Writing an appropriate tittle for a poem

1. 84

   midget38posted 13 years ago

   When writing an poem, how does one write a short but appropriate title? Short titles are not SEO or keyword search friendly.

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   1. 61

      Jonathon Kennedyposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I'm no poem-writer, but I really enjoy reading them. It's a diverse art.
      
      A fair warning: I don't know anything about being "keyword search friendly".
      
      Titles are the only thing that matter to me when I'm choosing whether or not to read a poem. If it's a phrase I've seen before like..."Overcoming Adversity" or "Live, Love, Prosper" then I don't really feel like "I need to read this!" It might be a great poem, but I'll never know. Most of the fun out of reading poems, for me (certainly not for everyone), comes from trying to figure out the message the writer is trying to convey. Having the message or meaning in the title spoils the fun. I'm picky when it comes to this because it seems like the most common advice given to writers of any sort (comedy, tv, literary) is "be obvious with your message". No! Don't! Make me work for it!
      
      My favorite literary 'trick' is when the title misleads the reader into thinking the poem is about one thing, when it's actually about another. It's not always possible, mind you, but when it is you shouldn't let the opportunity pass you by.

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2. 55

   Dame Scribeposted 13 years ago

   I would suggest asking yourself, what is this poem about? once you decide on that, then pull out your thesaurus lots of choices available. The big 'G' is actually, 'truncating' long titles too

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3. 76

   Simba73posted 13 years ago

   This is something that always get me stuck, I think I have only ever written one poem where I had the title in my head before I wrote the piece, but normally I'm a little lazy and just read through the poem a few times and pick a appropriate line or word, and try not to give too much away with the title.
   I could also do with some advice on how to choose.
   simba

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4. 60

   ShubeyThePoetposted 13 years ago

   I agree with Dame that always work for me, If not then come back to it later. If you still don't know what to name it then leave it "untitled" Untitled poems are always cool, I love em! Don't always be so concerned about a title though, it's what the poems message is that really makes for reader!

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5. 76

   WryLiltposted 13 years ago

   Love in Launceston - A breakup poem.

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