Q&A for How to Format a Poem

There's no black and white format to follow when you're writing a poem. You could do standard metered and rhymed poetry, you could do a haiku, you can do free form or free verse poetry—it's really up to you as the creator.

The line does not always have to start with a capital letter. If it is a continuation of the sentence from the prior line, it is the poet's choice whether to capitalize it or not.

The title should be the same size font as the rest of the poem, which is 12-point.

You can start your poem wherever you would like to.

The most meaningful poems come from things that are meaningful to you. What moves you? What makes you happy or sad? If you can figure that out and describe it in a poem, you're well on your way to making a poem meaningful.

With contemporary poems, stanza length is pretty much a free-for-all. Choose the length that best fits the stanza and the poem, and you'll be fine.

List the title at the top, centered on the page. Skip a line, and then write your name, also centered. Skip two or three lines, and start the poem.

Some poets arrange their poems by form, while others prefer to arrange them in alphabetical order by title. It's a matter of personal preference and the tone you want to set.

You don't need the word "by."

Don’t count the skipped lines, as the blank spaces do not contribute any value to the total number of lines. Only count the written lines.

The name of the poet is below the title of the poem. It is not after the whole poem.

This depends on the type of poem, for example, if you are writing a classic, love poem you might like to use a stylish, calligraphic font that embodies the style of writing. If your poem is playful or fun, a less formal font may be appropriate.

Place commas with clarity in mind (if you wish). Otherwise, there are no rules regarding the use of punctuation in poetry.

It is rare for a poem to have a subtitle. A long poem might have one. As the poet, that would be up to you. Typically subtitles appear immediately below the title and (if printed) in a slightly smaller font.

The page number should be the actual page number. Imagine if your poem went on for five pages - you'd want each page to be labeled with the correct page number; you wouldn't want them all to read "page 5"!

It is best to not get caught up in finding a passionate subject. Write about the everyday instead: a rock in your shoe; a clogged sink. Other poets have covered the weather, trees, landscapes, sunrise/sunset, animals, and other subjects that just inspired them in the moment.

Yes, absolutely. Several famous poems are written that way. Look up E.E. Cummings.

If you're referencing or quoting a poem, simply put the title of the poem in quotations marks. For example, one of Robert Frost's most famous poems is "The Road Not Taken." However, if the poem is as long as a novel, or is an epic poem, like Homer's "The Iliad," then you would italicize the title when you quote from it.

Absolutely not! Some of the best poems in history don't rhyme. Rhyming is an effective device that has been used in poetry for hundreds of years, but it's just a tool you can use, it's not required. In fact, if you try to force your poem to rhyme, it can sometimes make it sound off or not as pleasant. Ultimately, it's about what serves the poem best. If rhyming is the right choice, then use it. If it isn't, then that's okay too.

If you plan to submit the poem to a specific publication, check their guidelines to make sure you're following them. Open up a Word document and write your name and contact info at the top left, and the number of lines at the top right of the page. Place the title in the center of the page, then place the text of the poem beneath it. Justify and indent the text of your poem.