Revise a poem in two different forms

Revise a poem in two different forms — worked practice

A form is a set of choices you can test.

Original draft: “The timetable lifts / and falls without a bus. / One mitten waits / on the empty bench.” A two-couplet layout groups the timetable action and then the mitten image. A prose version reads: “The timetable lifts and falls without a bus. One mitten waits on the empty bench.” The words remain the same but the line-end emphasis changes. If a later revision adds “Someone will come back,” record it as a content change, not merely a form change.

1. 1. 5.1 Revise

   Choose one of your three drafts. Copy it unchanged before revising so later comparison has an identifiable starting text.

   You should see: An unchanged original remains available.

2. 2. 5.2 Revise

   Arrange it in two or three short stanzas and assign a purpose to each unit. Keep stanza grouping separate from rhyme expectations.

   You should see: Stanza grouping serves named units of thought/image.

3. 3. 5.3 Revise

   Arrange the same words as a prose poem. Compare the visibility of pauses, images and line-end words; do not claim one emotional effect is mandatory.

   You should see: The prose comparison initially retains the same words.

4. 4. 5.4 Revise

   Select or combine a version and revise one word deliberately. Record that lexical change separately from your form experiment.

   You should see: The word revision is identified separately.