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The diamante poem is diamond-shaped in form. This type of poem does not rhyme and it follows a simple formula using nouns, verbs, and adjectives. Read further to get more insights on how to write a Diamante poem.

 

Iris Tiedt invented the diamante poem, or diamond poem, in her 1969 book A New Poetry Form: The Diamante. It is a seven-line shape poem that is not rhymed.

The most common application of these poems is to compare and contrast the subject matter. This means that the poet will choose two polar opposites and write about each in seven lines.

Spring and fall, for example, light and dark, age and youth, or men and women. The poems could also be used to discuss synonyms and antonyms, or words that have opposing meanings.

What is a Diamante Poem?

A diamante poem is a poem composed of seven lines of words arranged in a diamond-like pattern. The word diamante is an Italian word that means “diamond.”

It is pronounced DEE – UH – MAHN – TAY. Rhyming words are not used in this type of poem.

 

Types of Diamante Poems

There are two kinds of diamante poems: antonym diamante poems and synonym diamante poems. These are:

 

Antonym Diamante Poem

The first step in creating an antonym diamante poem is to consider two nouns with opposing meanings.

Because a diamante poem is diamond-shaped, it must begin and end with single words that form the top and bottom of the diamond.

Those words will have the opposite meaning in the antonym form. In your descriptive words, your job as a writer is to transition from the first noun to the opposite noun.

 

Synonym Diamante Poem

The synonym diamante is the same as the antonym diamante, but the first and last words must be the same or similar in meaning.

 

Diamante Poems Follow a Specific Formula

• Line one: Noun
• Line two: Two adjectives that describe the noun in line one
• Line three: Three verbs that end with “ing” and describe the noun in line one
• Line four: Four nouns—the first two must relate to the noun in line one and the second two will relate to the noun in line seven
• Line five: Three verbs that end with “ing” and describe the noun in line seven
• Line six: Two adjectives that describe the noun in line seven
• Line seven: Noun that is opposite in meaning to line one (antonym diamante) or the same in meaning (synonym diamante) as the noun in line one.

The first line of this poem will contain a noun (person, place, or thing) that represents the main topic of your poem. As an example, we will use the noun “smile.”

Two words that describe a smile are happy and warm. Those words will form the second line in this example.

Three verbs that end with “-ing” and describe a smile are: welcoming, inspiring, and soothing.

The center line of the diamante poem is the “transition” line. It will contain two words (the first two) that relate to the noun in line one and two words (the second two) that relate to the noun that you will write in line seven. Again, the noun in line seven will be the opposite of the noun in line one.

Line five will be similar to line three: it will contain three verbs ending in “-ing” that describe the noun you will put at the end of your poem. In this example, the final noun is “frown,” because it is the opposite of “smile.” The words in our example poem are disturbing, deterring, and depressing.

Line six is similar to line two, and it will contain two adjectives that describe “frown.” In this example, our words are sad and unwelcome.

Line seven contains the word that represents the opposite of our subject. In this example, the opposite word is “frown.”

 

Conclusion

Here are some things to keep in mind as you start writing your own diamantes:

Diamantes can represent anything.

They are seven lines long.

The word count is straightforward: 1, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, 1.

Your lines should include: nouns, adjectives, verbs, nouns, verbs, adjectives, nouns, verbs, adjectives, nouns, verbs, adjectives, nouns, verb

Try to “center” your poem on the page to make it look like a diamond.

Above all, remember to have fun!

 

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