This class introduces the elements of quality poetry and how to practice those elements by writing one’s own poems. Students will learn how to recognize abstract and concrete imagery and how to use simile, metaphor, symbol and personification. Students will learn what a dramatic monologue is and how to write one. Students will learn how to show rather than tell in writing and learn about line breaks, nontraditional punctuation, and white space. This course will also help the poet experiment with traditional forms and learn to recognize iambic pentameter.