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 20^th 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.