What is a Diamante Poem
Diamante poem is a style of poetry that is composed of seven lines. The beginning and ending lines are the shortest whereas the middle lines are longer. This gives the text a diamond shape. In fact, the name diamante refers to the diamond shape of the poem.This poetic form was created by an American poet named Iris Tiedt in A New Poetry Form: The Diamante in 1969.
There are two forms of diamantes: the synonym diamante and antonym diamante.
How to write a Diamante Poem
There are few simple rules to follow in a diamante poem. You need to follow these rules to create a beautiful diamante poem.
- A diamante poem always consists of seven lines.
- The 1st and 7th lines contain one word.
- The 2nd and 6th lines contain two words.
- The 3rd and 5th lines contain three words.
- The 4th line contains 4 words.
The synonym diamante is very much like the cinquain poem. In this type of poetry, the first noun and the last noun are related; they can be synonyms, or the first noun can be a category of the last noun.
In antonym diamante, this structure changes. Here the first and last words are antonyms such as day and night, black and white, etc. The first part of the poem should describe the first noun and the latter part describes the last noun.
The content of the poem should be as given below. The red words should be about the 1st noun. The blue words should describe the last noun.
Noun
Adjective-Adjective
Verb-Verb-Verb
Noun-Noun-Noun-Noun
Verb-Verb-Verb
Adjective-Adjective
Noun
However, some diamante poems follow a slightly different structure.
Line 1: Beginning subject
Line 2: Two describing words about line 1
Line 3: Three doing words about line 1
Line 4: A short phrase about line 1, A short phrase about line 7
Line 5: Three doing words about line 7
Line 6: Two describing words about line 7
Line 7: End subject
Examples of Diamante Poems
Antonym diamante poems:
Sun
Radiant, golden
Blazing, burning, blinding
Lights day, illuminates night
Shining, Orbiting, Reflecting
Clam, silvery
Moon
War
Cruel, Enmity
Revolting, Horrifying, Annihilating
Grim, Discord, Concord, Gay
Reconciling, Loving, Repairing
Unity, Happiness
Peace
Day
sunny, bright
Playing, sweating, burning
sunlight, darkness, moon
Scaring, setting, sleeping
black stars
night
Synonym Diamantes:
Monsters
Evil, Spooky
Howling, Shrieking, Wailing
Ghosts, Vampires, Goblins, Witches
Flying, Scaring, Terrifying
Creepy, Crawly
Creatures
Winter
Cold, dark,
Snowing, blowing, freezing,
Hats, coats, mittens, boots—
Sledding, skiing, laughing
Frosty, nippy,
New Year
Kitten
cute, soft
purring, clawing, pouncing
playful, fur, fun, feline
pawing, licking, loving
bright-eyed, beautiful
Cat
by Marie Summers
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