Here’s a writing prompt for all you poets out there, and those who are poets and don’t yet know it. (Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.)
The unabridged Merriam-Webster online dictionary says that an abecedarius is “a poem in which the lines or stanzas begin with the letters of the alphabet in regular order (such as Psalm 119 in Hebrew or Chaucer’s A B C). The name of this type of poem stems from Late Latin and simply means “alphabetical.” Its first known use was in 1796.
An abecedarius poem differs from an acrostic poem because an acrostic starts by writing a word, let’s say – beautiful — and then you create your poem using the letters of that particular word.
In writing an abecedarius, you use every letter of the alphabet so your poem will be a 26-word poem. The best way to begin is to jot down the alphabet and then come up with words that start with each letter, in alphabetical order of course!
Poetry is certainly not my forte, but I’m always willing to step outside my comfort zone to grow as a writer. Here’s how I might write an abecedarius about a Western Meadowlark:
A = a
B = bird
C = colorful
D = delicate
E = emblematic
F = foraging
G = grasslands
H = high
I = insects
J = jampacked
K = kenspeckle
L = lissome
M = meadowlark
N = nesting
O = omnivorous
P = Panhandle
Q = quintessential
R = raucously
S = sings
T = Texas
U = unabashed
V = v-shaped
W = warbling
X = xerarch
Y = yellow
Z = zaftig
A bird –
colorful, delicate, emblematic, foraging.
Grasslands high,
insects jampacked, kenspeckle –
lissome meadowlark
nesting, omnivorous, Panhandle, quintessential.
Raucously sings – Texas unabashed
v-shaped, warbling, xerarch
yellow zaftig.
I know I’m not going to win any poetry awards any time soon, but this prompt did generate some ideas about how I could incorporate a Western Meadlowlark in my work-in-progress novel.
Now it’s your turn. Ready? Set? Go!
“Abecedarius.” Merriam-Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/abecedarius. Accessed 3 Feb. 2022.
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