This week: I Wept, I Wailed, and I Wrote This Edited by: Jayne  
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| Hello, I'm Jayne! Welcome to my poetic explorations. My goal with these newsletters is to take us on a journey through the forms, devices, and concepts that make poetry so powerful. Sometimes, a series of newsletters will interconnect, while other issues will stand alone. I strive to ensure they are informative but fun and do my best to spark your curiosity. Don’t forget to check out this issue's curated selection of poetry! |
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I had a serious case of writer's block this week. I'd sit down to write the newsletter, stare at the page for ten minutes, tell myself at least I tried, and eat a pity party doughnut. As this one went down to the wire—and I mean really went down to the wire, even for me, I threw up my hands and said, "The Storymaster is going to kick me off the site!"
"Hyperbolic, much?" my husband replied.
And here we are.
Fetch My Fainting Couch!
Poetry is one of those mediums that thrives on drama, and nothing ups the stakes like some well-placed hyperbole. A simple definition from Merriam-Webster is "extravagant exaggeration" with synonyms such as embellishment, exaggeration, and overstatement. Cambridge dictionary also uses bloviate as a synonym, and such words could not make me happier (it means "to speak a lot in an annoying way as if you are very important"). We're going to try to avoid unintentional bloviating, no matter how great the word is.
These extravagant exaggerations can take your poetry in a different direction, sway your reader, and intertwine genres. You can produce a Shakespearean tragedy or a Shakespearean comedy. You can bring your reader to the lowest or highest emotional points you can muster. After all, why say you're tired when you can say you've aged a hundred years? Why claim heartbreak when you can declare your soul has shattered into a million pieces, tossed into the sea, and eaten by a whale? Hyperbole is like flinging yourself onto a fainting couch—unnecessary, excessive, and delightful. Whether it's playful or profound, this poetic technique demands attention and dares the reader to feel everything, all at once, at maximum volume.
Master the Art of Overstatement
If you're going to lean into hyperbole, go big or go home. Are you even trying if you don't sound like a love-struck Victorian ghost reenacting Hamlet's To Be or Not to Be? Nothing is ordinary. Emotions impact you on a cosmic scale. You're not sad but assailed by the wailing wind that haunts the moors. You don't have pain. You have a black hole tearing apart the fabric of your being. The moon sulks behind a mountain. The sun sets in despair. Anger explodes more violently than stars gone supernova, but joy is brighter than a thousand suns reflecting off a solar array.
John Donne, "The Sun Rising" – Yelling at the sun to go away because his love is more important. Close the curtains, man.
Emily Dickinson, "I Felt a Funeral in My Brain" – Emotional distress is a funeral procession inside her head. A great poem worthy of an awkward "Can I, uh, get you a glass of water or something?"
Pablo Neruda, "Tonight I Can Write the Saddest Lines" – This one is a bit meta since he knows he's being overwrought, claiming his love was so powerful that even the stars shivered in response.
Richard Brautigan, "Gee, You're So Beautiful That It's Starting to Rain" – Find yourself someone who talks about you the way he talks about Marcia. Expect your friends to be jealous. Or perhaps a bit concerned.
Give hyperbole a try! If you're not sure how to start, work with two lines until you feel confident. Here's my two-line attempt:
An emptiness so vast, the night screams in envy—
It devours the stars yet still hungers for my sorrow.
Now go forth and exaggerate recklessly. |
Note: these poems are not necessarily hyperbolic. I went with random picks this week. 
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Poetry: February 26, 2025 Issue [#13007]
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