Scanning Your Poems (cont.)

The University of North Carolina has a page online that explains how to scan a poem. Print out a copy of your poem, double-spaced, and then, pencil in hand, read #7 and follow the directions on your own poem.

But here's the secret! Don't read your poem from top to bottom, because then you'll still give it the rhythm you know it should have, rather than the rhythm it naturally does have. Instead, try reading your poem one line at a time, starting with the last line.

Look at your last line, and read it aloud as if you are reading a note someone jotted down. Don't read it as if it's a poem. Read it as if it's just part of a conversation, with the natural stresses it would have. Then follow the directions in #7. Do this one line at a time, working your way up the poem, or even reading the lines in random order.

This all sounds rather confusing, I know, but if you just follow the directions step by step, it will make sense eventually!

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