Pruning poem
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2009) |
 |
This article is an orphan, as few or no other articles link to it. Please introduce links to this page from related articles; suggestions may be available. (December 2009) |
A pruning poem is a poem that uses rhymes that are prunings of each other.
Each rhyme word is one letter shorter than the rhyme word before. Otherwise, they are the same word. While it is possible to write a pruning poem in couplets or longer, it is most effective when the reader sees the pruning on the page. Thus, George Herbert, who conducted many formal experiments in verse, writes Paradise as a pruning poem.
-
- What open force, or hidden charm
- Can blast my fruit, or bring me harm
- While the inclosure is thine arms?
Pruning could be accomplished by cutting terminal as well as initial letters, but initial position pruning is the more common and noticeable.
