Acrostic

A poem or other form of writing in an alphabetic script, in which the first letter, syllable or word of each line, paragraph or other recurring feature in the text spells out a word or a message.

With thanks to Wikipedia on this one, acrostics are a common occurrence in a lot of the classical Jewish poetry I was reading for my philosophy paper (read about me procrastinating about it here, or rejoicing about having finished it here.) Acrostic poetry is actually a common occurrence in the Bible as well (most frequently in the Book of Psalms.) I have always thought of acrostics as gimmick poetry- what real sentiment can be expressed under such restriction? Perhaps it is left for those with more talent than I.

Fortunately, the poetry I am studying for the next two days is not acrostic in nature. The poems I am working with is mostly modernist in nature, and modernists were not known for their literary gimmicks, mostly abandoning rhyme and meter altogether. Alas, this is all for a final I have on Tuesday night (I mean, really- 7pm on December 22nd?) Paul, you congratulated me on the end of the semester a little too soon- while all the papers are done, I still have a three hour long final, where I will have to write who knows how many essays. So I am re-reading about 50 poems, from Robert Frost, William Carlos Williams, Marianne Moore, H.D., Ezra Pound, e.e. cummings, Langston Hughes and many others. There is really no other way to study for a poetry final. You just have to keep re-reading the poems, and when the times comes, say what you have to say about them. I am going to miss this class.