An acrostic poem is one written in cryptographic form. A word is spelled out with the first letter of each line. It is often the theme of the poem, or a person to whom the poem is dedicated.
The word “acrostic” comes from the Greek words “aeros, ” meaning outermost and “stichos” meaning line of verse. Early acrostics were written as prophesies of the Erithrean Sibyl, which were written on leaves and arranged so that the initial letters of the leaves always formed a word. Yet another well-known acrostic dates back to Roman times, discovered at Cirencester in the southern part of England.
There were famous acrostic poets around the Middle Ages such as Giovanni Boccaccio and Geoffrey Chaucer. Interestingly, some Shakespeare scholars have found acrostic codes buried within a collection of Shakespeare’s poems and other works.
At one point, acrostic poems became all the rage and the Renaissance poet, Sir John Davies wrote an entire book of acrostic poems— Hymns of Astrea —all in honor of Queen Elizabeth I.
There are other examples of acrostics, such as the final chapter of Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass: And What Alice Found There, which contains a poem entitled “A Boat Beneath a Sunny Sky”—an acrostic of the real Alice’s name: Alice Pleasance Liddell. Also, the Dutch national anthem is an acrostic! The first letters of the 15 stanza poem spell Willem Van Nassov, one of the hereditary titles of William of Orange, and uses the poem to introduce him to the Dutch people.
Try It: Acrostic Poetry
Acrostic poems are easy to write and they’re fun! Try your hand at writing an acrostic. It can be the subject of your choice. Don’t forget to list the letters that spell out your word or message down the side.
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Featured Poem
Thanks to everyone who participated in last week’s coffee-infused poetry prompt. Here is a poem from Donna we enjoyed:
The doctor advised “no caffeine”
How I miss that dark, soul serving bean.
Stripped down to the wire,
Decaf doesn’t inspire
Like the black gold infused with sweet cream.
—by Donna Falcone
Photo by lisaclark. Creative Commons via Flickr.
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How to Write a Poem uses images like the buzz, the switch, the wave—from the Billy Collins poem “Introduction to Poetry”—to guide writers into new ways of writing poems. Excellent teaching tool. Anthology and prompts included.
“How to Write a Poem is a classroom must-have.”
—Callie Feyen, English Teacher, Maryland
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Rick Maxson says
The Moments When We Choose to Play
Is what we see before us real?
Mirage we know is a need expressed,
And mirrors? We know that tale.
Go instead where the earth is dressed
In green, with broad and urgent calls
Not seen, but so conspicuously expressed
Every eye and every ear alert to all
Din and melody, but hidden every perch and nest.
Jaundiced eyes, come here, remove the pall.
Amend your days and nights and what is blessed;
Your imagination waits—let the worldly clatter fall.
Donna Falcone says
Love this! Let the worldly clatter fall, indeed!
This was such fun to read out loud.
Thank you, IMAGINED JAY 🙂
Heather Eure says
Wonderful! Love the last line especially.
Donna Falcone says
LOL Thanks for featuring my decaffer’s lament, Heather! I wish I could find an awesomely rich decaf!
I saw acrostics in Every Day Poems today and hoped that it would appear here for playtime! Such fun! I’ll be back!
Monica Sharman says
Horizontal, it appears,
Only because of my smallness.
Really, it’s a curve, the great circle
Intersecting everything under the
Zenith with the two-dimensional plane
Of my perspective. It is a threshold,
Not the end of the world.
Monica Sharman says
Yikes. Next time, I’ll pick a word that doesn’t have the letter Z in it!
Donna Falcone says
Well, you used the Z well! I love it… and I like the way you compare the “what is” to “what seems to be” – very cool, and we don’t often think of the horizon as what it really is.
Heather Eure says
You were bold in the face of the letter “Z!” Well done.
Monica Sharman says
Okay, just one more (no Z’s!)
—–
Cirrus and cumulus
Layers cast texture,
Outline character,
Undulate levels of
Depth in the
Sky
L.L. Barkat says
No need to rein it in.
It’s a joy to read your
Cirrus, cumulus, clever
Endeavors.
🙂
Donna Falcone says
Clever endeavors… 😉
Heather Eure says
I agree with L.L. and her acrostic accolades. 🙂
Melinda Kemp Lyerly says
Palimpsest
Patiently impatient, I wait for what my final story will be;
adhering to the past, my story began, with traces of me folded in, just so.
Living for the future, there are parts of me that still remain
inside this book of old parchment pages, aged to gold with burnished
marks appearing beneath the newly written.
Perhaps, it tells me, what once held true, even if erased and scrubbed clean,
stays to tell the story– I am written and rewritten until the time, happily,
ever after comes to an end; my tale told, my most beautiful
soul laid out for the universe to read,
take in, and find the essence of my truest page.
MKL
**palimpsest: a manuscript or piece of writing material on which the original writing has been effaced to make room for later writing but of which traces remain.
something reused or altered but still bearing visible traces of its earlier form**
Heather Eure says
A lovely acrostic, Melinda. “I am written and rewritten…” That might be my favorite part. So glad you shared– and welcome if this is your first time writing poetry with us! 🙂
Donna Falcone says
What a great chosen word – so interesting. Thank you for posting the definition.
I really like your Acrostic…. especially love the image of folding – traces of me folded in just so.
Welcome! It’s so nice to have you with us. 🙂
Andrew H says
Beginning of the day, the sky
Each morning beams it brightest
Always with a hope that there may be
Ulterior to purpose, life to fill
The trees and boughs with birds
Illuminating with their colour
Fen, village, wood and rock
Under that bright sky, each
Leaving their life in land and loch.
Katie says
Andrew,
Great acrostic!
My favorite lines:
“Always with a hope that there may be
Ulterior to purpose, life to fill”
Thank you for sharing:)
Katie
Beth B says
A tear go down, my day is real…Bob Dylan
Autumn brought the different light,
the chill was expected,
gift that it was not noticing the
dreams that were never realized till then.
My feel, it must be better that way
drifting with tides, work, friends,
in and out of a conscious
rebelling the truth of our existence.
And if that was more than survival
the charge of paying every bill,
going to every appointment and
dragging up every defect to fix;
making smoother edges and
deflecting most uglier comments,
I’d say happy succeeded, though
remembering wants to rewrite history.
Katie says
Sweet expression
mouth held right
i love to see these
laughing outright
effervescent emotion
Donna Falcone says
This makes me 🙂
Thank you!
Katie says
Thank you, Donna – happy to make you smile!
Katie says
I put it down
pick it up
habitual
over and over
not
even knowing why
Donna Falcone says
Oh yes… me, too. Love this!
Katie says
I know, right?
Creatures of habit.
Katie says
Privilege/Duty
Get to
Rather than have to
Always the
True
Insight
That helps
Us
Discern what is of
Exceeding value
Donna Falcone says
Get to
Rather than have to.
I love that.
Great Acrostics, Katie! You were on a roll!
For some reason, I get so stuck trying to make one – but you are inspiring me to try again and again until it clicks. My goal – to write and share an acrostic before the day is over. My second goal, which is primary actually, is to remember my first goal. 🙂
Katie says
Many thanks, Donna!
Have fun:)
Donna Falcone says
I am so glad you popped up here, Katie… because, as predicted, I forgot to dig in and write one! And so I was just painting and thought I had ruined a little piece I was playing around with. I suddenly remembered something I had red in The Power Of Now – Echhardt Tolle was saying that, no matter what is happening, it would be a good idea to treat that thing as if it were custome ordered by us. Well, of course, I am paraphrasing like mad, but that’s the gist of it. And so… my Acrostic…below. And, thank you 🙂
Donna Falcone says
Pardon the many many many typos!
Donna Falcone says
Maybe,
Instead of
Screaming and
Throwing it
Away, I will
Kindly say “Thank you!
Everything is as it
Should be!” and keep going?
Katie says
Love this!
Jayashree says
Happy Halloween to all of you wonderful poets here!
Acrostics so many so good, got me trying to write one too…
In keeping with the days spirit its a “Black Cat”
Black as coal, a teeny weeny ball
Little was his feet, not standing still
Attitude his armory, no trust his policy
Coppery red eyes, he was at my door;
Kitten forsaken or given up for a reason,
Claws like a tiger, hissing like a king cobra
A few drops of milk,a warm padded basket,
Tamed, tail up, weaving between my legs, my pet.
Katie says
SO good, Jayashree! Love this:)
Katie says
“Attitude his armory, no trust his policy”
Super description, Jayashree!