Monostich Poem Type

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Here’s what the monostich poem type is:

Monostich poems are single-line poems.

By looking at the prefix “mono” (meaning single, one, only) we can quickly tell this poem is a one-liner.

Due to its length, some scholars debate whether monostich poetry should even be considered a true poem or not.

If you want to learn all about the monostich poem type, then you’ve come to the right place.

Keep reading!

Monostich Poem Type (Simply Explained & Examples)

What Is a Monostich Poem?

Vintage black typewriter with old books and flowers on wooden table, outdoors

A monostich is a poem consisting of a single line.

Monostich poems are often fragmentary, offering only a peek into some image or feeling due to their brevity.

Most poets who write monostiches do so as an exercise in concision.

A monostich is a one-line poem.

This puts monostich poems in a unique position, wherein some scholars debate on whether a monostich should be considered a true poem or not.

Due to their length (or lack thereof), a monostich is naturally incapable of many of the qualities that general readers associate with poetry, such as rhyme scheme.

Regardless, the prevailing perspective is that if a single line was meant to be a standalone poem, then the writer’s intent should be respected.

Monostiches tend to be short lines since brevity is the key focus of the form.

A 20-word line could still technically be a monostich if there are no intentional line breaks, but it loses much of the form’s spirit as a result of the length.

What Are the Basic Properties of Monostich Poems?

young woman writing on notepad in the garden.
Rhyme StructureImpossible due to the length
MeterOptional; rare
OriginUnknown
PopularityStill mostly only seen as a fun exercise, though some scattered publications of monostiches have existed.
ThemeVaries

What Is the History of Monostich Poetry?

a person writing on a piece of paper with a pen in their hand and a bouquet of flowers in the background with a window in the background.  generative ai

Monostich poetry would have been essentially unheard of in ancient literature, as many cultures that heavily featured poetry took great pride in establishing lengthy and complex forms.

The notion of the ‘one-liner’ and the capacity for wit in a single line has always existed in some form or another.

However, it was not until recent history that writers started exploring the concept of one line existing as an entirely independent poem.

An early modern example of a monostich was a Russian poem by Valery Bryusov in 1894 (published 1895).

But the concept didn’t truly take off until the early 20th century when works such as Emmanuel Lochac’s Monostiches started to make small ripples in western literature.

The concept had been experimented with prior, but earlier examples were usually treated as jokes or novelties that were not meant to be taken seriously as literature.

Beautiful young girl in a white dress, straw hat, picnic basket reading a book on a meadow. Summertime, golden hour, sunset. Work life balance concept

Most modern monostiches come from western languages other than English, like French and Russian.

English monostiches are often influenced by the popularity of the haiku, a form carried over from Japanese literature.

Yvor Winter is one example of a poet who was explicitly influenced by the growing popularity of haikus and Imagism and felt thusly inspired to try reducing poetry down to the shortest possible length.

Haikus themselves are sometimes written as monostiches in English, though this practice is certainly less common than the typical three lines usually used.

What Is an Example of a Monostich Poem?

A young beautiful woman, crying, looking far ahead with blue evening sky in the background.

Aloft, her soft eyes did surmise more, tears pouring out.

The above example is a monostich that experiments with phonetic techniques.

The repetition of sounds and combinations of sounds gives the poem a meaningful musicality, while the poem itself only reflects one very small fragment of a potential narrative.

We don’t know who “she” is and it isn’t entirely clear why she’s crying or what about, but there’s just enough context here to create the illusion of narrative.

This allows the reader to fill in the blanks.

What Are Tips for Writing Monostich Poems?

Young woman sitting on green grass in the park sunlit writing in her notebook.

A monostich should typically focus on something very precise or some very tiny detail to try to capture in words.

One line isn’t long enough to tell a complicated story with various plot twists, but it can be enough space to convey the essence of a story (as in the “six-word story” exercise that is popular among writers).

Alternatively, a monostich can completely disregard any attempt at narrative and focus on a feeling or image.

A simple description of a curtain blowing in the wind or a snapshot of a sunbeam through an apple tree might serve well as examples.

For feelings, one could try to describe the exact moment that a friendship breaks in only a few words.

Close up of a young woman reading a book in the lavender field

One fun exercise with a monostich is to see how many literary techniques you can fit in a single line, setting a hard cap for yourself on how long it can be.

Can you fit a rhyme, an instance of alliteration, and an instance of assonance into just eight words or less?

Monostiches are generally not a poem type, yet you can pursue them as a profitable piece to publish.

Monostiches may not be taken seriously, but they can be a delightful way to pass the time, practice concision, or improve how you execute images in your work.

Poet’s Note

Pen lays on paper.

While there is some debate over whether a one-liner should count as a poem or not, there’s also debate about everything else in the language.

Take whichever side you want as long as you can sound convincing.

What Are the Most Important Types of Poems?

What if you went down the poetry types rabbit hole all the way?

From the mundane Sonnet to the rare mistress bradstreet stanza to Grammarly’s worst nightmare cro cumaisc etir casbairdni ocus lethrannaighecht. 

So if you want to discover poem types, then you’re in the right place.

Let’s get started with that poem types collection!