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Narrative Poetry

How to Write Narrative Poetry

Steps to Follow

  1. Plot Before Poetry (But Keep It Playful)

    Before your quill—or keyboard—starts dancing, map out your story skeleton. Think beginning, middle, and end, yes, but also spice things up with conflict, tension, and transformation. A narrative poem without a narrative is just... well, a mood piece in disguise. Make your hero stumble, your villain cackle, your lovers long for something more than moonlight. Plot twists are highly recommended.

  2. Pick Your Narrator (The Voice Behind the Velvet Curtain)

    First person? Third person? Omniscient trickster god? Choose your storyteller with care, for they control the secrets, the surprises, and the shade. Maybe it’s the old innkeeper who saw it all, or the love-struck crow on the windowsill. Switching perspectives can also add layers like a rich narrative lasagna—deliciously complex, but don't overbake it.

  3. Find Your Vessel (The Form Is the Frame)

    Ballad? Epic? Free verse masquerading as a saga? The form you pick is your story's vessel—be it a sturdy longboat or a paper airplane. Traditional forms come with built-in rhythms that hum with history (hello, rhyme schemes and refrains), but if your story demands a more rebellious structure, go rogue. Just make sure your form holds water.

  4. Mix Action with Atmosphere (Drama with Details)

    Narrative poetry thrives when action and description tango together. Paint your world with vivid strokes—fog-cloaked moors, rustling silk, a sigh that smells like cinnamon—but don’t forget to make things happen. Dialogue is your secret weapon here, giving characters breath and bite. Remember, in poetry, every word must earn its place at the table.

  5. Cast Spells with Poetic Devices

    Use rhyme to trap your reader like a siren’s song, alliteration to tickle their ears, repetition to haunt them long after the last line. These devices aren’t decorative doilies—they're your narrative's secret weapons. Deploy them where the stakes are high, where the hero falls, where the villain laughs, where the heart breaks in rhythm.

Example

The Highwayman
The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees. The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas. The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor, And the highwayman came riding— Riding—riding— The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn-door.

— Alfred Noyes (excerpt)

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