Poetry in Forms Series: Epistle
October 24, 2004 by J.C. Hewitt
Epistle (pronounced e-PISS-ul) is a poetic form that dates back to ancient Rome and to the Bible. It is a poem written in the form of a letter. The term epistle comes from the Latin word epistola, which means letter. It was used to express love, philosophy, religion and morality.
Most people who think of epistles think of the Bible. Many of the books in the New Testament are epistles, especially the Epistles of St. Paul. The poet Robert Burns also frequently wrote epistles, as did Alexander Pope.
Over the past hundred years, as the telephone took over for letter writing, letters became less personal and more formal or business related. The concept of writing letters to relatives, friends, colleagues and lovers went out of fashion. In the last few years, however, letter writing has had a rebirth of sorts as the Internet grew in prominence and people began to send e-mail to each other.
There are no meter or rhyme requirements for an epistle. Epistle is more a form of voice and persona. A poet can address their epistle to a real or imaginary person and express their views or take on the character of a different writer. The wonderful quality of an epistle is that it can be such a freeing form. The tone can be formal or use very personalized voices. The poems can be many pages long or as short as a post card.
Some things you should keep in mind when writing the epistle are who is writing the letter, who is the letter being written to, and how you would address that person. What would interest the writer and the recipient? How formal or informal would the writer be when addressing that person?
Below is an epistle I wrote several years ago. I think it is a good example of how fun and flexible the form can be. An epistle doesn’t have to sound like a formal letter, this one actually takes the form of notes.
Notes To Shelly
One
Anyone who would give me
A Winnie-the-Pooh book for Christmas
Deserves the benefit of the doubt
Still, what will it be
To have you disappear
Don’t make it forever.
Two
Got your postcard today
Read all twenty-four words
Twelve times
Three
Saw Rocky Horror again tonight
And I thought about your first time
And your devirginization
Afterwards I drove under
Every overpass I could find
Four
First date since you left
Took her to dinner
At the Mexican restaurant
You told me gave you food poisoning
I never told you I’d wait
But I didn’t want to take her
Anywhere I’d go with you
Five
I had a feeling this morning
That I would find a letter from you
In my mailbox
You know better than I
That it was empty
That sounded bitter, didn’t it
Sorry
Six
Reading Marquez
Love in the Time of Cholera
Wanted to recite to you the passage
About the ship captain and the Manatees
Instead I read it to the palo verde in the yard
Much to Mr. Parra’s consternation
It’s important to maintain my image.
Seven
Ran into Maria at the mall today
We asked each other about you
Must be fun to be so mysterious and everything
Maria and I ate lunch together
She told me she’s marrying Jimmy
And she took my address
So she can send me an invitation
Eight
Happy Birthday
On your behalf
I spray painted the walls
Of my living room black
And splattered little specks of color all over
To make it look like space
The effect was different than I expected
I feel like I’m in one of the less exiting rides
At Disneyland
Nine
The invitation arrived today
John and guest
There’s nobody to take though
Dating really didn’t work out
After you left
I expect I’ll send my regrets
Ten
Went to the wedding after all
Because I thought somehow
You would make an appearance
It would have been a good moment
Like the mail though
The appearance didn’t come
Instead I started talking to Tammy
And we started dancing together
And drinking half the punch
She’s getting over somebody
And she said I can call any time
I won’t though
Eleven
Called Tammy today
We got even drunker than at the wedding
And we had to walk back to my house
Where she took off her clothes
In the bathroom
And slept on the couch
Twelve
Of course your postcard
Would arrive today
From Arkansas of all places
Your message simple
Just wanted you to know I’m alive
Don’t worry
I know
Fourteen
I didn’t answer the phone today
I sat in the living room
And watched the walls
Late in the day I decided
It’s time for me to buy a TV again
Fifteen
I repainted the living room today
My lease is up and I decided
That I didn’t want to stay here
I’ve been sending out my resume
For a couple months now
And I heard back from a company in Sacramento
It seems everybody is leaving California
Which makes it probably
The most appropriate place for me to go
Sixteen
Tammy came over last night
And this time we didn’t go drinking
And this time she didn’t sleep on the couch
This morning, just to be different
I asked her to come with me
And, just to be like you
She’s quitting her job
And jumping lease
For the first time in a long time
I know I will see you again
But then, I’ve been wrong before
Comments
24 Responses to “Poetry in Forms Series: Epistle”
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I found you through a web page, looking for different forms to try. I’ve gotten obsessive about it lately. Usually, I read about the form, glance at the poems, and go do my own. But I read yours, fully and totally. I found it fascinating and wonderful. I never thought of an epistle as a poem before. This is the first time in a long time I’ve been captivated by poem I found looking for forms, especially when I decided the form wasn’t for me. But then, after reading you epistle, I might try it closer to June. I’m attempting to write one a poem a week for the whole school year. I’m a third career teaching in a first year situation in an inner city. In a way you’ve encapsulated in one 15 part poem, what I’m trying to do for the school year, so maybe it’ll work as an end of year poem.
I am working on a poetry project for school. This page helped me a lot because for the project, I need to find eight types of poems to write. So far, this is my favorite
hi I needed help for my english project, and I read this epistle and
it helped me understand it.
i have to do a project 2. 8-12 poems, no 2 the same. quite a headache. due tomorrow.
Good luck to you R.
I’m glad my article could help everyone. Good luck in your writing!
love it…soo cute…keep it up….urs truely…amber
Thank you Amber, Loved you on Survivor
I just wanted to say what a beautiful poem this is. I love the bittersweet tone and the longing contained in it. We’ve all lost someone we love in one form or fashion at some point in our lives, and you tapped into that universal feeling. I, like some of the other people who have commented, was also just looking for a new form to try, and the article was very helpful with that as well.
Very touching, I enjoyed it.
I wonder about the numbering, it seems to distract me when I read it.
Thank you for the compliments Bakka and BG. I have reformatted the stanza titles and I hope that fixes the numbering issue.
Dear God,
I saw you at the mall today
You didn’t notice me
But then again neither did I
Maybe it’s better that way.
Dear God,
I invited you to my birthday party
We had cake and ice cream
But you didn’t show up
Please RSVP next time.
Dear God,
Um, I think you still have
My first edition copy
Of “The Dukes of Hazard”
I’d like it back when you get a chance.
Dear God,
I wrote you a song today
It’s named:
“The Rat-bastard who stole my video”
Just a friendly reminder.
Dear God,
I’d died today
I sent you an invitation to the funeral
But you didn’t show up.
Maybe it’s better that way.
You have a dark sense of humor Joe. I like it.
I was just trying to figure out what exactly an Epistle is because I need to write one for my Advanced Comp class. It needs to be religious though. Thanks for the one you wrote. It is beautiful!
I love the formatting. Of all the example peices, this one is the most interesting, and certianly the best.
I wish they would add more formats – the site would have more visitors, I’m sure.
Vana
I love this poem
I was hoping I could use it for an example of this type of poetry for my Writer’s Craft class, but I need to be able to say a few words about the poet. Do you think you could email me and tell me a bit about yourself?
I found this very useful. I am writing a paper on an Epistle written by Alexander Pope. I just wanted to let you know that I really enjoyed your poem. I usually never write on things like this, but I was very touched by your poem and wanted to tell you how great it is.
Stumbled onto this poem and found myself reading it through it numerous times.
It does capture simply and blithly the angst one endures at the end of a relationship.
Found the line about reading the postcard, all 24 words, 12 times so simply stated and so deeply relateable.
Having always been the “dumped” was surprised to find my Prince (who is NO TOAD!) and now write love poems with JOY but still write the river of pain (that comes with the territory of life) just the posionous element of rejection no longer is there.
@ Jenni I’m glad you found the poem of value. Thank you for coming by. Good luck with your poetry.
I loved your poem–bittersweet and longing. Regarding epistles, can any letter be called an epistle? If that is the case, then what makes it different from prose?
An epistle is a poem that takes the form of a letter. It is a poem first and a letter second. Most letters are not in the least bit poetic.
What a lovely letter. The message between the lines is quite romantic. I’ve haven’t been moved by a writer’s voice for some time now. Thank you for sharing it. And good luck to you. . .
How awesome. I was just browsing the web for cool forms and I love the unique style and tone of this piece. Have to say, hadn’t ever heard of the Epistle form but will definately give it a go. I’m from a poetry site, it’s good fun, you should join
Thanks for sharing this piece, I’ve been inspired.
Take care!
You do realize it goes from stanza twelve to fourteen right?
I got that on my second time reading it.
I was looking for forms of poetry I could use as an art componant for a school paper of mine and this form, mostly because of your poem, really hit me as something I could use to make a difference. Thanks for sharing this, and helping me out.