Diamante is a seven-line poem arranged in the shape of a diamond. The purpose is to go from the subject, at the top of the diamond, to another totally different (and sometimes opposite) subject at the bottom.
The diamond shape can be achieved by having a single word in the first and last lines, while the fourth line is the longest. This type of poem typically lacks rhyming words.
How to Write a Diamante Poem
A diamante poem should have seven lines. The first line of Diamante contains a noun, e.g., places, persons, things, etc. The one-word noun line should present the main topic of your work. The second line consists of two adjectives whose role is to describe the noun in the first line. The third line is three verbs with suffix "ing" and fully explain the term in line one.
Line 1: Winter = 1 NOUN-A
Line 2: Rainy, cold = 2 ADJECTIVES-A
Line 3: Skiing, skating, sledding = 3 GERUNDS-A (verb + -ing)
Line 4: Mountains, wind, breeze, ocean = 2 NOUNS-A + 2 NOUNS-B
Line 5: Swimming, surfing, scuba diving = 3 GERUNDS-B (verb + -ing)
Line 6: Sunny, hot = 2 ADJECTIVES-B
Line 7: Summer = 1 NOUN-B
Dreams
delightful, wonderful
exciting, daring, fascinating
kings, queens, monsters, giant skittles
raging, horrifying, terrifying
vicious, horrible
nightmares
By Jessica H.
It must have four words. The first two must relate to line one noun while the last two should describe the noun line seven. The track provides a transition between the first and the seventh noun hence known as the transitional line.
The fifth line is three verbs ending with "ing" to describe the noun at the end. The words in the fifth line should be the opposite of line three in antonym diamante and similar in synonymy diamante poems.
The six-line shares similarities with the second line. The two adjectives line describes the noun in the seventh line. Lastly, the seventh line is the opposite of the first line. It represents the subject of the opposite side. The word can also be a similarity of the first line, depending on the type of Diamante.
Diamante Template
Beginning the Writing Process
There are two processes you can use to write a diamante poem.
Brainstorming
You can begin by choosing the first and last words of the poem. You only need two adjectives for the nouns you listed, but listing several gives you a variety of choices. Same to gerunds, ensure you have plenty of them for lines three and five. Try to swap words to achieve the best poem.
Drafting
The technique allows you to list down words of your choice before writing the poem. It helps select the most suitable name with no pressure. Most diamante poems written using the drafting mechanism have a flow of ideas.
Two Types of Diamante poems
Antonym Diamante
With an Antonym Diamante poem, the 1st and 7th lines have nouns that have the opposite meanings. One of the words should be at the top while the other at the bottom to give it the Diamond shape. As a poet, it is your work to find a transition from the first word to the last word while forming a diamond shape. An example of an antonym topic is "foe and friend."
1 word: NOUN #1
2 words: ADJECTIVE, ADJECTIVE (describing NOUN #1)
3 words: VERB, VERB, VERB (related to NOUN #1)
4 words: NOUN, NOUN (related to NOUN #1)/NOUN, NOUN (related to NOUN #2)
3 words: VERB, VERB, VERB (related to NOUN #2)
2 words: ADJECTIVE, ADJECTIVE (describing NOUN #2)
1 word: NOUN #2—the opposite of the first noun in the poem
Synonym Diamante
With a Synonym Diamante Poem, the 1st and 7th lines have nouns that have the same meaning. Again, one of the words should be at the top while the other at the bottom to give it the Diamond shape. An example of a synonym topic is "joy and happiness."
1 word: NOUN
2 words: ADJECTIVE, ADJECTIVE
3 words: VERB, VERB, VERB
4 words: NOUN, NOUN, NOUN, NOUN
3 words: VERB, VERB, VERB
2 words: ADJECTIVE, ADJECTIVE
1 word: another NOUN that renames the first noun in the poem
History
It originated from the Italian word "diamante" (pronounced Dee-Uh-Mahn-Tay), which means diamonds. It was developed in 1969 ago by American poet, McClellan Tiedt.
Famous Diamante poets
Some of the most famous diamante poets include Iris McClellan Tiedt and Delmira Agustini.
Examples of Diamante Poems
Here are some examples of famous diamante poems written by some great and most celebrated poets in history.
Monster and Creatures (Synonym Diamante)
Monsters
Evil, Spooky
Howling, Shrieking, Wailing
Ghosts, Vampires, Goblins, Witches
Flying, Scaring, Terrifying
Creepy, Crawly
Creatures
Cat and Dog (Antonym Diamante)
Cat
Gentle, Sleepy
Purring, Meowing, Scratching
Whiskers, Fur, Collar, Leash
Barking, Licking, Digging
Slobbery, Playful
Dog
Impact of Diamante Poetry in Society
Understanding each other in our society
One of the current challenges we are facing as a society is the inability to understand each other. Therefore diamante poems create an atmosphere for people to understand each other. As a reader, you should be patient enough to understand someone else. It is the role of every writer to dive deep into the reader's mind, help them understand the part you want them to know, and take with them what will resonate long after learning. It would help if you cultivated empathy for them. The ability to convey a personal opinion and showing compassion to others is paramount to proper communication.
Understanding yourself
Have you ever felt like you're losing yourself? To some extent, we get frustrated by our friends, and sometimes, we tend to react differently depending on how we feel deep inside. You find yourself losing your mind sometimes. I have found out the best way to handle this is by writing or reading a poem. It slowly calms down your world as it streamlines your decisions, and the lyrics soothe the anxiety out of your body. It makes you think as it forces you to answer methodically and logically. Poetry creates insight into yourself that you never know if it existed, but you always desired to understand. The greatest sadness you can ever face is the inability to understand yourself, and the most significant power in one's life is the ability to be aware of your self-worth. I bet, Diamante gives you the power.
Developing learning
In early childhood education, their verbal and written skills are somehow underdeveloped. Diamante poems help grow strings of words in kids' brains as they learn to understand their meaning. It also equips students with the art of artistic expression. Poetry is an excellent tool for one to develop themselves.
Improving Ideas
While idle, pick a poetic work and go through it. It blossoms your mind with ideas that you never thought of before. Poetry doesn't not only give you new ideas but also perceive the way you see old ones.