Write a Portrait Poem

Write a Portrait Poem

Write a Portrait Poem
Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 9 to 12
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	7.05

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		evoke, better, merely, scheme, metaphor, tedious, possibility, assume, glimpse, compose, poetic, portrait, personal, specific, simile, inherit
	content words:		Brenda Covert

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Write a Portrait Poem
By Brenda B. Covert

¹     How well do you know yourself? One must assume that you know yourself better than anyone else does. Therefore, no one is as qualified as you are to compose a portrait poem about yourself. A portrait poem contains autobiographical content. Indeed, it may also be called an autobiographical poem.

²     In a portrait poem, the poet creates a picture using words. This descriptive poem gives the reader a glimpse of the poet's true self. The poet may choose to reveal personal secrets or merely hint at them. How much or how little is shared is up to the poet's discretion. A good portrait poem will evoke an emotional reaction in the reader.

³     The portrait poem doesn't follow a rhyme scheme or a meter. It's like free verse. Including poetic devices such as alliteration and metaphor can add interest to the poem. Certainly the use of action words, specific nouns, and descriptive adjectives can give the reader a better sense of the poet. An experienced poet probably won't use a template to write a portrait poem, but templates can be helpful for training novices to write portrait poetry.

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