Line beginning capitals

[wildsweetone]

am i so far out of the loop that the new trend is a return to poetry where each line begins with a capital? i can't believe how many poems i'm coming across at Lit that have this format.

 

[WickedEve]

Maybe it's because we learned it that way in school?
I guess many poets still believe it has to be done that way. That's what I thought years ago.

I did a quick search and found this:

Here is a brief listing of the common practices associated with capitalization:


Necessary Capitals:


Capitalize the first letter of every sentence, acceptable fragment, and line of poetry*:



Today is the first day of school.

Set the book down.


A violet by a mossy stone

Half hidden from the eye! (William Wordsworth)


Because I could not stop for death---

He kindly stopped for me (Emily Dickinson)


*Some poets do not capitalize the first letter of every line of poetry. Copy a poem exactly as the poet wrote it.

 

[champagne1982]

am i so far out of the loop that the new trend is a return to poetry where each line begins with a capital? i can't believe how many poems i'm coming across at Lit that have this format.

Many poems are being typed in our document programs with the "autocorrect" feature turned on. This will capitalize every word following a HARD enter in the text. The grammar rules inside of these programs were written by dinosaurs.

To stop your lines from being capitalized in the above manner in MSWord, under the tools tab, select "AutoCorrect Options" and de-select the block that applies caps to the beginning word in each sentence.

I simply type my stuff into Notepad in plain text and then cut and paste to whatever file or window I'm working in.

I hope that helps enlighten you.

 

[normal jean]

G'day, sweet one

I noticed this a while back and asked one person about why he did that to each line and he told me that his version of microsoft works automatically "corrected" his poems so that each line beagn with a cap. Mione does it too, so I have to go back and fix them, lol



NJ

 

[Tzara]

am i so far out of the loop that the new trend is a return to poetry where each line begins with a capital? i can't believe how many poems i'm coming across at Lit that have this format.

For Lit poems, I think Eve is probably right--it's most likely because the poet was taught that in school. I remember that I was.

But it is also a matter of style and personal taste. I glanced around at some of my poetry books, and contemporary poets as diverse as Carl Dennis, Seamus Heaney, Ted Hughes, Kenneth Koch, and Charles Simic all seem to use the convention of lines beginning with capital letters. It seems to be less common than the reverse (i.e., only capitalizing where grammatically appropriate).

My guess is that the "new trend" is not capitalizing every line. It was the convention until quite recently to capitalize. Some people, because of personal choice or because they don't know you don't have to do it that way, follow the traditional convention. Others don't.

 

[unapologetic]

because of personal choice

That's why I do it. Also, the time I tried it withouth the beginning of the line capital, it looked weird to me.

By the way, you can turn the automatic corrections off. I've gotten my MSWord to stop automatically turning things that start with http into clickable links (I think it looks bad when I turn in a paper that is citing a website).

 

[wildsweetone]

i think so long as the choice to capitalise or not is a conscious choice, then cool bananas. but when we leave it to the machine or program, or 'just because that's how i was taught' we run the risk of losing the ability to give our poetry that something special.

 

[RhymeFairy]

we run the risk of losing the ability to give our poetry that something special.

ditto ~

a lot of times I do not even use caps, unless it is the " I " and for some reason I just cannot let myself do that to the I ... it goes against the grain so to speak

 

[FifthFlower]

I deliberately capitalize each line of verse. I also use correct syntax when I write a prose poem. It has nothing to do with a word processor or what I was taught in school.

When I use a word processor I reformat the poem as if each stanza were a paragraph to get whatever grammar and spell checking advice the wordprocessor has to offer, and I usually take that advice. When that check clears, I store the finished poem, with any capitals and line breaks that I wish to add, as a version-controlled html page for easy reference.

On some of the workshopping sites that I've submitted my work to, I have received criticism that I should not capitalize each line of verse unless the previous line ends with a full stop, because that just makes me look "amateurish" or "unprofessional". I continue to do so, in spite of the criticism, because I see the capitalized first word as not matching the full stop but rather as matching the line break. So if I were not going to capitalize the first word of the line, I would also take out that rather odd line break as well, and then just call it a prose poem.

I also don't mind looking "amateurish". Actually, I feel kind of proud of being, shall we say, "non-conventional" about those initial capitals, since most people don't capitalize the first word of a line of verse anymore today.

 

[Angeline]

I only capitalize the beginning of a line if it's the start of a sentence, a proper noun, etc. The only other reason I'd do it is if I were writing an acrostic and I wanted to hint to the reader that I had. That's with my edited poems, of course. God knows what I do with the unedited ones: whatever my stumbly little fingers want, I suppose.

I do notice that some poets seem to intentionally choose either capping or not at the beginning of the line. I think some people capitalize each line in form poems, too, probably because that used to be done and if you read old (as opposed to modern versions) of forms, you likely follow them.

To me, it doesn't make sense to cap unless it's grammtically necessary because a capital, like punctuation, line breaks, enjambments and all the devices of writing are signals one gives to the reader on how to interpret the poem (not that it necessarily helps, lol).

But I'd bet my bottom dollar that most people here do it because of autocorrect, which I despise and have turned off by the by.

 

[Sara Crewe]

... So if I were not going to capitalize the first word of the line, I would also take out that rather odd line break as well, and then just call it a prose poem.

I also don't mind looking "amateurish". Actually, I feel kind of proud of being, shall we say, "non-conventional" about those initial capitals, since most people don't capitalize the first word of a line of verse anymore today.

So, you think any line in a poem that does not end in a period is odd and an example of an improper line break?

 

[FifthFlower]

So, you think any line in a poem that does not end in a period is odd and an example of an improper line break?

I think line breaks in verse are just as odd as capitalizing or not the first word of a line of verse.

I have given my reason for why I pair capitals and line breaks. You are welcome to do whatever you want for whatever reason you want.

 

[Liar]

Well, all I know is
That when I
Have to read
A poem with caps
On every line, it
Takes a lot longer for
Me to decode what
It says.

And that's
Why I don't
Do that in my
Poems.

Right,
Or wrong?

Dunno, but that's my
Reason.

 

[Guest]

Well, all I know is
That when I
Have to read
A poem with caps
On every line, it
Takes a lot longer for
Me to decode what
It says.

And that's
Why I don't
Do that in my
Poems.

Right,
Or wrong?

Dunno, but that's my
Reason.

I'm with that. Letter capping in every line like that is just too distracting and my eyes are drawn to the first words where the emphasis should be on the last (or so I think).

 

[unapologetic]

I'm with that. Letter capping in every line like that is just too distracting and my eyes are drawn to the first words where the emphasis should be on the last (or so I think).

Wow. Am I in the minority or what?

I've got a question: does this happen to you, and by you I mean everyone in this discussion, when you read classic poets, like Shakespeare?

(Mind you, I'm asking this with a completely open mind. Maybe my tastes in poetry, and their influence on my own writing, are working against me.)

Then again, I just checked a book of childrens' poetry that I have that was written recently, and that poet (Jack Prelutsky) capitalizes at the beginning of every line, even when it's not the beginning of a sentence.

 

[Liar]

Wow. Am I in the minority or what?

I've got a question: does this happen to you, and by you I mean everyone in this discussion, when you read classic poets, like Shakespeare?

Hmm, yay and nay. I haven't examined the capitalisation of lines in Shakespeare, but afaik, he didn't write poems per se, but plays, with a ceratin verse-ish rhythm that was in style at the time. They're intended to be heard as audience, or acted as actor, and where the line breaks are then in the text, is not really that important. And in the scripts I've seen, line breaks (and caps) have followed the content, not the verse rhythm.

But anyway... Most often in other Ye Olde Classic Poets' poems, the gramattical phrases and the line breaks correlate more than in modern poetry, so it doesn't irk me as much there.

 

[unapologetic]

Liar,

I see what you mean about the way they wrote poetry, but I beg to differ about Will. He wrote about a bazillion sonnets. Here's my fave:

Sonnet 85

My tongue-tied Muse in manners holds her still,
While comments of your praise, richly compiled,
Reserve their character with golden quill
And precious phrase by all the Muses filed.
I think good thoughts whilst other write good words,
And like unletter'd clerk still cry 'Amen'
To every hymn that able spirit affords
In polish'd form of well-refined pen.
Hearing you praised, I say ''Tis so, 'tis true,'
And to the most of praise add something more;
But that is in my thought, whose love to you,
Though words come hindmost, holds his rank before.
Then others for the breath of words respect,
Me for my dumb thoughts, speaking in effect.


Mmm-hm, I love me some Shakespeare.

 

[fieryjen]

For me it's personal choice as well - I just like it better that way. I think it can be distracting if the lines are extremely short though.

 

[vampiredust]

am i so far out of the loop that the new trend is a return to poetry where each line begins with a capital? i can't believe how many poems i'm coming across at Lit that have this format.

I used to capitalise the beginning of the line. I was too lazy to turn off the feature in Word.

I've noticed that there are some poets who still capitalise the beginning of each line (esp on my side of the Atlantic)

Whether they're just doing it for traditions sake or to stand out, I don't know

I think It's up to the poet to do whatever he or she prefers doing

 

[FifthFlower]

The problem with initial capitals is linked to the problem of the arbitrary line break. When I started writing non-metrical poems here, I just got rid of the line breaks entirely except between paragraphs.

In a metrical poem, the line break is a visual formatting of the meter. But if the poem is not metrical, what is the line break for? These are the reasons for the line breaks that I can think of for non-metrical poems, none of which seem adequate to me.

1. They make the text look like a poem and not prose.
2. They break up images or ideas.
3. They provide breathing cues to the reader.
4. They are what people expect to see on the page, so you put them in.
5. They mystify the reader so the content is not immediately evident.
6. They allow one to break other grammar rules.
7. They allow the poet to control the layout on the page.

Of all the formatting rules, besides spelling, that modern poetry has abandoned, the line break is one that we just can't let go of.

However, if you get rid of the line break, the problem with the arbitrary capitals at the beginning of the line will be irrelevant, since there won't be any of these arbitrary beginnings.

 

[FifthFlower]

I used to capitalise the beginning of the line. I was too lazy to turn off the feature in Word.

It finally occurred to me that many people might be using Word as their primary text editor rather than as a grammar checker. I do recall all the annoying formatting defaults you would have to override manually if you couldn't figure out how to turn them off.

What I use as a text editor is UltraEdit since I put in tags and then for a version control system CS-RCS Basic. For the final display, I use an Apache web server. When the poem is nearly done, I'll use Word's grammar checker by cutting and pasting it into Word, removing the caps and line breaks and seeing what Word flags as a potential problem.

I'm not recommending these tools, because there are likely other tools out there that are better, and if you are too lazy to turn off the feature in Word, these will be hard to configure unless you're motivated. I'm just mentioning that there are alternatives.

 

[vampiredust]

I don't use Word anymore since it died on me, I use Open Office instead. It's more reliable and flexible.

And don't insult me by saying I'm not motivated. What I said in my previous post was not something I still do.

 

[TheRainMan]

I don't use Word anymore since it died on me, I use Open Office instead. It's more reliable and flexible.

And don't insult me by saying I'm not motivated. What I said in my previous post was not something I still do.

you are just about the most motivated writer i know, VD . . . just one man's opinion.

and as far as capitals go, it has gotten to the point with me where i can no longer get all the way through a poem that has capitals beginning every line, unless it is really good. and i mean reeeeeeealy good. i find them too distracting, and think they actually injure the integrity of a poem, since they always directly follow what i consider to be the most important word in a line of poetry -- the last one.

there are great poets who have written great poetry in that manner, but the modern trend is definately away from capitalizing the first word of each line, and for good reason, i think.

 

[TheRainMan]

The problem with initial capitals is linked to the problem of the arbitrary line break. When I started writing non-metrical poems here, I just got rid of the line breaks entirely except between paragraphs.

In a metrical poem, the line break is a visual formatting of the meter. But if the poem is not metrical, what is the line break for? These are the reasons for the line breaks that I can think of for non-metrical poems, none of which seem adequate to me.

1. They make the text look like a poem and not prose.
2. They break up images or ideas.
3. They provide breathing cues to the reader.
4. They are what people expect to see on the page, so you put them in.
5. They mystify the reader so the content is not immediately evident.
6. They allow one to break other grammar rules.
7. They allow the poet to control the layout on the page.

Of all the formatting rules, besides spelling, that modern poetry has abandoned, the line break is one that we just can't let go of.

However, if you get rid of the line break, the problem with the arbitrary capitals at the beginning of the line will be irrelevant, since there won't be any of these arbitrary beginnings.

line breaks are a defining feature of poetry. the basic unit in prose is the sentence. in poetry, it is the line.

line breaks in poetry . . . good poetry, that is . . . are far from arbitrary.

and if those are the only reasons you can think of for line breaks in poetry, my suggestion is to do more thinking.

 

[minsue]

I've got a question: does this happen to you, and by you I mean everyone in this discussion, when you read classic poets, like Shakespeare?

Yes.

No matter the genius of the poem or the poet, capped lines are deeply distracting for me.