A monostich is a

poem Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in ...

which consists of a single line.

Form

A monostich has been described as "a startling fragment that has its own integrity" and "if a monostich has an argument, it is necessarily more subtle." A monostich could be also titled; due to the brevity of the form, the title is invariably as important a part of the poem as the verse itself: Some one line poems have "the characteristics of not exceeding one line of a normal page, to be read as one unbroken line without forced pauses or the poetics of caesura", and others have "a rhythm, (as with one-line haiku), dividing easily into three phrases".

History

Modern monostich was started in Russia in 1894 when

Valery Bryusov Valery Yakovlevich Bryusov ( rus, Вале́рий Я́ковлевич Брю́сов, p=vɐˈlʲerʲɪj ˈjakəvlʲɪvʲɪdʑ ˈbrʲusəf, a=Valyeriy Yakovlyevich Bryusov.ru.vorb.oga; – 9 October 1924) was a Russian poet, prose writer, drama ...

published the single line of pretty absurdist essence: :''О закрой свои бледные ноги.'' :''O zakrój svoí blédnye nógi.'' :(Oh, cover thy pale feet!, as translated by Babette Deutsch and

Avrahm Yarmolinsky Avrahm Yarmolinsky (January 13, 1890 – September 28, 1975) was an author, translator, and the husband of Babette Deutsch. Biography in Context. Yarmolinsky was head of the Slavonic Division of the New York Public Library from 1918 to 19 ...

) Perhaps the first to re-introduce one line poems was

Guillaume Apollinaire Guillaume Apollinaire) of the Wąż coat of arms. (; 26 August 1880 – 9 November 1918) was a French poet, playwright, short story writer, novelist, and art critic of Polish descent. Apollinaire is considered one of the foremost poets of the ...

with his "Chantre" (1914) in his collection ''

Alcools ''Alcools'' (English: Alcohols) is a collection of poems by the French author Guillaume Apollinaire. His first major collection was published in 1913. The first poem in the collection, ''Zone'' (an epic poem of Paris), has been called "''the'' ...

'' (1913), mentioned by Leroy Breunig in 'Apollinaire and the monostich' followed by Bill Zavatsky with his 'Roy Rogers' article (1974) in which he made clear that one line poems are not at all foreign to Western poetic tradition. Also including therein some from

Jerome Rothenberg Jerome Rothenberg (born December 11, 1931) is an American poet, translator and anthologist, noted for his work in the fields of ethnopoetics and performance poetry. Early life and education Jerome Rothenberg was born and raised in New York ...

's 'Technicians of the Sacred' (1969), all of which are referenced in William Higginson's 'Characteristics of monostichs'. Another French poet Emmanuel Lochac published in 1920 'one-liners' under the title ''Monostiches''. However, as

Dmitry Kuzmin Dmitry Vladimirovich Kuzmin (russian: Дми́трий Влади́мирович Кузьми́н, born December 12, 1968), is a Russian poet, critic, and publisher. Biography Kuzmin was born in Moscow, son of the architect Vladimir Legoshin a ...

has pointed out in the first book-length study of one-line poetry (2016),

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among t ...

included a monostich (with the very long line though) in a 1860 edition of his ''

Leaves of Grass ''Leaves of Grass'' is a poetry collection by American poet Walt Whitman. Though it was first published in 1855, Whitman spent most of his professional life writing and rewriting ''Leaves of Grass'', revising it multiple times until his death. Th ...

'', and then in 1893 and 1894 Edith Thomas, possibly in collaboration with an amateur author Samuel R. Elliott (1836—1909), anonymously published in ''

The Atlantic Monthly ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'' several one-line poems intended as a joke. In the 1920s one-line poetry was rediscovered in the US by

Yvor Winters Arthur Yvor Winters (October 17, 1900 – January 25, 1968) was an American poet and literary critic. Life Winters was born in Chicago, Illinois and lived there until 1919 except for brief stays in Seattle and in Pasadena, where his grandparen ...

, Edwin Ford Piper,

Charles Reznikoff Charles Reznikoff (August 31, 1894 – January 22, 1976) was an American poet best known for his long work, ''Testimony: The United States (1885–1915), Recitative'' (1934–1979). The term Objectivist was coined for him. The multi-volume ''Test ...

and others. Later,

John Ashbery John Lawrence Ashbery (July 28, 1927 – September 3, 2017) was an American poet and art critic. Ashbery is considered the most influential American poet of his time. Oxford University literary critic John Bayley wrote that Ashbery "sounded, in ...

in '37 Haiku' (1984) and

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Gener ...

in 'American Sentences' (1987-1995) demonstrated the

haiku is a type of short form poetry originally from Japan. Traditional Japanese haiku consist of three phrases that contain a ''kireji'', or "cutting word", 17 '' on'' (phonetic units similar to syllables) in a 5, 7, 5 pattern, and a ''kigo'', or se ...

in the monostich form.

Ian McBryde Ian McBryde is an Australian poet. He was born in 1953 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada but has been a long time Australian resident. He has published ten books of poems and three audio CDs of spoken word poetry and original music A widely admired ...

's 2005 book ''Slivers'' consists entirely of one line poems.Hirsch, Edward 'A Poets Glossary' Houghton Mifflin Harcourt , Boston 2014ISBN 9780151011957

References

External links

Monostich examples by

Examples by Ian McBrydeArticle-on Ashbery '37 Haiku'
{{Authority control Poetic forms

Form

History

See also

References

External links