Poetry Contests - Ways To Success

Posted by Mark on May 2nd, 2017

Free poetry contests are fun to enter. But you may be confused by the number of poetry contests and the type of poetry that they require.

The 5-7-5 Poetry contests challenge you to write a "5-7-5". What is that? When syllable counts are required they are usually displayed in this fashion. So for a “5-7-5” that means the first line of the poem must have five syllables. The second line has seven and the final line has five syllables. There are often other requirements for poems such as rhyming and topic. That may be the case with this contest type but generally this is the only requirement. The reason is because this poem type is based on the Haiku which has requirements.

The Haiku Contest. The Haiku poetry contest is very similar to the 5-7-5. In fact, it originated from the Haiku. The requirement for the 5-7-5 syllable count isn't as restrictive. It normally does not have to have an exact syllable count. But that is the format. It's three lines and usually has a syllable count as 5-7-5 or close to it.

The Tanka Poetry contest follows the syllable count of 5-7-5-7-7. So it's a 5-7-5 with a couple of extra lines that are seven syllables. This poem type gives you a little more room for dazzling the contest judges thanks to the extra two lines.

A Lune is a poetry type that has three lines and a specific syllable count. For this poetry contest you don't have to rhyme but you may want to. It's a fun challenge to write this poetry type with rhymes. It can help with the flow and the reading and make your entry stand out to the contest judges.

You'll notice a pattern. Poetry contests with syllable counts are popular because they are a popular form to write by authors. And also because they have been written for years by popular poets. You may think counting syllables in your head is good enough. And for most words it is. But it is recommended that you check syllable counts with a dictionary. Because different dialects can pronounce words differently. So what you think may be four syllables as you speak it – may not be correct. It can also not be stressed enough that follow the poetry contest rules is very important. Because no contest organizer will choose a winning entry that doesn't follow the requirements of the contest (now that would be embarrasing!)

So understanding the rules of the contest is important. Following the structure as specified by the poetry type. And getting your contest entry in time.