F is for Free Verse

By Bill Boudreau
F is for free verse. I’m super excited about today’s post for two reasons. One I get to share with you the cute three little pigs drawing my husband, Bill Boudreau, drew and I get to share with you one of my favourite types of story – fractured tales.  Without further ado I shall begin.

English poetry written in free verse was unheard before the 20th century. Poetry was typically written in formal verse, that is, “set patterns of rhythm and rhyme,” in which poets would count stresses and syllables (Burroway). Free verse poets broke from tradition and began writing poems that are closer to how we speak.  

Free verse can be on any topic and does not follow a particular pattern.  But like any good poem free verse poems show versus tell. Sometimes using literary devices such as metaphors, similes, and personification.

To add today’s lesson let’s talk about fables and fractured tales. Fables such as the Three Little Pigs, is a story with a moral or a lesson that typically includes talking animals.  To create a fractured tale take a fable or a fairy tale and change the story by adding twists, making it modern, changing the point of view, etc.

Here is an example of a fractured fable written in free verse.

Three Little Pigs, One Naughty Wolf

Three little pigs
built a house:
one of straw
one of sticks
and one of bricks.
One naughty wolf
blew two down.

Two little pigs
had no home.
One little pig
took them in.
One naughty wolf
paid them a visit.

Three little pigs
locked the door
and stoked the fire.
One naughty wolf
blew and blew
to no avail.

Three little pigs
cried out in delight.
One naughty wolf
threatened to come in,
"let me in
so that I can eat you all up."

Two little pigs
hid in fright.
One little pig
boiled a pot of water.
One naughty wolf
came down the chimney shoot. 

One naughty wolf dropped
into a pot of boiling water.
“Ouch, ouch, ouch,”
cried the wolf.
“Out, out, out,”
yelled the pigs.

One naughty wolf
flew out in a rage.
Three little pigs
lived together,
happily,
there after.
 --By Rena J. Traxel 

Challenge
--Write a fable poem, in another words, write a poem with a moral. Or
--Using the illustration of the three little pigs write a free verse poem. Or
--Pick your favourite fable and retell it in free verse.

Resources
--To learn more about literary devices click here.
--To read Fable by Ralph Waldo Emerson click here.
--To learn more about writing a fable poem click here.

If you liked this post please let others know. Tomorrow writer Beth Stillborn, will be joining us to talk about hymn writing. I hope you come back for that. 

Bill Boudreau is a mechanic who builds and restores hot rods. In his spare time he draws in exchange for home cooked food and tea. He is the resident illustrator on this blog. Stay tuned for more of his drawings. 

Comments

  1. This challenge maybe my favorite so far. I love fracture fairy tales. Your husband's piggies are adorable. Love the trough instead of the plate!

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    1. Thanks. He thought the trough was funny.

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    2. Yay, just got done. Although, I probably shouldn't have thrown in that many rhymes. :)

      The Boy Who Cried Sheep

      A son of a shepherd,
      Tended his sheep.
      One day the sheep turned bad.
      They teased and taunted,
      And pushed him to the brink.

      “Go and be gone,” the boy yelled.
      But they stayed and they stared,
      A mad evil stare.
      “SHEEP,” cried the boy.
      A wolf then appeared.
      “What is the matter?” asked Wolf.
      “I’m scared of my sheep,” he replied.
      Wolf said, “Do not call sheep and lie."

      The next day,
      The sheep came back.
      They continued to tease and stare.
      “SHEEP,” the boy cried,
      And Wolf then appeared.
      “What is the matter?” Wolf asked.
      “I’m scared of my sheep,” he replied.
      Wolf was heated,
      Then he repeated, “Do not call sheep and lie.”

      The day after that,
      The sheep were still bad.
      They nipped, the bit and they stared.
      “SHEEP,” the boy cried,
      And Wolf then appeared.
      "What is the matter?" Wolf asked.
      "I'm telling the truth, they bit and nipped,
      I'm scared of my sheep," he cried.

      His arm showed signs of what was done.
      So, Wolf licked it chops and ate each one.

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    3. Ha ha! That was awesome! I was not expecting that ending!

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    4. Thanks Rena! Can't thank you enough for having this fun "learning" challenge. :)

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    5. Hahahaha, Jennifer! Love it, "Do not call sheep and lie." Funny

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  2. I love your fractured fable and your husband's illustration! Can a free verse poem rhyme? I have a hard time writing poetry without rhyming!

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    1. Free verse poems don't usually rhyme. I have a part rhyme in my poem above, but it's not carried throughout as would be expected in more of a "traditional" poem.

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  3. Love your Three Little pigs, Rena and aren't you a useful duo, what a talented husband you have!

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    1. Thanks! He doesn't let me see his drawings until they are done so I was pretty happy with the little pigs. He drew another one with the wolf holding a bunch of flowers and politely knocking on the three pigs door.

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  4. Three little pigs is one of our favorites. I'll have to read the boys your poem. And kudos to Bill for his lovely drawing!

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    1. Thanks and thanks. The Three Little Pigs was one of my favourites when I was a kid.

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  5. I remember watching fractured tale shorts in the 70's during the Bullwinkle cartoon breaks. We kids loved them! This is a fun and resourceful challenge, Rena! The amount of writing, research, and crafting is quite obvious and we're the richer for it. THANK YOU, RENA!

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    1. Your welcome and thanks! I'm learning a lot too! Bullwinkle, now that is a cartoon I haven't seen in awhile.

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  6. Rena - I love your poetry posts so so much I've posted about them in my blog to spread the word! I'm learning/remembering so much about poetry. It's a secret indulgence.

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    1. Thanks Melissa! I deleted your comment below as it seems there was a duplicate.

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  7. I remember in 6th and 7th grade I took a class called "extended studies". It was essentially an all day class that occurred once a week for the gifted students in the school. We did fractured fairy tales all the time. I loved it! Thanks for bringing back those memories!

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    1. Cool. I don't remember ever studying fairy tales in school. My real love for fairy tales started when I took a class in university. The history that is attached to many of old tales fascinates me.

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  8. Rena...yours is awesome! And the drawing is incredible! This was a tough one for me! But it's up.
    http://wp.me/p22d5X-cN

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    1. Thank you. Thank you. I am a bit of jealous of my husband's drawing ability. He makes it look so easy while I can barely draw a stick man.

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  9. Loved your pig poem and your husband's art is marvelous!

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  10. Great poem, Rena! Loved it. And that illustration is amazing too! You have a talented family. :)

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    1. Thanks and thanks. My husband is shy when it comes to sharing his work so I'm glad that people are enjoying it.

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  11. Very nice Rena! Who knew Three Little Pigs could be told in so few words? :)

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  12. This is very cute! I love the idea of a fractured fairytale for a poem.

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