UTC)[reply]
  60. Kwsherwood (talk) 19:03, 1 March 2018 (UTC) Modern, Postmodern, Ethn0poetics American and Experimental[reply]
  61. Maxim Stoyalov
  62. JoeZelazny (talk) 13:16, 28 September 2018 (UTC)[reply]
  63. Timothy.robbins
  64. Anthologetes
  65. Ozywomandias (talk) 05:27, 6 May 2019 (UTC) Indigenous and feminist poetry[reply]
  66. GeneralPoxter (talk) 15:22, 25 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  67. Jake78541 Kerouac, Ginsberg, and Whitman baby
  68. Yitz (talk) 05:38, 25 September 2020 (UTC) working on improving pages related to Robert Browning[reply]
  69. talk) 18:48, 15 November 2020 (UTC)[reply
    ]
  70. Amir Ghandi (talk) 23:37, 11 January 2021 (UTC)[reply]
  71. Eddie891 Talk Work 15:03, 12 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
  72. Defwe12 Interested in Gujirati poetry and Beat Poetry, Favorite poets are Tagore, Wilde, Ginsberg, and (Dylan) Thomas
  73. Otherart (talk) 11:59, 5 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]
  74. Paracelsus888 (talk) 09:59, 20 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]
  75. Musophilus (talk) 13:28, 29 May 2021 (UTC) Early modern English poetry. Working on increasing recognition of Samuel Daniel[reply]
  76. small jars tc 09:52, 17 August 2021 (UTC) Working on a template for scansion, interested in Imagism and eastern poetry as a reader[reply]
  77. Heilprin (talk) 22:34, 5 September 2021 (UTC)[reply]
  78. CivilianArthur (talk) 19:06, 3 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]
  79. A0630! (talk) 23:16, 18 March 2022 (EDT)
  80. Geoffroi American and English poetry.
  81. Gabriel سلیمی
  82. Squidditas
  83. Goldenrod42 (talk) 23:45, 8 September 2023 (UTC)[reply]
  84. My Talk Page 22:37, 16 January 2024 (UTC) Hope to start working on expanding English modernists (in particular Crane, Moore, Eliot)[reply
    ]

Inactive members

  1. Tegalad
  2. Anshul
  3. sjc
  4. Wikipedius
  5. WayneRay
  6. Sam
  7. Moonbug
  8. *Rianon Burnet
  9. William P. Coleman (talk) Modernism, Classical Chinese Poetry, Classical Greek Poetry
  10. Thehumuslayer
  11. Survivalism (talk) 16:04, 21 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  12. Kalindoscopy
  13. talk
    ) especially Russian poetry
  14. Vergency
  15. Erik the Red 2 (AVE·CAESAR) 17:05, 5 May 2008 (UTC)[reply
    ]
  16. Evb-wiki (talk) 13:57, 25 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  17. Smileypirate (talk) 15:06, 29 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  18. mrathel (talk)
  19. Ottava Rima - English Civil War to Victorians.
  20. TheGeniusPrince
  21. Ida-Marie's Father - German and German-writing Poets
  22. Lordknave
  23. Aclayartist
  24. BarbaraSta
  25. -- Daniel Jones (talk) 11:26, 13 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  26. MaximilianT
  27. Ink Falls -What Dcattell said ^_^
  28. BlackMarlin 20th Century Poetry, mainly British or from the North of Ireland. Currently writing a PhD thesis on Paul Muldoon.
  29. Josette
  30. Amartya Ray
  31. Brucewhealton (talk) 12:35, 10 July 2010 (UTC)Brucewhealton Interested in poetry online, poets, and poetry communities[reply]
  32. Sigauri
  33. Weatherby551
  34. Mschwer2

Member userboxes

You may place {{

User WPPoetryMember
}} on your user page to display one of the following userboxes:

Either of these templates will add your user page to:

For other poetry user templates, please see: